When you go out it’s always good to have a WINGMAN WITH YOU
Henty UK director Chris Wilkes describes the design and development of the Wingman
How to appear unruffled at work? Always a difficult problem for those who want to cycle or run into the office, stuffing your suit into a backpack or bag and getting that creased and worn look.
But if you wanted to be creasefree but still use the commute as an exercise session, how would you do it?
That was the question that two Australians, Jeremy Grey and Jon Gourlay, asked themselves.
Henty was formed in 2012 as a result. Grey developed a prototype bag to solve the problem of how to transport business clothing to and from the office and have it ready to wear on arrival for his cycling commute to work in Sydney.
The concept worked well, so he and Gourlay started Henty to hone the design of the bag and commercialise it.
That first prototype has now evolved into a unique and innovative range of carrying solutions for active people. Henty Wingman Backpack 2017 is a suit bag, garment bag, commuter bag, gym bag, laptop bag and portable locker all rolled into one.
With it’s rolling design the 2017 Wingman transports your business suit, dress or uniform, plus two or three shirts or blouses. Semi-rigid vertical ribs (made from 100 per cent recycled plastic from Tasmania) maintain the shape of the bag when rolled and minimise garment creasing.
The 2017 Wingman features Henty’s pivoting-hook coat hanger allowing garments to be hung in wardrobes and lockers, then swiftly clipped in to the Wingman and carried neatly and securely to the office.
Henty UK directors Chris Wilkes and Melissa Wilkes are huge advocates of the bags and played a part in their development.
Chris said: “ Melissa kicked things off in the UK. She was good friends with Jon and Jeremy.
“They were designing the bag looking for a way to transport their smart wear around the city to and from work etc.
“I am an osteopath by trade. I was doing a cycle to my clinic in London, I became interested in it from my own personal perspective.
“So then when Melissa started to help the guys in the UK, I started to product-test for the early bags on my daily commute, putting it through its paces and giving feedback.
“The initial Wingman was a messenger-style bag, so it had a single strap like a courier. One of the drives to produce the backpack version was for running. “It’s able to take that vertical displacement of running with the waist strap and the chest strap.
“I think it’s only constrained by the weight of the bag you’re comfortable running with and how far you are going.
“As long as you’re not trying to carry weighty laptops or run long distances it’s a really good solution.
“I use it all the time. It allows people to stay on the move and commute in an environmentally-friendly way without being constrained by the need to be smart at the other end. “For us that’s the goal, so if we can do that for people that’s obviously a good thing for us.
“There is a new update of the back pack this year – previously it has come with an external waterproof cover so the bag itself was showerproof but not water resistant.
“Now it comes with the drybag internal and the suit garment bag has been weatherproofed as well, which is a nice step forward, so you don’t need an external cover for it now. The roll top allows it to be 100 per cent waterproof.
“Our ethos is to allow people to stay active, to allow them to keep commuting and moving around even if they have got to have their smart clothes with them or travel a lot.” But the versatility of the bag has led to further innovations from Henty as they launch a new variation – the Co-pilot. Chris said: “I travel through my job.
“I found that the Wingman was perfect as carry-on luggage for short-haul flights. “The Co-pilot is more of a travel bag, a new iteration of the same product. “Basically we took a Wingman that was always optimised for the commute, compact sized, waterproof and then we expanded that to the Co-pilot with the same principle of a rolling garment compartment.
“However, it has been increased in size slightly but is still within airport carry-on limit.
“But it allows you to pack a little bit more than overnight or a couple of days. “It’s very similar in principle to the wingman but optimised for the short business trip as well as the commute.”
