By Chad de Alva
Whoever said, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” obviously hasn’t used Mosko Moto’s Fatty Tool Roll, because this tool roll does things I’ve seen no other tool roll do. The designers at Mosko Moto put some serious thought into how to make a well-known product even better, and the result is the Fatty - an aptly named product that’s expanding the definition of what a tool roll should be.
When you first pick up the Fatty, you’ll instantly understand how the product got its name. The thing is stout, and very well made. Think durable enough to be used as a traction mat for your ADV bike, and you’ll get an idea of what I’m talking about. The Fatty easily swallows up all of the tools, and loading it is where you start to see all of the genius that went into its creation, as there are places for everything. A windowed zipper pouch can hold your paperwork, or the smallest of things you don’t want to risk slipping out. Next to this are two more zippered pouches that will swallow up wrenches, sockets, torx bits, zip ties, pliers, and any of the other tools that don’t fit well in conventional tool roll pockets. Lifting a Velcro flap reveals two rows of tool pockets. The Velcro flap pulls double duty by capturing everything in both rows of pockets and the underside of the flap has a zippered mesh pouch for additional repair item storage. On the back of the tool roll are three pockets that are great for stashing your tire irons.
The Fatty can hold so many tools and other repair items, that by the time you have every last pouch and pocket fully loaded it can get um, well… FAT– to the point that it can take up a considerable amount of space in your pack or wherever you choose to carry it. That is not such a bad thing, but certainly something to be aware of because once you slide the Fatty into its rain cover, it takes up even more space.
It hasn’t rained in Arizona in months, so I wasn’t able to give the Fatty’s rain cover a proper test in a monsoon rainstorm. Soaking it with the hose was the best alternative test I could come up with. After several minutes of soaking, no water had made it inside the cover, but I didn’t get the same result when I dunked the Fatty briefly in a bucket of water. The rain cover closes like a drybag, but only lets you make one fold instead of multiple folds that would really make the rain cover waterproof. So make sure to check your Fatty for water ingression if it goes swimming.
The rain cover also works as a parts tray that’s great for keeping dirt off a greased axle or keeping small parts from disappearing in the forest floor of pine needles. Just like the tool roll, the rain cover has a loop that makes pulling it out of your pack or pannier an easy task.
The Fatty has gone on ADV rides, dual sport rides, and off-road / enduro rides over the last few months, and is no worse for the wear after hundreds of miles of dirt and rocks. Tools have this magical ability to wear through lesser bags and packs but they seem to be unable to impart their powers of abrasion or hole-making on the Fatty. Durability comes with a size (volume) and weight price, but the beauty of a tool roll is that it scales in size with what it’s carrying.
Mosko Moto clearly put a great deal of thought into creating the Fatty Tool Roll, which is something you will start to appreciate from when you first unroll the thing. It’s a very well made piece of gear that will safely and securely carry more than enough tools and repair items to keep your ride going. The Fatty can certainly ingest enough tools to become quite the fatty, but that could prove to be a blessing when you need that wildcat item when you are hundreds of miles from help. The brilliant layout of pockets and pouches and dynamic functionality of the Fatty make for a tool roll that stands head and shoulders above the other offerings I’ve seen out there, and the rain cover is a great new feature for a tool roll to have. I just hope Fatty 2.0’s rain cover seals up better. The Fatty Tool Roll may very well be the last tool roll you’ll ever buy – unless you decide that you can’t live with just one. MSRP: $69.99 www.moskomoto.com
