I BOUGHT and USED this item. It WAS NOT PROVIDED to me for review by any company.
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Strength and Security in a Half Inch Strap… or just Knowing Where sh… Stuff Is.
I do hate walking around with things in my pockets. It’s always bothered me. I guess that’s why I became a carrier of one type of bag or another very early in life. But, for the majority of my life, well before I discovered Tom Bihn, I always found myself digging around in this bag or that, trying to find that one small item, which invariably took two or three plunges back into the bag to find.
Enter the magic man, Tom Bihn, and his ingenious o-ring system for tethering important items into the end of wonderfully crafted half-inch webbing straps.
Of course, I won’t claim that Tom Bihn invented the concept of fastening things to bags but the way they handle it is where the magic is.
Lots of makers include (key) leashes in their bags, particularly sling bags. But there’s precious little choice, if any at all, as to the location. With o-rings in nearly every compartment of almost every bag made at Tom Bihn, one has quite a few choices as to where to attach the playfully colored Tom Bihn Key Straps.
The straps are super strong. It’s webbing. Of course it’s strong. There’s an unassuming and tasteful TB tag sewn just near the bar tack on one end while the other end is bar tacked without a TB tab.
The plastic fasteners are really solid. I imagine they do have a breaking point but my initial concerns about plastic being used as a fastener this small have been erased with time.
As plastic fasteners go, I’m a fan of the YKK LN15Z Snaphook – not just on Tom Bihn products but also in my own sewing projects. They swivel all over the place, smoothly and without obstruction. This means one might never accidentally put an item on it backwards, like so many other kinds of fasteners.
Side note: Though this same Snaphook is sewn into the Ghost Whale Pouch, I still use a Key Strap to fasten it into whatever bag I’m carrying. I like having some length and slack to work with.
Speaking of length, the Tom Bihn Key Strap comes in two lengths, from end to end: 8in/200mm or 16in/400mm. At first, I thought I’d rather just have all 16in straps. But it’s too much for some use cases (strapping keys into Bantam for one).
These colorful little straps offer quite a bit of security in just knowing where stuff is. Don’t just fish around for things. Grab a Key Strap or, for those who REALLY are organized, grab the colored Key Strap designated for the item you’d like to get out, and give it a tug. Always knowing that what you need is on the other end of the strap is nice.
I have many Tom Bihn Key Straps in a bunch of variations: with D-rings, snaphooks, or split rings on one end or the other, etc. and am a huge fan of the Iberian and Wasabi colorways. I’m a huge fan of these in general! But that’s not a hard thing to say. After all… Who doesn’t love these fun and colorful little things??
How I Got This Item for Review
I purchased this item myself. Tom Bihn did not supply it to me for review. The opinions in this review are my own and would not be swayed one way or another if I had been given a review unit by Tom Bihn.
