Early preview of the upcoming Paragon backpack

[Darcy]

Sooo we’re working this weekend and I thought you all might want to see a sneak peek at the upcoming Paragon backpack design. It’s going to be offered as part of a large pre-order event in early February.

Design Lab Paragon
Guide’s Edition Paragon

Note that the Paragon is considered limited edition at this time. That means we haven't yet decided if we'll offer the Paragon into the future: we're still catching up making bags after a year of making mostly masks, so we want to keep our production schedule flexible. We are also redoubling our efforts and putting on our thinking caps to do everything we can, when we can, to avoid selling out of stuff too quickly. We like what a customer named Stephen shared with us a couple of months ago: "Just make bags I can buy while sitting at the kitchen island with a hot cup of coffee."

Most recently, we spent 4-5 weeks making V6 Masks and Mask Head Straps to build inventory before they debuted. The Paragon will be offered for pre-order and if the first pre-order sells out quickly, we'll immediately offer a second pre-order with a slightly farther out ship date. We have some other ideas on how we can make ordering new stuff a more leisurely experience and we'll share those plans with you soon.

Note that the Paragon is considered limited edition at this time. That means we haven't yet decided if we'll offer the Paragon into the future: we're still catching up making bags after a year of making mostly masks, so we want to keep our production schedule flexible. That said, we are also doing everything we can, when we can, to avoid selling out of stuff too quickly. Most recently, we spent 4-5 weeks making as many V6 Masks and Mask Head Straps to build inventory before they debuted. The Paragon will be offered for pre-order and if the first pre-order sells out quickly, we'll immediately offer a second pre-order with a slightly farther out ship date. We have some other ideas on how we can make ordering new stuff a more leisurely experience and we'll share those plans with you soon.

And, yes, there is a new Halcyon color (offered in both 400d and 200d) listed amongst the options of the Design Lab Paragon. Taiga is comforting, rich without being deeply hued, and peaceful. It’s not bright, it doesn’t command attention, and it’s certainly not for everyone (but what of consequence and interest is for everyone, anyway?) It is quiet, strong, and won’t go out of style: it’s a color of nature. It’s something of a chameleon — the way it looks in a swatch is quite different than how it looks in a bag like the Paragon.

And and… Taiga won’t be the only new Halcyon color offered in the next big pre-order event We’ll be revealing another new 200d Halcyon as well (though that one won't be available in the Paragon.)

[Cristina]

Thanks Darcy! Lovely to get some a happy little shooting star of news during lockdown. Is the Paragon the same as the Insigne? The preview drawings are adorable.

I can’t wait to see Taiga, your description is so intriguing. Also it makes me think of Taika Waititi.

Thanks for the ray of sunshine!

[Darcy]

Thanks Darcy! Lovely to get some a happy little shooting star of news during lockdown. Is the Paragon the same as the Insigne? The preview drawings are adorable.

I can’t wait to see Taiga, your description is so intriguing. Also it makes me think of Taika Waititi.

Thanks for the ray of sunshine!

Aha good question! Yes, the Paragon is the new name for the Insigne. Looking up Taika Waititi now!

We plan to offer more "coming soon" pages like this one. The next coming soon page will likely be for another vintage design reissue ("Le Grande Derriere", I kid you not!)

[ayazgood]

OMG! You aren’t making it in Wilderness, after showing the previews in that color? Of course I may be tempted by the Design Lab version anyway, but that just seems wrong...

[Cristina]

Aha good question! Yes, the Paragon is the new name for the Insigne. Looking up Taika Waititi now!

We plan to offer more "coming soon" pages like this one. The next coming soon page will likely be for another vintage design reissue ("Le Grande Derriere", I kid you not!)

I can’t wait to see Le Grande Derrière, what a name!

Taika Waititi is a film director from New Zealand. I have only seen his great film Hunt for the Wilderpeople, but he also directed Thor Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit and is somehow involved with The Mandalorian. Hunt for the Wilderpeople is about a foster child who is spectacularly ill-equipped for living in the wilderness of rural New Zealand, and yet that is where he ends up, and the (mis-)adventure unfolds from there. I recommend it.

[Skirata44]

Can't wait to see the whole thing! How would you say its packability is? The Daylight backpack is often recommended as a daypack while traveling (does anyone remember traveling?) because it doesn't take up much room in a larger bag, however its lack of a laptop section is what's stopping me from getting one. Since the Paragon has a space for a laptop, do you think it could fill a similar role?

EDIT: Also, Taika Waititi is by far my favorite movie maker. Everything he touches turns to gold. Hunt for the Wilderpeople is one of my favorite movies, and What We Do In The Shadows made me cry laughing the first time I watched it (and the TV show is spectacular as well). I highly recommend every movie he's made.

[ayazgood]

“ And, yes, there is a new Halcyon color (offered in both 400d and 200d) listed amongst the options of the Design Lab Paragon. Taiga is comforting, rich without being deeply hued, and peaceful. It’s not bright, it doesn’t command attention, and it’s certainly not for everyone (but what of consequence and interest is for everyone, anyway?) It is quiet, strong, and won’t go out of style: it’s a color of nature. It’s something of a chameleon — the way it looks in a swatch is quite different than how it looks in a bag like the Paragon.”

I’m guessing blueish green:

Taiga (/ˈtaɪɡə/; Russian: тайга́, IPA: [tɐjˈɡa]; relates to Mongolic[1] and Turkic[2] languages), generally referred to in North America as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches.

