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Carry Collaborations
We are proud to announce a milestone in our collaboration projects – our 10th Carryology collab.
Introducing the Aer x Carryology Tokai Sling!
We took a Carry Awards winner and reimagined what it could be. Inspired by bold Japanese street wear, but balanced it with subtle and tasteful execution. This harmony is what led to the creation of the Tokai (Japanese for “city”).
As always, these collabs are limited editions, as we suspect this to sell out quickly. But, as a Carryology reader, you have an exclusive access window of 24 hours until this collab gets revealed across the internet... so act quickly and click the link below!
PASSWORD FOR LINKS BELOW: “tokyo”
<<< ORDER ( ⬛ BLACK COLORWAY ⬛ ) NOW >>>
<<< ORDER ( ⬜ WHITE COLORWAY ⬜ ) NOW >>>
SHIPPING:
WORLDWIDE SHIPPING FROM AER!
Please allow for an additional 1-2 days for packing and processing.
Features:
Quick access front pocket
Multiple internal pockets for small accessories
Adjustable 38mm nylon webbing strap for comfort and fit
Hidden back pocket for your passport or wallet
Dimension-Polyant X50 (DWR coating, 500D Cordura nylon)
Fidlock V-BUCKLE 40 with laser-etched collab logo (breaking load: 70 kg)
Woojin Plastic (Korea) MAGIC SHORT magnetic buckle (keychain buckle)
Alutica Tilt Head Tension Lock (aircraft grade aluminum, tensile strength: 808.37 lbs)
YKK AquaGuard RC zippers (Racquet coil -- specifically designed for luggage applications)
Interior lining: 210D ripstop nylon
New zipper puller design
Hypalon details
From City to Streetwear
Like the name suggests, the City Sling is designed for the city dwellers, the urban travelers, the commuters, humans peacefully skating through cathedrals of glass and concrete. We focused on this vibe. Mix this with AER's continuing growth and success in Japan... we thought... ok... let’s take this to a Japanese city. Tokyo. The bustling streets of Harajuku. The balance of modern/history, loud/quiet, calm/rush, black/white, rugged/elegant, patterns/solids, yin/yang.
It's inspired by all of these, and gives a nod to Japanese streetwear. A culture that continues to inspire us here at Carryology HQ.
Upping the X
We experimented with the outer fabric. We originally discussed the options of Dyneema and other exotic fabrics. But we kept returning to Dimension Polyant XPac, as Carryology and AER are both fans of the strong, waterproof, and durable laminated fabric. But, this is an ode to the city – so we tuned the ruggedness way up. And, you know, we couldn't just go with any old XPac... we went with X50. For extreme durability and that airy reduction in weight.
The original plan was to make the entire Tokai Sling from X50 MultiCam Black...or blend camos for a real statement piece, but that was just too loud. Our inspiration was the balance of subtle and style. So we chose an all black front face on the sling, with MCB wrapped around the top, bottom, sides, and back. Onlookers see stealth black, while you see the MCB when you sling it around to your chest.
Contrast + Clash = Balance
We love the idea of loud style details being visible to the user, when they want to see it, but subtle for the world looking in. Discreet meets flashy. A balance of complementry foces. Taking that further, we've weaved in that balance throughout – rugged/elegant, patterns/solids, flamboyance/subtlety, yin vs yang.
What is the equal opposite of MultiCam Black?
MultiCam Alpine, of course.
Key Upgrade
Aer's original key lanyard worked just fine, but there was room for an upgrade. We decided to pimp it with a Korean-made magnetic "Magic Short" key lanyard with metal keyring. Stronger, more functional and little more badass.
Edges of Hypalon
If you’ve been following what we do, you know we love the technical goodness and weatherability of Hypalon (the stuff used in Navy SEAL inflatable boats). Its matte black looks work in tandem with the black X50 for a super clean face, and give some variation to the handfeel.
We added a zipper garage in Hypalon too, for that extra notch of weatherproofness.
All-Aluminium
We prefer metal over plastic in 99% of cases. And so we upgraded the City Sling's UTX-Duraflex hardware on the sides (for cinching down the load) and swapped in an all-aluminum Alutica tilt-head tension lock hardware, anodized in black. Fun fact: they have a break strength of 800+ lbs, just in case you somehow carry 1,600+ lbs in you sling.
YKK – All Day
The zipper? YKK AquaGuard RC, originally designed for luggage, used for water resistance and longevity.
Magnetic attraction
Magnets. But how do they work? We'll never know. Fortunately, the geniuses at Fidlock figured that whole "thing" out for us all. And our love for magnets and Fidlock led us to an important design decision, that ended up for a two for one benefit. A Fidlock 40mm V-Buckle was selected because it's a dream to use, it's super strong (70kg break strength), and it only requires one hand to buckle or unbuckle. The added perk? It's 40mm width. So we swapped the existing webbing on the City Sling and opted for a (in our opinion) better suited 38mm nylon strap webbing for the Tokai. Bonus.
The triple secret bonus? The shield on the Fidlock V-Buckle is stainless steel, coated black... acting as perfect canvas to laser engrave our two logos onto.
Signature High-Vis (Plus Ripstop)
Aer and Carryology are both big believers in high-vis internal lining fabrics. And our signature is that high-vis orange pop. We continue to use this colorway, because based on our legit scientific research (I'm honestly not kidding – I had help from NASA engineers and neuro-opthamologists over the span on months when I went down this rabbit hole... I'll have to share sometime). Form following function. So we were happy leaving this bright and bold interior fabric as is, but Allen told us he had found some really nice 210D nylon ripstop in bright orange, which added just a touch more durability and visual difference between the City Sling and the Tokai Sling. It made total sense!
Less 'Click' Pullers
And the zipper pullers? We had played around with orange Dyneema cord, but it just didn't feel substantial enough. Allen told us that AER had secretly been working on a new zipper puller design, that was burly as all heck and helped reduce ‘click’, and that the Tokai Sling could be the very first to use it. A quick change to orange paracord and it was a done deal.
Yin AND Yang
Balance, dualism, negative/positive, contrast, opposites. It's yin AND yang. The light from the inside, to the outside. The darkness on the outside, to the inside. Two versions of the Tokai Sling... a stealth black and MultiCam Black version and a bright white and MultiCam Alpine version. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be. Well... except for the quantities.
The Black version will be in very limited numbers, like all our collaboration projects.
As for the White version? Extremely limited numbers, one of the rarest collab pieces yet!
PASSWORD FOR LINKS BELOW: “tokyo”
<<< ORDER ( ⬛ BLACK COLORWAY ⬛ ) NOW >>>
<<< ORDER ( ⬜ WHITE COLORWAY ⬜ ) NOW >>>
Taylor Welden
Creative Director | Industrial Designer
Taylor designs for countless carry brands, across every carry category. He’s contributed to the lost art of manly moustaches, and earned a reputation for reviews that keep our core carry nuts learning.
WAYS TO CARRY