FAQ

The four 5 cm swivel wheels are made for pavement, tile, tarmac and shop floors. That's where the bag does its best work — upright, travelling beside you, carrying its own weight.

If you meet a stretch you can't roll through comfortably and don't want to carry the bag, there's a way through: take the long side handles, tilt it towards you onto two wheels, and pull it behind you for that stretch. Keep the tilt shallow — the bag sits low by design, so a steep angle brings the base close to the ground. It's a way past a difficult patch, not a way to travel.

For anything genuinely hard — a flight of stairs — lifting is the answer, and there are handles shaped for it.

Yes, and this is what the removable strap is for. Clip it to the short side and the bag follows you on all four wheels, upright and stable, with none of its weight in your hand.

The strap is adjustable, and that length is the point. Anything you pull behind you has one recurring problem: get it wrong and the bag clips your heels every few steps. Set the strap to your stride once and it tracks behind you at the right distance from then on.

Clip the strap to the long side instead and it goes over your shoulder for carrying. Same strap, two jobs.

Four, and for everyday use it isn't close.

A two-wheel trolley has to be tilted and dragged the entire way, which puts the load through your wrist and shoulder and makes it awkward to manoeuvre in a shop aisle. Four swivel wheels let the bag stand upright and travel beside you, turning on the spot and carrying its own weight. You steer it rather than haul it — and that difference is most of why anyone buys a wheeled bag at all.

The trade-off is real: a compact four-wheel base is happier on smooth ground than on cobblestones. If you meet a rough stretch you can tilt the bag onto two wheels to get through it. But four is the mode this bag is designed around, and it's where it does what it's good at.

The Cista 60L weighs 2.4 kg empty and the 120L weighs 3.3 kg. That comes from the parts that make it work: four swivel wheels, a reinforced steel base, a foam layer that holds the shape and protects what's inside, a 500D PVC outer built to take wear and shed rain, and a softer lining inside so it feels like a bag rather than a plastic container on wheels.

What that buys you: a full weekly shop runs 15–20 kg. Carried, that's two aching arms and usually two trips. On wheels it's one trip, and the load sits on the base and the wheels instead of on your arms.

The outer shell is 500D PVC — wear-resistant and water-repellent, chosen to survive years of kerbs, shop floors and weather rather than to look good in a photograph.

Underneath sits a foam inner layer that gives the bag its shape and cushions what's inside, over a reinforced steel base that carries the load. There is no rigid frame — that's deliberate, and it's why the bag folds properly flat.

The interior is finished with a softer lining. That one isn't structural. It's there so the bag feels like something you own rather than a practical plastic container on wheels — which was the whole point of designing it in the first place.

60L — 56 cm high × 40 wide × 30 deep, 2.4 kg. Holds one to two full shopping bags. Right for daily errands, commuting, the gym, weekend trips and anyone living up a flight of stairs.

120L — 66 cm high × 50 wide × 40 deep, 3.3 kg. Holds three to four. Right for the weekly shop, market days, travel and moving bulky things.

Those heights include the wheels, so they're the numbers to measure your hallway or car boot against.

One thing our own customers tell us: the 120L is genuinely large. One reviewer put it plainly — "I use the big bag, but note it is huge!" If you will mostly carry it up stairs or store it in a small hallway, the 60L is usually the better companion. If you are choosing between them for a weekly shop, take the 120L.

30 kg is the tested limit.

In practice we'd suggest staying comfortably under it, and not because the bag will complain. It rolls 30 kg without trouble. But you're the one who has to lift it if you meet a flight of stairs, a high kerb or a car boot, and 30 kg is genuinely heavy in your hands. Somewhere below the limit is where the bag stays effortless — which is the entire reason to own one.

Two habits worth forming if you do pack it heavily.

Heavy things at the bottom. Tins, bottles, anything dense goes in first. That keeps the centre of gravity low, which is what keeps the bag steady when you turn it or take it over a kerb. A heavy load stacked high is what makes any wheeled bag want to tip.

Pack in bags, not loose. Load your shopping into carrier bags or smaller totes first, then put those in. It changes the hard moment completely: if you meet stairs, you lift out one bag at a time until what's left is light enough to carry, then bring the rest up after — instead of standing at the bottom with 25 kg of loose groceries and no way to break the load into pieces. Several of our customers worked this out for themselves: one loads all her small tote bags straight into it and rolls the lot to the car.

Yes, in a few seconds. Both sizes collapse down to 20 cm thick:

• 60L folded: 40 × 46 cm, 20 cm thick
• 120L folded: 50 × 56 cm, 20 cm thick

Take the wheels off and stow them in the bag's own compartment and it drops to roughly 15 cm — worth doing if it's going away for the season rather than back behind the door tomorrow.

There's no rigid internal frame, which is why it folds properly rather than half-collapsing. Structure comes from the reinforced steel base and a foam inner layer instead — stiff where it needs to be, flexible everywhere else.

Yes. The outer shell is 500D PVC — rain runs off it, a wet pavement is a non-issue, and your shopping stays dry walking home in a downpour. The external pocket has a water-resistant zip so what you keep there stays dry too.

Water-resistant, not waterproof: the seams and zips aren't sealed, so it isn't a drybag. Don't submerge it or leave it standing in water, and it'll keep everything dry for years.

Yes — and there are two sets of handles plus a strap, because lifting, carrying and pulling aren't the same job.

• Long side handles — for getting the bag up onto your shoulder when you have to carry it any real distance. Stairs, mostly.
• Short side handles — for lifting straight up and high. Into a car boot, onto a table, over a barrier.
• The adjustable strap — clipped to the short side to pull the bag behind you on all four wheels, or to the long side to carry it over your shoulder.

