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chrome industries cardiel orp backpack
though i'd prefer not to make a drama out of the remarkably rare occurrence of my painting the garden fence, there's a certain relevance to my forthcoming review that i find hard to ignore. when searching for appropriate and economic wood protection for the aforesaid garden fence, the small print, aside from promising a five-year warranty that rarely seems geared to hebridean weather conditions, there's all manner of copy attesting to the sort of coverage one ought to expect from a tin/bucket of paint.
this information generally relates to the number of square feet or metres that careful application ought to provide and i should point out that i have little doubt that under laboratory conditions, those numbers have been scientifically verified. the problem is that of comparative values; if, for example, the fence paint purports to cover a total of 20 square metres, how the heck do i work that out in terms of the washingmachinepost garden fence? for it consists of three edges and thus six sides consisting of a series of concreted wooden stobs to which rough cut planks have been attached with a few inches gap between each.
for someone as numerically challenged as yours truly, it would take longer for me to work out those numbers than it did to paint one side of the fence.
and therein lies what i shall hereafter denote as the fence conundrum, a remarkable lack of informational consistency in relation to the oddities displayed by the not-so-average garden fence. however, it would be particularly iniquitous to castigate the fence paint industry alone; there are many examples of such measurement eccentricity across many a strain of modern life that are screaming out for some sort of standardisation.
in the case in hand, i have, hanging on a coathook in the cycling wardrobe overspill (which, if i'm brutally honest, currently rivals the size of the wardrobe itself) a chrome industries cardiel orp backpack. though it may seem a rather odd name for a backpack, the orp bit is an abbreviation of operation readiness pack, a military allusion that is reinforced by the cardiel x chrome attack division patch featured on the lower right side of the backpack. in point of fact, there are no other features that might suggest the need to wear combat fatigues, blackened face and a tin helmet.
chrome industries are, certainly on this side of the pond, one of portland, oregon's best kept secrets. ensconced in a building that creeps under the city's fremont bridge, chrome industries are purveyors of quality (non-lycra) clothing and footwear. however, their main claim to fame, based on the extensive range displayed on their website, is backpacks, courier bags, travel bags, camera bags, sling bags and accessory bags. the cardiel orp version is one of the smaller backpacks in the range with a retail price of $80 (£79)
fabricated from ultra-light rip-stop nylon and claimed to be water-resistant, it features taped seams throughout. there's a single internal pocket that will comfortably swallow up to a 13" laptop, though both chrome and i would recommend the computer be placed inside a laptop sleeve simply to protect its outer surface, depending on what else you deem it necessary to carry inside. however, search as i might, i could find no reference to its avowed carrying capacity which is where i figure we need to return to my perceived need for some sort of standardised measurement for comparison.
it's all very well offering up numbers such a ten litre capacity, meaning that it may be possible to haul ten cartons of tropicana orange juice to and from work each day. however, with all due respect to drinkers of original orange juice (with bits), i'd like to suggest that we agree to use a 3kg bag of green-city jumbo porridge oats as the regular means of appraising the carrying capacity of the average backpack. (also sitting in the overspill car park is a much larger, team cinelli chrome backpack to which i intend to apply the same criteria).
in the case of the cardiel (designed by and named after a track rider of whom i have never heard, john cardiel), aside from my 13" macbook air computer, a waterproof jacket, windproof jacket, camera and a mini pump, it was simplicity itself to top that off with a full 3kg bag of porridge oats. and there was still space to spare. however, it's one thing for a backpack to accommodate those 3kgs of oats, it's another thing entirely to carry them safely and comfortably, a task to which this example from chrome achieved with ease.
the rolltop feature of the backpack presents his and hers buckles at each end which i initially incorrectly fastened to each other as in many of those bikepacking bar bags. it transpires, however, that there are accommodating adjustable buckled straps on each side into which the top ought best to be fastened. folded and fastened in this manner, it ought to keep the contents du jour safe from any light showers (oddly for the hebrides, i've yet to get it wet). the padded straps are also completely adjustable, the rightmost offering a small mesh pocket, a tad too small for an ipod touch or iphone, but ideal in which to keep house or padlock keys.
there's also a handy cordura carry handle at the top for those 'just popping into the office' moments.
once on your back, filled with probably two bags of porridge oats, there's an adjustable chest strap to keep everything in place whether you're sedately riding through pan flat countryside or wrestling the road bike up and down a series of energy-sapping climbs. in order to better appraise the stability of the backpack thus filled, i climbed in a more overwrought manner than warren barguil on a bad day without ever unsettling either backpack or rider.
despite its lightweight construction, the cardiel is just a smidgeon too large to consider scrunching it into a jersey pocket when not in use, but it does lend itself to a smallness of constitution that would allow it to be carried, rolled-up, within a larger backpack for convenience. it's the sort of bicycle luggage that endears itself to daily use to and from the office, school or coffee shop, promising to become one of those cycling accessories that you wondered how you ever managed without.
though chrome industries offer international shipping, the carriage costs may prove somewhat prohibitive, to say nothing of customs and excise charges when it gets here. however, the folks at britain's always riding are stockists of chrome products, sold at more wallet friendly sterling prices and delivery schedules.
i still have no idea who john cardiel is, but if i ever get to meet him, he deserves a high-five.
friday 11 august 2017
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