This month's Brand of the Month is KitBrix. Their modular bags keep your kit organised, so you can spend less time rummaging around for what you need, and more time doing the sport you love!
Check out our interview with their creator, Rob Aldous, to find out more.
"It’s not about the bag, it’s about creating moments"

 

 

What's your story? Why did you start KitBrix?

I left the military after 10 incredible years and wanted to do something different. I wanted something challenging, and to create something that addressed a problem. 

At first, I tried the standard route into Risk Management. This promised the dream of big wages and corporate life - but wasn't ticking all the boxes for me.

At the same time, I replaced a colleague in the Armetis Quadrathlon in Scotland. I completed the challenge, and would highly recommend it. However, for a multisport event, I was unfit, unorganised and underprepared. My kit was all over the place, and I didn't even have cycling shoes!

After completing it, I realised how popular similar events are. There are so many people completing events like triathlons, duathlons, OCR and outdoor swimming. 

On the way home from the event, I started to sketch out some ideas. I knew simple kit organisation would have helped me massively during that week of training, preparation and competing. Not to mention the logistical issue of "unpacking" efficiently, so you're ready to get back out at the drop of a hat.

By the time I arrived home, I had a design in concept - as well as the name.

I love sport, but I hate disorganised kit. It frustrates me and keeps me awake at night! This is probably due to my military background, but I knew there must be people out there who share my frustrations!

... And so KitBrix was born!

 

What happened next?

First I had to prove my initial designs. For the first 30 days, I timed how long I spent rummaging through my kit bag for various items of equipment. I found myself endlessly moving items from the big bag, into smaller ones, to take with me to training.

Across the 30 days, I spent 7 hours and 13 minutes just trying to get my kit organised. That's the equivalent to a whole day of training, wasted, in just one month!

I wanted my design to work well for sports enthusiasts who, like me, lack patience - but appreciate quality and simplicity. People looking for functional designs that add value during training or competition. People who want a hard-wearing, tough and robust bag they can throw around and abuse. It would need a hardwearing base and water resistant body, and a design that enables the user to easily see everything inside.

I took the time to analyse current sports bags, and identify their weak areas. Based on this, and feedback from market research, I made subtle changes to my initial designs.

I added protective base corners that usually tear on normal bags, big zips that can be used with cold, wet hands, and a white inner to aid visibility. Small details like these are key. I wanted everything to be the best quality, right down to the finest details. The resulting kit bags have high quality components (e.g. thread and zipper quality), and are easy to clean and carry.

 

They sound awesome! How were they received by your initial customers?

We started the company in 2013, and our first products went on sale in 2014. Since then, it's been a wild two years. The products were well received by our initial customers, and I hope we've been able to help people manage and organise more efficiently, enhancing their sporting experience.

Since then, we've continued to develop innovative products - as well a creating efficiency through design. This gives our customers back those all important seconds, minutes and hours - that can instead be used to create more amazing moments.

 

Why do our customers need KitBrix?

The foundation of KitBrix development was to spend less time searching for kit and equipment and more time doing the sport that you love best. 

As I mentioned earlier, I used to waste 7.3 hours each month just looking for kit! That's a whole day of training each month. I made KitBrix as functional, durable and effective as possible - to support all your kit requirements.

 

How does it work?

The original KitBrix bag is modular and can connect to other KitBrix to save you time in transit and travel. 

I designed the bag to "stand up", which means you can easily access the bag with complete visibility of the kit inside. 

The different, easily marked sections means you're always ready at a moment's notice. You don't need to spend time preparing your kit. This is perfect in training or competition - keeping you in a state of calm, military-like readiness.

You can easily store your kit at home, in the garage and in the car. The quality is second-to-none. You spend a lot of money on your kit. KitBrix will keep it safe and secure for when you need it.

 

Do you want to make sure you're always ready for the unknown and unknowable? The KitBrix bags are now available in our webshop. Click here to check them out!

July 31, 2016 — KITBOX [ ]

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