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Beginner’s Guide to Winter Mountaineering
…fter the season to avoid leakage damage. And under no circumstances should modern rechargeable batteries be used – they contain electronics inside and can interfere with sensitive antennas in the device or even totally jam it. Of course, there are more manufacturers than just Mammut; two other well-known options are Pieps and Ortovox. Oh, and go with a simple model; don’t complicate things if you’re not a rescue team member or guide who is respons…
October 2024’s Must-Have Gear | From Minimal EDC Backpacks to Travel Collections
…ranges from military-inspired fatigue shirts, deck jackets, and bombers to modern takes on mechanic’s and motorcycle jackets. There’s something for every taste and occasion. Take for instance the Dress Navy Japanese Jungle Cloth N-1 Deck Jacket. It’s a modern take on the USN deck jacket and is cut from the same sturdy cloth as original WW2 flight suits. A durable cousin of corduroy, the Jungle Cloth material is woven in Japan and tailored for a cl…
Revisiting the Roller | Away Softside Carry-On Review
…9.2 lbs Hardware / Materials $225 Design The Softside has a bit of a retro-modern approach to a classic roller, introducing the cloth-like feel and the familiar squish of comfort like a cozy pair of sweats, but with durable nylon and a water-repellent coating. This results in a feel that is surprisingly “hard” to the touch compared to the images on their website. The bag holds up, it doesn’t cave in, and the water-resistant protection helps keep i…
The Anatomy of the World’s Most Affordable Travel T-Shirt
…kking from Himalayan trails to Tokyo subways, it adapts without complaint. Modern merino isn’t just pure wool, either. Many performance merino blends incorporate nylon for durability or tencel for additional softness and antimicrobial properties, creating hardier and more versatile fabrics that address some of pure wool’s limitations while maintaining its natural benefits. Merino wool pros: -Natural odor resistance for extended wear -Excellent tem…
Ultralight Monochrome Field System
…y apparel. Blending 55% polyester, 40% merino wool, and 5% spandex, it’s a modern, performance-driven take on a classic silhouette—lightweight, breathable, odor-resistant, and built for travel. The minimalist design hides its technical chops, making it equally at home in the backcountry or a city café. After extensive wear, this piece has earned a permanent spot in my travel rotation. Tilak / Poutnik Quest Shorts Part of Poutnik, Tilak’s techwea…
The Company That Zips the Globe | YKK’s Ninety-Year Obsession
…terial that’s been part of every zipper since Gideon Sundback invented the modern design in 1913. AiryString removes it entirely. At first glance, it looks like a normal zipper. Then you realize what’s missing. No tape. Just teeth, slider, and the garment fabric itself. That absence transforms everything. Without the woven fabric tape, the AiryString is lighter, sleeker, and far more flexible. But more importantly, it sinks into the garment instea…
Why Ultralight Brands Are Crossing Over
…ned on the toughest trails is proving to be the perfect foundation for the modern challenges of EDC and travel. The Cultural Transfer The deepest impact is the philosophical transfer that guides the design choices. UL design is about eliminating every unnecessary stitch, layer, and ounce. Not to save money, but to ensure long-distance structural integrity under stress. When a UL brand builds an EDC pack, they don’t over-engineer it with complex pa…
The History of the Morale Patch
…r gear. Bags with MOLLE webbing and velcro fields became canvases. A small industry of patch makers emerged, producing everything from unit insignia to absurdist humor to political commentary to brand identity. And then, in 2016, a company called Morale Patch Armory LLC did something that revealed just how culturally significant the term had become: they trademarked “MORALE PATCH.” Four years later, in August 2020, they filed suit against 281 defe…
About Us
