This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Please see my full disclosure for further information.
The Zinc Flyte scooter suitcase is an excellent carry on cabin bag for kids and has quite literally been our saving grace on a few long haul flights over the last few years. Investing in a scooter suitcase as kids hand luggage is one of my top travel tips for airport travel with young children. Click here for the latest designs and prices.
Airports are synonymous with long ways and tired little legs. Whether it’s an early flight or a long journey, being tired and not wanting to walk any further has always been one of the most common complaints from my kids at the airport.
Insightful luggage creators have thankfully figured this out and there are some fab kids carry on luggage options on the market now to help little ones get through the airport without requiring quite so much adult help. Here I review our absolute favourite form of transport though the airport slash travel bag for kids – the Zinc Flyte Scooter Suitcase.
What is the Zinc Flyte Scooter Suitcase?
Genius! That’s what it is. If I had £1 for every comment I’d had from other passengers in airports about how amazing they look I’d be a wealthy woman! I’ve had kids gazing in envy and adults asking if they make them in grown up sizes (they didn’t but a few companies such as this one have now cottoned on to the need for adults too!)
Imagine… a small, carry on size suitcase, with wheels and a handle at just the right height for you little one to pull their own carry-on luggage … which converts to a scooter with a simple pull and drop action. Heaven right?!
The suitcase itself is made from a sturdy yet flexible plastic and is fully lined inside. It zips open and lies flat with straps and compartments internally to keep all your child’s things secure.
What age is the Zinc Flyte Scooter Suitcase suitable for?
The Zinc Flyte Scooter comes in two sizes – catering for for scooter-savvy kids from age 3 – 8 years old. Take a look at the Specification table below to decide size which works best for your little one.
If you have smaller toddlers or younger kids who aren’t yet confident on a scooter outside of an airport setting a Trunki might be more suited to your kiddies.
Enjoying our 3 hour wait at Kuala Lumpur Airport before heading to Langkawi
Very excited at Gatwick Airport, ready to fly to Lapland to meet Santa and to ski!
How we use the Zinc Flyte Scooter
The Zinc Flyte Scooter has appeal for us way beyond airport transport – although that is a big selling factor for us. The benefits start when we’re packing for our trip.
Teaching kids to pack light
Our kids know that when it comes to packing, as a family, we travel light. Having said that we totally ‘get it’ that kids need their fave teddies, comforters, toys, books and games. The way we manage this is by giving the kids responsibility for packing (and transporting) their own hand luggage. There’s no way this would work if they each had a backpack to carry!
They can physically manage a scooter suitcase because they don’t need to carry the weight of it.
Before we travel they spend some time packing what they want to take on their holiday in their scooter suitcase. Our girls each have the larger size (the midi Zinc Flyte Scooter) which gives them a whopping 25l of storage. It’s perfect for packing a couple of books, a cuddly toy (or 3!), some colouring, ipad, headphones, and some travel games.
The simple rule is – ‘If it doesn’t fit in your scooter suitcase, it’s not coming’.
This stops them bringing far more toys than they will ever need.
It also is helping them prioritise their packing and hopefully training them to ‘travel light’ like Mum and Dad do!
If they do completely fill their carry-ons we carry the practical carry-on stuff in our luggage (the changes of clothes, snacks, toothbrushes for long flights etc).
The kids have total ownership over their scooter suitcases. They chose which design they wanted, they’ve packed their own luggage with their most prized possessions and it’s easy for them to wheel or scoot around, so it is incredibly rare that they ask us to help them with their luggage. Our main job with the kids carry on luggage is to make sure they don’t forget it, fold it up when it’s time to get on the plane and pop it in the overhead compartment for them.
Oh, and make sure they’re only riding when it’s suitable and safe to do so. I’ll talk more about safety further down.
Coping with long walks at the airport
Once at the airport the scooters come into their own. No complaining about long walks, no struggling to get the kids to keep up if you’re running late and you don’t need to be carrying their luggage. Phew! We’ve enough to be worrying about getting through an airport right?
Airport entertainment for kids
They’ve also been fantastic when we’ve had to wait for connecting flights. When we had a couple of hours to kill at Bangkok on the way to Koh Samui, and again at Kuala Lumpur on the way to Langkawi the kids found an empty stretch of walkway and played games (the scooters turned into horses for quite a while in KL!) and had races up and down the empty corridors. Getting them moving between long periods of sitting on a flight works wonders for boosting their energy even when their sleep is disrupted and they’re battling jet lag. (I have more tips for jet lag here)
And of course, when they need a break from scooting, the suitcases contain a plethora of other entertainment for them.
Watch the Zinc Flyte Scooter Suitcases in action
How safe are Zinc Flyte Scooters?
I would only recommend the Zinc Flyte Scooter for scooter-savvy kids. IE kids who are already confident on a scooter outside of an airport. Ours ride Micro Scooters at home ( in my opinion the BEST scooters on the market for kids) and the Zinc Flyte Scooter has a very similar tilt and lean steering mechanism – it’s an incredibly smooth ride by the way. Despite being just a few kilos over the recommended weight I might have tried it out a few times.
If your child isn’t confident on a scooter they will either slow you down, or cause mayhem in the airport. You need to be sure your child will not zoom off without you, and they’ll be able to maintain control of the scooter; especially on long slopes. Airports are busy places and while the smooth floors and open spaces are lovely to scoot on, when there are a lot of people around, escalators and moving walkways you need to be able to trust your child to manage it all.
Ours are very clear on the rules:
You always stay in sight of Mummy and Daddy.
You go slow and careful on ramps.
