Hey, thanks for stopping by! If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the RSS feed. You can also subscribe to BikeHacks by email. Thanks for visiting!
Okay, I admit it, I can compete with any woman who carries a huge purse when it comes to carrying stuff around with me. Wallet, keys, ChapStick, gum, MP3 player, camera, phone, etc. When I first started bike commuting one of the most frustrating things for me was having to repack all of my stuff everyday. For a while I just tossed it all into a backpack and that works, but is not really convenient. There are devices like the Cage Rocket which I wrote about a few entries ago, but it is not large enough to carry all that I want. Here’s a sample of what I pretty much carry with me everywhere when I ride.
The solution to carrying all this stuff in a convenient and easily accessible way came one day at an Army Surplus store (one of my favorite places). I was meandering around and saw a vest hanging on a rack. A bright light went on in my head and I just knew I had to have one. Here’s a shot of the vest (with some slight after market modifications - it helps to have a wife who is a fashion designer).
One of the best things about the vest is that it’s made of a lot of mesh. This keeps the sweat factor under control although you cannot entirely escape it. For me, it’s well worth it. I toss it on over a T-shirt and then wear a coat or button up shirt over the top most of the time.
I love my Gore Windstopper jacket by the way.
The extra cool convenience of the vest is that I don’t have to repack everyday. I take it off when I get home, hang it up, and all my stuff is ready to go with me the next day. The vest also dries very quickly so once a week I typically wash it while I’m in the shower and then hang it up. It dries over night in a snap. There are lots of different vests that could be used for the same purpose, but I highly recommend one that is as much mesh as possible. Commute on!
4 comments for this entry ↓
1 Bren // Jan 28, 2008 at 6:33 am
Building mesh commuter vests is your next business!
2 bloodhound // Jan 28, 2008 at 7:33 am
Market that vest!
With bicycle commuting becoming more and more popular, the market is growing…
Pretty slick vest.
3 Ryan // Jan 28, 2008 at 8:35 am
Cool idea. Anyone ever commute through a bad neighborhood? Some of those vests sold @ the surplus store can have carbon/kevlar inserts put into them to protect from small arms fire as well.
4 Rat // Jan 31, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Good idea, bad style. Sorry, but the vest is way uncool looking. And if I’m commuting by bike, I want to look my coolest. Always.
Personally, I wear a fanny pack.
Seriously. I made it my self, too. It’s got a fantastic bike innertube belt and everything.
So, for coolness factor, I must admit, I’ve got to go with the fanny pack, every time.
Besides, vests like that make me think about someone’s Grandpa who’s going fishing. Except your vest is black and not tan.
Leave a Comment