Is it a beach bag? Is it a chair? Surprise! It’s both, and it might be just the thing you want for your next trip to the park or the beach. I had a chance to try out the Playamigo for a few weekends and found it to be a pretty clever contraption. Perhaps it is time for an addition to your outdoor repertoire!
If you’ve ever owned a “wedge” pillow for propping yourself up while reading in bed, the Playamigo is essentially that, except instead of being filled with foam, it has an internal frame to provide structure / rigidity and is zippered so that you can use it as a “beach” bag to carry all your stuff in. The Playamigo has one main zippered compartment, with several other compartments for things you may want to keep separate like phones, sunglasses, etc. The material the Playamigo is made from feels durable and though I didn’t use it in the rain, appears at least somewhat water resistant. The zippers seem well made, and the attached carrying strap is cleverly zippered so that you can use it over one shoulder or unzip it into separate straps for both shoulders.
At first glance, I wonder how much “stuff” the Playamigo would hold, as the triangular / wedge shape seemed a little unorthodox, but I can happily report that it holds a lot. For fun I tried fitting my camera bag with a full frame DSLR, several lenses, and a video camera in it, as well as a separate bag with my largest 600-millimeter lens in it for a birdwatching outing, and the Playamigo held both camera bags with a bit of room to spare. You could easily fit a moderately sized soft sided cooler and some towels in the Playamigo for a trip to your favorite beach. One other clever addition is that the Playamigo comes with a foldable mat that attaches with Velcro to the bottom so that you can sit or lay down on the mat and lean against the Playamigo for back support without it falling over.
So, how did I like using the Playamigo? I found it pretty handy, versatile, and comfortable overall, and I liked the surprising amount of room it has for carry things, and the internal frame provides good support for using it to lean against while sitting or lying down. I did find that the internal frame could be a little uncomfortable if I leaned directly against the edges of the Playamigo, but that was easily remedied by using a towel for a little extra padding. The compromise of the internal frame is a bit of a tradeoff between the extra support it provides and the rigidity of the metal structure, but again, it’s pretty easy to adjust for comfort and I quickly adapted. As I mentioned before, it’s a clever contraption. I’ve always had trouble getting comfortable on the sand with just a towel to lay on, and the Playamigo solves that problem, acting as a handy wedge pillow or an upright backrest, while also holding all my stuff.
As a final bonus, the wedge shape certainly stands out and will have people asking “Hey, what’s that?” For those of you who like a little extra attention at the beach. For my part, I’m quite pleased with it, and the Playamigo will certainly continue to accompany me on my park / beach trips, or out on the dock at the lake.
