removeable rucksack backpack straps
Photo © Ozone

pockets to protect the buckles
Photo © Ozone

no buckle to catch
Photo © Ozone

straps removed when checking in your boardbag
Photo © Ozone

separate section for the board
Photo © Ozone

layer of EVA harder foam to protect rails
Photo © Ozone

extra cloth on both ends for protection
Photo © Ozone

David and his latest creation trekking in the jungle :)
Photo © Ozone

Which is the more comfortable option??? You choose ;-)
Photo © Ozone

Hi Everyone

Whilst testing the Instinct kite through the winter in our (not-so) secret spot near Munie in Vietnam, Matt and myself had to carry shit loads of gear to the beach, a distance of about 300m through soft sand. Well, we soon realized normal board bags weren`t up to the job - too painful on the shoulder and hands, and never enough hands to carry everything.

So it didn`t take long for us to come up with a better way. The result is the bag in the picture. With 2 separate sections so that you can take your board out without having to empty the rest of your stuff, lots of space, padding all round the board, compression straps to hold it all in place, 2 pockets, one outside and a secret one inside (well, it was secret!), address window for those trips, shoulder strap, carrying handle and one of the main features - completely removable rucksack type carrying straps. Shit that`s a lot!

To give you an idea, the picture of me trekking through the jungle (well ok, just behind the factory!) shows the bag with my 135×40 Decay board (bag will take up to a 145cm board), an Instinct 15m proto, an Instinct 13m, 2 harnesses, my testing kit (sciscors, spare lines, tape measure etc), wet board shorts and top (lovely!) and weighs a total of 20kg (bag itself weighs only 2.5kg).

Having traveled with rucksacks and boards on aircraft before, and on many occasions have got to the other end and found buckles broken or ripped off, I was keen to find a way to prevent this problem on this bag. But at the same time, as it is designed to carry quite a load, it needed to have straps that are actually comfortable in use. The answer is to have a completely removable strap system. Basically, the straps are held on by 4 buckles, so simply unclip the buckles, push the buckles in to the internal padded pockets, put the straps inside the bag (or outside pocket) and hey presto, a clean back to the bag.

More and more boards seem to have definite edges or rails which are just perfect for cutting through bags and to get chipped and damaged whilst going through the baggage destroying (sorry, I mean handling) systems of an airport. So to offer more protection we have put two layers of foam all round the bottom edge of the bag where the rails rest. The first layer is a typical soft foam, but the second is a much harder foam called E.V.A. which absorbs energy and is harder for the board rail to damage (re the picture - don`t worry, we don`t send bags out with holes in them, this is just to show the foam - had to destroy my own bag for this picture!)

As a final touch, both ends of the bag have an extra layer of heavier duty cloth as protection against wear.

We are not saying the bag is indestructible, but it will take a heck of a lot of punishment, all the protos certainly have over the past few months!

Take care (of your luggage),

David.

RRP: 154 Euros including VAT

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