Review - Thule Vea Rucksack Duffel Bag

Thule bags have become my go-to packs. The Thule Crossover Duffel accompanies me on most foreign trips. The Thule Commuter Rucksack is my daily choice for the trip to the office. Then the Thule Legend GoPro Case keeps all my electronics safe.

The new Thule Vea Rucksack-Duffel is one of the most recent innovative packs from the Swedish brand. Designed to work as an everyday rucksack, and as a travel duffel bag; it is two bags in one.

The devil is in the detail

As with all Thule products that I have tested, the quality shines through in the details. The brand is clearly a master of research and development, and you can tell that their bags have been tested in real life environments before they go into production.

The Thule Vea has some great design details.

For starters, there is the dual compartment concept: the main section of the bag can house a 15 inch laptop, tablet, files and valuables; all in specially designed and organised pockets. Meanwhile, a separate expandable bottom pocket is great for dirty kit, shoes and towels.

I admit to being a bit of a pocket and pouch geek - I love being organised. The Thule Vea's dual compartment concept and internal organisation pockets are definitely cool and helpful.

Additional noteworthy details on the Vea's design include a plush side-access pocket for your phone, as well as key clip and reflective detailing.

A trio of carry options…

The real unique selling point with this particular pack though, is the multitude of carrying options.

For riding on your commute, you can wear it as a rucksack; for quick errands, you can carry it on one shoulder as a sling bag; then for when you want to keep the contents (like a neatly ironed shirt) flat, you can stow the shoulder straps and use it as a duffel bag.

It is this mix of carry options, as well as the smart appearance of the Vea, which mean that it could happily do duty as anything from a carry-on business trip bag, right through to a daily commute or gym bag.

Summary

Overall, the Vea is another great pack from innovators Thule. Built so you can happily use it for multiple tasks and trips, and with a quality level built to last.

Another great product from the Swedish brand.

Internal pockets for laptop, tablet and files

A plush lined pocket on the Vea rucksack, for your phone

Stow the shoulder straps, and use the Thule Vea as a duffel bag or sling bag

Neatly zipped away

The Thule Vea in 'Sling' mode

The Thule Vea in Duffel mode

The expandable base pocket is ideal for shoes or a damp gym towel.

Beautiful design details on the Vea Rucksack, like the custom YKK Thule zippers

Review - CYGLO Cycling Backpack Indicator Display

When you are riding in traffic, your lower back is by far the most visible part of your rear-facing silhouette. The innovative and unique CYGLO Cycling Rucksack, with its integrated indicator display, is designed to maximise your rear visibility and also provide useful warning signals about your movements to following vehicles.

Lightweight, packable, and practical

The CYGLO pack from eelo is a lightweight packable riding rucksack. The bag folds into itself to create a pack size little larger than that of a lightweight windproof, and weighs only 365 grams inclusive of the electronic indicator display (explained below). This compact size makes it ideal for stashing in a pannier or pocket, to provide extra carrying capacity on shopping trips or errands.

The pack is made from water-resistant rip-stop nylon. It is a lightweight fabric, and not designed for extensive use and abuse, but it does brush off showers and rear wheel spray with ease, and is durable enough for light loads.

There aren't a huge number of bells and whistles on the pack's design, for example there is no back padding or structure to the rucksack. However, it does have useful side mesh pockets for bottles, and reflective light loops on the rear. It also has a neat internal valuables pocket, which doubles up as the bag's stuff-sack.

The CYGLO is an ideal light and portable bag; perfect for travelling and running errands around town.

Safety benefits

The real unique selling point of the CYGLO is of course its indicator display.

This is a rechargeable LED display, which zips into a pocket on the outside of the bag. The LED display has four signals: turning left, turning right, hazard, and 'cycling'. You toggle between these signals using a compact control unit that sits on your handlebars or clips to the rucksack straps.

The LEDs are bright enough to definitely improve visibility. They will last for around 8 hours on constant flash, and 20 hours on intermittent signalling (and standby mode); recharging through a mini-USB connection.

For beginner cyclists, and those riding in heavy traffic, taking your hands off the handlebars and brakes to indicate can be difficult. The CYGLO indicator doesn't negate the need for hand signals, but it does mean that if you can only manage to quickly jab the control unit on your bars, rather than do a prolonged hand signal, then hopefully the following traffic will be better alerted to your intended turning ahead.

Summary

Fears about safety are noted to be the greatest deterrent for potential cyclists, so in my mind anything that increases your road presence and reduces the chance of an accident, is a worthwhile product. The CYGLO Cycling Rucksack certainly does that.

It is a lightweight bag, which provides a convenient means to carry home your mini supermarket shop, or your daily work wear (far better and safer than a plastic carrier bag on your handlebars). However, it is also a neat safety device; the LED display provides improved road presence and should help to make your intentions clearer to following cars.

Overall, this is a smart and innovative product, which would be useful to any urban or commuter cyclist.

The unit is controlled by this neat handlebars toggle switch

The CYGLO has four display modes on the LED screen

The LED screen is housed in a zippered pocket, which doubles as a stuff sack

There is no back padding or structure to the CYGLO bag, but it is good for light loads.

A lightweight and useful pack

A useful internal valuables pocket on the CYGLO bag

Turning right!

Testing out this neat little idea from @eeloproducts - the CYGLO indicator rucksack. You change the light signals on the display using a little wireless remote that clips to your handlebars. Full review on lifeinthesaddle.cc coming soon. #cyclecommute #kittesting #cyclingkit #besafebeseen #eelo #cyglo #lifeinthesaddlecc

A post shared by Tim Wiggins (@tim_wiggins1) on Oct 6, 2017