Backed Minaal's first Kickstarter ages ago. The way they handled that, the way they treated their backers and later customers really impressed me and stuck with me. They earned a customer for life, and I have actually purchased just about all their bags at this point, for different purposes. The bags themselves are great, but their philosophy on things, on being a more considerate consumer-everyone says that-but few companies truly mean it. They're good people over at Minaal. If you're in need of a bag, you can't go wrong with them.
We can vouch for the Minaal bags! We have four across our team, including the original v1 which is still going strong. Love the products, love the team!
"Doing the basics" and treating people "as humans" is so lovely and is spot on my exact experience of Minaal when Minaal made good on a missed delivery during a super busy work period (I bought the bag for that specific return flight but did not actually receive the bag until 2 countries later so I was not a happy camper but Minaal's responsiveness and the way they responded surprised me by bringing out the best in me ~ I should mention it wasn't their fault but some weirdness of their local carrier.) Seeing this interview and hearing the founder say that makes me an even bigger fan! Thanks Minaal for being one of those rare companies that actually operates on a solid bedrock of values and decency! I also like the detachable rain cover which is great for occasions say you step into a crowd like the Piazza San Marco in Venice during Carnival (the annoying inconvenience of a rain pouch cover deters pickpockets who don't want to dilly dally over your raincover.. and to protect the bag from gross lint and dust in the overhead compartment of planes and of course in addition to the huge usefulness in Asia in monsoon season in certain countries but being able to detach it for other continents) and I have to say I LOVE how protected the Device Nest feels as previous notebook backpacks allowed dings after an unexpected drop. If there are two wishes that I could convey, (1) I wish there was a dedicated folding shelf (like the bellroy toothbrush sleeve) at the top of the device nest to keep my power brick in the same section as the device nest so I can just open one zipper and boom easy access to computer & power brick and (2) I wish the zipper on the second section wasn't so loose... once I hopped off a bus in South Korea and felt something slapping my butt and it was that I had a heavy portable battery recharger in the grab pocket and must have left a gap between the zippers (which I typically bring up to the top) so the second section unzipped itself all the way down by itself (from the weight of the electronics in the quick grab pocket and added momentum of me jumping off the bus) and the whole cover was flapping around hitting me in the behind and would have splayed my belongings all over the street if I had something in that compartment that day (now I bring the zippers to the side which I don't like as I like the zipper pulls to be on top when I sit at a desk) That said, I love the understated rugged/refined Minaal bag look that blends in at every country's local scene comfortably (some bags really attract attention and some bags look plasticky geeky) but this one feels put together & looks good! Also Minaal's zipper pulls on my Daily 3.0 bag spark joy for me. No-drama functionality that is not excessive and feels good and I touch the zipper pulls every day so it is one of those tiny things in everyday life that I enjoy using. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention ~ it was Nomads Nation's review that made me even consider the Minaal Daily 3.0 (Thanks you guys for introducing me!) I love my Minaal bag and gave my husband my Aer bag (which has a truly comfortable harness system but wouldn't be able to pack my things in a way so the bag could fit in the bottom of the seat in front of me on many planes partly because of that fat stiff harnass system taking up some valuable space... whereas I have the same things in my Minaal Daily and it always fits in the bottom of the seat in front of me on every airline/carrier thus far)
I was interested in the SDR Traveller bags and how Jan used Dyneema. But if I recall correctly, Jan's packs and bags were pretty darn pricey. Interesting interview.
I need help finding the perfect backpack. I need it to hold a 15 inch laptop, pockets that can hold smaller stuff, good quality and looks, around 25L and most importantly a dedicated water bottle pocket with its own zipper. Can you give any recommendations?
Pretty specific needs, not sure about the water bottle zippered pocket. Maybe the Bellroy Transit or the Able Carry Max or nomatic Navigator, but I’m not sure about the laptop specs. Check out the Minaal Daily Bag as well - it rocks
actually the one thing that prevented me from buying the Minaal Daily 3.0 for so long was the desire for an external water bottle pocket. I was so torn between wanting the dedicated laptop compartment with suspended on all sides Device Nest vs wanted the convenience of water bottle and umbrella pockets that are external on the sides. But now I have the Minaal, I don't regret loss of external pockets one bit. (there is a loop on the inside for keeping a water bottle or umbrella in the second compartment which is separate from the notebook compartment). I love my Minaal Daily (but I am in love with my Minaal backpack's versatile *subtly* handsome looks as I travel a lot and don't want something that sticks out from a mile away that I am from out of town) The quick grab pocket is sizable (I often keep granola bars in it since it keeps them out of the "crush zone") and has a handy dandy zippered pocket inside it and the second main zippered compartment has a huge zippered pocket that I love (I bought a box of macarons for my family in Paris airport but didn't want the box to get dented on the plane and the whole box fit in this big zippered compartment, suspended and with no dinged up corners) and the notebook zippered compartment has various storage spaces opposite the device nest (I keep a huge fat ergonomic ball mouse in one pocket, a portable usb drive and other computer peripherals in the zippered pocket, business cards in one cut-out etc this is where the smaller stuff pockets are but look at the review to see if the shapes and types of pockets are the kind you need)... So for me, I am glad I didn't rule out Minaal for not having the water bottle side pocket.
Do you want to help me build a game-changing backpack? 👉🏼 nomadsnation.com/building-a-backpack
Backed Minaal's first Kickstarter ages ago. The way they handled that, the way they treated their backers and later customers really impressed me and stuck with me. They earned a customer for life, and I have actually purchased just about all their bags at this point, for different purposes. The bags themselves are great, but their philosophy on things, on being a more considerate consumer-everyone says that-but few companies truly mean it. They're good people over at Minaal. If you're in need of a bag, you can't go wrong with them.
