Forget what’s in the bag. Thanks to KitBrix, it’s the bag itself that’s taking center stage.

Disposable, ugly, stinky. If these are the adjectives you use to describe your gym bag, then let us introduce you to the KitBrix bags and give you some new word associations – durable, sleek and cool.

KitBrix is a new company out of the UK making lightweight, bombproof gear bags designed specifically to meet an athlete’s needs.  When I say, “bombproof” I’m only half kidding. The bags were designed by a former military officer using a lightweight, heavy duty material called tarpaulin.  The material is used  in construction as well as to make military and expedition equipment.  It feels like a nylon beach cooler only far thicker and stronger.

With how tough that material is, I would have expected the bag to be overly heavy but I was wrong.  The outside is double lined with water resistant tarpaulin and available in a ton of colors and designs.  The bottom is a thick rubber base to keep the bag dry if you’re dropping  it down on wet ground or the locker room floor.  It also allows the bag to keep its shape and stay upright. The bag is so durable that I would actually let an airport baggage handler at it, not least because it comes with a five year warranty.

The bag is about 16” long and roughly 10” deep and wide.  It may not sound very big but here is all the gear I have in mine:

Helmet

Socks, gloves, jersey, bibs, base layer

Size 46 cleats

KitBrix DobiPak (to throw a sweaty kit in after I’m done)

Heart rate monitor

A pair of glasses

The inside of the bag is also lined in tarpaulin as are the internal zip pockets which I stuffed with several packets of Untapped Maple syrup, tools, phone chargers and other bits and pieces. Even then, I still had a little room left in the bag.  The coolest features to me are the zippers on the outside of the bags.  They allow you to zip multiple bags together so you can carry them as a backpack using the padded straps.  As a backpack it’s comfortable enough to move through an airport or from your car to the staging before a race, but I wouldn’t want to carry it around on my back all day.

Kitbrix bags come with interchangeable icons for running, swimming, cycling, tools, first aid, etc.  A triathlete looking to stay organized in the transitions could zip a few bags together, label each, and easily carry all of their gear to and from the race.

OCR competitors will love that the bag can be hosed off or just thrown into the shower.  Fill it full of clean clothes and whatever you use to wash off the remnants of a Savage Race, throw the gross gear into the DobiPak and your ready to rock the after party at the beer garden.

Every product I review for Fit Nation gets an assessment from our fearless leader Stan Douge.  Normally his enthusiasm is expressed with either “cool” or “awesome” but he must have really liked these bags because he still hasn’t  given them back.  In fact, he liked them so much, that there is a custom branded Fit Nation bag in  the works, just for you.

The retail price of a KitBrix bag is around $65.00, with a discount when you buy a bundle of two.

Want the latest gear reviews? Read on:

The Alto CC40: Ahead Of The Competition

Oakley Jawbreakers: Worth The Splurge?

Fitness Trackers: Are They Really Worth The Money?