rethinking the backpack: NIKE makes accessible bag for every body using magnetic flap

NIKE’s Elite EasyOn Backpack for all athletes and every body

NIKE unveils the Elite EasyOn Backpack, a bag for all athletes and every body. When the brand says it’s for every body, it quite literally is for every body. There’s a patented magnetic closure system backed against a TPU-reinforced lining, so the user uses the magnetic pull to swing the top flap shut and secure it in place. In this way, the top part can be opened using one hand without the user tugging it or applying force, unlike in conventional bags. The NIKE backpack also has a G-hook on the back that loops through the top flap to keep it sealed and secured.

all images courtesy of NIKE

Modular straps for wheelchair handlbars

NIKE also adds patented clasps to their Elite EasyOn Backpack. They allow the user to widen or narrow the bag’s fit across the user’s shoulders and even the wheelchair handlebars. The accessory also has a modular strap system to let the user carry it on their back, like a sling bag, or hang it onto a wheelchair. The feature emerges as the brand collaborates with a local wheelchair rugby team, the Portland Pounders. Then, during the prototyping stage, NIKE develops three models of their backpack to test.

They moved the top zipper pocket by 1.5 centimeters and made the bottle pocket finger loop two centimeters wide. These ‘ideas’ wouldn’t be realized without tests, so NIKE worked with Richard Ramsay, the brand’s senior footwear developer. He met up with NIKE Lead Equipment Designer Brent Radewald in the spring of 2022 and showed him a prototype of the backpack for the brand’s Paralympic athletes ahead of Paris 2024. Richard Ramsay, born without a left arm, would go on to test the backpack for every body. It would take the design team around two years to fully materialize the final production as they adopt the changes during testing.

the NIKE backpack, called Elite EasyOn, has modular straps

fully-opening front and secure locks for the bag

Richard Ramsay plays basketball and football. He brings his backpack with him during games and practices and experiences how challenging it can be even just slide the zippers. They require force, which his right hand can help him with, but positioning the backpack upright may be another hurdle to cross. Instead of the accessory adapting to his needs, it’s Richard Ramsay who adjusts for his backpack. NIKE considers this, among other things. Aside from an easy opening, the contents inside their backpack need to be accessible from the very top.

They think that someone with low dexterity – for example, a quadriplegic – may find it hard to go through their stuff at the base of the bag if the entire front part doesn’t open all the way down. Over the course of two years, the design team tweaks and redevelops the design. They even tried opening and closing the bag using oven mitts and kitchen utensils like salad tongs during testing. In the end, the use of magnetic clasps, modular straps, a fully-opening front, secure locks, and an easy-open system works well for the universal design they were aiming for. ‘The backpack isn’t just a better bag for disabled athletes. It’s a better bag for everyone,’ says Richard Ramsay.

the front part fully opens using magnetic flap