All Rolled Up review
At this year's Dragonmeet was a stall which Vicky and I got very excited about. We had seen the All Rolled Up gaming wraps online and were very impressed. Now we had the chance to buy one in person from one half of the couple who make them!
The ARU is basically the ultimate dice bag. I'm fascinated about how people carry their dice. I have a number of small draw tie dice bags which are okay. the problem is if the top gets open I have loose dice at the bottom of my work bag! Also it requires I use short pens and pencils. And you all know what I'm like about pens!
The ARU is a wonderfully large piece of kit. It is a roll similar to artists pencil rolls. It ties shut with two smart wrap around ties. Opening it up and unrolling allows access to all the compartments.
The most important pocket is the dice 'bag'. This is closed securely with a fold over velcro flap stopping your dice falling out. It can hold a lot. I've just put in a dice set with assorted extra plus a plastic body pencil sharpener and eraser. As you can see in the top down photo below it can sit with the opening upwards stopping the dice spilling out.
The middle pocket is wide and I have a ring notebook and some reference cards in there for notes and doodling. By the looks of it I could comfortably get a deck of cards in there so maybe a card game for those sessions where not everyone turns up?
On the other end are pen pockets of varying widths. I have two full length pencils for character sheet stuff and a Hi-tec-C4 for note writing. I especially bought a 15cm steel ruler for the last pocket for map drawing or distance measuring for combat. The unused pocket in the photo has just had an old Pilot ballpoint multi-pen added for variety.
There is a fabric loop so you can secure it to your belt or bag using a carbinar. Or maybe add a lanyard?
What makes the ARU really special is that they come in a very wide variety of materials. Mine is a pattern called 'Nevermore' as it has text from Edgar Allen Poe on it. The lining has beetle on it - they do a special alternative without them for wussies! Vicky bought one with a beautiful Japanese printing. Check out the web site galleries, including the ones that sold out - they use all sorts of material so there is a large variety.
We both bought 'Deluxe' versions which cost a few pound more due to the fact they use a higher quality or more rare construction material. It is single stitched but all edges are folded over to minimise wear and with the lining it is two layers thick on the outside.
I really love mine. But frankly it's a bit too big for regular use. My group is currently playing Cyberpunk 2020 and I am just carrying 1D10, 3D6, mechanical pencil, eraser and small LED torch in a small cylindrical tin (the torch is for finding dice that have rolled under furniture). The ARU team are developing a compact version I I got to see a couple of prototypes at Dragonmeet. That could hold 4 dice (so perfect for my current game), some paper slips in the middle and a couple of short 'Ikea' pencils (I'm not the only gamer who steals them, right?). The design isn't finalised but I'd love one alongside my full length version. The big one is perfect for events where I could play a variety of games or when we go on holidays with our roleplaying mates.
It's also lovely to see such nice, hand made items in gaming. I think all the growth in the industry is small companies like this and it makes me optimistic about gaming's future.
