Haiku Bags
September 22, 2010
What I am about to tell you is completely true.
Many years ago I bought my dog a dog bed from Costco. It is this big round bed with a supporting bolster that goes halfway around. It looks like a doggie couch. It is made of this material that looks like leather and feels like leather, but isn’t. My dog LOVES this bed and uses it all the time. I even shipped it from Alaska to Vancouver BC so that my dog could have his bed while we were in Canada; he loves this bed that much. When he is tired, he climbs into the bed and scratches it like crazy, like he wants to dig through it. So he’s had this bed for about four years. Yet it still looks brand new. You would think I bought it yesterday. There are no scratch marks, no wear, no worn spots, nothing. This dog bed will live for eternity.
So it kind of blew my mind when I got these Haiku sample bags. I’ve seen them around and they are really swank looking. They looked like leather but I know they’re not, so I wasn’t sure what they were. On close inspection I found – they are made of the same fabric as my dog’s favorite bed!
Now, I have kept this revelation to myself until now. Even yesterday, when my fabulous hairdresser and even MORE fabulous eyebrow waxer were looking at the Zip Wallet Haiku sent, they were convinced it was leather. They loved the feel of the soft faux leather stuff. I did not tell them that it was the same stuff my dog’s bed is made out of. It would break their hearts, like it breaks people’s hearts when I tell them I use Pureology Nanoworks shampoo on my dog. What can I say, my dog deserves the best in life.
And so do I, which is why I’m stoked that I get to use these bags. They are sweet! I have the Zip Wallet and the To-Go bag. I am not a purse/handbag kind of girl so I was skeptical about both items, but the folks at Verde PR, who handle Haiku, convinced me to try the Zip Wallet instead of my usual credit-card-size billfold. I was skeptical because I like a lighter load, but I stand before you humbled, ready to admit that I was wrong. The Zip Wallet holds EVERYTHING, keeps it organized, and is easy to carry and stow. The zipper keeps things nice and safe and nothing ever falls out. I use it all the time now and I don’t even remotely miss my little billfold.
The To-Go Bag is a tad more for the heavier traveler. It’s the one I see all over the place, the one that carries your wallet, water bottle, cell phone – you name it, the To-Go Bag carries it. For a light mover like me, the To-Go Bag is adequate even for a full-day urban adventure, carrying a quick change of outfit (hey, some of today’s dresses are really compact!), my cell, Blackberry (shudder), a few snacks, and various other things I might need ahemlipglosscoughcough. For the girl not used to carrying a bag, this one is a pretty good introduction to handbag culture. It’s hip, gorgeous, useful, and best of all, tough. Believe me! Even the most rough and tumble outdoors type can’t mangle this bag. This is the one and only human product that has been dog tested here at Geargals – and it has SURVIVED. Not only survived, but thrived! OK, so I didn’t let Geardog sleep on my Haiku bags. But he has been sleeping on the Haiku bag material for years via his dog bed, and it’s completely unmarked. It never holds smells (once the cat even peed on the dog bed, but no stain and the smell washed right out), and it’s survived much more, and much worse, than I can ever put an actual Haiku bag through.
So if you live an active lifestyle but still like to carry stuff, look stylish, and carry a unique “it” bag without spending more than your skis are worth, have a gander at Haiku and shop to your heart’s content. But I’ve got my eye on that Courier Bag, so hands off, now!
I’m not at all sure what’s going on with the formatting of this post, but I think I’ll keep it for the dramatic effect and the nice juxtaposition between the “Haiku” bag name and the evocative-of-poetry first line of this review. -Ed.
