American bag manufacturer Tom Bihn is noted for his rugged, long-lasting bags, but as a small company, he’s very careful not to expand his line too much, allowing him to focus on making sure that the designs he does have are up to his standards. That’s probably why he typically only carries three or four different colors on his main travel bags.
Oh sure, he almost always carries the great neutral colors; your black, your grey. In the past, he’s even sold a couple of brighter colors for his main bags (the ones that are sewn with ballistic nylon), like a bright indigo blue, and a bright crimson red. And while those brighter colors are nice, they aren’t “deep.” When we got a indigo Tri-Star for my husband to try, he wound up using it more often than our grey Aeronaut, but one day, he let it known that he’d rather have a less brighter color. For him at the time, that meant grey.
Well, I think Tom Bihn has listened to his own voice as well as those of his fans, because his two most recent additions to the inventory have been a navy blue, which came out just a month ago in May, and a brand new, just-announced cardinal red.
If you would rather go with a darker bag, the navy is a great option. The particular hue is very deep and rich, and would not look out of place on your business travels. Yet because it has some color, it sets itself apart from the rest of all the black rolling uprights. Better yet, when you’re ready to hit a real road for a real vacation, you can quickly switch over to the backpack straps and avoid looking out of place.
A navy Aeronaut travel bag from Tom Bihn. Photo from TomBihn.com
The cardinal red color was introduced today on Bihn’s blog. While Bihn fans may already be familiar with his previous crimson ballistic nylon, his blog entry includes a photo comparing the two reds side by side, and it’s obvious that the new cardinal red is a much deeper hue. If you’re looking for a travel bag that’s not your ordinary neutral tone, but you shy away from the really bright colors, you’ll want to take a look at the cardinal. It’s a big pop of color, but it’s deep and rich. If you’re looking for a bag with standout color, the cardinal red is an instant classic.
Two Tom Bihn Tri-Star travel packs side by side, with the older crimson on the left, and newer (darker) cardinal on the right. Photo from TomBihn.com.
One more tidbit: If you read their blog entry, they’re calling the cardinal red their fifth 1050-denier ballistic nylon fabric color (and I’m assuming that navy is the fourth), and they say they’re going to announce a sixth ballistic nylon color next Tuesday. Guess we’ll have to stay tuned!