The Harrier Jump Jet

This bag was inspired by the Harrier Jump Jet, which was a unique aircraft designed to take off vertically from an aircraft carrier or virtually any location without a runway and then transform mid-air into a high speed jet. Taking inspiration from this concept we saw that this dual mode functionally could also be applied to bag design. The use case for this came from the experience of living in NYC where many times in the city you might go out and not necessarily want to carry a bag with you but often there’s a good chance you’ll pick something up on the way home and it would be incredibly helpful to have a bag to help bring items back. 

We wanted to make this bag’s footprint to be smaller than any other type of bag making it easy to store in the smallest of apartment spaces for those who really don’t have that much extra room for storage. Additionally with a smaller size it would enable uses to easily bring the bag along on trips by simply adding to luggage without taking up a large amount of space when packing. 

Dual Modes

1. Sling Bag Mode - 5” Height x 12” Width

When the Jump Jet is in the compact sling bag mode it’s super cut and barely takes up any space so as to make you forget that it’s even there which makes it easy to bring with you any time. You simply throw it on like a cross body belt and that’s it. It’s there for you just in case you might need it but not being so much of a burden as a large backpack and reducing the amount of weight you have to carry on a daily basis.

2. Messenger Bag Mode - 11” Height x 12” Width 

Then when you are out and you happen to need to pick up a few items to bring home, you can simply transform the Jump Jet into a messenger bag mode with twice the carrying space to fit in your items. So just like the Harrier Jump Jet that can transform mid-air, this bag can also do the same. Additionally you can start out by using the messenger bag first to bring items with you and then if you need to drop them off or give to a friend you can simply transform the Jump Jet back into the compact sling bag format afterwards. 

Design Details 

For this bag we wanted to create a sling bag that was even smaller and more compact than the Transport sling bag but still durable enough to have structure and protection for your gear. Therefore we utilized a thinner gauge foam core that was more flexible yet still provides a higher level of padding for smaller items than a traditional canvas bag.

To minimize space and increase the weight, we decided not to include a full front strap like the Transport and instead replaced it with a functional shoulder strap that also serves as a quick access pocket for storing a smartphone. 

With these features, the Jump Jet was created to be a minimalistic solution for people who want the convenience of a small messenger bag but also enjoy the small format of a compact sling bag. Just transform the bag into the desired mode that serves your current needs and then transform it again when you need to at any time.