Hey… Merry Christmas from the Rushfaster team! Happy holidays everyone!

For those of you unfamiliar with the unique story of Knomo bags, it goes along the lines of this:

“Knomo was born at Heathrow Airport, when the future owner was called for his flight in Terminal 1 when someone mistakenly picked up his laptop bag. As he looked around at the other passengers, he noticed dozens of people had bags for their computers. And every bag was virtually identical. These passengers were not without style. They were international travellers wearing designer suits and exclusive couture straight from the catwalk. So why did they all seem happy to carry the same standard laptop bag? Was it possible for a laptop bag to be functional and stylish?”

Sounds like someone was onto a niche? And about time! Picking up a Knomo bag, it is clear to see that the people behind these luxury laptop bags have nailed their objective right on the head.

I was recently asked for a review of the unique Ixopo Messenger. This bag was already a favorite of mine in the Knomo range but what is it really like? The Ixopo is a vertical computer messenger bag perfect for travel or the daily commute. What makes this particular bag in the Knomo range special is that it is specially designed to hold your laptop vertically, making for a more streamlined bag. This means that for a purpose built laptop bag, it actually wears like a comfortable designer manbag and not a bulky laptop bag.

Inside I was excited to find a quilted laptop pocket for protecting my computer plus a separate removable cable pouch. There are also a multitude of pockets for pens, iPod, phones and business cards etc i.e everything that I need to carry with my laptop.

The Knomo Ixopo is big enough for laptops up to 15″, including the 13″ MacBook and 15.4″ MacBook Pro. Whilst it can fit a sizable laptop, I found it overall light and comfortable to carry. A padded shoulder strap makes it easy and comfortable to transport, wearing it across the body or over one shoulder. Although I did find it more comfortable to carry across my body with the bag sitting comfortably on my hip.

In addition to all these features, all Knomo bags have an ID tracking code, meaning should you lose the bag you can call a phone number to send someone out to find it, how cool is that? A bag with its own tracking device!

With all this in mind, I would have to say that I give the Ixopo 2 big thumbs up, the only downside being that I have to give it back now!

See the Ixopo here.

With so many products being manufactured overseas these days, it is always a breath of fresh air to be able to bring you a product designed and manufactured right here in Australia. Hailing from our hometown Sydney, Rushfaster would like to welcome the remarkable Dosh wallet.

What makes the Dosh wallet so remarkable is that it is a unique blend of flexible and semi-flexible polymers, creating a wallet that is durable, stylish, and packed with clever features for modern lifestyles.

The Dosh wallet consists of purpose designed areas for storage of credit cards, notes, coins, as well as a unique integrated compartment for items including sim cards, keys, condoms and security cards. All of these features are packaged in a funky form that is moulded in a range of vivid contemporary colours. Comes in a very sexy package and makes an excellent Christmas present. So now, all I need to do is choose which one I want. Well, I can always get one of each right?

See Dosh wallets.

So we have arrived at that exciting time of year again, and as most of you will probably already be aware, we have not seen an Australian season like this for quite some time!

Here at Rushfaster base camp, not only do we have a some fantastic luggage to help get you and all your gear to the slopes in true ski & boarding style, but we also stock a few essentials to help keep you ahead of the rest up on the mountain.

Those in the know will already be able to tell you that Gravis bags come from the highly respected industry brand Burton Snowboard’s; a leading alternative sports & fashion brand.

A newer brand on Rushfasters roster, the Gravis range has really taken off and it’s easy to see why. Not only do they make sought after, high quality, stylish, well priced bags, they make killer luggage!

Heading to the snow this winter, I personally couldn’t look past the Gravis Trekker suitcase, check it out for yourself and you will see why. It features everything you could possibly need in snow luggage, it is the perfect size, big enough to last me a week or two but not so big that it would look out of place on a weekend trip (although if you were looking for something REALLY big you could check out the Trekker’s big brother the Nomad…). It comes with its own removable toiletry bag, so that is one less thing you need to worry about plus this truly ingenius bag has a seperate laundry bag and a ventilated shoe compartment with external access to keep those wet shoes and laundry away from all your stuff! Brilliant! Finished with customised Gravis skateboard wheels, I really could not find anything cooler or more perfectly suited on the market.

But what about your day pack once you’re up there tearing up those slopes and searching for the perfect run I hear you ask? Well those visionary & efficient Scandinavians have done it again. Boblbe-e from Sweden are once again here to save the day with their Megalopolis range backpacks and the additional Boblbe-e Cargo Bridge carrying system for boards, skis & outdoor gear.

