TLDR
The Old School Carry-All (OSCA) is reissue of a TOM BIHN duffel design of the 1990's with a few important design updates.
Back in the 90's, Tom designed The Classic Sport Bag in answer to customers' requests for a bag to take to the gym.Though it was well-loved by many customers, there was some legitimate feedback about the Sport Bag that Tom has taken to heart: specifically, folks wanted separate and substantial compartments to segregate and/or organize their stuff.
So, Tom turned the simple flat pockets on the sides of the Sport Bag into the generous 3D side pockets of the OSCA; this also allowed us to make the padded handles on the top of the bag lean in towards one another (“kiss” as Tom says), making them easier to grab. We updated it with lots of O-rings to tether pouches, keys, etc, and added webbing grab loops and two places on the exterior to latch a carabiner as well. You can read more about the design and manufacturing of the OSCA in this blog post: Production & Design Notes: Old School Carry-All
Today, we're calling it the Old School Carry-All because we've found it to be useful for so much more: carry-on travel bag, road trip duffel, overnight bag, back-of-the-car organizer and yes, even as a bag to take to the yoga studio or gym.
Full Description
Features of the OSCA
Generous Main Compartment
The main compartment of the Old School Carry-All opens wide, making it easy to pack with your stuff. That wide opening also helps you find the exact thing you're looking for once the bag is fully packed.
3D Mesh Side Pocket
Stinky socks? Damp gym towel? Or maybe something you want super visible, like your first aid kit? Stow it in the mesh side pocket of the OSCA. 3D = it's roomy, spacious, and is less likely to steal space from the main compartment.
What's great about this pocket (and its solid twin) is that it's 3D — as in, the pocket has its own spaciousness.
3D Solid Side Pocket
One 3D Solid Side Pocket in addition to the 3D Mesh Side Pocket gives you options: you might use the Solid Pocket to stow items like your wallet, phone, keys, etc.
What's great about this pocket (and its mesh twin) is that it's 3D — as in, the pocket has its own spaciousness.
Comfy Padded Handles
We use Poron® foam for the handles of the OSCA. It's a poured urethane foam that is very dense and yet very soft; though it is open-cell, it absorbs very little moisture. Cushy and inviting to the touch, it has phenomenal resilience and won't break down or go flat over time.
The handles are designed and sewn so that they “kiss”, as Tom says: they will naturally fall in to each other on the top of the bag, so you needn’t fish for two separate handles when you want to pick it up. They are also cut a bit longer than on our other, similarly sized bags: if you need to tuck a minimal travel chair, yoga mat or winter coat under the handles, there’ll probably be room.
10 O-Rings For Extra Organization
If you already have one of our bags, you probably know about (and perhaps love) our O-rings.
If you're new to our bags, you may be wondering — what's all this about O-rings? They are just as they sound: small, round, plastic rings sewn inside many of the compartments and pockets of our bags.
Cool things you can do with O-rings:
Any of our Organizer Pouches can be clipped to O-rings to add further organization.
Clip an extra Key Strap or Utility Strap to an O-ring to keep track of an extra set of keys, your work/school ID, pocket watch, or Swiss Army knife.
Clip a 3D Clear Organizer Cube to an O-ring via a Key Strap, and you have a TSA 3-1-1 liquids bag on a tether — ensuring you won't lose the Cube when going through the airport security line.
What's Included
WHAT'S INCLUDED
We include the following accessories to give you a good amount of options for your new bag right out of the gate.
One 8-inch Black Webbing Snaphook/Snaphook Key Strap
A Key Strap is a strip of webbing with plastic snaphooks on the end. The 8” Key Strap in Black that’s included in most of our larger bags is, for many, the gateway to a world of organization via Key Straps and Organizer Pouches. All the members of the Key Strap family are intended to make locating things in your bag easier and more instinctive. Pulling out a small item or pouch tethered to a strap is easier than rooting around aimlessly in the depths of your pack; you can also rest assured that anything hooked to a strap is much less likely to fall out or otherwise be left behind. You can find more Key Strap colors and varieties on the Key Strap page.
One Cord Zipper Pulls w/ Plastic Ends (8-Pack)
Some folks prefer metal zipper pulls. Others prefer cord pulls. So, what to do about that? We think the best solution (in most cases) is to offer metal pulls and include a starter pack of Cord Pulls with most bags. The most popular solution is to weave the Cord Pulls through the metal pulls, effectively silencing them without having to remove them. A video demonstrating various Cord Pull options and more colors/varieties of Cord Pulls can be found on the Cord Zipper Pulls page.
