It's arrived!

I was dragged downstairs this morning, all dishevelled in my dressing gown, by the man with the van from the Royal Mail ringing on my bell. With a package all the way from the U.S.of A!

Yes, my fab new Transpack skate bag has arrived safe and sound. And for the benefit of all my lovely readers, in case any of you are interested, I thought I would do a little review of my bag. If you click on the photos, you will get a MUCH bigger version!

Now please note first of all the gratuitous shot of my sexy new blade guards, in Mulberry. My favourite colour, and one that matches my burgundy soakies rather well!

The skates sit in their own compartments with mesh, to allow aeration, one each side of the main compartment. My skates are size 38 and as you can see, there is LOADS of room left. If your skates are bigger, you can store them vertically in these pockets, with heel at the bottom and toe at the top. And of course, with the mesh, it means if you forget to take your skates out to air, it doesn't matter! I was worried that the mesh might be a little fragile, but it is very robust and coated with some plastic stuff to make it tougher. The skate compartments also have drainage vents down the sides and at the base, which you can just see in the picture.

At the back of the bag, you can see the "rucksack" straps. These are really sturdy and are well padded for comfort. I also have noticed that due to to the Isosceles system that Transpack use, the skates are balanced on each side of the bag, and when you have it on your back it feels incredibly light. A big improvement from my rubbishy old bag with a shoulder strap where it just used to feel heavier and heavier as I lugged it about.

In this last picture, you can see the opening to the main compartment at the top. And it is like Mary Poppin's carpet bag - it has loads of space! I think it was designed to even fit helmets, so there will be no problem fitting all my rubbish in! There is also a zipped pocket inside, for your valuables, keys, money etc. With all this space, I am now making copious lists of everything I can drag around with me now, to be the most organised skater in England! And of course, the central compartment is completely separate and waterproof from the skate compartments, meaning that no matter how stinky, or wet your skates are, they won't affect anything else in the bag. Overall, the bag is really well constructed, and doesn't feel flimsy or delicate in any areas at all. The fabric feels very strong, and I have to say . . . I love the blue flowery design! Little details like the double zips on every single fastening, the air and water drainage vents in the skate pockets and the mesh to allow air to circulate, make this a bag that I am really pleased with.

I must also praise where I bought this from. I ordered it from Northern Ice & Dance (on my coaches recommendation actually!) for a fraction what I would pay in England, even including the postage. The owner's communication was excellent, and I would certainly not hesitate to order again.

So all in all, a very happy bunny. Now, when can I go skate to try it out?!