We had a Ski-Doo MX Z TNT demo sled last season, and it had no storage capacity — not even a spot to stash a stocking cap. Looking for a place to store stuff like snacks, maps and other essentials for a day of snowmobiling, we turned to True Adventure Gear for its HandleBar Bag ($59.95), which proved to be a good, durable solution to our problem.
We were able to stuff it with two bottles of water, several cell phones, a point-and-shoot camera, trail maps, a pouch of beef jerky, candy bars and an extra pair of gloves. With six pockets, we were able to organize and isolate the fragile electronic devices to prevent damage from other objects.
Two buckled straps went over the top of the handlebars and a pair of hook-and-loop straps fastened the pouch down low to the steering post, which kept it securely attached to the sled without shifting or bouncing while we buzzed down the trail.
The two vertical pockets on each side are the right diameter to hold a beverage container, but they’re about an inch short for a 20-ounce bottle so the zipper can’t be closed. You can chug the first few ounces and compress a plastic bottle to make it fit, or just pull the zipper around the bottle’s neck and let the cap stick out the top like we did.
TA Gear’s HandleBar Bag is designed for versatility so it can also be attached to an ATV or dirtbike, or worn around the waist with the long strap that tucks neatly into a compartment on the pack’s back side when it’s strapped to a vehicle. We didn’t find this “secret compartment” right away, so the waist straps made installation confusing as we didn’t know what to do with them. Despite that, you can bet that this bag will be strapped on our trunkless Ski-Doo demo this winter.
— Andy Swanson