Carryology » carryology

Carryology & Huckberry

Leather — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 04:05:12 +0000

Carryology & Huckberry

So, not so long ago we had the nice gents over Huckberry approach us about curating a selection of bags for their subscribers. Seeing as Heritage is all the rage right now (not to mention a horrible oxymoron) we thought we’d explore that and try to nail down the brands that will likely be considered the heritage of the future.

So long as you don’t call a broom cupboard home, you’ll know that the world is currently fascinated with all things heritage. But as with every trend, once the bandwagon gets rolling, the ideas get poorly applied. ‘Heritage Styling’ becomes the focus; where rather than great fabrics applied simply, we get bad imitations poorly pieced together. Rather than reinterpreting basic forms for the modern toys we carry, we get empty shells with nothing resolved.

So if you’re looking for a new bag or carry piece, and want to avoid these sham heritage pieces, what do you do? The same as you should always do – you look for solid fundamentals with attention to details. These are the pieces that will hopefully be considered the heritage of the future. They are apparently simple, however they have consideration for how you will carry a phone and camera and pens and random things you didn’t know you’d need to carry.

For those who aren’t subscribed to Huckberry, we’ve listed the bags below…

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5/ GORUCK

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6/ The Madly

A Carryology Guide

Leather — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 02:23:17 +0000

A Carryology Guide

We get to play around with some rad carry stuff, we get so many amazing insights, tips, tricks and ideas on better ways to carry that this site tends to overflow with content. Such a level of content where it’s always new, new, new, makes it easy to forget about some of the really rad posts we threw up way back when.

So to help avoid a dreaded search of the site, or if you’re not online, we created a Carryology Guide that you can take anywhere with you (digitally at the moment). It’s a mix of awesomeness, radness and amazingness all rolled into one for your reading pleasure.

We could sit here and write a whole bunch of text on why we put it together, what it contains and our plans for future carry world domination. But, I’m imagine that would be silly and a waste of time when all you really want is the link to the guide right? Well, here it is…

You can download the guide (in a lo res version, but still really neat on your screen) by clicking HERE.

Let us know your thoughts once you had a couple of flick throughs…

5 Neat Things Happening in Carry Today

Leather — Wed, 18 May 2011 00:45:24 +0000

5 Neat Things Happening in Carry Today

Last year we guest posted on Buzz Beast with 5 rad things happening in the bags world. After some recent prodding from friends (and because it was a fun post to put together), we figured it was time to update it.

So here are 5 neat things happening in the world of carry as we see it…

Customising

It used to be that if you wanted something dialed in for your tastes, you had to pay a bespoke craftsperson one squillion dollars to do it. Oh how things have changed…

Amongst the more mainstream brands, there are now some great options for making a bag match with your favorite pair of shoes.

NikeID has been expanding their program to include bags, offering a bunch of fun fabric colors and graphic treatments on some backpacks and shoulder bags.

Timbuk2 are adding warehouses full of material options to their customizing program, with enough colours and textures to keep you deliberating for hours.

And craft makers like Temono continue to make wallets and bags to order, with loads of combinations offered.

If small scale is more your thing, the interwebs have given access to countless small scale makers who are very willing to customise a bag for you. Seagull bags, Vaya Bags, and lots of others will now work with you to realise a look that feels just right for you. Oh, and have you had a look at Etsy recently?

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Lightweighting

It used to only be the ultralight backpackers that asked for lighter and lighter weight gear. But in recent years, they’ve been joined both by travellers sick of getting stung by ever lower airline baggage allowances, and every activity in between.

New fabrications, thinner fabrics, and some clever design tricks are seeing weight stripped from carry gear aimed at all sorts of activities.

There’s the tiny packable bags , featherweight surfboard bags starting to use Tyvek, stripped back daypacks, and a renewed focus on weight from the big luggage brands like Samsonite.

Oh, and those ultralite backpackers are still at it.

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Weather-proofing

Once again, this used to be the preserve of outdoor brands, generally building ‘dunk duffels’ for canoeing. But with the glorification of urban cycling, bags, panniers and even wallets are getting the water resistance treatments while finally shedding the wiggles look.