100% agree, I’ve always been a fan but even more so after chatting with Jimmy
We can vouch for the Minaal bags! We have four across our team, including the original v1 which is still going strong. Love the products, love the team!
Couldn’t agree more - amazing packs and amazing team
"Doing the basics" and treating people "as humans" is so lovely and is spot on my exact experience of Minaal when Minaal made good on a missed delivery during a super busy work period (I bought the bag for that specific return flight but did not actually receive the bag until 2 countries later so I was not a happy camper but Minaal's responsiveness and the way they responded surprised me by bringing out the best in me ~ I should mention it wasn't their fault but some weirdness of their local carrier.) Seeing this interview and hearing the founder say that makes me an even bigger fan! Thanks Minaal for being one of those rare companies that actually operates on a solid bedrock of values and decency! I also like the detachable rain cover which is great for occasions say you step into a crowd like the Piazza San Marco in Venice during Carnival (the annoying inconvenience of a rain pouch cover deters pickpockets who don't want to dilly dally over your raincover.. and to protect the bag from gross lint and dust in the overhead compartment of planes and of course in addition to the huge usefulness in Asia in monsoon season in certain countries but being able to detach it for other continents) and I have to say I LOVE how protected the Device Nest feels as previous notebook backpacks allowed dings after an unexpected drop. If there are two wishes that I could convey, (1) I wish there was a dedicated folding shelf (like the bellroy toothbrush sleeve) at the top of the device nest to keep my power brick in the same section as the device nest so I can just open one zipper and boom easy access to computer & power brick and (2) I wish the zipper on the second section wasn't so loose... once I hopped off a bus in South Korea and felt something slapping my butt and it was that I had a heavy portable battery recharger in the grab pocket and must have left a gap between the zippers (which I typically bring up to the top) so the second section unzipped itself all the way down by itself (from the weight of the electronics in the quick grab pocket and added momentum of me jumping off the bus) and the whole cover was flapping around hitting me in the behind and would have splayed my belongings all over the street if I had something in that compartment that day (now I bring the zippers to the side which I don't like as I like the zipper pulls to be on top when I sit at a desk) That said, I love the understated rugged/refined Minaal bag look that blends in at every country's local scene comfortably (some bags really attract attention and some bags look plasticky geeky) but this one feels put together & looks good! Also Minaal's zipper pulls on my Daily 3.0 bag spark joy for me. No-drama functionality that is not excessive and feels good and I touch the zipper pulls every day so it is one of those tiny things in everyday life that I enjoy using. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention ~ it was Nomads Nation's review that made me even consider the Minaal Daily 3.0 (Thanks you guys for introducing me!) I love my Minaal bag and gave my husband my Aer bag (which has a truly comfortable harness system but wouldn't be able to pack my things in a way so the bag could fit in the bottom of the seat in front of me on many planes partly because of that fat stiff harnass system taking up some valuable space... whereas I have the same things in my Minaal Daily and it always fits in the bottom of the seat in front of me on every airline/carrier thus far)
hell yea, Minaal is truly an amazing brand, which obviously stems from such epic ownership
This whole interview just made me smile. Such a great dude!
Appreciate that! He’s a super cool dude and it was so interesting to hear more about the Minaal brand :)
Great interview Aaron
Thanks Dina! ❤️
I was interested in the SDR Traveller bags and how Jan used Dyneema. But if I recall correctly, Jan's packs and bags were pretty darn pricey. Interesting interview.
Appreciate that!
Fjallraven has a fox logo. So glad Minaal didn’t try to copy that.
Agreed lol
I need help finding the perfect backpack. I need it to hold a 15 inch laptop, pockets that can hold smaller stuff, good quality and looks, around 25L and most importantly a dedicated water bottle pocket with its own zipper. Can you give any recommendations?
Pretty specific needs, not sure about the water bottle zippered pocket. Maybe the Bellroy Transit or the Able Carry Max or nomatic Navigator, but I’m not sure about the laptop specs. Check out the Minaal Daily Bag as well - it rocks
Sounds like you’re looking for the Weekender Pack from Sympl. It’s has all of those features.
@@Fnick-dl6pg We should be revewing that bag soon actually! Very stoked it looks great
actually the one thing that prevented me from buying the Minaal Daily 3.0 for so long was the desire for an external water bottle pocket. I was so torn between wanting the dedicated laptop compartment with suspended on all sides Device Nest vs wanted the convenience of water bottle and umbrella pockets that are external on the sides. But now I have the Minaal, I don't regret loss of external pockets one bit. (there is a loop on the inside for keeping a water bottle or umbrella in the second compartment which is separate from the notebook compartment). I love my Minaal Daily (but I am in love with my Minaal backpack's versatile *subtly* handsome looks as I travel a lot and don't want something that sticks out from a mile away that I am from out of town)
The quick grab pocket is sizable (I often keep granola bars in it since it keeps them out of the "crush zone") and has a handy dandy zippered pocket inside it and the second main zippered compartment has a huge zippered pocket that I love (I bought a box of macarons for my family in Paris airport but didn't want the box to get dented on the plane and the whole box fit in this big zippered compartment, suspended and with no dinged up corners) and the notebook zippered compartment has various storage spaces opposite the device nest (I keep a huge fat ergonomic ball mouse in one pocket, a portable usb drive and other computer peripherals in the zippered pocket, business cards in one cut-out etc this is where the smaller stuff pockets are but look at the review to see if the shapes and types of pockets are the kind you need)... So for me, I am glad I didn't rule out Minaal for not having the water bottle side pocket.