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review

Ally Capellino Wiggo Rucksack

8
£160.00

VERDICT:

8
10
Rugged and good looking rucksack as useful off the bike as on, but genuinely handy for both
Weight: 
1,260g
Contact: 
www.allycapellino.co.uk

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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Named for the winner of the Tour de France and an Olympic gold medal prior to his staggering 2012 achievements, this British designed and made (by Carradice of Nelson) rucksack is a bag our Brad could be proud to use.

The Wiggo is conceived to be a versatile, casually styled rucksack - part of Ally Caellino's Bags for Bikes range, made with high quality materials (as you'd hope from the price) and a whole host of cycling friendly features. It's also intended to be a bag you'd be just as happy wandering around town with, no matter how fashionable an individual, and not just a commuter backpack.

Made from super tough oiled canvas, the Wiggo also uses sturdy leather straps and reflective trim, as well as featuring a rugged coated canvas base to protect it and its contents when you set it down.

The adjustable rucksack straps are webbing, with broad oiled canvas pads that slide up and down for extra comfort. There's a zipped pocket inside, as well as a padded laptop sleeve big enough to accommodate a compact 14" laptop (although description claims 13" Macbook), while outside there's another zipped pocket at the front, hidden discreetly by a flap with leather strap fastening and reflective trim. The main body of the bag is a decent size too. There's also a waterproof cover supplied for when conditions get too soggy for the shower resistant canvas and the waterproof nylon lining.

Off the bike, this looks like a laid back, country-comes-to-the-city type of bag, but on the bike it's pretty capable too. Sitting securely and comfortably on the shoulders, it didn't slide about, even when worn over slippery technical fabrics. There isn't a chest or waist strap, but it sat still anyway, although the width of the bag mean it's slightly better suited to male frames than female ones, but only marginally.

A laptop fitted securely in the pocket, with what felt like reassuring levels of padding, and the leather grab handle at the top was useful for, well, grabbing the bag. Capacity was spot on for daytime office requirements and a change of clothes etc. It's not light, but it IS very tough.

At £160 this isn't a cheap bag, but it is an extremely high quality bag, with a British pedigree, that's as useful as a casual rucksack as it is a bike bag. It's the sort of bag you'd be happy to find nestled under the Christmas tree, or splurge on payday for, and it'll last you a very, very long time indeed.

Verdict

A rugged and good looking rucksack as useful off the bike as on, but genuinely handy for both.

road.cc test report

Make and model: Ally Capellino Wiggo Rucksack

Size tested: Brown

Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Aimed at style conscious cyclists and those who appreciate quality.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Made from oiled canvas with coated canvas base

Waterproof cover included

Front zipped pocket

Interior zipped pocket

Interior padded laptop sleeve (up to 14" laptop- although 13" Macbook quoted))

Canvas webbing adjustable straps with pads

Reflective trim

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
10/10

Bombproof construction and superb materials

Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10

Performed very well as a commuter/recreational cycling rucksack and an about-town bag

Rate the product for durability:
 
10/10

Will probably outlive you.

Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
6/10

Not the lightest by any means, but tough as old boots and designed for durability rather than lightness.

Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
8/10

Comfortable and stable on and off the bike.

Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

It's a lot of money but you're paying for a stylish and durable designer bag.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Performed very well.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Style, capacity, ruggedness.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Slightly broader than most cycling packs. If a little narrower at the base it would have been even more well suited to on the bike use and more unisex.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.

Would you consider buying the product? Definitely. And also as a gift.

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.

Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?

A well crafted, nicely featured rucksack that has all the cycling features you could want but doesn't scream out "bike"!

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 37  Height: 1.65m  Weight: 67kg

I usually ride:   My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, general fitness riding, mtb,

 

Lara has been riding bikes for longer than she'd care to admit, and writing about them nearly as long. Since 2009 she has been working as part of the road.cc review team whilst championing women's cycling on the side, most notably via two years as editor of the, sadly now defunct, UK's first and only women's cycling mag, erm, Women's Cycling. 

Believing fervently that cycling will save the world, she wishes that more people would just ride a bike and be pleasant to each other. 

She will ride anything with two wheels, occasionally likes to go fast, definitely likes to go far and is always up for a bit of exploring somewhere new and exciting. 

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