|
May 11, 2009
|
 |
|
Rickshaw Bagworks Ted2009 Backpack
|
What is the best all-around urban backpack?
— Kirsten
Edmonton, Alberta
 It looks like the Rickshaw Bagworks Ted2009 Backpack ($200; rickshawbags.com).
This customizable commuter bag, which debuted at the February TED (Technology, Ideas, Design) Conference in Long Beach, is an urban assault vehicle. With heavy-duty, removable backpack straps, a shoulder strap with a stabilizing chest strap, and a handle big enough to slip over any carry on, you can ride with it, fly with it, or parkour across Manhattan with it. Inside, there's room for a 17-inch laptop, sweaty yoga clothes, a bike helmet, farmer's market produce, an iPhone or any other junk you might happen to need in the next 24 hours.
|
|
Do you have a question of your
own?
|
|
Designed by a core urban crew, the bag also features a rubberized, waterproof bottom that you can set down on wet pavement, custom pockets that perfectly fit a Moleskin notebook, and a front flap that closes with Velcro, magnets, or buckles. The company makes every bag to order in San Francisco so you can rest assured that your pink-and-green plaid Rickshaw pack won't be mistaken for your boyfriend's stealth black one.
Stephanie Pearson: The Gear Girl
When it comes to gear, contributing editor Stephanie Pearson lives by one rule: What you own, owns you. That's why the skier, hiker, biker, runner, canoe paddler, and sometimes yogini is on an eternal quest to find gear and clothing that will enhance her life rather than make her a slave to dysfunctional stuff. During her seven-year stint as a travel editor at Outside, Pearson received three honorable mentions in The Best American Travel Writing series for stories on Guatemala, New Zealand, and Bhutan. Now that she's no longer in the office at Outside HQ in Santa Fe, Pearson hopes to be on the road more and is always in search of functional and aesthetically pleasing gear that's easy to use or clothing that's elegant to wear. Pearson is based in northern Minnesota and Santa Fe. Her latest adventure was on the fringe of the Amazon Basin in Brazil.
|