…l Carry Awards, established in 2012, celebrate the best innovations in the industry, pushing the boundaries of design and functionality. We have connected with designers, collectors, and specialists, sharing their insights and stories with our audience. We’ve launched concept stores, held community events all over the world, and worked with some of the world’s very best designers and brands to release special project collaborations for our commun…
A week in carry
…ured there might be a few bits of random interest in there, so here’s some industry and carry thoughts emerging from it… Break bread with crew The week kicked off at the Buffet streetwear tradeshow in Melbourne, loaded with apparel, bag and accessory brands. While Melbourne getting a tradeshow like this was pretty special in itself, the forums that went down during it were even more so. Guys like Jeff Staple, Sneaker Freaker’s Woody, and the amazi…
Carry-On Bags
…presentation, you kinda want to avoid the camo or rainbow colourways. The industry is built on black for a reason. But that might also be a reason to not go black. Here are some carry-on bags that we think fit the bill… Wheels Wheeled bags suit heavier loads and longer distances to travel. If you are a big public transport user, or travel away from cities, you should opt for something you can shoulder instead. Oh, and make sure the thing stands w…
Road Tests :: Boreas Gear Repack 15
…en word of San Francisco start-up Boreas hit the blogosphere. Comprised of industry veterans from brands such as The North Face and Eastern Mountain sports, Boreas aims to cut the fat that they feel is weighing down (figuratively and literally) the carry industry and return the focus to clean design and functionality. Creating versatile bags destined for specific purposes, the brand is starting out with a Fall launch of four models. Today, we’ll t…
Interview w/Shai Levy
…hat there is a lot of place for improvement within the urban / fashion bag industry. I thought that it can be done well by adopting concepts from the outdoor bag industry. – How long have/had you been based in the far east? Do you plan to stay/return? I have been in the far east for almost eight years. I met my wife here, my kids were born here. Seventy Eight Percent, my brand, is based here. I will probably move somewhere else one day, but for no…
RELoad Bags shop visit :: Philadelphia, PA
…always, us Carryology folk do the research and find the best brands in the industry, then set up a meeting whenever we are in their respective areas. Whenever possible anyway. There is talk of buying a Carryology jet in the shape of a backpack…we’ll see. So I was stoked to learn about a well-known brand called RELoad Bags in downtown Philadelphia, where I was headed as part of my Northeast trip. I must admit, despite them being well-known, I hadn’…
BEXAR Goods shop visit :: Constructing a Land Carry
…s and single-needle construction are considered the highest quality in the industry, FYI). If I didn’t keep asking what each panel was, or which part of the bag was being worked on, I would’ve easily lost track. With all these panels, all in the same color fabric, it can get confusing, at least visually for me, being a simple observer. This panel (above) will make up the dual exterior drop pockets, which is sewn to the front, and then riveted in t…
Road Tests :: Mission Workshop VX Sanction Rucksack
…rome (Timbuk2, and a few others) legitimized what was previously a cottage industry and brought a level of professionalism to the sector, it was Mission Workshop that really elevated the level of design to match. I had already considered MW bags to be the crème de la crème so when they announced their AP Series, which stands for Advanced Projects, I was intrigued. How much more deluxe could you make a bag, I wondered. It would be over a year befor…
Carry Geeking: Techlite backpack straps
…s a little thrown back by the straps. I have seen everyone in the sporting industry address strap styling; memory foam, mesh overlays, fabric breaks, non-slip PU, molded insides, but these Techlite straps were different. The whole strap was molded, (co-molded to be exact) with a mesh panel sandwiched in the middle. The molded part of the strap, a foam type material, was sturdy and soft. The straps were colored in the accent features from the pack….