History of the design
Back in the 1990s, in answer to customers’ request for a bag to take to the gym, Tom designed what he called the “Sport Bag”. It was inspired, maybe unconsciously, by some old fashioned bag he’d seen in an attic or a basement, or perhaps on an old TV show.
Side Grab Loops
Tom first added these side grab loops to our Grab Bag; folks found them so useful he decided to add them to the OSCA.
We've used the grab loops on the OSCA to:
- Have something to grip while we unzip the compartments of the duffel.
- Hang the OSCA vertically on a hook.
- Clip a carabiner to secure/tether stuff to the outside of the bag: a quick-dry towel, jacket, etc.
Webbing Lash Tabs
Two webbing lash tabs on the exterior top opposing corners of the OSCA give you even more organizational or tethering options:
The main compartment of the Old School Carry-All opens wide, making it easy to pack with your stuff. That wide opening also helps you find the exact thing you're looking for once the bag is fully packed.
Stinky socks? Damp gym towel? Or maybe something you want super visible, like your first aid kit? Stow it in the mesh side pocket of the OSCA. 3D = it's roomy, spacious, and is less likely to steal space from the main compartment.
What's great about this pocket (and its solid twin) is that it's 3D — as in, the pocket has its own spaciousness.
One 3D Solid Side Pocket in addition to the 3D Mesh Side Pocket gives you options: you might use the Solid Pocket to stow items like your wallet, phone, keys, etc.
What's great about this pocket (and its mesh twin) is that it's 3D — as in, the pocket has its own spaciousness.
We use Poron® foam for the handles of the OSCA. It's a poured urethane foam that is very dense and yet very soft; though it is open-cell, it absorbs very little moisture. Cushy and inviting to the touch, it has phenomenal resilience and won't break down or go flat over time.
The handles are designed and sewn so that they “kiss”, as Tom says: they will naturally fall in to each other on the top of the bag, so you needn’t fish for two separate handles when you want to pick it up. They are also cut a bit longer than on our other, similarly sized bags: if you need to tuck a minimal travel chair, yoga mat or winter coat under the handles, there’ll probably be room.
If you already have one of our bags, you probably know about (and perhaps love) our O-rings.
If you're new to our bags, you may be wondering — what's all this about O-rings? They are just as they sound: small, round, plastic rings sewn inside many of the compartments and pockets of our bags.
Cool things you can do with O-rings:
Any of our Organizer Pouches can be clipped to O-rings to add further organization.
Clip an extra Key Strap or Utility Strap to an O-ring to keep track of an extra set of keys, your work/school ID, pocket watch, or Swiss Army knife.
Clip a 3D Clear Organizer Cube to an O-ring via a Key Strap, and you have a TSA 3-1-1 liquids bag on a tether — ensuring you won't lose the Cube when going through the airport security line.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
We include the following accessories to give you a good amount of options for your new bag right out of the gate.
One 8-inch Black Webbing Snaphook/Snaphook Key Strap
A Key Strap is a strip of webbing with plastic snaphooks on the end. The 8” Key Strap in Black that’s included in most of our larger bags is, for many, the gateway to a world of organization via Key Straps and Organizer Pouches. All the members of the Key Strap family are intended to make locating things in your bag easier and more instinctive. Pulling out a small item or pouch tethered to a strap is easier than rooting around aimlessly in the depths of your pack; you can also rest assured that anything hooked to a strap is much less likely to fall out or otherwise be left behind. You can find more Key Strap colors and varieties on the Key Strap page.
One Cord Zipper Pulls w/ Plastic Ends (8-Pack)
Some folks prefer metal zipper pulls. Others prefer cord pulls. So, what to do about that? We think the best solution (in most cases) is to offer metal pulls and include a starter pack of Cord Pulls with most bags. The most popular solution is to weave the Cord Pulls through the metal pulls, effectively silencing them without having to remove them. A video demonstrating various Cord Pull options and more colors/varieties of Cord Pulls can be found on the Cord Zipper Pulls page.
Back in the 1990s, in answer to customers’ request for a bag to take to the gym, Tom designed what he called the “Sport Bag”. It was inspired, maybe unconsciously, by some old fashioned bag he’d seen in an attic or a basement, or perhaps on an old TV show.
Tom first added these side grab loops to our Grab Bag; folks found them so useful he decided to add them to the OSCA.
We've used the grab loops on the OSCA to:
- Have something to grip while we unzip the compartments of the duffel.
- Hang the OSCA vertically on a hook.
- Clip a carabiner to secure/tether stuff to the outside of the bag: a quick-dry towel, jacket, etc.
Two webbing lash tabs on the exterior top opposing corners of the OSCA give you even more organizational or tethering options:
