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Boblbee (also BOBLBEË‘E when expressed on their products) was first established in 1997 as a thinktank for research and development of sports and recreational equipment. This eventually led to the design and manufacture of hardshell and softshell backpacks. Corporate headquarters are located in Torekov, southern Sweden where their products are made and assembled. They have received two Good Design Awards.
History Jonas Blanking is a noted industrial designer born and based in Sweden with background in the automotive and sports industries, working with such companies as Alfa Romeo, Volvo, Porsche and sports-gear maker Salomon. An avid outdoors man, he constantly had troubles with conventional backpack designs that would render his books and papers soggy and his laptop casing occasionally fractured. Therefore he felt the need for a backpack that unlike even those suitable for sports such as hiking and biking, it would have to be rigid but hold adequate volume. The air cargo industry was his first foray in working out his predicament, which led him to employ the use of aluminium and ABS plastics and work out how they were assembled. Prototypes were worked on in 1996 in which even in its inception bore an unconventional appearance. In the end, a final prototype was made, featuring a concept in which the outer shell could be implemented so that the outside surface area is as useful as the internal volume. Fasteners located all over the pack led to one being able to carry a skateboard or snowboard with simple straps that could be taken off with ease. Later on accessories were made to fit around the sides and the crevasse situated at the bottom of the pack for lumbar support. The concept was finalised in April 1998, leading to the birth of the Boblbee Monocoque Hardshell Backpack, now known as the Megalopolis. Megalopolis The Megalopolis was their first and most popular backpack to date. A design that reminds some of a toboggan or even a jetpack, it has the ability to make one distinct from the crowds. The design is so influential in fact that the Megalopolis and other lines have been greatly imitated, although these fakes are on the decline. So individual is the form that the Megalopolis (and the identical but smaller Peoples Delite) has starred in movies such as Charlie's Angels, The Fast And The Furious, The Italian Job and also Bicentennial Man, for which the pack could be considered futuristic for the movie's time setting. The Megalopolis comes in two derivatives, Executive and Sport models respectively. The difference between the two is the colour selections (Sport version has in-mould primary colours whereas the Executive has been painted and lacquered in a myriad of colours) and the partition of the interior, where the Sport has a removable laptop sleeve instead of an actual laptop compartment. Target audience Boblbee bills itself as a sports enthusiast company, but the vast proportion of their products are used in urban situations. Couriers, cyclists, motorcyclists and DJ's are all noted buyers of Boblbee packs, especially the Megalopolis. In world terms, popularity has been achieved mainly in Japan where a big portion of Boblbee items are sold. Boblbee Japan also has a website separate from the main site which features products exclusive to that region. The company's homeland, Europe, is also an area where Boblbee sells well. Hardshell Softshell | ||||||||
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