Aeronaut as roller derby gear bag

[MLW]

I've never posted anything like this before, but since I've gotten so much great information on the TB forums over the past year, I thought I might help someone out in a situation that is similar to mine.

I have done roller derby for the past five years and recently retired my second gear bag. Two and a half years per bag is really pretty good considering the kind of rough life skate bags tend to live. After skating for this long I have a pretty specific list of what I want:

Must be durable enough to handle heavy items and rough use
Large main section for skates and pads
A few pockets for small items
Dedicated backpack straps
Some degree of wash-ability to fight the derby funk
Light color inside is a plus but not a must
Helmet must fit inside (!!!)

I have been using my WF for the past year or so for international work trips and was starting to look for an excuse to buy a new TB bag. At first I wasn't too keen on the Aeronaut because I am on the short/petite side but when I started looking for a gear bag, it began to make more sense to me. The main question I had was whether or not my helmet would fit in the bag. In the past I have just clipped my helmet to the outside of my bag but it's cumbersome and tends to bump into things/people. After some amount of internal debate, I finally decided to take the plunge and order the Aeronaut. I figured if the helmet didn't fit I would send the bag back (or find some other use for it).

Digression: I had planned to get a black bag to keep it from looking too dirty, but Aubergine had just become available and since our team color is purple...my decision was made for me!

Everything fits in the bag with room to spare for practice jerseys, a water bottle, snacks etc. The overall weight is around 20lbs. I wear a women's size 8 shoe which translates to a men's size 7 speed boot with nylon plates. All of my pads are size small and the ankle weights are around 7 lbs. There is room for larger skates/pads especially without the ankle weights and misc pads. I've been really happy with the Aeronaut-as-skate-bag. It'd definitely heavy, but once it's on my back it's comfortable. I do have the chest and waist straps on in case I need them, but for the most part it's just the distance from the house to the car and from the car to the rink so I don't do a lot of trekking with it.

Photos are attached to show how I load the bag, a skater's packing list as it were.

A huge thanks to everyone at TB and on the forums, just because I've never posted before doesn't mean you haven't been a huge help to me!

MLW

[Toblerhaus]

Gah! That is one good looking bag. The exact color combo I'm wishing for, in fact. Thanks for sharing!

[123veo]

Coolest post of 2012!

[MagicTiki]

We have a winner. Greatest TB product application ever.

[Darcy]

Completely awesome review and photos. Thanks so much for posting!

[Kinsale]

Cool idea. That bag looks awesome. Love the color combination.

[MLW]

Thank you for all of the kind words, I'm super happy with my Aeronaut-gear-bag!

MLW

[MtnMan]

Is the color scheme of your Aeronaut the old Navy/Solar, or the newer Navy/Wasabi?

[MLW]

Hey MtnMan, my bag is Aubergine/Wasabi. The flash causes the color to shift, but it really is beautiful!
MLW