Thursday, March 12, 2009

Product review (Initial Impressions) - TwoWheel Gear suit/pannier

A while back I mentioned that I had purchased one of the nifty suit bags/panniers from TwoWheel Gear. Until I started bike commuting again this week I hadn't used it. Now that I have, I can give my initial impressions.

I likes it.

The main compartment has a little velcro closure that goes over the hooks from hangers, which makes it easy to put the clothes in, a clipping strap that runs across the middle of the bag where it fold to go over the rack, and another strap near the bottom. All of which make sure your clothes  (in my case slacks and a long-sleeved dress shirt) stay in place.

On the outside are two pouches, one faces up when the bag is on the bike and the other faces up when the bag is hanging up. I don't know if it was what the designers intended, but the way I will be using this is to put things like my lunch in the "upright on bike" pouch, and things like shoes and toiletries in the "upright when hanging" one. Lastly, there is a small pocket that sits in the middle of those, which ends up on top of the rack with the opening facing the rear of the bike when the whole thing is mounted.

The bag held everything I needed to put in it, but I did have a few problems. First, the bag was tough to zip/unzip. I think it was probable because the material is stiff from being new. The other big issue is the lack of a loop for a blinkie. I used the clip for the shoulder strap, but it was sideways and the light came off on a bump. Maybe there's a loop that I missed, but I don't think so.

I'll write another review when I've used it a little more, but at this point I'm ready to say that if you commute more than a few miles and have to wear nice clothes at work this may be the bag for you.

No comments:

Post a Comment