Matador Flatpak Soap Case Review
The techiest tech soap case to ever tech. Is it good?
Matador Flatpak Soap Case Review Introduction
Matador - this time I’m reviewing an oldie but goodie. Well, maybe a new oldie but goodie. What the crap does that mean you ask? The Matador Flatpak Soap case has been around for years at this point. In fact, I listed it as one half of the best soap kit for travel when I first launched my site back in 2019 because I loved it so much. I never gave it the full review treatment however and guess what? They just launched a brand new 2.0 version. Good timing indeed.
The flatpak soap case is no ordinary case. It’s kind of a little tech darling and while there’s only so much I can write about a soap case, we’ll go through why this thing is so unique. And hey, unique is good. But does it work? We’ll find out.
This is my review of the Matador Flatpak Soap Case 2.0. I recently took this on a massive trip across 5 hotels and one home in 5 countries. For the original case, I’ve been using it both at home and on travel since around 2019.
For full transparency as always - when I saw the update I reached out to Matador and they were nice enough to send me the new version for testing, the original I purchased two for myself. That said, I received no money for writing this review and Matador has no input into the editorial comments. Like all my reviews, this is 100% written by a human and I do not use AI in my writing.
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Flatpak Soap Case Overview and Features
In use at the hotel.
Ok this section won’t exactly be War and Peace in its length. But what we are looking at is the tech and travel nerd’s version of a soap case. Matador designed this with a unique layflat fabric that seems to be proprietary to them which is interesting.
It’s a roll top, so it’s dry and effective at closing with no leaks. It fits the vast majority of soap bars and if it doesn’t, just cut the bar.
The fabric itself looks like a fine weave ripstop nylon kind of material. Mostly smooth, pliable for when not in use, and packs completely flat as needed.
Burying the lede a little but they designed a trick up this thing’s sleeve. The fabric is one-way permeable to moisture. Basically it “breathes” to let moisture out, but nothing else in. As I said, pretty unique in the space. This means you can put a wet bar of soap in, and get a dry bar of soap out later. It also means nothing escapes to scum up your bag, clothes, or inside your toiletry kit. Clever idea if you ask me.
Tech Specs from the Website:
Weight: 0.5oz (13g)
Dimensions: 4 x 3.6 x 1.5in (10 x 9 x 4cm)
Materials
- 70D ripstop nylon, PFAS free
It retails for $13.00 USD and comes in 3 new colors in this version: with the burgundy and green joining the black. And the third is that amazing hot orange. Great color so you don’t forget it (Admittedly I wish I asked for that one for the pictures!). Note that the new version is slightly bigger than the original version.
The Good
Fabric macro.
Well, calling it like we see it here, it behaves exactly as sold in the bill of materials so to speak. You put wet soap in, and it comes out dry later on. I just tried it in Singapore, Hong Kong, Toyko, North East China, and Frankfurt. So some humid and some not. No soap scum gets out. It’s remarkable really. I’ve discussed this in the past with a previous Marketing manager at Matador, and while it’s not EXACTLY the same material, it’s the same in principle. You know how “breathable” rain jackets let moisture vapor out, but no rain in? It’s basically operating like that and I’m here for it. I’ve put this in handmade shoes, next to exposed clothes, in toiletry kits, etc. Nothing to fear.
The portability on it is excellent. When you aren’t using it, it sits so flat it doesn’t really take up measurable volume in a 3D sense. Just the outside dimensions.
I like the color choices. Muted colors, that kind of futuristic urban vibe you get from their other colored products like the Refraction line up of packable bags. And I’m VERY here for the orange.
It seems durable. I’ve had multiple (body soap and clothes wash soap) for nearly 7 years and I’ve experienced zero issues with the product like holes, seam splits, etc.
The Bad
This is one of the few times I’ve ever done this - I don’t really have any complaints about this one. I recommend it all the time, ranked it as the top choice out there, and have experienced no issues while using it.
Final Thoughts On My Matador Flatpak Soap Case Review
V2 vs V1 (New Version on top)
Short and sweet on this one. I never tell my readers “You need to buy this” because no one really NEEDS to buy anything. If you’re LOOKING for this kind of thing, or want to upgrade to a more techy fabric vibe and are sick of low-use plastic bags (I’m not a fan of concept or execution) - then I think you need to at least put the Matador Flatpak Soap case on the top of your list. I have no problem recommending it and to me, it feels pretty buy-for-life. Or at least, buy for a really long time so long as you don’t do anything funky with it near sharp objects, etc. I recommend it to pretty much everyone.
It’s one of the accessories that is with me on virtually every vacation I take. Sometimes two of them.
I’ve also listed this as part of the best soap kit for travel, and I’ve no reason to change my mind on that with this new version.
I recommend looking to buy from Matador directly.
Thanks for reading - remember to wander more, and wander smarter.
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