- In this video we're going to be taking a look at the
Matador FlatPak Toiletry Bottle.
At the time of this review we've
been testing it for about a month;
it just released today.
We got a sneaky early copy of it,
so I'm excited to share our thoughts with you.
I'm Tom the founder of Pack Hacker,
and we're a team of frequent travelers
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Let's jump right into the
Matador FlatPak Toiletry Bottle review.
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The Matador Flatpak Toiletry Bottle offers a welded
Cordura fabric going on on the outside.
And basically it appears to be two flat pieces
that have come together welded on the sides.
There's some minimalistic branding going on here.
So we have the black on black Matador here,
we have some white on black branding here on the snap loop,
and then we also have the nice
Matador M going on on the cap.
So overall some really subtle,
nice looking branding going on.
This fabric is waterproof and flexible.
The nice thing about the form factor of this
is that it kind of conforms to the shape
of the liquid that's inside of it.
So the less liquid you have, the more compressible
and packable it is.
If it's really filled to the brim,
it's still got some flex to it to kind of slide it in
a nice little nook in your pack,
or inside of your Dopp kit,
without taking up too much additional space
and without being too bulky.
The dimensions are a little bit larger than a credit card.
And lastly, on the loop up here
there is a little label here for you to be able to
write in whatever's inside this thing.
So if you have multiples it's going to be easy
to tell them apart. Just make sure
(you know, they recommend using permanent marker here)
just make sure you know exactly
what you want to put inside of here
before you end up labeling it 'cause it's hard to change.
Almost impossible to change once you write that in.
For starters this thing is easier
to fill than we initially thought.
The cap just screws off,
it's actually very highly threaded
so it's really locked in once you bring it in there.
Boom! Look at that,
there is like four levels of thread there.
So, definitely not going anywhere once you have it inside.
Matador doesn't really recommend any liquids
to leave out of it, however we just recommend leaving out
more abrasive substances like
nail polish remover or alcohol.
Maybe not the best inside of this thing.
Of course you're always running
some kind of risk, you know,
depending on the more abrasive things that you put in here,
the more likely it is to deteriorate the fabric.
Although Matador doesn't explicitly
warn against this on any of their packaging.
When it comes time to grab some liquid out of here -
Boom! Just flip it open and there we go, we're ready to go.
One of the things that we found in this thing
is this cap doesn't seem quite as reinforced
on there as we'd like it to be,
it's just one little piece of plastic.
And additional to that they don't actually have
a valve in here similar to
some other brands that we've looked at.
A valve just kind of helps keep the liquid fully inside
and offers another layer of protection
as far as leakage goes.
So if you take a look at our review on the GoToob's
specifically the GoToob+, they have a cap that goes on it
then they also have a valve as kind of
a second line of defense that tends to work well
for runnier liquids as well.
So, inside of here right now we have some sunblock
which is a little bit thicker.
But if you had something more of a liquid base
I'd be curious to see how it'd work out without a valve.
I think it'd be a little bit easier to
kind of just like flow out of here.
So, we haven't had any problems with using it
in our month of testing, but definitely something to note.
So one other thing with this is that it's three ounces
which is definitely TSA approved for carry-on travel.
However TSA will let you travel with three point four ounces
or 100 milliliters.
Now why do they do that?
Well it's easier for the public to understand
a three-one-one rule versus a three point four-one-one rule.
So we understand this is likely why Matador made it
three ounces instead of three point four.
We just wish it was a little bit larger
so we could hold a little bit more.
One of the awesome things with the FlatPak
compared to something like the GoToob
is that it's very flexible, it's easier to pack,
you can slide it into little nooks and crannies.
Definitely just easier to manage than cylindrical tubes.
Rounding out the usage and features on this thing -
there's a snap loop here that you can use to hang
either from a carabiner clip,
if you're in a hostel in the shower;
anything with a kind of hook will do here.
So easy enough to hang that up.
One thing to note on these snap loops
is that they've really improved the design of them
and the level of button that they've used
compared to the Matador towel
that we reviewed a couple weeks ago.
So in contrast to that, this thing actually stays on
until you actually want to unbutton it.
So way more robust than you'd see on their towels.
And lastly, this doesn't have to do much with the usage,
but this thing is like super satisfying
to have in your hand, it feels like a mini waterbed.
At the time of this review we've been testing the
FlatPak from Detroit to Barcelona for about a month of heavy
usage. Overall it's been pretty great.
The one thing that we've noticed is
that there's some fraying on the sides here
where it's welded in place.
We're not sure exactly what that's from;
it hasn't affected the usage at all.
We'd be curious to see how this continues to hold up
as we use it for longer.
Generally we've enjoyed the small flexible form factor
and it's really easy to kind of
just slide away into a Dopp kit
when you're on your travels.
A really great little piece to have with you - flexible,
easy to use.
So to wrap this thing up with some pros and cons.
The size adapts to the volume of the contents.
It's one of the lighter weight containers out there
for liquids and toiletries.
It's TSA approved at three ounces
and it says right on the label if anybody questions it
at TSA or a security checkpoint.
For some cons - there is no secondary valve as a fail-safe.
There's no easy way to re-label what's inside of here.
So once you use that sharpie to label it,
just know that basically you're going to be stuck with that.
Additionally there is some fraying happening
at the welded seams after a month of use.
However it hasn't affected anything
as far as the usage goes.
Overall the Matador FlatPak Toiletry Bottle
offers a fresh look at carrying your liquids on the road.
Although we have some concerns
about the durability of the cap and valve system,
the form factor makes it easy to pack, stowaway
and utilize on the road.
We're happy with the fresh take Matador
has created when it comes to traveling with liquids.
Thanks for taking a look at our review on the
Matador FlatPak Toiletry Bottle.
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Thanks for checking this out,
we'll see you in the next video.
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