One of them has a hidden charging port for your phone!
A ‘good’ bag can be defined in many ways: functionality, comfort, design. Through global crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, designers have let their creativity soar, meeting all three checkpoints with their innovative ideas.
Here are five of the coolest Kickstarter bags whose designs have functions you never realised you needed and more.
1. Bobby: The Anti-Theft Backpack
A backpack by XD Design named Bobby is calling itself the ‘safest’ backpack with its cut-proof material and ingenious design. The 45cm tall and 30cm wide bag looks sleek without any zippers or side pockets — that is because it is to deter petty pickpockets.
The material of the bag is water-resistant, anti-sweat, air-permeable and cut-resistant. The 300D polyester, 600D polyester and 6mm anti-shock foam makes it difficult to slice through with a penknife.
You don’t have to carry your bag in front of you in a crowded train anymore, as the bag’s zips are fully concealed at the back of the bag, making it inaccessible to theft.
However, this does not make it inconvenient to access your things. There are small, fully-hidden pockets around the bag to make it easy for you to retrieve small items, like this handy sleeve for your transport card:
The compartments of the backpack, including a padded laptop sleeve, makes sure your items are organised.
On top of all these cool features, the bag also has illuminant bars for night security, an external USB charging port, and weight balance, which means you feel 20% to 25% less weight because it’s distributed more evenly on your back.
2. KIN – The wallet that sorts your coins
This kickstarter product will give you something of a local pride when you realise this wallet designed in Singapore went viral on sites all over the world for its innovative design.
KIN is the world’s first wallet that separates your cash and coins, solving your endless woes of fumbling with coins. Just throw all your change into the main compartment, and the wallet does the separating for you, collecting it in a side pocket that opens with a flap.
The material is water-resistant and a lot more compact than your regular wallet, as seen from this example of nine cards fitted into each one respectively. The KIN wallet met with resounding response and easily met their goal as well as a second stretch goal of SGD$100,000 to introduce a Kepler Black version apart from the three vibrant colours it had.
3. Fravel: The Cutest Carry-On Luggage
Sometimes you can’t bring your pet while you travel, so the Fravel suitcase might be the closest thing to a fur-pal you can bring. The creators of Fravel wanted to look beyond just functionality when you travel, and came up with the purr-fect companion that is both operational and cute.
This 22x14x10 inches luggage is the perfect carry-on size for travel, and is your electronic travel buddy.
Fravel is fit with ‘breathing lights’, a pulsing heart-shaped light on its body and cat-like ears. She has tactile and movement sensors, and can feel when you are touching or moving her. Her ears will twitch in excitement and her heart will pulse as she goes on an adventure!
The luggage is fully waterproof, and the zippers of this luggage are hidden and durable.
It also has a hidden charging port for when you run out of juice. The Fravel utilises smart power and uses handle movement to start up or save battery.
The jelly-like ears are detachable, and the team is aiming for more ear designs soon!
4. Zip Pack Go: The Leather Duffle Backpack 6-in-1 set
Buying one of these is like having six new bags. The Duffle Backpack by Wool & Oak meets all your needs, be it an everyday bag, an overnight bag, or a travel duffle bag.
Have you ever travelled and needed to bring an extra, smaller bag besides the one carrying your clothes for when you head out of the hotel?
Besides multiple compartments and pockets for maximum convenience, the Duffle Backpack set can be customised according to your daily and travel needs. The bags are made out of genuine Italian leather, and they have connecting zippers so you can ‘upgrade’ or ‘downgrade’ your needed bags.
The Pro may seem sleek and small, but the briefcase has enough space to fit a 15-inch laptop and your daily essentials, making it a stylish everyday bag. The Overnighter set consists of the pro and a larger backpack for more capacity. It can also be connected to The Weekender, which is a duffle bag that allows you to pack up to five days. All bags used individually or zipped together.
See the 6-in-one bag in action here
5. The Everyday Backpack and Camera Bag
This camera bag is not just intended for your shooting gear but as an everyday backpack. Peak Design crafted this to be packed full of features, which comes in 20L and 30L sizes.
What sets this backpack apart is that its side pockets are something of a genius design for easy accessibility. The side pouches are expandable and have compression straps for you to secure anything.
The multi-purpose bag also has every practical functionality you can think of: Laptop sleeves, customisable pockets for your camera gear, a tripod carry slot, a strap to hook onto your luggage, straps for external carry like a sleeping bag, and even a built-in expansion.
With the thought and care going into the design of the backpack, it’s no wonder this versatile bag has raised US$5.5 million on Kickstarter, according to CNET.
