Zippelin Inflatable Truck Tarp Travel Bag
/zippelin-inflatable-truck-tarp-28817.jpg "Zippelin Inflatable Truck Tarp Travel Bag")
A recycled truck tarp, a couple bike tire tubes, and Zippelin-doo-dah - you've got an inflatable travel bag. A big and sturdy travel bag whose "frame" blows up light as a Bud when you need it, and then empties out so you can roll the Zippelin into cylinder small enough to stick in your dorm fridge alongside the Bud Lights when you don't. See for yourself.
Zippelin maker Freitag makes their "inflatable travel airship" of a roller bag from the same upcycled truck tarps they've been using to sew multifunctional bags for 20 years now. As always, a Freitag's unique construction, snazzy colors and patterns, and the fact that no two are identical will ensure no one mistakes your bag for theirs on the luggage belt. With the Zippelin's inflatable skeleton, you can also be pretty damn sure no one else at the luggage belt has crammed nearly the amount of crap in their suitcase as you have in yours - at least not without crushing the airline's weight limits.
Using bike tubes to create an inflatable skeleton produces an 85-liter-capacity Zippelin that weighs only 8 pounds. And that can be rolled from 16-1/2" x 33-1/2" x 10" dimensions down to 16-1/2" x 8" x 8" when you're back home. For the bumps and storms along the way, the bag's truck tarp exterior serves as a robust, water-repellent shell.
Zippelins inflate with standard bike or hand pump. They're up for crowdfunding here on Kickstarter through October 12, 2017.
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