Jaraden Soho
 

First of all, I want to say Shinja (Lil Sis) is an absolute and total doll! :love: her. She was so super helpful and has awesome customer service.

Second, please be patient as this review will have not only lots, and I mean LOTS of pictures, but I will also be comparing the Soho a lot to the KB Alex. My Small KB Alex carrier has been my first carrier, and I have very minimal complaints about it. It's been an awesome go to bag for Kaji and I. While I will still be enjoying my Alex bag, it's just time for a new one. On that note, I would love to introduce you all to my new carrier:


Things I absolutely love about this bag:
-Holds it's shape very well once it's zipped up. There is no collapsing on top of my baby. That means, more room for Kaji. My Alex tends to collapse a bit on top when it's all zippered up.

-The ventilation is awesome. There is no fear of this being a stuffy bag. I also splurged on the cooling pad. If it works well, we'll be using this a lot as it is summer. (and maybe getting a second, you know just in case ;))

-Looks like it's going to be a great sneak sneak bag. As with any dog carrier disguised as a purse, it will of course look like a real hand bag, but there is just something odd to it. Like the KB. The privacy flaps that cover the mesh windows are the biggest giveaway that it is a dog carrier and not a purse. The odd shaped middle of the Jaraden is its giveaway. But as with the KB Alex, both bags don't stand out and scream "I HAVE A DOG IN HERE." :p Always a good thing!

-It's wider!! You'll see by how much when I post the picture the the KB padding vs Jaraden. It's a wonderful difference. Wider = more room for Kaji!!

-The Jaraden has an extra shoulder strap which means, it turns into a cross body bag. So much better than my KB Alex. The shoulder straps on the Alex tend to slip off my shoulder A LOT and it's annoying. Also, I have free hands with a cross body. Free hands for:
SHOPPING!! Or for the jet setter yorkies and their humans. Makes traveling to, from, and in the airport much more pleasant. Which brings me to....

-It's airline approved!! Always an awesome bonus. With the added room compared to my small KB Alex, (which is also airline approved) it should make for some awesome comfortable trips. Can't wait to travel again with Kaji. :D

Now the cons....
Not that many. In fact there are only two.

-Safety strap. Two things I don't like about it. It's long. A little too long for the bag. It's also made of elastic. A stretchy safety strap doesn't give me much confidence. I much prefer the safety strap on my Alex bag. It's made of the same thick material as the shoulder strap. There's no way Kaji is going anywhere with that large clasp and sturdy strap of the KB. (although, I do think it's a smidge too long)

-The padding. Now, this could be that the issue isn't so much the padding, as it is that I am the proud owner of a larger yorkie. He doesn't qualify for the Teapot Club, but he is at the top of the Yorkie standard. The padding is a nice quality, my issue doesn't lie there, it's the size of it. It's THICK. It steals way to much room away from Kaji. It would work best with someone who has a teenier yorkie. Not one who is 12-13 inches from the floor to the tip of his head. Once I pull out the padding, the Jaraden is a dream carrier again.

Many more pictures to come!

Love the dual ways the ventilation flaps can be folded.
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Kaji modeling his Soho bag. :) I love the contrast in colors between the burgundy inside and the silver outside.
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Love the details. Including this cute charm.
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Kaji's KB Alex Small. I think we have reached the size limit for this carrier. Just a warning, Kaji's hair makes his head look way bigger than it really is. It's partly the giant ego he has, but mostly it's the hair. ;) :p
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One more of the Jaraden. Love!!
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Cant's wait to try this. The new cooling pad.
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Jaraden padding (burgundy) KB Alex padding (black)
Attachment 372343 It's super thick!!! Attachment 372344

This is where the padding hits on the carrier.
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Look how roomy!
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Cool! So the cooling pad is made specifically for the carrier! The bag looks awesome and Kaji looks so handsome. If only Uni wouldn't scream everytime we went somewhere new.... needless to say, I don't use her carrier anymore.

ETA maybe just use the cooling pad and not the foam pad to give Kaji more room? And the elastic strap. When he's zipped in, is there really a need to be clipped in also? Do you ever have the top open and have him stick out his head? I think the strap would be just for that right?

Kaji- "Why do I always have to do what SHE wants to do.... What happened to dinner??"
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"Oh... HELLO!"
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Yorkie? What yorkie?
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"HELLO!!"
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See how wonderful this bag is. The flaps can be opened or you can open a little window for them to peek out safely. Kaji is large enough that he won't be crawling out of the window, but he can still peek out.

Right, which is why the strap was necessary in the Alex. If I want Kaji to have the option to peek out, I had have the bag zipped open. Even if I unzip a corner, Kaji learned to open it up all the way, making it necessary for me to make sure he was clipped in. With the Jaraden, he can't crawl away when I open the window. I'll probably end up tossing the padding (or using it in his house) and cutting off the strap.

"I can see!!"
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The bags on a 5'3" frame. Love this cross body option.
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Wow! Great review... got me thinkin', lol!

In your very first post, third pic, it looks like there's another flap that goes over the mesh windows? Is that right? So where does that go when the windows are exposed?

Yes very good and thorough review!

KB Alex Small VS Jaraden Soho
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I'm adding this picture just so you all can see why I keep calling these bags big. The Fossil bag in front is the absolute biggest bag I want to carry. I'm not a big bag person.
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Here is the final picture. Comparing of the straps.
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I stuck it in the pockets. It's completely removable.

Maybe you could crochet a skinny band to sew onto the restraining strap to make it a bit less stretchy? Add a tuck to make it shorter if that would better suit your needs?

I used to be a big bag person. Actually the Jaraden used to be my go-to size, and I'm an inch shorter than you! Now my bags are about twice as big as your Fossil bag. I used to put Uni in my regular purses. But sh'ed only go into the post office and places I'd only be in for a bit. She didn't cooperate.