[Cristina]

“ And, yes, there is a new Halcyon color (offered in both 400d and 200d) listed amongst the options of the Design Lab Paragon. Taiga is comforting, rich without being deeply hued, and peaceful. It’s not bright, it doesn’t command attention, and it’s certainly not for everyone (but what of consequence and interest is for everyone, anyway?) It is quiet, strong, and won’t go out of style: it’s a color of nature. It’s something of a chameleon — the way it looks in a swatch is quite different than how it looks in a bag like the Paragon.”

I’m guessing blueish green:

Taiga (/ˈtaɪɡə/; Russian: тайга́, IPA: [tɐjˈɡa]; relates to Mongolic[1] and Turkic[2] languages), generally referred to in North America as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches.

I love all the green and/or arboreal colors TB have come out with lately!

[Darcy]

OMG! You aren’t making it in Wilderness, after showing the previews in that color? Of course I may be tempted by the Design Lab version anyway, but that just seems wrong...

It was so wrong it was a mistake! We are offering the Guide's Edition Paragon in Wilderness... adding that to the In Production options now.

Can't wait to see the whole thing! How would you say its packability is? The Daylight backpack is often recommended as a daypack while traveling (does anyone remember traveling?) because it doesn't take up much room in a larger bag, however its lack of a laptop section is what's stopping me from getting one. Since the Paragon has a space for a laptop, do you think it could fill a similar role?

Because it has a padded back panel/padded laptop compartment, you wouldn't want to roll/fold the Paragon (might crease the foam) like you would the Daylight.

EDIT: Also, Taika Waititi is by far my favorite movie maker. Everything he touches turns to gold. Hunt for the Wilderpeople is one of my favorite movies, and What We Do In The Shadows made me cry laughing the first time I watched it (and the TV show is spectacular as well). I highly recommend every movie he's made.

I haven't seen either of those movies! Thanks @Cristina and @Skirata44 now I know what I'm going to watch tonight.

“ And, yes, there is a new Halcyon color (offered in both 400d and 200d) listed amongst the options of the Design Lab Paragon. Taiga is comforting, rich without being deeply hued, and peaceful. It’s not bright, it doesn’t command attention, and it’s certainly not for everyone (but what of consequence and interest is for everyone, anyway?) It is quiet, strong, and won’t go out of style: it’s a color of nature. It’s something of a chameleon — the way it looks in a swatch is quite different than how it looks in a bag like the Paragon.”

I’m guessing blueish green:

Taiga (/ˈtaɪɡə/; Russian: тайга́, IPA: [tɐjˈɡa]; relates to Mongolic[1] and Turkic[2] languages), generally referred to in North America as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches.

Just reading the definition of taiga makes me happy, hehe. An alternate name we considered because it was very fitting but too long: Moonglow Lichen

[G42]

Super cool to see the early previews!

And funny to read Tom punting: "If you’ve got questions about it, bug Darcy"

[Skirata44]

And funny to read Tom punting: "If you’ve got questions about it, bug Darcy"

The man knows how to delegate, it's gotta be said.

[melminimalist]

Exciting...


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[b1gsky]

@Darcy I saw that it also has the edgeless shoulder straps. Those don’t seem to work for me, the curves are incompatible with my body. Both the straps on the L12 and SG 23 didn’t fit right and were very uncomfortable. Are you planning to make all backpacks with the edgeless straps from now on?

[Chicagoan]

@Darcy

Is there a dedicated pocket or securement method for a water bottle?

There wasn’t any mention of one in the product descriptions.

Are that many people looking for different styles of laptop backpacks? I know I’m not alone in that I’m strictly a tablet user who doesn’t need the added cost or weight associated with a dedicated laptop compartment. I’ll be excited once a bag like the Trinity debuts and there is a move away from laptop backpacks.

Mostly, I just continue keeping my fingers crossed for TB to create a really great day hiking bag that can incorporate a place to keep a water bottle in place and upright, that also accommodates different widths and heights of bottles. The reusable water bottle I use most often is from Lululemon, and while it fits just fine in the tall interior volume of the L15, I can’t fit it inside the water bottle pocket of my S19 and still be able to zip that compartment shut.

For awhile it seemed like the company was moving in the right direction, but once the Stowaway and L12 were retired, 2 of the only bags to have the stretch mesh water pocket were gone, and the only bag left with that feature was the L15 - a bag which I actually own 2 of because I love it so much and use it so often.

I was initially REALLY excited to hear about the GE version of the Paragon and thought that might finally be my new day hiking bag, but from what I’ve now seen and read, I think I’ll probably be sticking with my Luminary 15.


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[Darcy]

@Darcy I saw that it also has the edgeless shoulder straps. Those don’t seem to work for me, the curves are incompatible with my body. Both the straps on the L12 and SG 23 didn’t fit right and were very uncomfortable. Are you planning to make all backpacks with the edgeless straps from now on?

I'm sorry the Edgeless straps don't work for you. Overall, the feedback we've gotten is that most folks prefer the Edgeless straps to others, so we do plan to make most backpacks with the Edgeless from now on.

There's a reallllly small backpack design Tom is working on (think along the lines of the Sprout) that might have different straps.

Is there a dedicated pocket or securement method for a water bottle?

There wasn’t any mention of one in the product descriptions.

No dedicated pocket for a water bottle. Once I get my hands on a Paragon, I'll stow my water bottle in the main compartment nestled between some other items.