Luggage by Chicken Higher Half Assessment

compose Miles Arbour
time Nov 9, 2022
remark 5

Lately, there are numerous choices relating to body baggage. There are half-frame baggage that run beneath the highest tube, leaving room for a bottle or two. Wedge-style baggage fill the entrance portion of your major triangle, leaving room on the downtube for a bottle or cargo cage. And, after all, there are full-frame baggage which are designed to fill each final little bit of area, offering a great deal of capability for snacks, water bladders, stoves, and different gear. Then there are {custom} choices with odd shapes and frame-specific designs that take full benefit of any measurement or kind of motorbike.

Most body baggage are primarily based round a zippered drive-side opening, velcro straps, and a few mixture of inside sleeves, dividers, or exterior pockets for group. In 2017, Porcelain Rocket modified the body bag sport eternally with the world’s first totally waterproof, seam-sealed roll-top body bag (which is now made by Rockgeist). Since then, we’ve seen extra waterproof bag choices, photo-generated {custom} body baggage, custom-printed materials, and new mounting choices. Nevertheless, the basic horizontal zippered opening has stayed sturdy and true, as nylon molded zippers do a superb job at maintaining the weather out and maintain up effectively to fixed use.

In 2020, Tucson-based Luggage by Chicken (BXB) entered the body bag sport with the Higher Half Framebag, providing a contemporary tackle a considerably stale piece of the bikepacking bag puzzle. Initially designed for traditional street and gravel bikes with close to horizontal prime tubes, the Higher Half is a wedge-style body bag with two expandable compartments on both aspect, accessed through flip-top lids. The lids are held closed together with your selection of a metallic hook and bungee or a magnetic Fidlock buckle and bungee. Each choices present one-handed operation and are simply repairable/replaceable if both the bungee or {hardware} breaks.

On the within, the big drive-side compartment holds bulkier gadgets, and the non-drive aspect is slimmed down for telephones, keys, and smaller gadgets. The inside is completed with a high-visibility yellow ripstop material, and the outside is constructed together with your selection of a number of X-Pac colours. The outside edges are wrapped in daisy chain webbing, offering plenty of area for straps or twine for lace-up setups, and the perimeters that contact that bike are padded with foam. Each Higher Half framebag has a water bladder hose/cost cable porthole on the entrance and comes shipped with six double-sided velcro straps.

On the time of the unique launch, the Higher Half was provided in three sizes, all primarily based round a 12″ size (prime of the bag) with the downtube-facing aspect and entrance size altering between them. Whereas this was enough on the time, BXB has since expanded the lineup to now embrace 4 sizes: Small/Brief, Small/Lengthy, Giant/Brief, and Giant/Lengthy. Referencing the scale chart beneath, you’ll discover the smallest entrance dimensions keep the identical on each sizes, however the wedge form extends in each size and top between the quick and lengthy variations. The perfect measurement in the end will depend on your body measurement and form, and whether or not or not you’re planning on mounting water bottles anyplace inside your body. Within the case of Emily’s medium All-Metropolis Tremendous Skilled, the small Higher Half leaves loads of room for a seat tube-mounted bottle. There isn’t a lot wasted area with this setup.

I’ve additionally had a Giant Coyote X-Pac Higher Half Framebag making its rounds between varied bikes over the past two yeas. I don’t spend that a lot time driving bikes with near-horizontal prime tubes, so the match isn’t good, however the form works fairly effectively with fashionable gravel bikes with barely sloping prime tubes as effectively. For the reason that opening is positioned additional towards the entrance of the bike, it’s straightforward to get out and in of with out having to work round your legs. The metallic loop with bungee closure is definitely operated with one hand and is simply as simply closed after some follow as effectively.

I’ve discovered the scale and form of the Higher Half to hit a candy spot for on a regular basis use and bikepacking. When packed strategically, you may match a good quantity of drugs inside. The sturdy, semi-rigid building and slim profile work effectively with a water bladder, though Emily has observed the camouflage bag she’s been utilizing has bulged barely after packing it tight with one. On account of its slim profile and form, the Higher Half appears to work greatest with metal touring bikes and street bikes. Neither Emily nor I’ve had points with the bag rubbing on our legs, and it matches the aesthetics of a near-horizontal prime tube seamlessly. I respect that Jay honed in on a particular kind of motorbike and designed a body bag for it, however it might be cool to see a {custom} possibility or a sloping prime tube possibility, as that appears to be the best way many fashionable bikes are going.

• Capability: 2-5.5L
• Materials (as examined): X-Pac
• Weight: TBD grams (massive) / TBD grams (small)
• Place of Manufacture: Arizona, USA
• Value: $110-135 USD
• Producer’s Particulars: BagsxBird.com

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