I’m the type of the person who spends months researching a product before buying it. Even though I try to buy high quality items, I am still afraid that they will break after a short while. I keep the boxes for anything I buy just in case something needs to be returned – that’s on top of the stupendous amount of packaging I have in my job. So I’m thankful when a product feels as a good, long-term investment out of the box, the kind of thing you will only have to buy once.
This is what the Apron Savage Industries is like. Handcrafted in California by Mafia Bags, it is designed taking aging and bad weather into account; it is built to be beaten. The leather thigh overlays and durable canvas fabric look and feel great once you pierce them. The more scratches and stains, the better! Seriously. This apron looks so simple at first. But like a blank canvas, it can’t reach its full potential until you do something with it.
Like a glove
Savage Industries, as the name suggests, produces and sells equipment designed by Adam Savage from Against the myths and Tested Fame. Savage opened a boutique to create sustainable products inspired by those he designed for his own use. the Savage Industries EDC One bag, one of the company’s first products, is a WIRED favorite. I picked up a EDC Two bag awhile ago, and I can really see what it is. The apron has great shoes to fill.
It doesn’t hang around your neck or wrap around your waist like a typical kitchen apron. Instead, the shoulder straps form an X across your back and tighten with a plastic quick-release buckle. Once you adjust the length of the strap to your body shape, it’s a tight and comfortable fit. The lower part of the apron is split in half, like the pant legs, and each leg has a smaller clasp and strap to wrap around your thighs. It comes in small, medium, and large, so be sure to measure yourself and use the company size chart to find the best solution.
The strap design is ergonomic and intuitive, but the strap material leaves something to be desired. Like the apron as a whole, it will get softer and more flexible over time, but even after a few months of testing the straps are still stiff and cheap. Compared to the silky soft strap of my EDC Two bag, for example, the apron suspenders just have a lower quality. This is a minor issue but something to consider if you are sensitive to textures.
On the other hand, the quick-release plastic buckles withstood all the rigors I put through them well. (I a m tried to replace them with metal.)
The bodycon design is a welcome addition once you’ve outfitted the apron with the tools of your trade. The loop on either hip easily accommodates hammers or portable sickles. The two large hip pockets are deep enough for tape rolls, but also work well for clip-on tools. I cut a Leatherman Wingman Multi-Tool and a garden trowel on them with ease, and they stay put thanks to the stiff canvas and durable stitching.
There are a few narrow pockets on the chest of the apron, large enough to accommodate sharpies (with a bit of stretch), pens, pencils, small screwdrivers, meat thermometers, and anything else that is narrow and shaped. pen. It’s an apron that needs to be loaded. Once you’ve got everything set up, it’s nice to have all of your various tools ready to go when you put them on. It’s like a tool belt for your whole body.
Heavy chores like gardening will leave awesome scuffs and mostly keep my clothes clean. But it’s the number (and location) of tool pockets and loops that make it a must-have. The biggest endorsement I can give this apron is that it just makes it easier to work with your hands. It intuitively places your tools and accessories where you need them.
Once you’ve worn it a few times, you’ll find yourself searching for tools before you even realize you need them. It’s like having an assistant hand you instruments like you’re a TV surgeon barking for a scalpel, stat.
Tailored
During testing, I found myself wearing it for tasks that usually don’t require a shop apron. I had it while doing the dishes to protect myself from the backsplash. I wore it when I was frying tofu to protect myself from spice backsplash. I even put it on when I was build a new pc. Having little pockets on my chest for tiny screwdrivers and pliers (to catch screws that inevitably slip into crevices in my PC case) was incredibly handy, and I never want to do PC maintenance without it again.
Not only does it scream at being scuffed, but it also asks to be personalized. I would love to add a hook so I can hang it up easily, for example. I plan to tweak it further to better suit my unique use cases, and at $ 95, I don’t feel like I’m downgrading an ultra-luxurious product. It’s relatively affordable and it’s the kind of item you buy with the intention of making it fit somehow.
He is not specialized for a particular task, which means you can specialize it for your tasks, and I love it. Chest pockets are a comfortable way to hold my Copic pens to finish the line art over an illustration, or tiny brushes for model painting or even nail art. This is a neutral apron for crafts. In this way, it is a standard bearer of the creative spirit championed by its namesake.