Part of this is being achieved with new fabrics and coatings, part with seam technologies like welding and sealing, and part with adapted construction tricks like roll tops and deep gussets.

There’s the usual bike packs that we often yap about, there’s the pretty rad Nike NSW range that continues to evolve , there’s fishing packs, fashion bags, and yes, the outdoor guys continue to evolve their Wiggles bags.

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Small Satchels (forced by the iPad)

Man bags have long been socially restricted to European cities. Used anywhere else, they pretty radically pigeon-holed you, whether you wanted to be or not.

However then necessity has come along in the form of iPads and netbooks, and all of a sudden guys are scratching to find a small bag that will comfortably carry a slim computer and a few basics, while preserving enough of their masculinity that they don’t feel threatened.

One of the great ways to achieve this balance is with craft, and so we’re seeing makers like Hard Graft and Sunset Craftsman Co let you tout your craft credentials.

Then there is the understated approach, for which Porter will always be a starting point.

If utility is your look, Millican have one of the smallest roll-tops around, or if affordability is more your thing, check out Chrome’s utility take and the Rapha Bonk bag (did we just say Rapha and affordable in the same sentence?).

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‘Carry’ is getting embraced as a term

Bags, luggage, cases and wallets have been getting made and sold together for decades, and yet there has never really been a widely embraced term for them. They are generally all just lumped into ‘accessories’ or ‘bags’.

So as 2011 settles in and the interwebs are getting better at sharing good ideas, we’re finally seeing ‘carry’ get embraced by more and more blogs, brands, retailers and thought leaders.

From the Every Day Carry (EDC) scene, through blogs like Carryology and The Carry, to brands like Makr and Bellroy, the term is gaining momentum as a way to label what people have been bundling together for years. And at Carryology, that makes us happy.

we grabbed the header image Christine Mason Miller’s site. Go take it look, it’s pretty neat.

A Week of Carry | April 6th

Leather — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 22:33:47 +0000

A Week of Carry | April 6th

It’s been a little while since the last one of these, due in part to me enjoying the ocean in Indonesia and getting some sun. But we are back on track now with some more interesting, carry related stories we found over the last seven days. What did we find? How about a real nice breifcase? Or a run thru the history of German luggage? Either way, there’s probably something in this little bag of mixed lollies that should get you smiling…

Basically this is just a section where we can talk about anything carry related that really piqued our interest thru the week. This week kicks off a couple from twitter, facebook and a bunch of other sources. Read on for the weekly update of what’s been happening in the carry world…

1/ Billykirk Zippered Briefcase (via Selectism)

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2/ German Luggage Through The Ages (via A Continuos Lean)

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3/ The Madly (via Carryology)

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What Backpack do you use?

Leather — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 04:12:04 +0000

What Backpack do you use?

This is a gamble of a post, but we wanted to do something different to creating another post in a ‘from us to you’ style. Plus, we’re keen to see if we can expose any new brands or crazy looking backpacks…

So, what we want to know is what backpack you’re currently using. And how. Easy, right? seeing as you probably have a phone on camera… Well, take a shot (please aim for landscape if possible) of your backpack (either wearing it or sitting by itself) and email the shot to us along with the brand and style of the backpack and three points on why you like it. Keep it short enough unless you really do write well, and then fire a good yarn at us.

Is that easy enough for you? For every image and description we get, we will post it up here in this article. And if you have a twitter or website, let us know so we can credit the shot to you.

Go! Email all images and descriptions to info@carryology.com
To make it easy, I’ll go first with my back pack below…

1/ Incase :: Nylon Backpack
*It’s got an amazing organization structure on the inside – so many neat pockets, etc
*I love the laptop holding area and it’s faux fur lining
*There is a neat little secret hidden pocket for my passport or other items

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2/ MEC Dragonfly 17 Daypack.

Scott Baldwin is first cab off the rank with submitting his MEC Dragonfly 17 Daypack

“Small enough not to stop you carrying too much stuff but also large enough to fit a 15″ Macbook Pro, a book and some other basics when I travel. It’s light, has easily accessible pockets and a handy strap system to hold a board or coat.”

