Anyone who's ever gone on a vacation involving swimming knows how yucky it can be to pack up a wet bathing suit when it's over. The Guide bag, now on Kickstarter, aims to solve that issue and save you some space when packing dry clothes as well.
In creating the Guide bag, the makers used completely waterproof fabrics and joined them up with waterproof zippers. The result is a bag that can not only keep wet clothes separate from your dry clothes in a suitcase, but that can also handle an impressive amount of splashing from the outside. This means it can keep a laptop or other precious equipment safe from bad weather, drink spills, rogue ocean waves while kayaking, and any other freak accidents involving liquids.
While we've certainly seen waterproof backpacks on Kickstarter before, what really separates the Guide bag from the pack is a built-in one-way valve. When it's open, and you apply pressure on the bag or roll it up, it forces air out and creates a vacuum that reduces the amount of space the bag and its contents take up. This makes it especially useful as a bag-within-a-bag – a way to pack up dry or wet clothes inside it, suck all the air out, and then put it in your main piece of luggage, or even another backpack. Its minimalist design helps it function well in this regard and it is designed in such a way that you can clip it closed when rolled up.
That's not to say the Guide can't also function as a stand-alone bag. It's got two straps and six different contact points, so it can be configured in a variety of ways from a full-on backpack to a crossbody bag.
The Guide is being made in a standard version known as the Go Forth and an upgraded version called True North that features enhanced nylon, a three- versus a two-sided opening, better strap fabric and adjusters, and spring-loaded attachments. Both are basically the same size at a tidy 15 x 11.5 x 2.5 in (about 38 x 29 x 6 cm), but the True North adds a half-inch of height.
Right now, early bird rewards are still available with just under two weeks left in the campaign, so you can snag a Go Forth model for US$80 or a True North for $90. The campaign has blasted through its initial goal of $5,250, currently standing at over $32,000, so the project is a definite go. That being said, you should always be aware that backing a product that doesn't quite exist yet always comes with a certain degree of risk.
If you do pledge and all goes well, the makers say they will ship your bag this December.
You can see the bag in action, in the following video.
Source: Kickstarter
