Thanks DFW, Great to hear you are enjoying it. So if it is 5 years at least it is probably the V7. Our V8 has a different look for as we went to a Thermoplastic Polyurethane which gives it a cool look, but is also more water resistant, and more durable.

We will be announcing next week how you can get one of these for free.

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Emilio De Soto II
Maker of triathlon clothing, T1 Wetsuits, & Saddle Seat Pads and AXS since 1990
emilio@desotosport.com http://www.desotosport.com

I have the white one- its seen heavy use this year (including 3 tris where its rained most of the time).

Precisely the reason we made it out of this new TPU material! Thanks for supporting De Soto Sport with your purchase.

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Emilio De Soto II
Maker of triathlon clothing, T1 Wetsuits, & Saddle Seat Pads and AXS since 1990
emilio@desotosport.com http://www.desotosport.com

I must be in the minority to think that it doesn't really look that smart, bit drab and boring looking.

I've had two Huub back packs now that have fell apart on me though that looked the Dogs, so maybe asethecs shouldn't be my priority when selecting these type of things.

Hi Emilio,

Just saw this and want to be responsive.

1. Transition Pack name complaint - This is news to me. I just emailed our trademark counsel and asked them to verify that you registered this, as we had no prior knowledge of this and certainly weren't looking to infringe. Zipp, TYR, De Soto, 2XU, blueseventy and Orca all use the term "transition" in one form or another on some of their bags or packs, making this feel super generic actually. Our use of the word transition is a play on the triathlon term, as this bag is built for use far beyond the race course and the sport. If you have a trademark, please feel free to enforce your rights. My email is rob@roka.com if you want to send me some notice directly.

2. Arms-Up patent - Your statements are troubling. That patent has indeed been granted along with others over the years. The review process with the USPTO and other jurisdictions is extensive, and the claims are very specific and always published for opposition. You're welcome to look that stuff up online, and we also provide proper notice on our site. The arms-up patent is here: https://patents.google.com/...4B2/en?oq=US10004284.

If you ever want to chat about anything please just hit me up at rob@roka.com, and we can chat by email or phone. We've never met or spoken, and I see no reason for the animosity on this forum. Both of our brands are pushing performance and innovation and trying to do it right the first time. If you think we have ever overstepped or want to make legal claims, I'd like to hear about that, preferably offline.

Best,
Rob

rob@roka.com

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rob canales
ceo + co-founder at ROKA
http://www.roka.com

Thanks for commeting Rob. To be honest, Emilio’s post smelled like jealousy. I love the new bag.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Does it have any reflective material on the back?

The fact that you were granted a patent doesn’t mean you aren’t infringing—and I’m not saying you are. Readers just shouldn’t be mislead into believing that your patent means more than it does. Nor should they be misled by Emilio’s comment that seemed to imply you might be infringing so I understand why you wanted to post.

I do agree that the term Transition Pack is a pretty generic term.

Hello Rob,

Thanks for your very concise reply. I truly appreciate it. The OP's comment about jealousy cannot be further from the truth. Since tone can never be interpreted in any form of writing, I can assure there was no animosity whatsoever in my words. While by choice we remain a small company, we have been in business and profitable for 29 years and, just like racing in triathlon, we very much enjoy having competitors in the industry as well. Roka has done a great job in marketing its products and establishing itself as a viable brand in our sport.

As for enforcing Trademark rights, we have successfully protected a number of our our IP assets in the past, but we as a company prefer not to consider ourselves litigious, and have had great success with licensing agreements as well as in the selling of some of our trademarks. That said, I appreciate your offer to discuss things with you in the future, and to do it offline is my preference as well.

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Emilio De Soto II
Maker of triathlon clothing, T1 Wetsuits, & Saddle Seat Pads and AXS since 1990
emilio@desotosport.com http://www.desotosport.com

Are you still liking the Roka bag? I'm considering the Roka vs the Desoto and love the compartment aspect and aesthetics of the Roka, but was told that it's too bulky to bike with to my open water swims, and that price point....The Desoto is much larger volume wise, but was told that it's fine to bike with, no compartment system though, and don't love the aesthetics (IMO), but much better price point. Also looked at zone3, blueseventy, and xterra, so if anyone has input there, happy to hear it (or another suggestion).

Hi - I've got the Roka Transition pack and use it for everyday commuting, etc...It seems "bulky" but the structure holds well and provides great compartments to separate your items. I also have another commuting backpack from Inside Line Equipment that has the ONE compartment that slots in from the top, this works in a lot of situations, but the ability to open up the Roka Transition pack and put in different items has been awesome.

