#hanchor

Breccia Travel Backpack is also a duffel, lets you take it from airplane to the mountains.

The Project: Two innovative chalk bag designs for serious climbers

The Timeline: 14 days to go (ends December 18, 2013)

The Funds: Funded! ($14,310 pledged of $5,000 goal)

The Goods: $34 for a HULA, $37 for a KANGAROO

The Delivery: Projected delivery date of March 2014.

I used to climb. I wasn't terribly good at it, but I had fun. I always had trouble with my terrible chalk bag - spilling chalk everywhere, breaking hardware, etc.

HANCHOR's Kickstarter project for two new chalk bags looks to be just the ticket. 

The first, called the Hula, is designed to deploy chalk in a 360-degree circle.

It's got a unique filling method, as far as I've seen:

The second, the KANGAROO, is a combination chalk-ball and loose chalk holder:

Not that I climb anymore, but if I did, I would get one of these. HANCHOR is a tiny bagmaking company out of Taiwan, and they make amazing products. While I've never seen these bags in person, I did review one of HANCHOR's messengers, the CHAMBER. My verdict? One of the best bags I've ever used. I'm willing to bet that same quality will translate to their chalk bags.

And so are they: If you don't like the bag after you receive it, you can return it and they will give you a refund.

My wife's friend Robin took a trip to South Africa recently, and she was looking for a lightweight messenger for carrying her gear. I ended up lending her my Chamber messenger by Hanchor, and she grabbed a few pictures:

As I wrote in my review, The bag is amazingly lightweight, very comfortable, and very well-designed. Robin seemed to enjoy it!

A while back Syoten from Hanchor sent me one of their CHAMBER messenger bags to try out. I gave it a review and I loved it. One of my only complaints is that it didn't have a cross strap for cycling.

Well, Hanchor's been busy! They've added a few products to their line, and the results look fantastic.

First up is the SCHIST.

Nearly identical in size to the CHAMBER, it's made out of 420D Cordura fabric instead of the ripstop of the CHAMBER.

It's got a reversible strap, a cross strap for cyclists, and (most importantly) the same foam pad as the CHAMBER (which was the best padding I've ever used). 

It's also got a velcro-based removable pocket system inside.

At current exchange rates, its NT$2980 price tag is also only USD $100. Which is a steal, if the quality of the CHAMBER is any indicator.

If Cordura isn't technical enough for you, Hanchor's also been working on their Black & White series DUOSCHIST. Same size, but made of Dimension-Polyant DX40:

Limited edition special project tech will cost you, though it is still not a bad deal at NT$7280 (about USD $243).

And lastly, they've also got a super-minimal iPad/Macbook Air case called the SLATE:

Just the essentials, 420D Cordura, that same awesome foam padding, NT$1890 (USD $$63).

One especially cool feature: A slot for your transit card so you can swipe without taking it out of the bag!

If anyone's considering an order, the Hanchor Q&A page says they offer flat rate worldwide shipping for NT$600, which is about USD$20). That's really not bad, especially considering how awesome these bags are.

I am about 30 years old this year but have more than twice my age of bags for different purposes. I’m just too obsessed with this kind of soft goods. I used to hang them all over my room so that I can see them when I lie down. You may think it’s too many for an ordinary person, but every morning at home, just like girls spending time picking their outfit, I enjoy wearing different bags in front of the mirror and feel how they fit before deciding which one to carry; When I go out I enjoy observing others’ bags.

I think every bag has its own personality which comes from the designer and the tailor, and I continuously want to put more and more affection into my own bags. Carrying bags designed and made by others can no longer satisfy me. Thus, several years ago I started to design and sew bags myself.

I started with a series of bags for the climber in the city including a backpack, a messenger bag and shoulder bags, etc. Since bouldering is my favorite sport, my first design is an all-in-one bag to hold rock shoes, wallet, mobile phone, guide book, water bottle and chalk at the same time. I call this bag CRATER and the story of its evolution is written with 5 selected versions of prototypes though I’ve actually made more than 10 versions.

Version 1: I made a bouldering chalk bag first and created a space at the bottom to store my climbing shoes. However, the bag was too narrow to fit the shoes inside horizontally. Though the shoes can be put in vertically, it results in a twisted appearance. I had to make another one!

Version 2 is a little taller and wider than v.1 which allows for more space for shoes. However, this larger size made it collapse too easily and I started to think how to make it stand properly which is quite important for a chalk bag. Another problem was the bottom pocket; shoes fall out easily when unzipping the pocket.

I put X-Pac fabric on the bottom of version 3 to add durability and sturdiness. Besides this, I changed the bottom shape into a rectangle to test if this would help it stand more stable. In V.1 and V.2, the side panels are a little too short to allow good accessibility. Furthermore, since it was now tall enough, I moved the opening of the pocket for shoes to the side, which ensured that I can access my stuff safely. The reason why I didn’t put the zipper opening on the side of V.1 and V.2 was that their side panels are too short to make a zipper opening with good accessibility. The problem of the pocket was solved, but it collapses even more easily since it’s now taller.

