Moab Crash Testing

May 11, 2014

We finally crash-tested the bags.  Many times.  Turns out all we had to do was go to Moab.

Phil broke his foot on this one.  He rode out, but had to end the trip early.

There were no pop-offs, broken latches, or damaged wedges.   We observed a problem on one pannier where the internal frame tore through the PVC after a crash (pics below).  On this particular pannier, the internal frame was too short and did not line up with the webbing reinforcements we designed to prevent that.  This will be solved before the bags go to production.

It’s been a really fun week.  We had an informal focus group in the RV on the drive from Hood River to Moab.  It was our first time showing the production samples, demonstrating features, explaining how the MOLLE system works, and getting some direct feedback from our riding buddies.

On the 16 hour drive, Andrew setup a mini production line to get all the mounting plates and hardware installed.

It was cool to watch everyone interact with the bags, especially during installation and packing.  We tried really hard not to jump in and give advice.  The mounting system is pretty simple, everyone seemed to figure it out without difficulty.

Phil had to remove the corner of a bolt with a grinder on the Andy Strapz rack.  Just the corner of the hex, maybe 1/8th of an inch, so the wedge could slide into place.

The rest of the racks went on without issue.

We’re saving some clean bags for Overland Expo and photography, so we rigged the original orange prototypes from Central America on Brad’s 950.

Here are some pics of the bikes all set up.

KTM 990 Adventure with Backcountry Pannier & Duffle

KTM 690 Enduro R with Scout Pannier & Duffle

KLR 650 with Backcountry Pannier & Duffle

KTM 950 Adventure with Backcountry Pannier, Scout Duffle, & Rotopax

My KTM 950 Super Enduro was rigged with a prototype of the Reckless.  After living and camping out of that bag for a week I am really stoked on it.  We have a big list of design revisions.  Much more on that in a future post.

It was interesting to see the different ways people used the beavertail.  Everyone used it for their jacket at some point.  We were changing altitude a lot, plus the temps varied considerably throughout the day, so jackets were coming on/off frequently.   Here are some other uses:

Machete (for zombie-killing, and firewood)

Campsite garbage (we all used it for this)

Collecting firewood.  Not easy to find firewood out there.

Having easy access to the double-ended roll-top and side panniers came in handy throughout the day, for example to get food or grab a water filter.

The easy on/off system was used by everyone at night.  Everyone removed the panniers to have access to camping gear and food near the fire and/or tent instead of on the bike.

I was the only person eating from cans (everyone else took freeze-dried), but I personally used my P-38every single night.  Love that little thing.

It was cool to see our mailing list subscriptions go up 20+% while we were gone.  We’ll send out the next batch of Free P-38’s next week.  We’re on the road until then.  Thanks for signing up!

We now have factory pricing.  It came in two days ago, but we haven’t had time to process it yet.  More on that shortly.

We’re currently camped just outside Flagstaff getting ready for Overland Expo.  If you’re at the show next weekend, please stop by our booth and say hi!