Truckasana Page is Up

[kjquilts]

Darcy posted the updated list of items available for purchase on Nov 30 and Truckasana is included. The Truckasana page is live now.

I think Truckasana needs to come join my Pickup Trucks and Truck. It looks like the size is the same as Truck but Truckasana has different fabrics for exterior and interior. I really love this and love the color combinations! Truckasana also seems to have zip pockets instead of the open pockets on the outside of the bag. Truckasana also has the grippy areas to hold yoga mats or whatever. Since page is now live could/would someone who has Truckasana in hand and also has a Truck post comparison photo ...... pretty please and thank you.

Karen

[Darcy]

Darcy posted the updated list of items available for purchase on Nov 30 and Truckasana is included. The Truckasana page is live now.

I think Truckasana needs to come join my Pickup Trucks and Truck. It looks like the size is the same as Truck but Truckasana has different fabrics for exterior and interior. I really love this and love the color combinations! Truckasana also seems to have zip pockets instead of the open pockets on the outside of the bag. Truckasana also has the grippy areas to hold yoga mats or whatever. Since page is now live could/would someone who has Truckasana in hand and also has a Truck post comparison photo ...... pretty please and thank you.

It is a super cool bag. Nice summary of the new features. No one (not even me!) has their own Truckasana yet. We finished them at the very last moment. So, there may not be any comparison photos until mid-late next week.

[Cristina]

Wow @bchaplin ’s lovely review of the Truckasana is already up on the Tom Bihn BST and Discussion Facebook group! The Ursa/UV looks lovely. What fun to have an interior lining on a Truck. With the open top you really get to appreciate the contrasting colors.

Love the review, @bchaplin !

[kjquilts]

Wow @bchaplin ’s lovely review of the Truckasana is already up on the Tom Bihn BST and Discussion Facebook group! The Ursa/UV looks lovely. What fun to have an interior lining on a Truck. With the open top you really get to appreciate the contrasting colors.

Love the review, @bchaplin !

Any chance this review could be posted on TB Forum website ...... or TB page for Truckasana for those who don't use Facebook?

Thanks in advance

Karen

[kjquilts]

Aubergine with Sitka lining Truckasana is coming to join matching Little Swift, Pop Tote and Pickup Truck. Can you tell I love the Aubergine color? Little Swift (courtesy of ebay) has the original Sitka lining so it will be interesting to see the similarity. I bought Truckasana first thing then looked at original shop bags in different browser but waffled on color choice and missed out.

Won't see Truckasana until late next week because I'm leaving for 9 day stay at two bedroom condo on the beach with my best friend who is in our bubble. Her husband may join us for a few days if he gets bored at home. I'm very thankful they had points that need to be used because my husband who should have known better flew to Colorado for family reunion. He would not consider staying home so I'm protecting myself by not being here when he returns and hopefully he will self quarantine here. We've been very careful all these many months and I'm so unhappy with both my daughter and husband. Praying that no one has to suffer because they wouldn't postpone reunion until safer times.

[bchaplin]

Any chance this review could be posted on TB Forum website ...... or TB page for Truckasana for those who don't use Facebook?

Thanks in advance

Karen

Thanks, Christina!
Karen, I'm sorry I didn't notice this before.
My life has been crazy lately and I lost the login to these forums so I was checking them less frequently. It's a bit late at this point for my review, but I know they're working on more Truckasanas. I wonder if it's ok to also post it here? OTOH, in a few days many of you will have them in hand and can post photos and thoughts.

[Cristina]

Thanks, Christina!
Karen, I'm sorry I didn't notice this before.
My life has been crazy lately and I lost the login to these forums so I was checking them less frequently. It's a bit late at this point for my review, but I know they're working on more Truckasanas. I wonder if it's ok to also post it here? OTOH, in a few days many of you will have them in hand and can post photos and thoughts.

I think it would be lovely to have your review here as well, @bchaplin , though you might want to add a line saying it’s from the Tom Bihn BST & Discussion Facebook Page to avoid confusion.

[bchaplin]

This is the review I wrote up for the Facebook Group Tom Bihn Buy-Sell-Trade & Discussion. I am reprinting it below with a few edits given the different format of this forum over FB, and the fact that at this point the sale has already happened.

-------------------------------------
Here's my review of the Truckasana, a variation of the Truck that is designed to carry a yoga mat. This is kind of challenging to photograph and write up, since I don't have the Truck to compare it to, but I've touched base with others who do.

Mine is Ursa/UV. Ursa is one of my new favorite exteriors, and I think it pairs well with UV.