With version 4, I mainly changed the bottom shape (added some curve into the square and enlarged the depth). I also changed some design aspects of the front and back in order to make it easy to store everything for bouldering.

After all the inventing and transforming, my final version here follows. While combining every feature I need to go bouldering, it is also nice for daily use without chalk inside!

I love to design bags, to make patterns and sew. It’s just too exciting to see a sketch become a real bag step by step, and it’s also very gratifying to see people walking on the street with HANCHOR bags designed by myself!

About two months ago, I got a message from Syoten Shieh of HANCHOR, a bag brand out of Taipei. HANCHOR is a three-person team of bag designers and makers that just started this year, and the Chamber messenger is a testament to the fact that "Made in Taiwan" doesn't always mean cheap or mass-manufactured.

Inspired by climbing and the urban environment, Syoten and his team have created a series of bags that include the Pipe backpack, the Chamber Messenger, and a number of accessories. HANCHOR was kind enough to send me a Chamber messenger bag to review, and I was happy to do so.

The Chamber is a 22-liter messenger bag made of 210 denier ripstop nylon with an X-PAC fabric base. It comes in black, red, and orange, and it's NT$5290 ($180 USD).

At 545g, the first thing you notice about the Chamber is the weight. The bag is incredibly light. Like mind-blowingly light. It's the Macbook Air of messenger bags. Wearing the bag feels awesome and effortless, a fact that you discover when you load it up and put it on. The secret to this is apparently a special foam back padding by Zoatfoams called "Plastazote LD15." Syoten sent me some technical details before the bag arrived, and I have to admit I kind of glossed over the foam in my reading.

In my experience, padding in bags is almost always insufficient. That's not to say that bag companies need to put MORE foam in their bags, but that I don't rely on it for comfort anymore. But the foam in the Chamber is incredible. I put the bag on with a full load and couldn't believe it. It's the best padding I've ever had on a bag.

The ripstop nylon has a great, semi-crinkly texture to it. It's waterproof, which is not optional for my bags. The fabric seems pretty durable, although I didn't really have much of an opportunity to test that. I DID give the base layer (XPAC fabric) a decent beating, and it held up admirably.

The shoulder strap on the bag has a pretty nice pad, which is reversible between orange and black. It was pretty comfortable and kept its size well. It uses a 1.5" buckle to split the strap, and one of those hook things that some bag makers use to hold the excess strap. The strap's reversible, so lefties and righties can finally live in harmony.

Adjusting the bag on the fly was a little inconvenient sometimes, because of the design. Tightening the strap consisted of pulling on the excess strap up towards your chest. Loosening the bag was accomplished by pulling the strap's buckle outward. Overall it was nice, but one major problem I did have is the lack of a stabilization strap. Without a stabilization strap, the bag did sometimes move while riding. Thankfully, Syoten said that he is considering putting one on the bag. Here's hoping he does!

On the front of the bag is a light loop, which is a nice extra. The main buckles are slightly smaller than I'm used to, but they seemed perfectly durable and strong enough to hold down a full load.

The straps on the flap were interesting - the part of the strap that you pull (that would normally dangle) is attached to the strap in a loop. That made them occasionally difficult to adjust, but it also made the bag look a little neater because it didn't have straps hanging off of it:

As is common in messenger bags, there was velcro on the flap as well.

One of the cool features of the bag was that the flap could be folded down to become its own velcro silencer:

I'm probably going to use this in bags I make.

Each side of the bag has a pocket for water bottles/umbrellas/etc. - the pockets include drainage holes, straps for stabilizing the contents, and one of them has a snap button to close it.

I don't typically like outside pockets like this, but I know a lot of people do. I did find them pretty useful for bottles and the like, though, so no complaints here.

The back of the bag has a pretty nice document pocket. Not much to say there, except that it did its job well!

Under the flap is a set of pockets. There's a smaller zipper pocket, a larger pocket with a mesh back and strap, and an upper zipper pocket.

The mesh divides the middle pocket and the upper zipper pocket, and according to Syoten the pocket was designed for damp clothes (post-workout, I assume) to dry out a little and not be in with the rest of your gear in the main compartment.

I thought the flap pockets were convenient and more than enough organization-wise. I used the middle pocket for my U-lock, and it was the perfect for it.

The main compartment is WAY bigger than it looks from the outside.

  Every time I use the bag I'm shocked by how much it can carry. Because of how thin the material is, it does look a little... bulgy when it's full:

But look at how much was in there!

The back wall of the main compartment has two smaller pockets (a great size for my Kindle) and a key ring on webbing. 

Conclusion

Wearing the bag on the day to day is, as I said, quite comfortable. Riding would be great with a stabilization strap. The bag holds a truly impressive amount of stuff. Overall, I think HANCHOR is doing a fantastic job. I have been really impressed with the design and quality of this bag, and I can absolutely recommend that you consider one if you're in the market for a bag. At $180, it's not a cheap bag. But the features combine to make an amazing carry experience.

Now, as much as I hate to say it, I would recommend that you wait until there's a stabilization strap in the design. But once that's included, this bag will be close to perfect. If you can't wait, or if you don't need a stabilization strap, you can pick up a Chamber by HANCHOR at their website.