What struck us was not that any of the bags were wrong. It was that each of us was optimizing for different moments of the same journey.
So one night, we dumped everything out. Bags on the floor. Packing cubes. Shoes. Cables. Passport organizers. A full teardown of how we actually travel.
That exercise surfaced something we had all been circling for years. Carry had quietly become a category we obsess over. Between the three of us, we have closets full of bags. Each one bought in pursuit of “the best bag.” Each one eventually replaced.
Instead of designing another backpack or another duffle, we stripped the problem down to first principles. What would actually earn its place?
We landed on a few non-negotiables:
- 3–5 days. Long enough to matter. Short enough to stay mobile. And if used daily, still trim and gym-friendly (shoes, laundry, etc.)
- Cavernous. A primary compartment that accepts clothes, shoes, and packing cubes without dictating how you pack
- Organized. Dedicated space for essentials, without overcomplicating the rest.
- Professional, durable, protective. The performance of ballistic nylon and waterproof shells, with a quieter, more refined look. That led us to DopplerMatte, a coated 900D fabric built for durability and weather
- Multi-functional. Travel is not one mode. Airports, trains, meetings, city streets. The answer was not another single-purpose bag, but one that adapts
Since then, I have personally put our prototypes through more than 40,000 miles across three continents. Planes, trains, subways, taxis, security lines, wet streets. The unglamorous parts of travel that actually matter.
It is not designed to impress at first glance. It is designed to disappear while you move, and still feel right when you arrive.
As always, we built it for ourselves first. We hope it earns a place in your rotation.
Gihan
Founder, Ministry of Supply
