GOBAG: The Vacuum Compressible Carry-On For Any Adventure
It's pretty hard for me to get excited about luggage. As long as it zips shut and has handles, I'll generally find a way to make it work abroad. However, after discovering the GOBAG, my worn out six-year-old carry-on duffle is beginning to look more ragged than ever before.
The GOBAG, created by James Fyfe, is described as "a carry-on sized duffel bag designed so you can travel compact with all the gear you need." It’s sleek. It’s cool. And at 50” x 35” x 20”, it fits the majority of carry-on restrictions – even the new IATA sizing initiatives. Plus, it’s packed full of features, allowing you to travel light with convenience.
The one feature that makes the GOBAG stand out among the rest is its Max Pack Bag. This “killer feature,” as they call it, is a vacuum-sealable bag within the GOBAG for all your clothes. I’ve seen this technology used before – typically for leftover pot roast or bed linens – but adding it to the GOBAG seems to make sense. It’d be easy to pack an extra hoodie, a light blanket, additional underwear and more for my next trip knowing I have the space to carry it.
Also featured is a clear, detachable zip-up washbag for all your toiletries. It sticks to the inside flap of the GOBAG via Velcro for easy removal, streamlining the security process at the airport. Gone are the days where you have to rifle through your bag before security to find the disposable quart-sized Ziplock you packed your toothpaste in has ripped, spilling Colgate out all over your clothes. We’ve been there. It’s generally not a happy moment.
“The GOBAG will change the way I travel. I can now go on longer trips with just one bag. The Max Pack Bag is a great feature and very easy to use,” said Chris Sleigh of Wild Tracks in Africa and early tester of the GOBAG.
This travel-changing pack is made from top-notch material and also features an adaptable laptop harness to fit laptops between 11-15”, a small hidden pocket for your passport, wallet or other secret treasures and much more.
Fyfe came up with the idea for the GOBAG two years ago. As the story goes, he was traveling quite a bit between London and Scotland. Frustrated that he couldn’t carry everything he needed on his flight, Fyfe would pack all his clothes in a garbage bag, vacuum the air out and zip tie the end. Thus, the GOBAG was born.
Fyfe’s true passion is product design. While working as a mechanical engineer for AIRBUS, he spent every spare minute he had outside of his day job designing prototypes for the GOBAG. Over the last two years, the bag has been rigorously tested and is ready to be introduced to the world. Surpassing its Kickstarter goal by well over $250,000, it seems I’m not the only traveler who sees the genius behind this bag.
This article was initially published on now-defunct travel blog, Take Off, Set Sail.