Luggage Bags and Packs
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I wanted to share some local Colorado craftsmanship with y’all. Oveja Negra is primarily a bike-packing brand, and their ethos is very in line with the IH way. I absolutely love my Portero Roll-Top Backpack, which I had embellished with a smiley face patch by the owner Lane!
“Oveja Negra designs, manufactures, and sells top-shelf bikepacking bags out of our fun and bustling factory in Salida, CO. We are 16 people and 20 machines working our tails off to provide the best bags and customer service to our riders worldwide. Since our start in 2012 we've been manufacturing bikepacking gear in the Upper Arkansas Valley of Colorado. Born in a 300 square foot hole in the wall shop in the old mining town of Leadville, we've since moved our operation down valley to the river town of Salida. Every bag that bears our name is manufactured by a small team of dedicated and talented sewers right here in our factory.
When you decide to purchase an Oveja Negra product you are supporting our community. Thanks to you we are able to provide thrive-able careers to people who live and play in our funky little mountain town. We're also committed to supporting other US manufacturers; this helps us limit the environmental impact of the transportation of our raw goods as well as giving us and you the peace of mind that our materials are produced ethically by companies who invest in their communities. Over 90% of our raw materials come from other domestic factories.
Beyond our ethos of domestic manufacturing, quality is king at Oveja Negra. We are obsessive about the details and keep a close eye on every product. Our gear is designed, tested, and sewn by cyclists that work hard to insure your adventures go off without a hitch.” -
@Anesthetist it's been a bad couple of weeks for quality backpacks.
I've only used the Loyal Stricklin bag a couple of times. It's a touch smaller than I'd like, and there are a couple of tabs with rivets in the opening, which limit the size of what you can fit in. I want to get a couple of Evergoods Transit Packing Cubes, which I think will be the right size to fit into it. If so, I think that it would be workable for longer trips.
If not, I'll have to find a larger backpack for travel.
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@Graeme damn, sorry it is a let down. How large so you want your travel pack to be?
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@Anesthetist it's not a letdown, rather it's just slightly smaller than I'd like. The specs on the website are that it's 12" wide, though it might be half an inch narrower, and 5" deep. An inch more either way would make it ideal. But I think that I can make it work for travel, especially if I get a bit more minimalist about packing.
It's great as a day pack, and it feels basically indestructible, so it will get used.
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@Graeme have u looked at Mission Workshop for a travel bag? I have the MARS bag and love it.
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@Anesthetist I've seen a few Mission Workshop bags, and I even dropped by their store in SF when I was over there a couple of years ago. I like their products, but none of them really jump out as a must buy.
The Mars bag looks great. I think that was released when I was up in Sydney for a few days, and I didn't pay as much attention to it as I should.
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Just came across this bag maker based in the New Forest so not far from IHUK looks pretty good
https://route-unknown.com/
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Indeed, Piggy. Have fun!
I wanted a carryon-compliant clamshell travel backpack with water resistance and the ability to carry heavy loads (hip belt as needed). I started the search with various Goruck GR2/3 options, but the weight chased me away. I wound up going this route:
https://www.ula-equipment.com/product/36l-dragonfly-pass-thru/ which wound up being half the weight of even the Dyneema options Goruck had.I wish it had 40L capacity, but feel like this 36L will go a very long way with packing cubes and the internal and external compression straps. It also has massive water bottle pockets that should be able to hold shoes or sandals in a pinch and some utility straps and a stretchy pocket underneath them will help if I need more capacity too.
I’m a bit worried about whether the S shoulder straps will work for me, but excited to try a new sailcloth fabric in Ultra, given how much I love my Dyneema and VX bags.
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@mclaincausey the Dragonfly is loved by the Carryology crowd. I was very tempted when I was shopping for a bag earlier this year. I'm interested to hear what you think of it when it arrives.
As for capacity, I'd be tempted to go smaller rather than larger. The more space you have, the more tempting it is to fill it.
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@Graeme I’ll definitely brief.
My issue is that I’m already extremely happy with my EDC and EDC+ bags so I wanted a travel bag. I got the hip belt too in case it helps with heavier loads, though it seems like it won’t be too helpful. The 30L would be great if not for my Defy and Rofmia bags.
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@mclaincausey last time I looked at the Dragonfly there was only one variant, now there seem to be hundreds of options! ULA has certainly expanded the range.
I've found the Verbockel to be about as big as I need for a travel pack. The limitation (particularly for carry on in Australia) tends to be weight, which can be 7 kg (15 lbs) or 10 kg (22 lbs), and I can hit that with a fairly small bag.
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@Graeme it’s really close for me for sure, size wise. The issues I have are I want a clamshell, I want a luggage pass through for when I either have a roller of my own or am hauling my family’s, and I like the idea of similarly large water bottle pockets but ones that can secure items more effectively than the unsecured VX dump pockets of the VerBockel. Between the stretch fabric and the compression straps I think I’ll have a lot of flexibility with exterior storage.
I will also value the better ventilated back panel and suitability for hiking. This has backpacking DNA and hydration compatibility so I’m hoping it could be a hiking daypack of sorts.
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@mclaincausey I'd agree that the Verbockel has a pretty basic back and straps. I've never had an issue, but I've never tried hiking of carrying a heavy load in it. I'd expect the Dragonfly to be a lot better.
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@Graeme I’ll let you know how I feel about it. The S straps aren’t for everyone nor are the wide straps on the VerBockel. So it may not pan out for me as well as the Defy bag has. My biggest concern aside from that is that I think the belt is going to fall above my hips and it doesn’t look like it will really take a lot of load off the shoulders due to that and the bag structure, which would make it pointless and a waste of $40.