Scotty’s twitter handle is @benry if you want to chase him up about the bag…

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3/ Tom Bihn Imago

The Imago is what Jesse from Seattle is currently using.

It’s just the right size for my notebook, keys, wallet, reader, multi-tool and gloves. There’s even room for anything else I pick up through the day. Bihn makes amazing quality bags right here in Seattle. I got my Imago at the ’store’, really just a room next to the production sewing room and was let in by Tom himself.

Jesse has a Tumblr happening if you want to follow him or even ask him some questions about the Imago

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4/ Tom Bihn Smart Alec

The Smart Alec from Tom Bihn is what Brian Stowell is currently using when touring round with bands selling merchandise.

I rock Tom Bihn’s Smart Alec as my backpack. I tour with a band doing merchandise and I make my bag earn it’s keep. It always contains a plethora of items including:
- Canon Rebel XT with a Sigma 17-70 f/2.8 lens attached
- Canon 50mm f/1.8 for backup
- all of the appropriate cables, connectors, CD cards, chargers, external drives, and the like.
- Thermos brand Stainless King travel mug (best coffee mug ever)
- mini first aid kit
- laptop, toothbrush, work gloves, passport, cash, change, business cards, pens, sharpies

It’s really amazing what I manage to cram in this bag and still be comfortable carrying it for extensive distances. Tom Bihn’s products come highly recommended.

Brian has a pretty neat Tumblr happening if you want to follow him or even ask him some questions about the Smart Alec.

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5/ Belkin Sling Bag & REI Flash 18 Pack

Paul has decided to share two backpacks with us. He had trouble seperating the two, seeing as he uses one for work and one for play.

Belkin Sling Bag

“This is my daily work bag. For years I had used messenger style bags but when my girlfriend gave me her old one I took a liking to its slim design. It has actually pushed me more into liking backpacks in general (even if it is a sling bag technically).

– MacBook Pro 15″, notepad and various small, everyday carry items

- the included cable pouch, which is long but thin to match the bag and holds my portal hard drive and your usual suspects of cables.

There is room for the occasional extra item or two, but anything bulky fills it up and can make it difficult to close. Great for a train commuter such as myself, provided you don’t need to carry much more than a laptop and some accessories.”

REI Flash 18 Pack

“This is my hiking and recreational daypack. It handles a water bladder and has two netted pockets for small accessories on the inside, but otherwise it is a simple top loaded bag that gives up organization for a smaller frame and lighter weight. It can be turned inside out, creating a stuff sack. When used with a larger bag it can be an organized stuff sack inside the larger bag, then pulled out and turned into a daypack.

It easily carries my Ten Essentials, plus lunch and a jacket. It lacks structure when mostly empty and it isn’t the most padded daypack out there, but it is simple and very light.”

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6/ Goruck GR1

The Goruck GR1 is the bag owned by Gregory Nelson, who has some real neat photos on his Tumblr. He claims the strong points of the GR1 are:

*strong, versatile, well constructed, durable, load bearing and comfortable

*tactically inspired yet minimal design

*clamshell opening provides full access to versatile interior layout

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7/ Slicks Suit 25

One of our contributors has decided to weigh in on the ‘What Backpack are you using?’ debate with his recently Road Tested Slicks Suit 25 Backpack. Below are the three things Ando is digging about it:

*Squarish format swallows work related stuff for travel or commuting

*It has a suit folder included that keeps those fancy velour lounge suits of mine pristine

*It’s very black, which works a treat for rocking up to work commitments.

Sharing Is Caring | Marc Jacobs & Knives

Leather — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:00:47 +0000

Sharing Is Caring | Marc Jacobs & Knives

Sharing is Indeed Caring, and we like to share. Unfortunately not all the gold we find makes it on to Carryology, a lot of what we find is rolled thru our twitter stream. Here’s three we found over the last week while rolling thru internet during the holidays.

For the newcomers to the site, ‘Sharing is Caring’ is our way of pulling a few carry items we find/retweet on twitter that we don’t normally post about and bring them to life on Carryology.