Developed for optimal ergonomics while carrying long items, the Cargo Bridge comes with a padded quick lock strap enabling stable vertical carrying of your gear. With its unique design & hard plastic shell, the Megalopolis backpack is TUV-Certified back protection for skiiers, mountain bikers and motorcycle riders. Not only does it look like a sleek futuristic rocket pack, think of it as a helmet for your back!

And last but not least, it is official, Rushfaster now have stock of the Gravis G-Kit straight from the US. This purpose designed accessory comes with a dedicated first aid compartment on the back as well as plenty of internal pockets to carry all your first aid must have necessities for the day with enough room left over to cram this cool new multi function bag full of energy bars to keep you going all day! Thank you Gravis, this product is an absolute must have on the slopes

In the lead up to Father’s Day we’re covering a whole bunch of wallets because they make excellent Father’s Day presents. A recent arrival at Rushfaster is the Ogon wallet. The deal with these wallets is that when you flick them open they create a nice little fan of credit cards. Choose your card with ease.

Put an Ogon wallet on your credit card and then put your credit card in your Ogon wallet.

What will happen to wallets in the future? Will they still have 6 card slots and a note holder? Will they still be made from leather? What happens if we run out of cows?.. Have no fear, wallet 2.0 is here. It’s like having a filing cabinet in your pocket.

With Father’s Day in Australia coming closer, what better way to make your dad hip again than by replacing his old, falling-apart, boring leather wallet with a brand new silicon wallet inspired by web 2.0.

See the Wallet 2.0 here.

Keeping in touch with our mission to find ‘bags you won’t find on everyone else’, Rushfaster is pleased to introduce new Melbourne brand Denis/Denis.

Bored pattern making student, Chris Stewart, created his Denis/Denis label in 2005. Initially focusing on small run and custom messenger bags, his Melbourne studio now designs and manufactures compact, store-ready, laptop bags. Whilst remaining functional, his laptop bags promote an aesthetic that is not overwhelmed by utilitarianism.

The bags come in 2 sizes, the small laptop messenger bag; a perfect urban styled home to the 13″ Macbook, and the larger of the 2 is the medium laptop messenger bag designed for 15″ Macbook Pro. Both laptop bags comprise of two padded compartments separated by a removable dividing wall. The adjustable back compartment fits snugly around your laptop while the front compartment holds hardware/personal effects. The unique thing I love about the new Denis/Denis laptop bags is that they feature a water resistant Cordura outer and a waterproof PVC lower, something that surely won’t go astray in laptop protection!

The Denis/Denis bags are available now from rushfaster in a range of colours.

The people at Wallpaper Magazine, the bible of all that is cutting edge in international design/fashion/travel/interiors, have put their collective heads together and come up with a convoy of travel guides equally as hip as their magazine.

So… trying to keep in with all that is now, of course it was only a matter of time before these unreal guides found a home at Rushfaster.

Having just spent the last two and a half years away from my home town Sydney, wandering my way through many of the places featured in this series, I was both delighted and excited to rummage through these little beauties and discover just how up to date, accurate and down right cool they were.

Funky, pocket sized, colourful and cheap, not only do they make a great everyday read, I can’t imagine not packing a few before jetting off.

These guides are so cutting edge, I have just picked up the Sydney guide and found so many fun little excursions and adventures for myself that you will have to excuse me, I am off to re-discover Sydney!

See the Wallpaper City Guides here.

We never got around to making a myspace page, and for once our procrastination turned out for the better because myspace is sooo 2006. Join the Rushfaster group on facebook.com and get to know the people at Rushfaster and our posse. We may even put exclusive facebook group specials up from time to time.

When you first bought your laptop they sold you a simple black sleeve to protect your new laptop. This was all well and good at the time, after all it was once all the rage. It did the job and kept your laptop looking new but now you’ve just changed jobs and you can’t turn up on your first day with a boring black sleeve. No no. You need to project an image that you’re creative and adventurous and you need to grab attention. Ladies and gentlemen, your laptop sleeve has arrived. These innovative Red Maloo laptop sleeves are available in 3 sizes for 13, 15 and 17″ laptops and their newly released colours of magenta, khaki, blue and red scream for attention.

See the range of Red Maloo laptop sleeves here.