A few years back while attending Overland East while I was hanging out in the Overland Outfitters booth a woman came up to me and made some very nice comments about the styling and quality of the OO products. Then she said that OO didn't have what she really needed - a way to support her morning routine while out in the wild. I quizzed her on her requirements and shortly after I designed what became the "Camp Cabinet", intended to suit her full routine...
I posted a review a few weeks ago done by a couple who uses it on their expeditions (
https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/barn-door-for-jk-factory-hardtops.127687/post-3069575), it's been a pretty popular product for OO so far. Since the design requirements mostly came from the woman I met at Overland East, not surprisingly it's been very popular with women. It might be overkill for men (or women) whose needs in the wild are not as intense as the woman who gave me the requirements, so lately I've been thinking about a solution for those who need less. Like me.
For the past few years I've been using an Indian Army toiletry bag that I bought in a military shop in the Delhi Cantonment for 100 rupees (about $1.25). It was a great value and it's served me well. (History nugget: The Delhi Cantonment was originally established by the British military during their rule of India and today houses the headquarters of the India Army and many supporting businesses.)
It's great for all the trips I make where I stay in hotels, but not so good in the wild - it would be nice to have something that could hang on a tree or the side of the Jeep when there's no table available. I looked at roll-ups, and I like the very nice example from Frost River below, but I decided that style wouldn't be as convenient in a hotel where I'd like to just set the bag on the sink counter like I do with my Indian army bag.
It seems that almost everything on the market is either the simple bag type or the roll-up type, but I couldn't find anything that had the best features of both, so I worked out a design that could sit nicely on a sink top but also hang on a tree and be easily usable in both places.
I sewed a prototype on Sunday. It's compact, has a carry handle, and it's got MOLLE straps on the back in case I want to hang it on a MOLLE panel. I made it slightly taller than my Indian Army bag but the same width and depth. Packed up, it looks like this:
It's a bit of a trick design... this series of photos will help explain it. There are three pouches, one large one in the back and two smaller ones. When stowed, one of the front pouches is "hinged" on top of the other front pouch and when the bag is opened, the top one hinges down so the bottom of all three pouches are sitting on the table.
Out in the wild, there may not be a convenient flat surface to set it on, so it can hang from the carry handle and all three pouches are fully accessible. On a closet door:
On a MOLLE panel:
And on the Jeep and a tree:
One more feature (that I don't plan to use myself) - there's a pocket between two of the pouches which can be used to hold the same mirror that comes with the Camp Cabinet. That mirror is polished stainless steel so it's unbreakable for rough expedition use.
I think this will be a good addition to my overlanding (and hotel) kit and serve my needs in both places very well.