2 March Week in Review: Cool Collaborations and Messenger Bags for Bike Commuters
We’re going hybrid, checking out a cool collaboration and getting some industry insight on what goes on behind the scenes with a major carry brand. Plus we put a messenger for bike commuters through its paces. Welcome to the Week In Review, enjoy the ride… Creative carry for diverse needs The North Face Purple Label offers flexible functionality with their 3way Bag which, you guessed it, converts to 3 different bags depending on your requirements…
Traveller Denim Co. shop visit :: Austin, TX
…onvenient for a shop visit and chat, I’ll admit I was skeptical. The denim industry is just like any other super competitive industry, there are uncountable amounts of “me too” brands that surface and crank out boring stuff. In this case, absolute worst case scenario; I’d do a shop visit and discover that Traveller made “OK” jeans. We could chat construction, I could snap some photos and I could squeeze some content out of it. Man…was I way off. T…
Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2013 Report (2 of 2)
…Gregory booth turned into a 45 minute conversation about the state of the industry, materials, design, everything. Wayne Gregory himself came out from some hidden back room and rubbed shoulder with us. It was amazing to get Wayne going, his wealth of information flooded over us to the point we decided he would be a great candidate for a more in depth Carry Conversation. In order to continue the conversation, we were invited to take a tour of the…
Interviews :: Will Snyder J.FOLD
…well-aware that the J.FOLD brand could have value to larger players in the industry. Still I was surprised at how many suitors there were. Did you consider other buyers? The only other suitor I seriously considered was a public fashion company in Texas. They were growing quickly, were well-managed and innovative and would have been a great partner. But in the end we all agreed that the J.FOLD brand would have lost its identity in the fast-paced gr…
Design Heads :: Interview with Barrett Willet (REI)
…t important thing you’ve learned about design and secondly about the carry industry? Keep checking in and reassessing your perceptions and presumptions. It’s easy to get lazy. Specific to the carry industry, I would say trust your carry instincts, be persistent and wait for it to come. It wasn’t that long ago that a roll-top was obscure and considered a risky design despite all us designers clamoring to apply it because we loved the simplicity and…
Crowdfunding :: Bashing Down Barriers to Entry
…ing wince-worthy sums. Of course, it’s not just people starting out in the industry who turn to crowdfunding sites. Some established brands utilize these resources very effectively as a helping hand towards offering great product for their customers. Take Boreas as a case in point, who successfully funded their Bootlegger series through Kickstarter – well more than successfully, as they smashed their target goal of $10,000 by more than 14 times th…
Design Heads :: Interview with Carlos Calderon (Samsonite)
…important thing you’ve learned about design? And secondly about the carry industry? I have learned that you have to design things as if you were a Nasa engineer. Take everything into account when designing a bag since it is a mix between fashion, performance and practicality. And it is among the things that you use all day, five days of the week at least. If there is at least one annoying detail in a product it will become unbearable when using i…
Specialist Carry :: Adventure Surfer
…ith SURFER Magazine to Alaska in 1993 is said to have enkindled the entire industry and inspired the golden age of cold-water exploration. No longer did surfers follow the sun, but launched missions to exotic locales that hemmed the Arctic Circle, Russia, Norway and even Antarctica. If you ever spot Mulcoy gracing the glossy covers of surf magazines he’s the small figure knifing along a wave consumed by picturesque backdrops of snow-capped mountai…
Win a ticket to Struktur Event in Portland, OR (May 1-2)!
…OR / May 1-2, 2014), “the first creative conference for the active outdoor industry.” Registration for this truly unique event costs $595 and the folks at Struktur generously offered to waive this fee for one lucky winner! Added bonus: you’ll get to hang out with Carryology’s own JC Canfield and Taylor Welden who will also be in attendance (estimated retail value ranges between $0.02 and $2,000,000… depending on who you ask). About Struktur Event:…
CORDURA :: The Business of Fabrics
…tered the name CORDURA. The CORDURA brand is a major player in the fabrics industry, with carry brands around the world incorporating CORDURA fabrics into their creations based on their reputations for durability, abrasion resistance and strength. To find out more about this innovative brand Cindy McNaull, CORDURA’s Global Brand and Marketing Director, shared her insights about the brand’s history, products and innovative developments in the pipel…
Core77 Ultralight series :: Part 4
…and insights on this increasing trend within the backpacking community and industry. Kat Bauman’s article “Unpacking ‘Ultralight’ with Michael Meyer of Granite Gear” can be read in full below… – Granite Gear is an outdoor gear company started by outdooring obsessives back in 1986. Like many successful names in the outdoor game, their focus has been balanced between innovation and pragmatism. As co-founder Dan Cruikshank puts it, “If someone else i…
Design Heads :: Kika Vliegenthart
…s handmade in our studio in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Inspired by the bridle industry we work with thicker, denser leather than most people in our field who make things for human beings. Most of the seams on our bags are on the outside, they are beveled and waxed. Almost no other bag maker uses this old-fashioned technique. Another thing that sets us apart, I think, is that we don’t focus on making men’s or women’s bags. We make and design bags, lik…
5 Minutes with RUKI-KRYKI
…utes with Vladimir to discuss insights, inspirations and the Russian carry industry… What key insights drive your stuff? I have always believed that only the hands of makers can put the soul into the product. In the production I use a minimum of tools: awl, thread, needles, pliers, a metal ruler and a knife. Everything else is doing things with my hands. No sewing machines, no cutting press. So every product I produce by hand. Yes, it takes a much…
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