Week In Review ~ 24 November

Goruck goes pink (yes, you read that right), Nike finds some big inspiration (2.06 m worth of big) and we get to grips with a new collection from an up-and-coming Aussie brand. Plus we get pondering on a prevalent carry term and highlight a collaboration that may be just the thing to wet your tastebuds…

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If you don’t know much about the Goruck Challenge it can essentially be summed up as physical hell on earth, willingly done by individuals who come out bruised, muddy and smiling at the end. Essentially the physical incarnation of tough love – you might not like getting pushed to complete it but at the end of it you’re grateful to your team for helping you realise your goal. Justin Grimm decided to undertake the Challenge in order to honor the bravery of his three-year-old daughter who was struggling through cancer. A while after completing the Challenge Justin asked Goruck to construct a pink version of their Radio Ruck for his daughter. Due to manufacturing constraints Goruck initially weren’t able to do it but after about a year and some developments in the manufacturing process they managed to produce the Brave Charlotte Pink Radio Ruck. One of the toughest packs around, a father’s love and an awesome and inspirational result.

Based in Sydney, Bas and Lokes are a two-person (plus puppy) team that hand-make leather goods and accessories. The brand has been around since 2009 and has recently brought out their New Black Collection. There’s eight items in the collection, including a dopp kit, wallets, clutch bags and an iPad case, which are rocking an understated chic vibe.

If you think about the words that are used to describe carry items, ‘quality’ is right up there at or very near to the top of the list. Whether it’s a reference to the craftsmanship, the material used, the experience provided by owning item X, etc. ‘quality’ is sort of a one-stop shop when it comes to descriptive terms. So what exactly does ‘quality’ mean? Is there a definition that will cover all uses sufficiently? Check out our ‘What Is Quality?’ post where we dive a little deeper into the term – and there’s some awesome discussion going on in the comments too which is well worth a read.

When you think of basketball players you don’t generally tend to associate them with carry. Kevin Durant however is an NBA player who likes his carry – his backpack in particular, which he wears in press conferences after each game and which carries everything from a Mac computer to a donut. Nike thought this was all pretty rad and with some insight from Kevin they created the Nike KD Hoops Elite Ball Backpack. The pack is constructed out of water-resistant ripstop nylon and has some internal organization pockets in addition to the main section. There’s also an exterior insulated pocket for keeping drinks cool and padded, adjustable shoulder straps. If you fancy a pack for yourself, it’s available to purchase from December.

Forget backpacks and messengers, the Dewar’s x Freemans Sporting Club Travel Roll is the new means of carrying your booze and your toothbrush in a stylish, convenient manner whilst riding a bike. As you do. Doubling up as a dopp kit and a utility roll, this travel roll is constructed out of water-repellent 18 oz. waxed canvas and has hand-cut leather straps made from English bridle leather. The travel roll is lined in Dewar’s Highlander Tartan fabric and has six interior pockets. You get a Dewar’s flask too, though you’ll have to supply the contents yourself as the travel roll does not come with alcohol. If this is all sounding highly toast-worthy to you, you can purchase this carry item for $150 here and let the good times roll.