PIKA discontinued?

[kimonostereo]

Bummed to see that the PIKA is likely discontinued. I had been waiting for the PIKA to arrive in Solar color ever since it was announced as a new color. It was supposed to be made during a batch before the end of the year. I check regularly to see what's coming. I watched as the "in production" colors went from five colors to two, and now it says it's a retired design.

Ah, 2020 has been a year!

[northerngypsy]

I was really bummed, too! I'd read from some that it made a great going-out bag for the small essentials during COVID, and I liked the flat style.

[Wanderlust77]

Me too! I dithered too long on a black one, then they were gone. So I saved it in my wish list and signed up to be notified when they’re back in stock. Then the “in production” list dwindled. And now retired! Please, one more production run!

[Sarah]

Oh no! I did the same dithering on the black one. I hope there will be another run, maybe with a pre-order?

[Dreamer]

I was really bummed, too! I'd read from some that it made a great going-out bag for the small essentials during COVID, and I liked the flat style.

I actually thought it would be great for that too and tried to do just that for my biweekly grocery trip 2 days ago. Sadly the Pika didn't work for me for that purpose. It couldn't comfortably handle my COVID necessities:

Car keys (a car fob and 1 key)
Phone
COW wallet (3 cards + ID)
Hand sanitizer (tiny bottle)

It just grew too bloated to be functional. I honestly never use mine because these are the same items I carry COVID or not. I could have put my car key on my pocket, but that kind of defeats the purpose. Why not just put all of those things in my pockets and forgo the Pika.

[Darcy]

There's perhaps some hope for the return of the PIKA.... if you guys would be cool with the interior being layers of spacer-mesh (to create a soft padded interior) instead of the original "one-way" fabric interior. Thoughts?

[seasidesprings]

I have three PIKA’s. One from the original batch and two from the most recent batch with the double swivel carabiners. My preference for the attachment points, are the ones on my original PIKA. I’m not that fond of the carabiner attachment points.....although you can hang a facemask on the carabiner. As for the soft spacer mesh as the interior lining....... I think that would work if there was a closure for that pocket that wouldn’t interfere with some of the larger phones.

[Darcy]

I have three PIKA’s. One from the original batch and two from the most recent batch with the double swivel carabiners. My preference for the attachment points, are the ones on my original PIKA. I’m not that fond of the carabiner attachment points.....although you can hang a facemask on the carabiner. As for the soft spacer mesh as the interior lining....... I think that would work if there was a closure for that pocket that wouldn’t interfere with some of the larger phones.

Thanks for this feedback! The carabiner attachment points would need to remain, and I checked with Tom and we don't think we'd be able to redesign the PIKA to have more of a closure than the existing magnet closure. So, a future run of PIKA would be just like the most recent batch, but with spacer mesh inside instead of One-Way fabric.

[Wanderlust77]

I would be happy to try the layered spacer mesh with the magnetic closure.

[seasidesprings]

@Darcy Would you be able to increase the height of the PIKA a little bit and keep the same closure? With the one way fabric, I know my larger iPhone(in an Otterbox) is secure even if the magnets don’t close. The spacer mesh isn’t grippy, so putting a larger phone in the pocket wouldn’t feel as secure to me without a closure.

I also have a small IPhone in an Otterbox, I don’t have a problem with closing the pocket. So I think the spacer mesh would be fine for that size.

[Chicagoan]

Thanks for this feedback! The carabiner attachment points would need to remain, and I checked with Tom and we don't think we'd be able to redesign the PIKA to have more of a closure than the existing magnet closure. So, a future run of PIKA would be just like the most recent batch, but with spacer mesh inside instead of One-Way fabric.

To each their own, but I hated that one-way fabric enough to ship my PIKA right back.

Might be a game changer if it’s being swapped out for spacer mesh!

Thanks for making that change known, @Darcy . Any chance of the next batch being made from Coyote Halcyon?


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[kimonostereo]

Would be happy if the PIKA had an extremely short retirement and came back with the mesh interior, although I don't know what that actually looks like :-) Also, Solaris color!

[Darcy]

@Darcy Would you be able to increase the height of the PIKA a little bit and keep the same closure? With the one way fabric, I know my larger iPhone(in an Otterbox) is secure even if the magnets don’t close. The spacer mesh isn’t grippy, so putting a larger phone in the pocket wouldn’t feel as secure to me without a closure.

I also have a small IPhone in an Otterbox, I don’t have a problem with closing the pocket. So I think the spacer mesh would be fine for that size.

Thanks! We aren't really in a spot right now where we are making changes to the design of the PIKA... right now, it's more about whether we'll make a batch with the spacer mesh interior. Maybe if the spacer mesh version is popular, there'd be a good case made for a bigger PIKA

To each their own, but I hated that one-way fabric enough to ship my PIKA right back.

Might be a game changer if it’s being swapped out for spacer mesh!

Thanks for making that change known, @Darcy . Any chance of the next batch being made from Coyote Halcyon?

I'm very hesitant to commit any of the limited edition 200d Halcyons to any new designs before we're able to make what we've already planned to make with them. It's rare but something could go wrong and we might end up with less fabric than what we needed, so we won't be announcing any new designs made out of those colors until the already ordered stuff is done. If that makes sense.

Would be happy if the PIKA had an extremely short retirement and came back with the mesh interior, although I don't know what that actually looks like :-) Also, Solaris color!

Good to know, thank you! We'll make a sample so we can test out the idea ourselves (though we're pretty darn sure it'll work) and I can take a photo of that sample for you guys. That'll be in a month or two, I'd guess.

[logella]

I for one (actually my wife) love the PIKA with the original one-way fabric. She uses it daily while walking the dogs and quick trips to the grocery store, etc. I don't have one but oddly find the one-way fabric very soothing when I touch it.