Loading Up All Your Riding Gear (And Not Forgetting Any!)

Loading Up All Your Riding Gear (And Not Forgetting Any!)

Welcome to our “From Problem to Product” blog, where we tell the stories behind the inspiration for some of our most popular product designs. We share how a problem we faced out there riding inspired the Mountain Lab product that provides a solution.

Gear Trunks: Loading Up All Your Riding Gear (And Not Forgetting Any!)

The Problem: So Much Stuff

These days it feels (especially with all the electronic devices available) like we bring everything but the kitchen sink along with us riding. It’s hard not to. Here’s my list of everything I need to remember to bring and pack for a day of riding:

  • Avalanche airbag
  • Shovel blade
  • Shovel handle
  • Probe
  • Folding saw
  • Helmet
  • Heated goggles
  • Spare batteries x2
  • Spare lenses x2
  • 2-3 pairs of gloves
  • Toque
  • Balaclava
  • Neck Tube
  • Sunglasses
  • Avalanche transceiver
  • Satellite communications device
  • VHF radio (bush roads)
  • FRS radio (talk with buddies while riding)
  • High powered flashlight (X2000)
  • Headlamp
  • Boots
  • Jacket
  • Bibs
  • Kneeguards
  • Down jacket
  • Water bottle
  • Lunch
  • Snacks
  • Tool kit
  • Pulling strap
  • Tow strap
  • First aid kit
  • Emergency bivy
  • Toilet paper
  • Tool kit (WOT)
  • Multitool
  • Lighter
  • Vise Straps x2
  • Stove
  • Gas
  • Dehydrated emergency rations

That's a lot!

So much gear! Packing it all in one place is pretty advantageous

Half the battle is remembering it all. How many times have you driven an hour to two to a trailhead, only to discover you forgot an important piece of gear? If it’s a really crucial piece like an avalanche transceiver, that will ruin your day. One time I forgot riding pants and had to wear a friend’s extra set of pants that was 3 sizes too small. My man-stuff was crushed, but I got through the day.

The other half of the puzzle is getting all that stuff out to the truck and back without a million trips in and out of the house or hotel room.

We designed the Gear Trunk 120L to be easy to carry in a number of different ways

To solve these problems, I personally used to use one of those big black storage bins (with the yellow lid) to get most of my riding gear from the basement out to the truck. But still, I’d have to pack my outerwear and avalanche airbag separately, and my important devices like transceiver, satellite comms and radio would be loose, slipping, sliding and banging around in there. That’s not especially reassuring. And I’d have to dig around to find anything, since it would all be loose in there.

The other problem with this admittedly cheap solution, is it could never go in the bed of the truck, because I’d always be worried about the lid blowing off and losing gear. It works okay under a sled deck or in a trailer, but then all your gear is freezing when you get to the trailhead.

And if you throw it on the back seat, you’ve got to worry about sharp bin edges scratching the sweet leather of your pal’s King Ranch F-350 seats.

There had to be a better way!

The Product: Gear Trunk 120L and 80L

What we had in mind would fulfill the following objectives:
1) Easy to carry and hold everything

2) Provide organization so you know where everything is

3) Be protective; it had to be durable and 100% waterproof on the outside, and offer protection on the inside as well

 

An early concept sketch of the Gear Trunk 120 L

The 120 L Gear Trunk is our answer for powersports users.

It is divided into three compartments, each with a specific purpose:

Like many of our designs, this one started out as a rough sketch and was refined with more details as the process unfolded

1) Helmet compartment

One one end is a soft-lined, padded compartment that fits your full-face helmet and protects the finish. I like to stuff the helmet full with my balaclava, neck tube, toque and goggles and spare gloves (when they are dry at the start of the day).

2) Boots compartment

At the other end, is a compartment with a removable waterproof liner for your boots. The liner protects the inside of the gear trunk from snowy, wet or muddy boots at the end of the day, and the liner is easy to remove and rinse.

An early prototype used a dark interior with 90 degree corners that didn't fit the rounded corners of the shell mold well. The boots liners was also too tall.

3) Center compartment

This one is the ultimate storage compartment. There are two smaller, soft-lined compartments for your goggles (or gloves, or whatever really).

Inside the main compartment are two stretch mesh pouches, designed to organize and protect your important digital devices like radios, transceivers, etc.
There is a third zipper pouch for safeguarding other important items such as keys and wallet.

The middle section is perfect for piling up your extra gloves, layers, kneeguards, first aid kit and everything else.

And finally, the Gear Trunk compartment walls are built shorter than the overall height of the duffel, so that bulky outerwear or larger items can be laid on top of everything else once it’s all packed in.

Outerwear lays neatly overtop

As for never forgetting anything, the organization of the Gear Trunk helps you remember it all, as each piece of gear has its own place in the duffel.

When I get home from riding, the Gear Trunk goes directly beneath my drying rack, so gear comes out to dry and goes right back into its home the next day, without the risk of misplacing it elsewhere.

And now when I’m travelling, I never have any fear of tossing the Gear Trunk in the truck bed—whether it’s raining, snowing or there’s just that fine, mist-like highway spray that covers everything, I know my gear is going to stay dry and protected. And the bottom is reinforced to handle wear and tear from sliding around back there.

You're probably going to want to tie it in if you transport the Gear Trunk in the open bed of a pickup. There are strong loops for that purpose. Just secure it near the front of the bed, not on your tailgate! Well, you could if you want to, but not recommended.

The 80 L Gear Trunk is ideal for activities requiring less gear.

After the 120 L Gear Trunk was brought to market, we heard from some customers who wanted a smaller version for activities like skiing, snowboarding, fishing, boating. Activities that require similar gear, but less of it or just smaller gear in general. For example, a skiing helmet is half the size of a powersports helmet, and a day at the resort doesn’t demand nearly as much gear as a day of sledding or motocross. But you still have to get it there.

The Gear Trunk 80L

The 80 L Gear Trunk is a little easier to carry due to its smaller size. We added a shoulder carry strap to the 80 L version, for an extra carrying option.

The 80L version features a removable shoulder strap carry

The helmet specific compartment is eliminated, while the lined boots compartment and all the organizational pockets and soft lined dividers of the main compartment remain for a more compact form.

Since our first production run of Gear Trunk 120 L, we’ve improved the interior structure of both size duffels quite dramatically:

  • Shaped and molded the end walls corners so they fit better into the rounded corners of the exterior shell
  • Lowered the exterior walls height to reduce zipper interference
  • Lighter grey interior material to improve ability to locate gear in low light
  • Lowered the interior divider walls to allow bulker outerwear garments
  • Decreased the googles partition volume to provide more volume in main compartment
  • Eliminated the unnecessary boots liner drawstring
  • Improved the soft anti-scratch material lining throughout
  • Added a top lid zippered pocket

So there you have it; the story behind our Gear Trunks and how they can help you load up and transport all your riding gear, be organized and never arrive at the trailhead without a crucial piece of gear!

 

– Pat Winslow, Mountain Lab Product Manager

Back to blog