Nike Sportswear does carry

Nike are kinda radical. Starting life as a small importer of Asics running shoes, they now pull in almost $20 billion a year across pretty much every sports category you can think of.

So how does a company  that sells sportsgear to the masses keep it fresh for crew that want something more? They splinter off a Nike NSW sub-brand, ditch the normal price-ceilings, and get to making gear that combines high tech with high street. Read on fearless reader…

We’ve had a mini NSW crush for a year or two now. There’s something super compelling about taking a really clean and modern aesthetic, and pimping it with crazy technology like fabric welding and forming, and custom moulded hardware.

Within the NSW range, there are a few carry pieces, each of which has had loads of thought and effort put into them.

Welded seams dominate, forming a water-resistant shell without the usual stitched interruptions. Water-resistant zips, laser-cut details, die-cast buckles in stealth black and heat embossed brand hits; it’s pretty easy to geek out on this stuff.

We’ve been playing with the Tote Travel Bag since a Japan trip early in the year, and it’s an 80% awesome bag for dealing with varying amounts of luggage (it folds up to nothing and tucks into a pouch for when you have less to carry). The roll-top could be improved, but it’s pretty solid overall. We’ll give it a full Road Test at a later date.

The Cheyenne 2000 pack shown above is a mate JC’s, who every now and then brings stuff around to make us jealous. It works. We are jealous.

Also check their waterproof tote, and their Cascade Messenger (based off our previously reviewed ACG Messenger).

The downsides to these bags? Fairly expensive and fairly hard to find. This is not meant to be mass market stuff, so Nike restrict the stores they sell to. There’s a bit online, but most of the gear is in stores like this epic NSW x Head Porter shop in Tokyo. Yep, I dropped a few coins in that store…