You may have caught a glimpse of the Player Bag and the Pond Pack in our Kickstarter.  You may have even took part in the Kickstarter and ordered yourself a bag, but you haven’t truly met our bags until you know the story of how they came to be.

Not surprisingly, the idea for the Player Bag and Pond Pack came from hockey players, Pacific Rink co-founders Brad Serkin and Jason Withee.  Serkin and Withee went through more than five hockey bags in just two years and decided it was time to end the frustration so many hockey players have with bags and just design the bag they have always wanted themselves.

Serkin and Withee went into creating and designing the bags with one thought in mind - build the ultimate hockey bags.  They wanted to build bags that were strong but functional, were made of only the best materials and construction and were versatile with a style that was timeless and innovative at the same time.  Not an easy task.

"We set the bar pretty high for what we wanted to do.  We truly set out to revolutionize hockey bags and I think the Player Bag and Pond Pack do that," said Withee.

It quickly became clear to Serkin and Withee that it would take two bags to satisfy the  needs of the traditional and outdoor hockey players, coaches and refs.  With this in mind, they put the Player Bag together as the larger, all-encompassing bag which can hold all of a player's gear and still be functional, easy to carry and look good. For the Pond Pack, they had outdoor players, coaches, parents and referees in mind and wanted to create something that was closer to an everyday rucksack with hockey features.

"I live and breath hockey so I was getting insight, tips and ideas from the hockey players and teammates I interact with every day," said Withee.  "Also, working with Brad was particularly important because he brought an addition perspective to the table."

As a player and two children who play hockey, Brad specifically worked to make sure and add the elements that he personally knew parents of hockey players wanted to see in hockey bags.

"Hockey coaches and parents have their own set of needs when it comes to bags and that's why we built so much versatility into the bags," said Serkin.  "What I love most about the Pond Pack is that it's also the perfect bag for life outside of hockey."

The story doesn't end once Withee and Serkin finished the design and construction of the bag.  They wanted to get the hockey community involved, so they launched a Kickstarter campaign which allows those interested in the Player Bag and Pond Pack the chance to get  in the story.  Hundreds have already joined and added their name to the story of the revolution of hockey bags.

For more on the story of the Player Bag and Pond Pack check out this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKln7DdfoMw

The Pacific Rink story isn't just about hockey bags either.  Serkin and Withee have also developed a premium line of apparel with a high-end design aesthetic.  Stay tuned for more on the story of Pacific Rink's apparel.

www.pacificrink.com/kickstarter

Anyone who has played hockey long enough knows hockey bags leave a lot be desired. It's not hard to find someone ranting about their struggles with their hockey bag at any rink, pond or even when they travel with their hockey gear.

We've heard almost all of them (and made a lot of them ourselves) but here are some of the most common complaints:

"It's not durable enough."

It's strange that a sport so synonymous with toughness has bags that aren't built to last. Hockey players know the struggle of falling in love with a bag only to discover the seams tear and fabric rips before you even break it in. There's nothing worse than investing a good chunk of money into a bag you expect to use for years only to have to start looking for a replacement in less than a year because the bag can't hold up physically.

"It's just an empty hole."

A lot of the time a bag will be durable, but that's all it will be. Too many hockey bags lack the kind of functionality hockey players need to get the right gear in the right places. These empty hole bags leave you searching around for the right gear when you need it and allows gear to get torn up by exposed skate blades or clothing getting mixed with the funk of the bag.

"It's not the right size."

Hockey bags seem to come in two sizes – so giant you can't even carry it, or so small it barely fits any of your gear. It's like hockey bag manufacturers don't realize you need a bag you can travel cross country with for a tournament and still take on an airplane and you need one for quick trips to the rink or pond which won't weigh you down.

"It's not versatile."

Hockey players want to be able to use their hockey bag for other activities. It's not like we live on the ice. We want a bag we can also use for other activities like snowboarding, surfing, lacrosse or traveling and not look out of place.

"It has no style."

A plain black sack with a little logo on it isn't enough anymore. We are going to be taking our hockey bag all over the place and we want something that looks good anywhere, anytime - not just in a locker room or at the rink.

We took all the complaints we have always heard from hockey players about hockey bags and aimed to solve them when we designed our Player Bag and Pond Pack. We built these bags to be strong, functional, versatile but stylish and the perfect size. We are hockey players ourselves, so we hand-crafted these to be the hockey bags we have always dreamed of. We believe they could truly revolutionize the hockey bag market.

Check out the Player Bag and Pond Pack on our site

https://www.pacificrink.com/collections/bags