King Kong ZONE25 Review - Meal Prep Backpack for Work & Workouts
Whether you are looking for reliable gym bag, meal prep backpack, or a lunch box backpack for work, the ZONE25 is versatile enough to do it all thanks a smart design that adapts as you need it.
While many other meal prep backpacks include a built-in meal compartment, King Kong has decided to use an insulated meal insert that is completely removable. This means you can convert the ZONE25 into a full capacity gym, work or travel backpack in seconds.
In this King Kong ZONE25 backpack review we are going to take a closer look at all of the small details that make this backpack a great buy for anyone looking for one bag that can do it all.
Where to buy: KING KONG
Video Review
Materials and Construction
Our first impressions of the King Kong ZONE25 were overwhelmingly positive thanks to its rugged construction and clean minimalist design. The bag itself is made from food grade 1000D Nylon that is TPU coated for water resistance. Water just runs right off of this backpack and the coating allows the material to be easily wiped down and cleaned as needed.
King Kong backpacks are known for their tough construction and the ZONE25 is no exception. Along the sides of the backpack you have thick nylon straps that can be used to secure large items like a blanket, towel or yoga mat. These nylon straps are equipped with large heavy-duty aluminum buckles.
The King Kong ZONE Meal Insert
Every ZONE25 includes a matching King Kong ZONE insert. This is essentially an insulated lunch box that comes equipped with two meal containers and an ice pack to keep the inside cool.
The ZONE insert itself is large enough to fit a 6-pack of 12oz cans. Each individual meal container can hold up to .8L (800ml) of food.
Double Up
A really awesome feature of the ZONE25 backpack is that the main compartment can hold up to two ZONE inserts for double the meal storage. King Kong offers additional ZONE inserts separately if you ever want to double up your meal prep capacity.
Pockets and Compartments
King Kong has designed this backpack with a series a separate packing areas they call ZONES. The ZONE25 can be divided into three ZONES: the front compartment, the laptop compartment and the main compartment where meal insert is stored.
Main Compartment
The 25 liter main compartment is just one large bucket-style open compartment. The only pocket inside is a neoprene sleeve that can hold a slim water bottle alongside the insulated meal insert.
We found that both a water bottle and a meal insert can fit inside at the same time. This is a neat little detail that we appreciated. Neoprene is known for its insulation properties and this little sleeve can help keep your water bottle cool while out and about.
On the top of the lid there is a single zippered pocket made out of a thick transparent plastic material. Not only can you easily see what’s inside but the pocket material also makes it easy to keep clean. We found this pocket perfect for items like cutlery, napkins, tea and condiments.
Front Compartment
The front compartment offers additional storage and organization. Inside you’ll find a large slip pocket that can easily fit a notebook, iPad Pro or other large tablet.
You won’t find much in terms of admin pockets inside this front compartment for small items like pens or a phone but the two zippered pockets makes for easy storage of these smaller items.
The front compartment is actually pretty roomy since it fans out to the front instead of digging into the main compartment when full. We found that it has room to store items like a jump rope, weight training gloves, and even a toiletries bag.
Laptop Compartment
The King Kong ZONE25 includes a fully padded laptop compartment against the back panel. Although King Kong says it can fit a laptop up to 16-inches, they really mean a 16” Macbook Pro or other very thin laptop.
For PC users, you will be regulated to laptops 14-inches and under. We found that a clunky 15.6” laptop PC will not fit inside this pocket.
The padding is good and the laptop does feel secure inside this compartment. Our only complaint is that there is no false-bottom for extra protection. This means that the laptop sleeve reaches all the way to the bottom of the bag with only the padding to protect a laptop form drops.
Water Bottle Pockets
Along with the internal neoprene water bottle sleeve, King Kong gives you two additional bottle pockets on each side of the backpack. That’s a total of 3 storage options for your drink bottles which we thought to be a nice surprise.
The external water bottle pockets are very roomy and we found them to fit a 32oz Nalgene bottle, 30oz Yeti Rambler Tumbler and a standard size blender bottle with room to spare.
What Fits Inside the King Kong ZONE25?
We decided to dedicate this part of our review to what fits inside the ZONE25 with the meal insert inside.
Although the main compartment has a total capacity of 25 liters, you can expect the meal insert to take up about half that space when stored.
The main compartment measures about 16” H x 11” W x 8” D but with the meal insert inside your height gets reduced to 8”.
With the meal insert inside, the King Kong ZONE25 fits:
1x Sweatshirt
1x Sweatpants
1x Small packing cube (11” x 6.75” x 3”)
1x Small towel
Or it can fit a pair of gym shoes with a men’s size 12 (US) being the max size to fit on top of the meal insert.
With the meal insert removed you have the entire 25 liter main compartment at your disposal and we could fit a lot more bulkier items like a pair of yoga blocks, toiletries bag and small towel with room to spare.
Comfort and Fit Features
We found the ZONE25 to be a goldilocks in terms of fit - not too small yet not too bulky. This backpack is unisex in design and we are sure it will fit a variety of body types.
King Kong has done a good job when it comes to comfort features. The shoulder straps on the ZONE25 are well padded with thick foam that really makes a difference when the bag gets heavy. You will also find an adjustable chest strap to help with weight distribution.
Interestingly enough, King Kong has decided to not use traditional foam panels on the back panel. Instead the back shares its padding with the laptop sleeve.
This design surprisingly works well for the ZONE25 as it makes the back panel easy to wipe down and keep clean. The internal padding was also comfortable when worn, even when the backpack was full.
Final Thoughts
The King Kong ZONE25 does a quite a few things very well. We love its simple and almost minimalist design that takes it’s cues from the larger King Kong EDGE35 gym backpack. The easy to clean surface is a must for a backpack you’ll be using for transporting food and drinks while the quality is tough and rugged. This backpack really feels like it can take a beating over time.
After using the King Kong ZONE25 we found this backpack to be worth the price of admission. Very few bags have the versatility to be used as a functional meal prep backpack as well as a gym, work and travel bag.
This versatility is what gives the ZONE25 its edge when compared with other meal prep bags and when looking for a backpack that can fit multiple needs, the ZONE25 is a serious contender.
Where to buy: King Kong