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1/ A new sling case for your compact camera

RT @ispaulsworld: For all those G9, 10, 11, 12 Canon camera owners, this could be the bag u’ve been hunting for http://j.mp/ha04zf

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2/ Quite a nice laptop bag from Marc Jacobs

Forgive me for saying it, but I’m loving this laptop bag by Marc Jacobs… http://bit.ly/gpKxlm

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3/ A credit card sized knife. Wow.

This credit card knife is quite beautiful http://bit.ly/eWEGKd

Sharing is Caring | Nile Perch, SB & Totes

Leather — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 19:46:03 +0000

Sharing is Caring | Nile Perch, SB & Totes

Ahhh twitter, there is much gold to be found, shared and consumed on this platform! You would think that in the lead up to Xmas there might be huge surge of sales/buy this/releases of gimmicky stuf, but no, we still got more the enough quality from the ever reliable blue bird. Here’s three from the previous 7 days – for the rest, head over to our Twitter page to get more…

And so, without further delay, here is this week’s ‘Sharing is Caring’.

For the newcomers to the site, ‘Sharing is Caring’ is our way of pulling a few carry items we find/retweet on twitter that we don’t normally post about and bring them to life on Carryology.

1/ L Wedge Tote in Cocoa

A nice tote with a simple twist: http://bit.ly/hMo9us

2/ Nike SB Shuttle Backpack

While pretty similar to the @goincase PR bag, this Nike SB Shuttle adds backpack straps and some extra detailing: http://bit.ly/hPhB9L

3/ Srulie Recht ‘Perch Skin’ Whalet

Perhaps the single weirdest wallet ever produced? Something about a whale, a rivet, and a Nile Perch. Wow, it’s weird: http://bit.ly/e7OvKF

Sharing Is Caring | Mixed Bags…

Leather — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 19:32:28 +0000

Sharing Is Caring | Mixed Bags…

Ahhh twitter, there is much gold to be found, shared and consumed on this platform! We found more then enough things to share with you this week, but have trimmed it down to three items for you – for the rest, head over to our Twitter page to get more…

And so, without further delay, here is this week’s ‘Sharing is Caring’.

For the newcomers to the site, ‘Sharing is Caring’ is our way of pulling a few carry items we find/retweet on twitter that we don’t normally post about and bring them to life on Carryology.

1/ Goruck Pack Review

Loving this Goruck pack review on PackLight. Few reviews literally drag a backpack through mud in the name of testing:http://bit.ly/g4Peeb via TweetDeck

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2/ Diesel Bags Weekender

We find Diesel bags are usually more miss than hit, but this weekender is pretty nice in a conventional sort of way:http://bit.ly/fdrVmf via TweetDeck

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3/ A large shoulder bag…

One of our fave’s… RT @bagexposure: Domke F-5XC Large Shoulder Bag: Light weight, versatile and inconspicuous:http://bit.ly/hlyVdv via TweetDeck

Weird Carrying Habits

Leather — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 20:37:23 +0000

Weird Carrying Habits

OK, this one is weird. We have a design friend who carries a huge 27″ iMac around as if it was a laptop. He uses a big duffle bag dedicated to it, lining the thing with a blanket for protection. But maybe that makes sense? I mean the guy doesn’t bike or bus it, he just drives a car everywhere. so it actually kinda makes sense…

Then there’s one of our contributors who is addicted to the big blue Ikea bags (cough, cough… ando… cough). Despite a bag collection worth thousands, the guy hauls everything in Ikea bags. Shopping, camping, clothing, surf stuff and ski stuff… perhaps even his baby girl on occasion.

Which got us thinking that there must be other nuts doing similar things. Weird things. Weird carry things…

Got any good stories to share?

Dig or Diss | Duraflex Buckles

Leather — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 07:33:30 +0000

Dig or Diss | Duraflex Buckles

Duraflex buckles are pretty epic – strength, variety and reliability. This is a dig. A Big Dig.

We really like the buckles that Duraflex make, they offer a good variety of designs and are stronger then most other buckles on the market. Add to that the feeling you get when clipping them in an out – ahhh, the audio the clipping provides is like angels crying in my ears…

One last point that is great – from a manufacturers point of view – is they are quite affordable and offer a great quality if YKK is not the option. They are easy to deal with as a supplier.