Most wheeled bags give you one set of handles and expect them to cover everything. You'll be rolling almost all of the time — but the moments that aren't rolling are stairs and car boots, and those need genuinely different grips.

You lift it, and we'd rather say that plainly than pretend otherwise. No wheeled bag climbs a staircase.

What we did instead was design for the lift. For a few steps, tilt it towards you on the long side handles and bump it up. For a full flight, put the long side handles over your shoulder — that's what they're shaped for, and it's a far better way to move a loaded bag up three floors than carrying it at arm's length. At the top, set it down and roll on.

This is also the practical reason we suggest loading well under the 30 kg limit. The bag will roll 30 kg happily. You're the one carrying it up the stairs.

And if stairs are part of your routine, pack into carrier bags or smaller totes before they go in. Then a heavy load comes apart in your hands: lift a bag or two out, carry the bag up light, and go back for the rest.

Yes. The foam panels hold it upright on all four wheels, empty or full, so you can load it with both hands instead of holding it open with one.

Pack the heavy things at the bottom and it stays planted. Weight stacked high raises the centre of gravity and makes any wheeled bag want to tip — tins and bottles first, light and bulky on top, and it stays steady through turns and kerbs.

One thing worth knowing on day one. Your bag arrives folded and has been packed tightly that way in its box for a while, so the foam needs a little time to remember its shape. For the first couple of days a new bag can want to fold back on itself. Loading it is what fixes that fastest — put something in it and it settles.

Unfolded but empty, press the short sides outwards from the inside. That pops the panels into shape and holds it open until you've loaded it.

One habit we'd recommend generally: when the bag is empty, fold it and carry it on your shoulder. It's simply easier than wheeling an empty bag around. And when your shoulders are already full of other bags — that's the moment to unfold it, load them in, and roll the lot.

Three spaces, and deliberately not more:

• One large main compartment, lined in a softer material. This is where the shop goes.
• One internal zip pocket for what you don't want loose at the bottom — keys, wallet, a folded list.
• One external pocket with a water-resistant zip, for what you want without opening the bag: phone, travel card, receipts.

We stopped there on purpose. Every extra pocket is volume taken out of the main compartment, and the main compartment is the reason you're buying it.

A little, and it's worth doing. Grit and hair collect in the wheel housings over time, and a quick clean keeps them rolling quietly. It takes a minute and it's the single thing that most affects how the bag feels after a year.

Yes, and they stow in the bag's own compartment. Folded with the wheels off, the bag drops from about 20 cm thick to around 15 cm.

It's for storage, not for use — the bag is meant to run on its wheels, and it's happier that way. Take them off when it's going into a cupboard for a while, or when you want it to sit still in the boot of a car instead of rolling around every time you corner.

It's also how your bag arrives: we ship with the wheels off so the box is as small as it can be.

Yes — and this is one of the reasons the bag is built the way it is.

Wheels wear out. Every wheel on every bag eventually does, and no warranty anywhere covers that, because it isn't a fault — it's use. The usual outcome is that a perfectly good bag gets thrown away because of its cheapest component.

So we designed around it. The wheels are replaceable: when they've done their years, you fit a new set rather than replace a bag whose fabric, base, zips and lining are all still fine. The reinforced steel base is built on the same principle, though we'd be surprised if anyone ever needed to.

The point is a bag you can keep functional for a decade. If something does go, you should be able to fix or upgrade that part instead of buying the whole thing again. Email support@cistastudios.com and we'll sort you out.

We pack your order within 1–2 business days from our fulfilment centre in the Netherlands, and total delivery takes 4–7 business days. Shipping is free across Europe.

You'll get a tracking number by email as soon as your order ships.

Yes. Orders to the UK, Switzerland and Norway ship DAP, which means we don't charge VAT at checkout and the courier may collect import VAT and customs charges before delivery. We show this clearly at checkout rather than after you've paid.

You have 30 days from delivery to request a return. The bag needs to be unused, with tags on and in its original packaging. Email support@cistastudios.com and we'll send a return label and instructions.

Return shipping is a flat €15, deducted from your refund. We're upfront about that rather than hiding it: we cover outbound shipping on every order, and covering both directions isn't something we can sustain at this price. If the bag arrives damaged or faulty, returns are on us.

Once we've received and inspected it, your refund goes back to the original payment method within 10 business days.

Two years from the day your bag is delivered, covering defects in materials or workmanship — and the bag failing to do what we said it does.

If we confirm a defect we repair or replace the product, or the part of it that failed, free of charge. If it's no longer available you get an equivalent replacement or a refund. On a valid claim we cover the return shipping too.

What it doesn't cover is the ordinary stuff: normal wear and tear, cosmetic scratches, dents and colour change, damage from misuse, neglect or accidents, exposure to extreme conditions, and repairs attempted elsewhere. Worn-out wheels fall under wear rather than warranty — which is why they're replaceable instead. Nor does it cover bags put into rental, hire or resale fleets.

Using yours for work is covered. Market stalls, deliveries, studio and site kit, a DJ moving records to a gig — that is what it was built for, and it stays under warranty like any other bag.

To claim, email support@cistastudios.com with your order number, what went wrong and a photo. We'll send a return authorisation and instructions, inspect the bag, and put it right.

This warranty sits on top of your statutory rights under EU consumer law. It doesn't replace them.

We're a small family business, designing in Gothenburg, Sweden and shipping from our fulfilment centre in the Netherlands. When you email support, one of the founders probably answers. Learn more about the story behind Cista →