You DO NOT crash into anyone. This means planning ahead, being aware of your surroundings and not scooting too close to anyone.
If we see any violations of the rules, they have to convert their scooters back to suitcases and wheel them along by the handles. While the scooter suitcases are often recommended as ‘for children from age 2’ personally I don’t think a 2yr old could handle that level of responsibility in an airport. I would suggest waiting till they’re at least 4.
With these rules, we’ve never had any injuries. That’s not to say they’ve never fallen. A couple of times something has caught the front of the scooter and it’s flipped forward. The squishy but sturdy case on the front of the scooter breaks the fall and so far… touch wood! … no one has been hurt. The girls have also crashed into each other, usually on purpose, and again the case itself protects the child and the contents of the case.
Zinc Flyte do not recommend their scooter suitcases are used near traffic and I would suggest the usual precautions such as helmets if you’re going to be using them outside, especially near roads.
Are Zinc Flyte Scooter Suitcases allowed in airports?
In our experience this depends on the airport and the staff there on the day. Once (and only once!) have we been asked that the children do not ride on their scooters as we approached security. In contrast, we’ve had many, many occasions where airport staff have smiled at them or commented on how clever they are.
I think it will really come down to how much supervision us parents give our kids. If we allow them to cause pandemonium in the airports it won’t be long before they get banned. But hopefully, if we all manage to keep mayhem to a minimum and stick to some basic safety rules we’ll continue continue to be allowed to use them.
Waiting very patiently for our delayed flight from Don Mueang Airport (Bangkok) to Sri Lanka. The airport was very quiet as the pandemic was just getting started and Thailand was one of the most affected countries at the time. We escaped to Sri Lanka and share our story about the unplanned visit here.
How does the Zinc Flyte Scooter Suitcase compare with other scooter suitcase brands?
Honestly, we’ve only ever used the Zinc Flyte scooters so I cannot tell you how the user experience compares. However, of course there are lots of other things to take into account so here’s a comparison table for the different specifications of scooter suitcases out there.
The specs are correct at the time of publishing based on the manufacturers website (where I can’t find this the spec is taken from Amazon)
Scooter Suitcase | Volume | Size | Weight | Max User Weight / Age | Handlebar height |
21 litres | 23 x 28 x 43cm | 3kg | 20kg / 2-4yrs | 65cm | |
25 litres | 26 x 33 x 48cm | 3.6kg | 50kg / 4-8yrs | 75cm | |
| 33.5 x 33.5 x 48cm | 3kg | 50kg / 3-14yrs | 77cm | |
18 litres | 27.5 x 63.5 x 69 cm | 4.2kg | 50kg 5 – 8yrs | 81cm | |
| 30 x 35 x 55cm | 3.7kg | 3-5yrs | 73-82cm |
Gone Travelling Monster Scuit Case
While it looks fairly similar to the Zinc Flyte Scooter Suitcase it did unnerve me that the reviews on it seem to be very mixed. Most people love the concept of the scooter suitcase, but there are people complaining about the actual quality of the scooter. I cannot find information on the volume of the suitcase, I presume similar to the Zinc Flyte as the overall dimensions are similar. Sellers say the scooter is suitable for up to age 14 but I would check the height of your teen against the handlebar height to check they’ll be comfortable riding it. On a positive note it is available at a much lower price than the Zinc Flyte so if you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to try out – this could be a good option. Get the latest prices and designs here.
Y Glider Scooter Backpack Suitcase
This is a slightly different product in that it’s a backpack that you can attach to the folding scooter. It has a lean-to-steer mechanism and an adjustable handle to suit your child’s height. It’s made from a nylon material with one main zip pocket and additional side pockets. Its capacity is far less than the Zinc Flight Suitcase but it might be handy for you that the backpack is removable and could be used day to day when out and about on holiday as well. Reviews from popular sellers seem to be positive on the whole which is reassuring BUT most airlines wouldn’t allow this as a carry on as it’s quite tall. It’s also the heaviest I have reviewed. It might be better suited to travelling by train rather than plane. Get the latest price here.
The Scootin Suitcase
Looks very similar to the Zinc Flyte. It has a sturdy but squishy case and can be used as a scooter or drag along trolley case. The slightly longer handle bar might suit a taller child although it is slightly heavier with larger overall dimensions than the comparable 15” case from Zinc Flyte. The big thing you will notice about this scooter suitcase is that the design you go for will hugely impact the price you pay. At the time of publishing this post a Frozen or L.O.L Surprise design will set you back a lot more than the Peppa Pig or SpiderMan design for example. Get the latest prices here.
Please, please, please check airline carry-on restrictions before buying any of these options. The Zinc Flyte is the most compact option but you might get away with bigger on some airlines. Please check before you buy. Yes, I’m begging you! The last thing I want is for you to assume that all these options will fit in an overhead locker.
If I had to choose again…
The Zinc Flyte was one of the first on the market, we’ve had ours for years, they’ve travelled all over the world and been put through their paces; they’ve been ridden, thrown around, fallen off, fallen on, sat on, crashed into each other… and they’ve lasted incredibly well. My almost 9yo is sad that she has now grown out of hers. Although it’s a great excuse for new luggage – she’s got her eye on a slightly more grown up, hard shell trolley case. Something she can easily pull, and will provide a seat when the queues get long and tiresome.
If I had to choose a scooter suitcase again – I would choose the Zinc Flyte Scooter Suitcase. Given our fantastic experience with the cases we have and the specification comparison I think they are the very best option. Order your Zinc Flyte Scooter Suitcase here.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
