In my Army days on jobs ‘out of uniform’ we would purchase a satchel or small bag as our ‘car bag’. This would be altered and tweaked by a seamstress to hold the things needed closest to hand to get the job done.
Some of the ‘Every Day Carry’ aka EDC bags that are now an industry in and of themselves owe their origins to the car bags of ‘operators’.
Lately i’ve found myself going from the ‘admin and charging table’ in the flat to the car, and then (later) from the car to the ‘admin and charging table’ in the flat with an armful of stuff that i use in my day job and or mountain rescue volunteering and or outdoor activities instructing. A ‘somewhere’ to have it in a sensible portable ‘favourite place’ seemed wise. Stuff like:
• Headtorch
• and spare battery
• Hand torch
• and spare battery
• MRT handheld radio
• mobile phone
• big power bank and cable
• small power bank and cable
• big camera sometimes
• spare battery for it
• Sharpies various
• List of ERV points for MRT
• Dark and White Peak maps
• Keys various
• Wallet
• Notepads
• Other stuff and things plural
The process of moving them backwards and forwards got me thinking of a sort of outdoorserists version of the car bag.
Arc’teryx making outsize chalk bags as large ‘pockets’ for stuff got me thinking.
And i can’t remember who, but i used to know someone that used a DMM Tool Bag (google it) as a ‘things bag’ on their passenger seat.
Aiguille also make a storage box for between the seats on an MRT Landy. Niche.
So i got doodling some ideas.
Then i dropped a line to David Richardson at rescuedfromlandfill (on Instagram). A few messages went back and forth and then he sat down and started to sew my idea from recycled tarpaulin and salvaged car seat belts.
He sent me some ‘work in progress’ photos …
It’s a niche item.
But i can now cart all the stuff up the flat. Charge everything whilst still in the bag (exc. the radio. Obvs.) and not run the faff of forgetting something.
If your job and or hobbies have you carting stuff from home to car and back again then this might work for you. Otherwise you probably think it a bit weird.
Cut and sewn by hand in Cumbria.
The four yellow compartments are stuff sacks that velcro in place and are removable. Yellow for better visibility inside.
There is a strap on the side so that a car seat belt can go through it and hold it from spewing its contents around the inside of the car.
It arrived today.
About £50.
PS One of the interpretations of the Spanish (?) word ‘Querencia’ is a “homing instinct, a favorite place” – Larousse Gran Diccionario Español InglésEnglish Spanish (1994).
Many thanks to David. His e-shop is here