Bustin Signature Skate Everything Bag: First Look

My name is Zeke and I’m a skater.

Last week I was VERY excited to finally get my hands on the Bustin Signature Skate Everything Bag. 

Bustin is a small batch, handmade skateboard company held in high esteem by many in the longboard community for their attention to detail and top-quality gear. They’re really nice guys, too! When I saw they were making skateboard bags, I was eager to take a closer look.

They make two models of the Skate Everything Bag – a 30L and the 20L (the one I’m testing out). If you’ve read my other Carryology articles, you know I like to travel with as little as possible, so the 20L is not only plenty big for my everyday carry and all-day skateboarding adventures, the 20L size is also big enough for me to do a 30-day jetsetting longboard trip with just this bag. But if you’re more the bring-it-all-and-figure-it-out-when-I-get-there type, the 30L is basically the same bag, just bigger.

The bag is made of a military-grade Tarpauline fabric that can handle torrential downpours as easily as a skater-hater’s hose down. “Get out of my parking lot you troublesome kids!” And it looks great, too. I’m a fan of the colors they’ve picked. The smooth grey fabric with seatbelt-type black webbing and bomb-proof metal strap hardware combine with the pop of blue from the weatherproof zipper on the front slash pocket to give this tough bag some serious style points – like the Rock and James Bond had a baby… and the baby was a skateboard bag. Nice job, Bustin.

The roll-top helps keep out the weather as well as gives you a cavernous opening when you want to sort through all the gear you’ve dropped in its gaping maw. There’s the front pocket for quick access to your wallet, mobile phone, and bandages. There’s also a side stretch pocket to keep your hydration station (water bottle). And there’s a long zip on the side of the bag for pulling out your laptop and/or tablet from their dedicated, lightly padded sleeves in the main compartment.

There’s no pen pocket, business card holder, or dedicated hot sauce containers built in and that’s how I like it. Clean and simple. I use small organization bags inside my bags so I can stay modular and switch bags or the style of carry as my situation dictates. But if you need that stuff sewn into your bag, that’s cool. You be you. 

The magic of this bag stands out when you load it up with your boards. Yes, boards. It’s designed to carry a board close to your body with the inside longboard pocket, and there are straps on the outside of the bag for carrying a second board. With an open top and bottom pocket that zips at the side, you can strap in a standard board, heavy electric skateboard, a longboard, or even a snowboard. Keeping it close to your body makes it much more comfortable to carry. They could have left it at that, but they added those sweet straps and metal hardware to the outside of the bag for an extra skateboard. Who carries two skateboards? Maybe you like to longboard to the subway, subway to the part of town with the skate park, and then bust out the ramp setup. I’m not going to judge. Lately I like to have a longboard and a surf skate with me any time I leave the house – it’s like my security blanket.

The bag includes compression straps that could easily double as a place to hold a video tripod and I am tempted to use this as a camera backpack with some of my padded camera cubes that I have from other companies. There’s a chest strap, which helps keep it in place when hauling big decks or heavy loads. There’s a hard panel between the board and the back padding to prevent the dreaded pokies. There’s even a fold-out flap to stave off butt abrasions from the grip tape with longer longboards. Further evidence that the bag was designed by people who skate every day is the handle on the side of the bag so it can be carried briefcase-style – handy for public transport as well as removing from car trunks or overhead bins.

I’ve only just started using the Skate Everything bag, but so far I’d say I’m a fan. Still, it’s not perfect. It would likely raise the cost of the bag, but I’d like to see a future version that uses closed cell padding for the back panel and in the shoulder straps. The open cell that they use isn’t a deal breaker by any means – it’s used on plenty of bags, even some pricier ones – but I find closed cell padding is more robust and stays comfortable longer. That said, the straps are well constructed and comfortable to wear even when the bag is loaded to the max with gear.

Did I mention the bag looks really, really nice?

I’m not sure why, but I haven’t found a lot of well thought out longboard bags on the market. Decent Hardware being the exception with their smart and rugged selection. Check them out if you’re looking for an alternative to the Skate Everything. 

I’m stoked to see Bustin step into the arena with such a clever, well built skateboard bag. 

20L – $149

30L – $159

Available now.