King Cage Mini Thing Cage Review

Back in the early 2010s, long before there was a surplus of options, the only real oversized cargo cage was the aluminum Salsa Anything Cage. It had issues soon after its release, and it was eventually recalled. At that point, a lot of folks were clinging onto the rumors of a forthcoming titanium interpretation by the Durango, Colorado-based small business, King Cage. It took a while to hit the streets, but the King Cage Manything Cage finally launched in 2016 and was one of the first cargo cages available—and the first titanium cage. There are a boatload of anything-style cargo cages on the market now, but I’m always happy to see new and interesting variations on the theme. Recently, some six years later, King Cage released a smaller, two-bolt sibling to the Manything Cage, affectionately called the Mini Thing Cage. Read on for the full review after I put it to use on a few rugged rides.

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King Cage Mini Thing Cage vs. Manything Cage

The King Cage Mini Thing Cage and Manything Cage are quite different, despite their homonymic naming. Now something of a classic, the ultralight titanium Manything Cage was designed around a three-pack mounting configuration to lash extra gear or oversized bottles onto a utility fork or the underside of a properly provisioned frame. The Manything is made for either bottles, ~5-liter bags, or similar sized items. The Mini Thing Cage builds on the design of the Manything but has a significantly smaller and slimmer profile. The Manything cage is 2 1/2” wide x 8 1/2” tall, with a shelf that juts out ~2 1/4” (approximately 6.4 x 21.6 x 5.7cm). The new Mini Thing cage is 7” tall with a platform that’s 2 x 2” (17.8 x 5.1 x 5.1cm) and is built for carrying bottles that don’t quite fit in a standard bottle cage.

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There are a couple other major structural differences between the two cages. Most notably, the smaller Mini Thing Cage is made from solid titanium rod, whereas the Manything uses hollow Titanium tubing—like all of King’s water bottle cages. King Cage mentioned that they decided to move to solid rod for the smaller cage because it’s stronger and more durable. Plus, if the bottom platform takes a hit and gets bent, the solid Titanium rod can be bent back into shape without any risk of the tubing breaking. It makes sense that they use the solid tubing for the smaller of the two cages. However, I’ve never had any issues with the lighter hollow tubing on the Manything cage, and I’ve been using it since its release.

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The other key differences between the Manything and the Mini Thing is a little more obvious. The Mini Thing has a two-bolt mounting pattern instead of three. And it has integrated slots for threading the included 12″ Voile Nano Strap, which is a super nice touch. Instead of losing straps on the forest floor, it stays intact. I’ve also been impressed with the Nano’s strength and durability, using it as a handlebar bag strap, to hold 1.5L bottles, and other such rigorous uses. While it might seem a little troublesome to rely on just a single small strap for water bottle duties, it hasn’t posed a problem for me. For a little extra security with larger (and full) bottles, you could also wrap an additional strap around the bike tubing.

• Model Tested: King Cage Mini Thing Cage
• Actual Weight: 47 grams
• Place of Manufacture: Colorado, USA
• Price: $44
• Manufacturer’s Details: KingCage.com