The two bags share a silhouette and the same twelve colours. They do not do the same job, and the gap in price is not what should settle it.
Seven centimetres on paper, two different bags
The Jelly Firkin measures 35 × 27 cm — 13.8 × 10.6 in. The Mini Jelly Firkin measures 28 × 25 × 12 cm — 11.0 × 9.8 × 4.7 in. Both sets of measurements are published on the product pages, with a 15 cm (5.9 in) phone shown for scale.
The difference in width looks modest. In use, it is not. It is what decides whether a make-up bag, a water bottle and a pouch sit side by side, or whether you choose between the three every morning.
On price: €53.90 for the large one, €45.00 for the Mini. €8.90 between them is far too little to make the decision in place of the use. A bag bought too small to save nine euros stays in the wardrobe.
What each one actually holds
| Contents | Jelly Firkin (35 × 27 cm · 13.8 × 10.6 in) | Mini (28 × 25 × 12 cm · 11.0 × 9.8 × 4.7 in) |
|---|---|---|
| Phone, keys, wallet | Yes, with room around them | Yes — this is exactly its format |
| Make-up bag | A full one | A small one, or three or four products |
| A 500 ml water bottle (about 17 fl oz) | Upright, without forcing it | Upright if it is slim, and it then takes up half the bag |
| A4 document (21 × 29.7 cm · 8.3 × 11.7 in) | At an angle: two to three centimetres, about an inch, stand proud of the top | No |
| Rolled-up sweater, a change of shoes | Yes | No |
| A child's things | Yes | No |
A note for readers on US paper sizes: US Letter, at 8.5 × 11 in, is 1.8 cm shorter than A4, so it stands proud of the top by that much less in the large model. It does not change the answer for the Mini.
Let us say it plainly: the Mini does not replace a day bag. It holds the phone, the keys, the wallet, a balm, a small pouch, and it is full. That is not a fault, it is its definition. Selling it as a do-everything bag would be dishonest.
Context settles this better than taste does
A working day. The large format, without hesitation. It absorbs lunch, the notebook, the charger, the water bottle and the layer you take off at midday. It is the only one of the two that gets through a full day without something being left behind on the desk.
Going out, dinner, drinks. The Mini. You take what you need and nothing more, and the bag sits on a table without occupying the space of a plate.
Travel. Both, but not in the same role. The large one becomes the second cabin bag. The Mini goes flat into the case and becomes the bag for the days once you are there.
An evening. The Mini wins, and by a distance. Past a certain hour, a large bag is worn as a constraint.
How each one reads when worn
The rule is simple: a bag is read against the frame carrying it, not in the abstract.
On a petite frame, the large model takes up a lot of visual space. Some people want exactly that effect — a bag that states itself and structures the outfit. Others find it overwhelming. In that case the Mini gives a cleaner balance, particularly carried in the hand.
On a tall frame the effect inverts: the Mini reads as jewellery, a deliberate accessory rather than a useful bag. That too is an intention, not an accident. It simply has to be the one you chose.
If what you are really after is a shoulder carry, neither of these is the right answer: look instead at the Baguette Firkin (€49.90), whose elongated shape is made for it.
The material of the large model
The Jelly Firkin is made of frosted TPU — thermoplastic polyurethane. That is what separates it from the jelly bags in PVC of the 2000s: TPU stays supple, does not yellow, and takes cold and abrasion. It is a question worth asking every time you compare two translucent bags, whichever shop you are in.
Three profiles, three clear answers
You will own one bag and it will be used every day. Take the Jelly Firkin. The Mini will disappoint you inside a week, and saving €8.90 will not make up for it.
You already have a day bag that suits you. Take the Mini. You are looking for a piece for going out, for weekends and for evenings: that is precisely its ground.
You are torn because you can see both uses. Start with the large one and add the Mini later. In that order the two complete each other. In the other order, you will be buying a day bag again within the month.
The twelve colours are identical from one format to the other, which lets you stay on a single shade or commit to two. The whole range is visible in the bags collection.
Published 28 August 2026 by La Firkin, a Swiss maison — Lausanne.