IIRC, there was another thread last season where some changes were discussed with regard to the Kayda. Looking at the website, it appears the alterations were in fact a new bag: the Kartta. What it is missing, however, and what made the Kayda such an incredible bag for me (I'll be adding buying at least one more this season for my wife, maybe another for my son) is the detatchable travel kit. That makes the Kayda one-bag travel ready. Interesting decision.
Funny, I traveled with my Käydä this past week and was organizing the silent auction for the Hall of Fame where they had the all new Kartta in the auction. Its a lighter weight cloth textured version without the electronic bag and 1 inch zip to expand zipper that the Käydä has. Otherwise it seems to have all the other features.
I like the removal of the 1" extender -- I've never used that feature on mine -- and a lighter weight cloth sounds nice. After all, I don't check the bag, only carry it on, so it doesn't need to be bulletproof.
Do you guys know if @KULKEA is doing a SkiTalk discount code this year? Figured I’d ask before I throw down on a couple Kayda bags..
The Kartta is very similar to the Käydä minus the travel kit and with some feature differences and using a recycled ripstop fabric. There aren't any clips on the back of the Kartta that could attach the Käydä Travel Kit. You may be noticing the feature for attaching the Kartta to a roller luggage bag.
We don't run in-season sales on current products. We prefer to make best in market products. Being a discount brand requires cutting somewhere, such as workmanship or materials. We also believe that being consistent with our pricing makes for a civilized consumer buying experience.
Thank you! That's exactly our view. We're not there yet on the EU version yet though. We've not entered the European market. As a small company, we're being careful not to spread ourselves too thin. Being very methodical in our growth.Respect! Product first, rest will follow.
Now, what about that EU version of the Thermal Trekker?
We actually now have two travel backpacks; Käydä and Kartta. Both great bags, but we listened to those saying they'd love a Käydä, but at a lower price point and with not with as many features. So, we created the Kartta to give people options. The detachable Travel Kit is only available only on the Käydä. The Kartta main bag is actually slightly larger than that on the Käydä to meet the needs of those with larger boots, although both bags are very roomy bags given their designs and can fit up to a Mondo 31. As an avid traveler, I use the Käydä as my all around travel backpack and love the Travel Kit option. However, some may not need a Travel Kit. Hope this helps.
That's one of the great things about the Käydä. It's designed by skiers for ski travel on planes, trains and automobiles, but it's designed also to be a year round travel bag. It works perfectly for trips to the hill, business trips, beach getaways and wherever else you're going.
I've actually packed it inside my larger roller bag a few times when we traveled by air.
