This Thing x 1733 CORDURA® Nalgene Bottle Bag

Written by Ali George Hinkins

This Thing x 1733 CORDURA® Nalgene Bottle Bag‘This Thing’, a creative outlet of This Thing of Ours’, has released its first project developed in collaboration with 1733, the Chicago-based team designing bags and accessories that deliver on ‘beauty, durability and being uncommon.’ On the contrary, that seems like a similar way I would aptly describe This Thing of Ours - it seems that two worlds have come together well then, in the form of 1733 and This Thing of Ours. 

Crafted in the USA by experts from 1733, the Bottle Bag boasts a composition of CORDURA® and Ripstop Nylon which strikes the perfect balance between weight and durability. It’s a very utilitarian piece of kit in the sense that it can also be used as a normal side bag for stowing your wallet or phone in.  Finishing touches include an aluminium carabiner for securing your keys and nylon straps which allow for other accessories to be attached. The bag is available in three classic colour-blocked schemes: Black/Grey, Khaki/Beige and Black/Green. 

It has become evident to me now that often the best brands, products and ideas are born out of an individual's frustrations with what is available to them and so they go in search of doing something their own way as it can sometimes seem the only way. This couldn’t be truer for This Thing’s first project which sought to design a bottle bag that would alleviate the tediousness of carrying a Nalgene around all day which, agreeably, does get tiresome after a while. 

To get more of an idea of what ‘This Thing’ is and the premise of this first bespoke product, I reached out to Tim to gain a deeper insight.  

AGH: For those who are otherwise unaware, maybe you could briefly tell us what ‘This Thing’ is?

TTOO: "This Thing” came about as an opportunity for us to create some things we wanted for ourselves and our friends that either weren’t available or, what was available wasn’t quite right for us. Rather than an in house “brand” for the store, it’s more of a creative outlet for us to work on some projects with like-minded suppliers, brands or creatives. 

AGH: What was your thinking going into this collaboration in regards to what you wanted to make?

TTOO: We actually don’t want "This Thing” to be specifically about products as we’re looking at it as more of a diverse creative outlet. So, while there will definitely be product that gets created, there could equally be other projects that we take on over time. That said, even the whole product side is really wide open as we’d like to create and collaborate with some pretty diverse partners. 

AGH: Why did you choose a bottle holder as your first product to work on? 

TTOO: We use Nalgene bottles daily, in the office, at the gym, and in the outdoors and lugging them around can get a bit tedious. We simply weren’t that happy with the bottle bags available so decided to hook up with a long time friend of the store, Phil from 1733, to make something we're happy to use on a daily basis and in very different environments. 

AGH: Can you explain the thought process in choosing the specific materials and little design nuances like the carabiner and nylon straps?  

TTOO: Early on in the process, we sampled a variety of materials but we came back to CORDURA® for its pure workhorse capabilities and slightly retro touch. There’s a LOT of X-PAC and Dyneema on the market and we love the stuff but it seemed wasted on lugging a water bottle so we wanted to be a little simpler in our choice. Quality hardware was always going to be a must; the aluminium hardware combined with the rugged CORDURA® and Nylon webbing should mean that this is a bottle bag that will stand up to the rough stuff and when looked after properly should last a lifetime which was another important component of the project. There are a lot of neat features that we think will make the bottle stand out from the pack when in use. Those little “ahh okay, that makes sense" moments were important in the design.

The Nalgene Bottle Bags are available now from This Thing of Ours’ online store and Manchester spot.