At first I thought the lack of a hip belt would cause the pack to be heavy, but the strap across the chest actually distributes the weight fine during my bike commutes (around 5k with hills). The pack is basically water resistent/proof. Never had an issue with it in the rain. Also, the zippers and construction are solid so you'll never get a snag. Great bag!

I recently picked up this BlueSeventy bag: https://www.blueseventy.com/...ducts/transition-bag

I'm really liking it. It's a bit more streamlined compared to my old DeSoto which I actually managed to wear out (tears in the fabric near the zipper). The BS has better/more zipped pockets on the top and inside, and seems a bit lighter. Granted I've only used it for pool days and not race days, so time will tell, but it seems to be a good option.

I haven't used it very much due to laziness and lack of training :) I sold my Zipp Transition One bag so I'll be using this bag from here on out for triathlon.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Thanks for the feedback, that pretty much answers everything I was curious about with the Roka!

Thank you, good to hear. I initially ruled this one out after seeing that it has no way to access items at the bottom without digging through items on top (desoto for example has a vertical zipper that unzips the entire side for access), but perhaps I will give it a second look. Also currently on sale for $72....

I mean if you're using it that little, you should probably just sell it to me ;). Also no idea how to reply to multiple people in one post, sorry.

hahahahh no! I really love that bag. I just need to start training seriously again. Buy it, you will like it. I packed mine up the other day to see how it would work for a triathlon and it's got so many pockets.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Just a tip with these bags. They are big and definitely bigger than other types of back packs and especially like compartments. When you fly Spirit Airline, this transition bag is considered as a personal item so you can bring it on board and you don’t have to pay. Personal bag(like lady’s purse) is free but they charge for carry ons. I was skeptical at first because it’s big but I’ve been using it for years now. They never questioned or stopped me at the gate. I can pack a lot of stuff in there and it’s really good for traveling.

So I just got this pack, and I really wanted to like it. The quality is really good, it fits comfortably on my back, and overall it's just a slick looking bag.

I just don't love how I'm committed to several small compartments. This is probably personal preference. In order to get to everything, you have to lay the bag out, which is advertised. But I personally thought about trying to set up at an ironman where you're crammed together, and that would create a larger footprint than I'm comfortable with. It just seems like a fuss to get to everything.

That's all personal preference. I consider myself to be a pretty organized person, but I found myself overwhelmed by being locked in to a certain organization system. But the bag is beautifully made.

So I ended up pulling the trigger on mine, have used it all summer (a few races, some bike commutes of ~20mi, daily work/gym bag), and I've loved it. I don't get what you mean by constrained to the compartments, you know you can remove the panels to open up space if you want right?

so someone else tipped me off to this after posting, and no I did not know this!

Even so, it's still not my favorite, again just a personal preference thing. I am currently going through 5 different bags at my house in a goldilocks situation trying to figure out which one I like! I do tend to love roka products though, and if anything, I may just spring for their commuter pack as a backpack for general travel.

Well glad I could help! If it's still not your ideal bag, that's ok. If there was one perfect bag for everyone, we wouldn't have all these options.

After putting way too much thought into a damn bag, I think I have things narrowed down, which I'm sure you were all super worried about.

The blueseventy and huub rucksacks were very similar in style, but the huub one was a little more durable on the bottom. The blueseventy didn't stand upright on its own very well which drove me crazy. The TYR apex is massive, but was nice for when i need to root around my bag in my car as it's like a short and stout boxy style. It's like the george costanza of bags. Good luck fitting it into a locker at the gym. The desoto was very durable, but the downside was the upper portion of where the straps meet was quite uncomfortable on my upper back, as it didn't have any curve to it. Really well made though. I felt like I could throw it down a mountain and it would remain in tact.

SO, I am hanging onto the huub rucksack for times where i know i will have to haul my stuff around a decent amount (for example, i have to ride my bike about a mile to get to my car after the iceman mtb race) as it sits nicely on my back and has a slimmer profile. I am hanging onto the TYR pack which will basically be the bag i keep in my car for after work training sessions. If I am at the pool, it will just come onto the deck with me.

I also sprung for the roka commuter pack. I am on the race staff for a youth mountain bike racing organization, and needed something to carry a laptop, a tablet, SNACKS, bike stuff, battery packs, and changes of clothes. This was a "treat yo self" kind of thing.

Yes this is an absurd account of bag purchases. But as someone who wears many hats as an engineer, triathlete, and race organizer, I am getting weary of unpacking and repacking bags all the time. So I think it will be nice to have things in their dedicated spaces!