SOFT-GOODS DESIGN • PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Going Nomad, off-grid innovation
A tackle backpack that runs on remote power. Light, power, and off-grid solar are integrated into a product category that never had any.
Anglers are on the water before sunrise and long after dusk, often miles from a boat ramp, let alone a wall outlet. They now carry phones, GPS units and cameras, but their gear was built for lures and line, not batteries.
DISCIPLINES
Soft-goods design / Electronics development / Ideation / Prototyping + T&E / Production handoff
PHASE 01
TACKLE GEAR MARKET RESEARCH
INDUSTRY CONTEXT/ DESIGN CONSTRAINTS
The core problem the users named was simple: the day ends when the light fades or the phone dies. The brief became making the pack self-sufficient: it illuminates the dark, keep devices alive, recharge off-grid, without ever looking like a gadget.
01 — DESIGN FRICTION POINTS
An open playing field for premium differentiation
Electronics integration in soft-goods requires balancing standard utility, washability, and minimal weight with hard-good sealing standards. The two disciplines rarely coexist today.
Design takeaway: A successful design must solve the environmental and maintenance loops incorporating fully removable electronic/wiring cores for easy washing rather than add tech for its own sake.
02 — MACRO VS. micro market share
A specialized sliver inside the fastest — growing category
Mobile technology growth & the case for reserve power
By the mid-2010s, the smartphone had quietly become standard-issue tackle technology. This research lays out the shipment and battery-drain data behind that shift, and traces it forward to the Nomad backpack's power, light, and solar system.
03 — MACRO VS. micro market share
Global shipments crossed 1.3B units - up 27.6% year over year
04 — SOFT STORAGE MEETS HIGH ON-WATER POWER CONSUMPTION
Where an 8 - 12 hour trip’s battery usage actually goes
Convergence — why a smart, solar tackle bag makes sense
Two curves, smartphone adoption and soft-storage adoption, were climbing at the same time, on the same charts. That pointed to one conclusion: the pack itself was the logical place to solve the power problem.
01 — NATURAL FORM FACTOR
Anglers already carry a soft tackle bag everywhere. Integrating power tech into it adds zero baggage.
02 — PROTECTION & CABLE MANAGEMENT
Water-resistant nylon shields batteries and panels from saltwater and rain, with routed ports instead of loose cables.
03 — UNINTERRUPTED OFF-GRID POWER
A solar panel trickle-charges the internal bank across a long day, so navigation and fish-finding tools never go dark.
design takeaway
Every electronic addition maps directly to a data point
180˚ SWIVEL LED LIGHT
Offsets the loss of phone flashlight during pre-dawn and dusk, the exact windows anglers named as "when the day ends."
CABLE-ROUTED POWER BANK
Sized against the 8–12 hour trip window and the 35/30/20/15 drain drivers, so GPS, sonar, and signal-hunting stop competing for the last charge.
OPTIONAL STRAP-ON SOLAR PANEL
Answers the off-grid half of the problem for the 52% of anglers already carrying a soft bag — zero tackle volume sacrificed.
PHASE 02
IDEATION
SKETCHES / FORM EXPLORATION
I drew the backpack as thumbnail silhouettes first, then considered where power, light and charging could live inside the existing seams. Candidate locations were the lids and pockets, a lined internal sleeve, the MOLLE-webbed front face. Each system had to earn its place against tackle volume, not steal it.
The final sketch used an existing light design from CLC’s Tech Gear product line.
PHASE 03
TECH PACKS
TECHNICAL DRAWINGS
01 — NOMAD BACKPACK DRAWINGS & COLOR WAYS
SAMPLE MAKER ON-SITE — Having sample makers on-site allowed for flexibility with design specs. Designer-to-seamstress meetings mean quicker revisions.
02 — SOLAR PANEL DRAWINGS & EXPANDED VIEWS
FACTORY SPECS & DETAILS — Tech packs detail solar panel variations and Power Bank mAh specs.
EXPLODED VIEWS — As much detail as possible given to factories for proper assembly.
PHASE 04
PROTOTYPES & SAMPLES
PROTOTYPING / SAMPLES
The electronics were repurposed from CLC Tech Gear for Wild River: the injection-molded swivel-LED light with its pass-through sleeve for internal illumination, and the optional strap-mounted solar panel. Each sampled and bench-tested before the pack was built around it.
TECH GEAR LED LIGHT — Black light molded in tonal khaki color
01 — Main light housing & mounting bracket
02 — Internal light pass-through & LED array
03 — Overmolded LED switch
04 — Non-slip overmolded tab
SOLAR PANEL ARRAY — Custom USB Solar Panel For Remote Power
05 — Solar Panel can be attached to the backpack’s front face or hung in direct sun
POWER XP POUCH — Purpose-built pocket for power supply
06 — Power Bank pouch can hold additional USB accessories
PHASE 05
FINAL DESIGN
IN-PRODUCTION & ON DTC
Every component routes through the backpack's existing patterns, so when worn and fitted on someone's back, it still looks like a rugged tackle bag. A day that used to end when the light faded now runs as long as the fish are biting.
01 NOMAD TACKLE TEK — Standard backpack with integrated light
02 NOMAD XP TACKLE TEK — Upgraded backpack with integrated solar and reserve power
