Being a gadget addict can be tough. Besides sinking half your disposable income into shiny new plastic from Japan, having to keep up with the latest news, and constantly fielding questions from friends about which MP3 player to buy, there’s that basic problem of how to carry your tech arsenal around. Cell phones, PDAs, media players, laptops – you’ve only got only so many pockets. So for those who feel the need to tote around all of them at once, there’s the Oakley Kitchen Sink pack.
As the name would imply, it’s a backpack built to carry just about everything but the kitchen sink, and it looks the part. While it keeps the same rough dimensions as an ordinary backpack, the number of straps, pockets, pouches, zippers, anchors, D-rings and tie-downs make the Kitchen Sink pack look it might unfold at any moment to turn into a crime-fighting robot.
Rather than offering a single voluminous pocket for stuffing everything into, like the backpack you carried around in sixth grade, Oakley took a compartmentalized approach to divvying up space, making the bag ideal for smaller items that would sink right to the bottom of a single-pocket bag: gadgets.
Perched on top of the bag for easy access, a compression-molded pocket lined with fleece offers an ideal place to put your personal media player, or, as Oakley also suggests, a pair of sunglasses. There’s even a headphone port to snake cables through, allowing listening en route. And to make mobile phones quickly accessible without removing the bag from your back, Oakley includes a dedicated cell phone pocket right on the shoulder strap.
Laptops, on the other hand, get a more secure spot on the bag: buried in an internal foam-padded sleeve. Besides protecting your notebook from the inevitable bumps and spills, the position also makes it a harder target to steal, since getting into the main pocket is no discrete affair. The top of the bag actually lifts up like a hatch to provide access, but it’s held down by two beefy D-rings that latch onto a metal cable running around the circumference of the lid. Even after lifting it, a separate lockable zipper seals the main compartment, keeping unsavory types out of your stuff.
Of course, gadgets need company, and Oakley’s bag has plenty of other areas to fit other gear. A flap in the middle of the bag opens up to reveal a built-in organizer, and storage compartments tucked in to either side of the bag provide more space for smaller items. There’s also Oakley’s rather unique bottom pocket with drain holes for storing “wet or soiled items.” Keeping that kind of cargo isolated from your precious digital devices in a dedicated pouch doesn’t sound like a bad idea.
Besides all the storage spaces inside, the bag also has an array of straps and hooks for handling the beast once it’s all filled up. Three compression straps on either side of the bag make it possible to reign in your gear when it gets a little too bulky; while a strip of metal anchors in the middle provide a convenient place to tie down the bag with straps or Bungee cords. For one-handed carrying, Oakley has replaced the classic nylon carry strap on top with one made of what they call “O-Luminum.” Try saying that one straight faced without a PR degree.
At the end of the day, all those doodads run the price of the Kitchen Sink pack up a little higher than your average backpack, but if you really need to justify it, you can always call $175 an investment in the life of your gadgetry. Alternatively, you can buy it because it just plain looks cool. In either case, the bag is available now through Oakley’s own online store and other Oakley retailers. More information and a detailed spec sheet can be found at Oakley’s Web site.
