For more than 20 years now, Freitag has been using old truck tarpaulins to make robust, multifunctional bags that all look completely different from each other. The Zurich-based bag makers have now produced a big, rugged, one-off travel bag they could recognize anywhere at a distance and never mistake for another at baggage reclaim, even without a label.
The flash of inspiration it took to transform a limp old piece of truck tarp into a stable, large-format travel bag that, even only half-full, wouldn’t exceed the free baggage limit imposed by the world’s airlines took its time coming.
The solution Freitag’s product developers and prototype cutters hit on is as unusual as it’s compelling. Because it isn’t based on some bulky frame-like container or semi-finished shell, but actually comes from Freitag’s favorite means of transport. Hidden away inside the Zippelin is a common-or-garden bicycle inner tube you can inflate with a standard pump and, thanks to the zip, replace quickly and simply.
When inflated, Zippelin is a light, tough travel bag with a capacity of 85 liters that is built for the long haul; and when deflated, Zippelin takes up no more space in your closet than the two liters of booze you bought at duty-free.
Zippelin is available for preorders on Kickstarter at an early bird price of $500 USD.