It’s a big EDC market out there, and tons of awesome gear is released all the time. We made The Drop to help you discover the latest and greatest essentials worth a spot in your EDC.
Deep down the rabbit hole of EDC bag collecting are the much-hyped, extremely coveted, and highly exclusive collaborations between carry site and community Carryology and the elite bagmakers in the industry. What started out as experimental limited releases has turned into industry-pushing initiatives that are redefining whole processes and systems at the bleeding edge of bagmaking.
That’s never been more true than with Carryology’s 32nd collaboration, dubbed “Samurai.” It revisits the brand (and Creative Director Taylor Welden’s) long relationship with GORUCK, taking their second spin at the venerable GR1 platform. While the the extremely detailed design article details the full, and frankly incredible, saga of how every part of the Samurai came to be, here are the highlights of the people, places, and partnerships that got involved to make the project of over two years happen:
- Custom 15oz denim exterior material made by legendary denim and textile group Japan Blue Co. Ltd.
- Custom waterproofing upgrades by technical material makers Dimension-Polyant
- Collaboration patch designed by Japanese tattoo artist Jiro Yaguchi of Onizuka Tattoo
- Bringing the patch to life by way of traditional Urushi-e (Japanese lacquerware) by master artisan Tatsuhito Imamura of Kyoto Armor
- And of course, manufacturing the bag in the USA on the GR1 platform by GORUCK, with a lifetime guarantee
To say that this bag is an achievement of connections, relationships, and combined story and history would be one heck of an understatement.
What we like: This is a magnum opus-level of collaboration and just the story itself is worth a read, to say the least of forging relationships with a country on the other side of the world.
What to watch out for: Like all Carryology collaborations, this is very likely to go fast. It’ll drop at 2PM ET today, February 24th on Carryology, with an additional (unannounced) release on Huckberry. Oh, and this is one of the priciest collabs yet at an eye-watering $695, so that’s a very serious thing to consider.
Final verdict: A museum-level backpack for serious collectors. If you’ve been on the collab hype train before, you’re probably not going to want to get off for this one—if you can afford it.
