Gear Survey
Gear forum
Posted on Feb. 7, 2015, 2:35 p.m. by nbrad
Hi all,
I am a student, working on designing a backpack for people within the Magic/trading card community. I have a survey below about the bag you carry your magic cards and gear in. Any feedback you can give me would be very much appreciated!
1) Do you prefer to play MTG with friends or in tournaments?
2) Would you buy a specialty bag specifically designed to hold your Magic cards and supplies?
3) How much would you spend on a quality bag specifically designed for your Magic gear?
4) Of the COLOR OPTIONS of the bags below, which would you prefer?
A) all black/neutral color bag (think - http://www.jansport.com/shop/en/jansport-us/backpacks/onyx-oxidation-T50Q )
B) black/grey bag with a pop color (think - http://www.jansport.com/shop/en/jansport-us/firewire-2-T50C )
C) all bright color bag (think - http://www.jansport.com/shop/en/jansport-us/backpacks/sinder-18-t35w )
D) patterned bag (think - http://www.jansport.com/shop/en/jansport-us/new-items/right-pack-world-T49Z )
E) bag with MTG character on it
Oops sorry - here is with the links working!
Hi all,
I am a student, working on designing a backpack for people within the Magic/trading card community. I have a survey about the bag you carry your magic cards and gear in. Any feedback you can give me would be very much appreciated!
1) Do you prefer to play MTG with friends or in tournaments?
2) Would you buy a specialty bag specifically designed to hold your Magic cards and supplies?
3) How much would you spend on a quality bag specifically designed for your Magic gear?
4) Of the COLOR OPTIONS of the bags below, which would you prefer?
A) all black/neutral color bag (think - like this black bag.
B) black/grey bag with a pop color (think - like this grey bag with a pop color or your choice
C) all bright color bag (think - like this pop color bag of your choice
D) patterned bag (think - like this all over patter but in a pattern of your choice
E) bag with MTG character on it
February 7, 2015 2:47 p.m.
1) Tournaments.
2) I think I would, haven't come across one I like yet.
3) Depends on the Quality. Something around 20-50$
4) E, I'd like me a bag with Liliana of the Veil
February 7, 2015 3:08 p.m.
Epochalyptik says... #5
1) Both.
2) No, but I'm also pragmatic. I have an old school bag that suffices for all of the things that I routinely carry to Magic events, so I don't have a need to spend money to get another bag that might carry the same things better.
3) This is a difficult question to answer because the answer necessarily depends on the features of the bag. I would think most people probably cap out at around $40-50 for a reasonably utilitarian product.
4) A. I'm a simple man. I like flat colors, dark coffee, good whisky, and wait, what were we on about?
Regarding the features of the bag itself:
- I highly suggest designing a backpack instead of a messenger bag or carrying case. Backpacks are inherently more stable and can support much more weight.
- If you can, integrate some kind of shoulder support. Columbia has an amazing proprietary system (details here and here) that makes it really easy and comfortable to haul anything you would conceivably need. For people with lots of trade stock (I normally cart some very heavy binders), it's a huge plus.
- Make it easy to put on. If it's a pain in the ass to get your arms through the straps, then people aren't likely to use it. I'll sometimes have to rest my current bag on the table to get it on if I'm wearing a coat, but it's easy to put on if I'm wearing a tee or something.
- Consider protection or support for the cards/decks. One of the reasons people like cases like the Dragon's Egg is that they provide rigid support for your deckboxes. Less jumbling around means less damage to the boxes and less chance of a box opening and damaging your cards. I've also seen some cases that use a foam liner with cutouts for the deckboxes and supplementary materials. This is a better option for some things (hard plastic is harsher on wooden, painted, or finely detailed surfaces), but it's also more annoying to replicate for production. Plastic is pretty easy to mold. You'll also have to consider whether you want to support the use of deckboxes or not. The Dragon's Egg provides good protection for cards, but you can't use deckboxes (or at least some deckboxes) with it unless you remove the rigid interior support, which is one of the bag's better features. Therefore, you're limited in what you can do with the deck. You might want to enable players to use a deckbox if they have one so they can still easily and safely transport their deck without putting it back into the bag.
- Thick fabric. Most people who use backpacks to carry their stuff end up with torn fabric, especially where binder corners generate friction around the sides and bottom of the bags. Make this thing durable. Some bags incorporate plastic or metal skeletons that help support heavier objects or objects with sharper corners (less movement means less chance of a tear).
- Easy to manually open, hard to accidentally open. Thick strips of velcro are usually sufficient for side pockets and dice pockets, and strong zippers are a good idea for larger compartments. For velcro or non-zippered pockets, make sure the fabric is cut in a way that prevents things from slipping between the pieces of the pocket. I've seen lots of people lose dice when they turn their bags sideways and the dice leak out between the pocket and its cover flap.
- External features. Consider whether you want to add an external pocket or two for drinks (I can't tell you how many cans of Monster I've carted and consumed at major events) or other unimportant (read: doesn't matter if stolen) materials.
- Ease of access. You should be able to quickly find dice and your deck when you need them.
February 7, 2015 3:16 p.m.
asasinater13 says... #6
1) I play drafts with friends at a school club mostly
2) If there were one that's reasonably affordable, protecting, and efficient at carrying things (I have back problems, so easy to be carried is pretty imoprtant
3) somewhere around 20-30
4) black/grey
February 7, 2015 3:19 p.m.
Very interesting idea. I'm going to start by saying straight up, I would never buy a bag with a MTG character on it. Partially because I think it's stupid. Also, despite the bag being designed to hold mtg stuff, it would definitely limit where I would want to bring it. On top of that, it just feels sort of childish in a 12 year old kind of way.
My current bag is all black, sans logo, and i'd prefer to use an all black bag, or a black/grey bag with some subtle color flair, nothing extravagant.
As far as what I would be willing to spend on a quality backpack, probably upwards of 50/60 dollars. If it was well made and super useful. If it's just a basic backpack with decent room to hold mtg cards, probably no more than 30.
I also have to agree with Epoch: It would have to be a backpack. I have no interest in carrying around a specialized tote bag, or fabric box with a strap. Idealy, it would also have to be able to fit under an airplane seat so that it would not count as your one carry on item.
Oh, and I prefer tournaments but also like playing with friends.
February 7, 2015 4:39 p.m.
TheGrayMerchant says... #8
1)Tourneys!
2)Yes
3)$30 max
4)I would say E, but I wouldn't necessarily want it to be a character. I want a bag/case that would fit my deck(s) personality(s).
February 7, 2015 6:37 p.m.
sonicizslow says... #9
I second everything Epochalyptik said, he hit the nail on the head. Backpack is greater then a messenger bag. While I have used both, the messenger could be more convenient at times, but more often then not, was just a pain to carry.
Godsire132 says... #2
1) While I most just play with friends we go to a draft about every other week so it would be nice to carry our stuff in a bag instead of holding it.
2) Probably.
3) No more than $35 preferably.
4) Don't care as much on color as protection.
February 7, 2015 2:41 p.m.