What's it like for yoga? I'm showing pictures of it packed with two blocks, a stuff sack filled with clothes, a notebook, and what I am pretty sure is a super-sized mat on top. The official Tom Bihn product page also has a great series of photos, taken by people who are obviously more serious than I am, with far more yoga supplies.






According to others who have tried it, the Truckasana is also great for knitting, and given the way it opens so nicely with no zippers to catch the yarn, I can totally see this. There's a great video on the Tom Bihn site by a crocheter, which really showcases how you could use this bag for crafts, inside or outside of the home.

Groceries? I did a test-pack. Let me be honest; the Truck series is not my first choice for shopping, though a lot of people use the Truck for this function, and the Truckasana works fine as well. The sides are a little lower than on the Truck, which I'll get into in a minute, so if this is your main purpose in buying this bag you might prefer the Truck over the Truckasana for maximum volume. I piled cans 2-high to show that while they don't fall out, they rise up above the edge. For me, this is almost too heavy to lift, and my personal preference is to use the Small Shop Bags for shopping because I can load each one up with heavy stuff and they are still manageable. But if you have biceps of steel (or, more likely, are a person of average strength, which I may not be), go for it! Also, for lighter stuff like at a farmer's market, I think this would be great, with the dividers helping protect the delicate items like eggs.




Finally, books. Here's an extremely specific use-case: In pre- and hopefully post-pandemic times, our local library offers a book sale from donations. On the final day, you can fill an entire bag for $5 -- well, you can see where I'm going with this. I discovered the book sale two years ago and brought a smaller bag (I think it was the Pop Tote), so the Truckasana would be a step up. (To anyone concerned, it's not cheating. They actually want to get rid of all the books by the end of the sale.)



This also seems like it would be a great organizer bag for a long car trip, particularly one with kids.

What are the differences between the Truck and the Truckasana? As far as I can tell -- and please chime in if anyone with a Truck sees something that might be incorrect:

* Zippered side pockets instead of open pockets.
* Halcyon lining for the larger middle pocket
* Lower sides, creating a pocket for the yoga mat, and decreasing the usable volume
* Grippy surface below the handles, which along with the overall design, cradles the yoga mat and also causes the handles and top part of the bag, on the long edge, to flop over. Depending on your preference, this can be nice, because it makes the Truckasana contents more visible. (ie, those doing crafts like knitting). So, it's about the same overall size as the Truck, but the contours of the top give it a lower usable volume.
* The Truck (at least the one I have, which is the smallest) incorporates more rigid dividers, whereas the Halcyon dividers on the Truckasana allow the bag to "close up" if it's not full.

[pammy]

As always, thank you for a great review, Beth. Your pictures are very helpful. I look forward to seeing the Trucksana in person. In the meantime, I will live vicariously through your pictures of the gorgeous Ursa Trucksana. I am not into yoga, but I do think the Trucksana will be very useful in toting other things as well.

[bchaplin]

As always, thank you for a great review, Beth. Your pictures are very helpful. I look forward to seeing the Trucksana in person. In the meantime, I will live vicariously through your pictures of the gorgeous Ursa Trucksana. I am not into yoga, but I do think the Trucksana will be very useful in toting other things as well.

Thanks so much! I genuinely love this bag, even though I won't actually use it for yoga since I practice at home. I think the partial lining (so there is less visible "wrong side" ballistic fabric) and the more horizontal orientation (since the sides with the handles flop out of the way), makes it really useful for a lot of things, and fun to look at! I plan to take it on my next car trip, too, as an organizer, and probably use it to corral my stuff in the next airBNB or room I stay at.

[kjquilts]

Thanks so much for the review and comments. Looking forward to see mine in person end of next week. Would have loved to have her join pickup truck, truck, tristar and various TB accessories on this trip to beach. They make life easier and more fun.

[pammy]

I think the partial lining (so there is less visible "wrong side" ballistic fabric) and the more horizontal orientation (since the sides with the handles flop out of the way), makes it really useful for a lot of things, and fun to look at!

I can totally relate to this. I very much prefer to have a bag with a bright or lighter interior because I have old, tired eyes and it’s much easier to see inside a bag. And I’ve never thought about it before, but I think that’s why I don’t really use my Pop Totes. Initially, I lined the Pop Tote with a zest small shop bag so the contents would be more visible. But the shop bag sort of scrunches down with use. So the Pop Totes sit on the shelf, which is a shame, really, because they are beautiful bags. To me, the primary draw of the Trucksana is the lining, especially in Solaris. I would have loved to see Solaris paired with Wilderness or 400d halcyon. Maybe that can happen if we can convince TB to keep Solaris around for a while longer.