Junior Ranger Panniers: Process, Adventure, Design - Swift Industries
The Junior Ranger Pannier is the lasting result of the Best Summer On Record.
Our season was filled with adventure seeking at its finest, and thousands of miles of demanding but equally stunning terrain are told in this bag’s construction. The rumor is true–I was designing for myself. I was looking for a bag that was lightweight and durable enough to keep up with my wanderlust. A design emerged that would bear the fine silt of Eastern Oregon’s dirt roads in its threads, stay tried and true through river crossings and ferry rides, and wait at the ready under age old Spruce as the sky deluged summer rains. The prototypes I fiddled with kept getting smaller and smaller. Pairing my gear down has been a liberating exercise. I’m not a weight weenie, or an ultralight convert, but this summer the undeniable truth has been that less is more. The best days were spent weaving the Olympic Mountain Range on single track trails and jeep roads. Narrow passages and routine navigation snaffus just set in stone how many roads became explorable because my bike was nimble and responsive.
To get to the heart of our design we equipped seven Oregon Outback riders with the bags and subjected each set of panniers to the duress of the multi-day dirt-road challenge. Three hundred sixty miles later, seven very different cyclists put their heads together to hone in on the details that would raise the bar on the preliminary design.
Then we were ready to field test. Every day this summer, at least one set of our Junior Rangers was on the move. We spent months tracking their capacity, assessing their versatility and limitations. Then, after eight days on the remote ridges of the Olympic Mountain Range we sat down at the sewing machine to bring the Junior Ranger to life.
This small and versatile new design is simple and intuitive. Every last feature has purpose, and each detail masterfully blends into the overall design and function of these bags. Don’t underestimate their small size–we think you’ll find liberation there. The textiles are chosen to hold up to your exploration and keep up with your riding. If we did our job right, you’ll forget all about the bags and delve into the adventure at hand.
When we set out to design a new product, our drafting table is proverbial: we opt to hit the road in pursuit of quality design. What’s refreshingly unique about Swift Industries is that we are bicycle adventurers and refined craftswomen in equal measure. We’ve always created baggage that reflects our own interests in exploring, and as our tastes have changed and our skills have hardened, the bags just get better and better.
Check out the Junior Ranger Panniers
special thanks to Lucas Winzenburg of Bunyan Velo for the inspiration, camaraderie, and photos on Oregon Outback.
