A backpacking trip through Europe turned out to be more than just a travel adventure for Ryan Higgo.
An Industrial Design graduate, Higgo’s 2012 travels sparked an innovative idea and saw him conceptualise Snugpack, a day pack attachment, facilitating more comfortable and safer resting comfort for backpackers in the various stages of transit.
“While taking long train trips across France, I noticed many other young people in the same situation, wanting to rest more comfortably,” he says.
Higgo says backpackers where often resting against a window with their heads covered with a top and their leg positioned through the strap of their backpack to prevent theft.
Wanting to solve this problem, Higgo opted to make it the focus of his BTech research project and conducted extensive ethnographic research into the backpacking community.
“The results pointed towards a need for a simple product that allows a more comfortable and more secure resting option while in transit,” says Higgo.
The Snugpack is wrapped around a backpack that is strapped to the front of an individual’s body, allowing the individual to slide their hands and arms into a pocket for comfortable support.
The product also features an extractable hood that can be pulled over the user’s head whilst resting as well as a cushion.
The design has been successful in its user testing stage in South Africa, England, Scotland and Ireland, and the first production run has recently been completed.
