What is the KITLOADER?
A collapsible, semi-rigid, breathable gear locker, designed specifically for mountain biking.
It's my take on a portable mountain bike gear storage solution. When I looked at what was available, nothing seemed to fit my needs. I wanted something with structure and some way to organize my gear so that it's easy to see what's going on in there. Also — since western North Carolina is generally considered to be a temperate rainforest, breathability and airflow are important, because I don't want to have to worry about my shoes and helmet becoming some freaky science experiment brewing in a dark corner.
Sure, there are tons of soft duffels with a vented compartment for shoes, but the lack of structure really doesn't allow for much airflow. Then you've got the waterproof options — really solid bags, some of which are structured and have some organizational elements — but being waterproof and RF-welded, they're literally built to be the opposite of breathable.
I was looking for a setup that would give me a place to store my gear all the time and have it accessible for when I want to ride. I'm busy, I've got a job, a family and other hobbies to boot, so having everything in one place, and cutting down on the repetition of loading and unloading gear, matters to me.
Why build your own instead of buying one?
Because everything I'd used before came up short, and my career has been focused on industrial design, so I thought — why not make one?
The two categories I'd used for my gear were plastic bins and duffel bags.
Bins are great — structured, durable — but they're bulky and awkward to carry. Usually you need two hands. And they don't offer any real organization.
Duffels and sports bags, the kind with a breathable shoe pocket, go the other direction. Soft, no structure, collapses on itself.
I couldn't find anything made for a mountain biker that ticked off all my needs. I wanted something lightweight, rigid enough to hold its shape, with some level of organization to keep everything presentable at a glance. A lot of bags are built around travel — going on a trip. What I wanted was closer to a cross between a trunk organizer and a gig bag for audio engineers. Some of those products were actually nearer to the mark than anything in the bike category.
So I made my own.
What were you using before?
A duffel and a tote. Two things to carry instead of one.
Walk me through how it works on a ride.
Just grab your bike and bag. Load up and roll out.
I designed this around what I've come to call the ride cycle. I noticed I was doing the same things over and over — gathering gear, putting it in a container, going for a ride, coming home, washing everything, letting it dry, loading it back up for the next one.
So the bag is built around that loop. When I want to pedal, I grab my bicycle and this bag, and as long as I've got those two things, I know I've got everything. I can drive to a trailhead confident I'm not missing my helmet or gloves. Well hell, for that matter — I know I've even got my brake bleed kit, a few tools and chain lube in there, just in case the rig needs a quick parking lot tune-up.
One of my quirks is that I like to ride in bibs, but only want to be in my bibs for the duration of my ride — I'd rather not hang out or drive around in them. So that means I generally get dressed at the trailhead, which makes kitting up a part of my ride cycle too. Pull the changing mat out of the bungee on the lid, throw it down, change into my riding kit, and then I just put my street clothes and shoes right back into the slots that held my riding shoes and helmet.
You're in the Southeast — I hear it can be pretty muggy in the summer months. So what about all that sweaty gear once you finish up and change out of your riding kit?
It goes on top of the bag, not inside it.
After the ride I put my wet clothing in a washable bag, and that goes right on top of the changing mat, under the bungee on the lid. Sitting on the outside where I can't miss it. So when I get home I know there's stuff that needs to go in the wash.
No one likes a science experiment growing in their bag.
Knee pads go in the outside mesh pockets to dry. I can usually get a couple of rides out of those — well, anytime but summer, in which case they're going right in the wash with my riding clothes post-shred. My helmet goes right back in the vented pocket on one end, with my shoes in the vented pocket on the other side. If things are extra swampy, I've got a compact boot dryer that I'll chuck in the shoes just to be safe.
Whether I leave the bag in my truck with the windows cracked or set it down in my garage, I tend to leave the lid open to maximize airflow. Unless we're hitting close to 100% humidity, everything dries out while nestled in its little home, and is all ready for a ride the next day.
That's one of the main reasons I built this thing. It's so wet and muggy that if you put your gear inside a duffel, it never dries. God forbid you forget about it for a week and all your stuff gets moldy and smells like Bigfoot's… well, you know what I'm trying to say. So that's where the blend of structure and the right materials comes into play — breathable mesh where you need it, structure everywhere else, and to boot, the materials don't absorb water or hold smells.
It's a portable gear locker that breathes. Of course, the KITLOADER surely won't cure anybody's special brand of BO, but your stuff has a way better chance of drying out than it does in a plastic bin or a duffel.
Who's it for?
Anybody who has to look in more than one place for their gear before a ride.
The obvious answer is that this gear hauler is built for folks who like being organized. But really, it's kind of the opposite. The ideal user is someone who isn't especially organized — someone who finds themselves checking three different spots to round up their gear so they can go ride. If that's you, this puts it all in one place so you can quit thinking about it.
I'm generally a pretty organized person, and I've participated in some pretty gear-intensive hobbies over the years, so I know how helpful it can be when each of those hobbies has its own organizational system.
Tell me about the changing mat.
It's probably the most useful thing in the bag that isn't about the bike.
It slips under the bungee, right on top of the lid, so it's always there. Before and after my rides, I use it as a changing mat at the trailhead. If it's a mudder, I'll throw it down on the seat to sit on for the drive home, which helps keep the grime out of the upholstery.
I've used these forever. In bouldering we called it a scratch mat — everybody made their own. They're pretty generic little mats, but they're so handy. Pro tip: roll one up and throw it in a backpack for your next hike down to the river, and boom — you've got somewhere to sit that isn't a mud pit or a slippery wet rock.
What did the first one look like compared to this?
The first one wasn't a gear bag at all. It was a laundry bag.
Originally the KITLOADER was an organizer for my riding kit — shorts, jersey, bibs, gloves and socks. Keeping that organized through its use and the laundry cycle, one thing that goes in and out of whatever you're already using. It didn't account for shoes or a helmet yet.
That was the first exploration. Honestly, it was a little too specific and didn't really account for my other riding gear. So I started tinkering with a gear bag, because I wanted to build the whole ecosystem instead of a laundry bag for somebody else's ecosystem. So yeah — originally it was something pretty different than where we are today.
From the first gear tote to the Founders Edition version, the form and feature set actually look pretty similar, but the performance and durability have improved dramatically. The original didn't have a lid. The base of the bag and divider system used foam instead of the futuristic blow-molded sheeting we have now, and the rim used strips of plastic rather than the fiberglass rod system that we have developed. Through each iteration, certain areas would need additional reinforcement, and we learned that through failures. The bag holds its form far better now and it's a lot more refined than what I started with — which really can be boiled down to refined material and construction details.