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The big, tough, devilishly clever GearTick

The big, tough, devilishly clever GearTick
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June 18, 2006 We’re still a bit mystified how a simple plastic suitcase can leap out of nowhere to become one of our favourite gadgets but that’s exactly what happened within a few minutes of clasping eyes onto the GearTick. Given that humans are a nomadic bunch, we’ve probably been thinking about luggage design for about as long as we’ve been thinking, so how is it possible for a piece of luggage to be so captivatingly clever? We’re glad you asked – it’s huge, it can be packed indoors and is designed to be packed using every last cubic bazzilionth, it clips securely onto the top of your vehicle in record time, is aerodynamic to save gas, and it has wheels so you don’t need to be a WWF contestant to get it to your room at the other end of the journey. Indeed, it’s made out of the same material they make kayaks out of, so if it’s tough enough to head-butt rocks, it’ll probably stand up to the baggage handlers of a third world airline. But wait, there’s more … it only costs US$300 and fits most roof racks.

The GearTick is claimed to be the fastest car-mounting hardshell carrier on the market, so you can use it to store your gear and go from the house to the road in seconds. Which makes it an ideal companion for any form of recreational pursuit from kayaking to sailing to flying to off-road anything to … you get the picture. Whatever it is that you’re into, it usually requires lots of gear and the GearTick is hence an ideal companion. We can even see a checklist being taped to the inside of the lid to ensure that you don’t forget those essential grommets and widgets you always need to borrow or buy when you get there. And on the way home, when your gear is wet and/or sweaty/muddy, it can be kept away from your shagpile seat covers.

It’s huge – at 51" long x 15.5" wide x 15.5" tall it is large enough to fit a multitude of gear but small enough to be handled by one person. It fits gear that is usually too large for a suitcase, such as most golf bags and 48" drivers, ski boots and helmets, two piece fly rods or two piece oars or … 50 pounds of almost anything.

The idea for the Gear Tick was first hatched by Jon Hurd while he was living in a small house in San Francisco and looking to add some extra cargo space to his car. “I had looked at the cargo boxes on the market but with no room in the house I knew it would be a permanent fixture on the car,” says Jon. “During my daily commute I started noticing all the boxes on top of cars being driven by my fellow commuters. The only conclusion I could come to was that a large majority of these boxes were completely empty. I felt that lack of storage space or difficulty in removing the cargo box could be the only reason to leave an empty box on the roof.”

The rest is history and GearTick's patent pending attachment method will fit all after market racks such as Yakima or Thule and most quality factory racks.

There’s a demonstration video here and you can buy one online here.

Jon is seeking retailers and international distributors for GearTick and can be contacted here.

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