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MINI
Motion Carpack
A
Review
The
MINI Motion line, designed by Yves Behar, offers the "urban
nomad" a variety of lifestyle products inspired by the MINI
Cooper. The two items that immediately caught my attention were
the MINI Motion driving shoes and the carpack. In the end, I bought
a pair of Piloti shoes, and I have so far managed to resist the
urge to add a pair of MINI Motion ones (though I do track the size
12 auctions on eBay). But I finally broke down and bought the carpack
from Unika Deco,
a smart little design shop around the corner from Houston's
Murder by the Book.
INFORMATION
UNDERLOAD
First, I tried to research the carpack online.
I was intrigued by the concept -- a kind of mod briefcase that clicks
into the seatbelt to keep your stuff from flying when you slam on
the brakes -- but I wanted to know if my 17 inch G4 Powerbook would
fit into the laptop sleeve. None of the reviews I read online seemed
to have been written by people who had actually seen the
carpack, so they proved less than helpful. I
fired off an e-mail to MINI Motion, and they still haven't responded.
I
admit it: I am a nitpicky consumer. When I don't find the information
I am looking for about a product online, I will typically take the
thing no farther. In this case, though, I was interested enough
in the piece to visit Unika Deco and take a look.
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ABOVE:
The MINI Motion carpack snapped into place. |
HOW
IT FITS
To envision the carpack, think of a slim, hard-case
messenger bag with a seatbelt for a shoulder strap. In the car,
you unbuckle the shoulder strap and snap each end into your passenger
seatbelt. This secures the unit into place, as shown in the picture.
The
carpack works in other cars besides the MINI. I purchased mine before
my Cooper S arrived in the States, so I connected it to the front
seat of my Saab and it worked fine. In fact, the slate blue fabric
of the carpack matched the Saab's gray interior better than it matches
the MINI's Panther Black upholstery. It's a shame that MINI Motion
did not choose the same black-and-chrome color scheme used in the
MINI luggage. Both sets are produced by Samsonite, so presumably
this could have been done without any problem.
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| ABOVE: Note the gap. |
Once
the carpack is snapped into place, turn it upright in the seat.
The tension of the seatbelt keeps it upright. Unfortunately, since
the carpack's seatbelt pieces also serve as a shoulder strap, the
added bulk prevents the unit from sitting flat against the seat
back, as seen in the photo at left. If you find this annoying, as
I do, you can fiddle with the case a bit and get a closer fit.
Again,
the carpack suffers in comparison to the MINI luggage in that it
does not look as if it was designed specifically for the MINI seat.
It is a little narrower than the corresponding space on the seatback,
which (along with the color) detracts a little from the "integrated"
appearance I was hoping for. If the carpack were about an inch wider,
this problem would disappear. As far as I can see from the MINI
Motion site, the carpack does not come in a variety of colors, but
I may be wrong: the driving shoes seem to be made in black and gray,
so perhaps the carpack also comes in a shade that would harmonize
better with the MINI.
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ABOVE:
Note the zippered CD compartment in front. |
HOW
IT WORKS
Where the carpack shines is function. When
it is closed, it offers quick access to music CDs through a zippered
flap. My MINI has a single CD player, which is the most practical
option in my experience. I am not a big fan of CD changers because
I rarely know in advance what I want to hear! So having a simple,
easily accessible holder for CDs that does not get in the way is
extremely convenient.
Another
advantage to this feature is the magnetic closure. You can leave
the flap unzipped for easy access and it will stay closed thanks
to the magnet. This makes putting CDs away and grabbing new ones
a simple process -- and therefore a safer one. How many times have
you seen the driver in front of you duck down into the foot well
or reach into the back seat in search of stray music? The MINI Motion
carpack keeps things at your fingertips.
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| ABOVE: When opened, two
straps hold the case together, clamshell style. |
When
the carpack is unzipped, it also offers access to several relatively
spacious pockets, large enough to hold an atlas, other papers and
even a laptop computer. There are also a couple of pen loops, something
I appreciate as a person who is always digging for a writing instrument
at unlikely times. The zipper handles are attached with thin D-rings;
if you don't tug at the right angle, they won't budge far, so unzip
the carpack with deliberation.
Also
included is a neoprene laptop sleeve. Sadly, it is not quite large
enough to hold the 17 inch G4 Powerbook. When I squeeze the Mac
into it, the edges of the opening begin to split. The carpack will,
however, hold the Mac, albeit snugly. I traveled to Dallas for an
overnight trip with my laptop and a case full of medieval church
history notes in the carpack, and while the fit was tight, everything
worked out fine. I even managed to sneak copies of GoMINI
and the Times Literary Supplement into the magazine pocket,
just in case!
BOTTOM
LINE
The MINI Motion carpack costs $179 and, as
with the MINI luggage, you are paying a premium for "design."
You could accomplish the same thing by putting your passenger seatbelt
through the straps of a standard backpack. If the carpack's color
scheme matched the MINI better, and if it were a little larger to
allow the 17 inch G4 to fit comfortably, I would be completely satisfied.
As it is, I have mixed feelings about the carpack. It has not yet
become indispensible, but I am going to give it a chance.
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