Good Smile Company is bringing fans a new cardboard box backpack, based on an original design by Sumito Owara!
A cardboard box sounds like an inherently unappealing item to transform into a functional backpack, and yet it has a certain sense of charm. It certainly stands out and could easily turn out to be a conversation starter, but the fragility of the material makes it likely impractical in reality. But what if you designed a bag out of the correct materials to LOOK like a cardboard box, then use that instead? This new backpack, based on a 2017 design from Keep Your Hands Off the Eizouken mangaka Sumito Owara, does exactly that!
元になったデザイン https://t.co/LBy7fRaiuf
— 大童 澄瞳 ｵｵﾜﾗ・ｽﾐﾄ (@dennou319) November 16, 2020
While it differs slightly from the designs shared on the Eizouken mangaka’s Twitter account in 2017, many of the unique ideas found in that concept have been translated into reality to create a rather unique product. While designed to look like real cardboard, the material of the backpack is made from water-resistant Tyvek. A drinks holder is dotted to the side, while the material allows people to customize the bag either with stickers or by drawing on it.
Where this bag is unique is in how you access it. It opens just like a standard postage box, and it is even sealed with a piece of fabric designed to look like shipping tape. This is attached to the bag using Velcro, and peeling it away reveals a zip down the front of the bag which opens to reveal the inner contents. There’s a lot of space in this cushioned interior to hold a substantial amount of items for transport. All of this comes together for a rather unique and original backpack.
This cardboard box backpack, designed by Keep Your Hands Off the Eizouken mangaka Sumito Owara, will be sold by Good Smile Company with pre-orders open now until 10 December. The bag isn’t cheap, with the total cost coming to 14500 yen before tax (shipping costs are taken into account), but for this quirky and unusual backpack, it’s arguably worth the cost.