u/SustainGear

Just unboxed our new beatbot iskim 2026.
On the bottom, there are openings where you see foam inside. There are four open slots on both sides. But left aide has foam filling 3 slits and right aide has foam showing 2. Does this look right?

I assume the empty slits help it drain when lifting out of water. But weird they don’t match. Will this cause floatation imbalance or make it go more in one direction than another?

You all were so helpful in helping me decide on colors last time, I thought I'd ask one more question. I'll try to be brief but do need to explain context a bit.

I'm trying to design a very premium sling. Initially, the concept collection was Vela (sail) so gravitated towards sail cloth inspired fabric and naturally went with laminated zippers.

I am putting a ton of effort into not compromising on construction and materials and was going to offer a lifetime warranty but ended up going with 8-year. But things like finished seams, high tier YKK zippers, PVD coated hardware.

But this collection isn't meant to be a rugged outdoor collection. More of a fashionable city, everyday, type sling. Reverse coil zippers add a bit of water resistance as well. The fabric is water resistant as well. So maybe that is good enough?

Also, keep in mind with lamination, there are different quality. Low end laminates will begin to delaminate often in < 1 year. Good laminates like YKK Aquaguard may last 3-5 years. In our case, if delamination happened say in year 5-8, I would classify that as normal wear and tear. But it still looks bad. But < 5 years would cover with warranty.

Our focus on sustainability is not just materials but is also trying to build a product that will last many, many years. But visually, zipper delamination can make a perfectly functional bag look awful.

So with that in mind, what are people's thought on zippers?

YKK RC (reverse coil NO lamination)
or
YKK RC Aquaguard (reverse coil with lamination)

On a rough scale of water resistance, regular zipper maybe 5%, RC maybe 50%, Aquaguard maybe 80-90%.

If this wasn't "Vela" collection, I'd switch to RC. But I'm a bit torn. I do have a plan to add a Terra collection that is more rugged and outdoorsey which will have Aquaguard zippers. Most people also don't know there are levels of quality with lamination and just hate all lamination because they experienced very poor quality. But no lamination will last forever either.

I love this sub so thought I'd start sharing some of our journey. It's just me and my son and we are passionate about bags and sustainability so starting a business combining the two. I have more of a brand/marketing background and we spent the past few months on the brand foundation work which I feel good about. Keep in mind, we are going premium. Think Tumi + Patagonia.

Just finished the tech pack and working with and evaluating 2 different factories. As some of you may know, the MOQ's are pretty high so about 1000 ea color. I debated launching with a strong core backpack product but could only afford 1 color. Or go with a smaller item and be able to offer 2 colors.

Decided to go with a sling in 2 colors. It will be part of the Vela collection (Vela = sail in latin) so xpac or similar fabric, water resistant zippers, etc. This is a premium brand so lot of attention to detail. For instance, YKK RC Aquaguard zipper, PVD coated hardware, etc.

We also want to make this gender neutral. Many of the brands, especially ones with technical features like water-resistant zippers skew masculine. We softened the edges of this sling, very subtle metal star icon on front and a unique jaquard woven detachable strap help bring it towards unisex.

Which gets us to color. Initial plan was to launch with Black and Olive Green. Black will likely be top seller and is a must have. Olive Green is a very on-trend color right now. But are the combo of those 2 colors too masculine?

Don't think about you personally but given the brand and if you were launching this product, Black is the #1 color, what color do you think might be good for #2. Stone is the color of our lining as well. Mineral is a core color of our brand and in the logo.

Btw... I am not promoting anything and even this initial product is likely 6 months away from being final. Checkout is disabled on the site and it's all a work-in-progress.

Someone posted a cat in the pharmacy. Here is a cat in the mall at BGC.