Tweet

More Email

Text Size

“Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

– Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The Grimpeur pictured above is not a lot different in design simplicity from what I am using for a pack today.  S. House and C. Haley are using similar, very basic pack designs as well.
Two recent posts on one of the climbing forums this past week...

"SO you ask what is so great about a $500 pack that falls apart then? The ride and the W/NW Dyneema material. Despite one of the lower ice axe buckles coming clear off, one of the buckles on the lid snapping in half when i was unlatching it, the buckles that hold the lid on coming undone along with various other buckles just coming undone for no apparent reason and loosing them in the snow...."

and my  totally biased response....
"Man that is so pathetic it makes me want to actually just give you a quality made pack. But then you could buy one for $150 delivered so I'll restrain myself."

What I didn't want this series of  blog posts to be was a advertisement for the custom packs I use.  They are after all custom packs.  But then all my packs I pay retail for and have yet to pay more than $250 for any one of them, including delivery.   Generally the packs I use the most are about half that price, including the ones Dave and I are using and pictured below.  So it is hard to ignore the stark differences in price and quality.   I'm not here to  bash anyone either just a little reality check from the packs I saw being used in the last month or so.  That said I will eventually point out some pretty bad examples imo of current packs.  So don't kill the messenger here.   I have no dog in the fight just reporting what I saw and my opinions on the topic. My suggestion to you as a smart consumer here is read between the lines...take a close look at what you see and  decide according to your own needs.

I have seen and used a lot of packs over the years.  The design and workmanship I still find fascinating.  If you are new to climbing specific packs (yes there is such an animal) or have yet to find one that really fits you hopefully this group of blogs on climbing packs will help you get more for your dollar and the best pack for your own needs.

As I repeat often and honestly mean,  "what I use may not be what you want to use and what works for me may not work for you."      And it pays to remember I am not trying to sell you anything.  The info and opinions here is free.  The real question is.....is the information useful to you?

Mark Twight @

The Czech Direct is 9000' high but only 5500' present any climbing difficulty: ice climbing up to 90°+ and rock to UIAA V+ (USA 5.9). We belayed 31 (60m) pitches, simul-climbed some terrain and soloed the rest including the first 1000' where the Czechs belayed 9 pitches. After crossing the bergschrund at 6am, we passed the Czech's 2nd bivouac site at 8am and their 3rd bivy by 11 and reached their 4th at 2pm where we brewed and ate. The climbing was fantastic and there was a lot of it. The Czech topo showed 24 pitches of UIAA III (USA 5.4) or harder. Ice conditions were such that we never holstered our tools -- but we did have to file them twice during the climb."

Try counting the number of seams and fabric pieces in your favorite pack.  Every seam is a weak point in the pack's design.  It is much better to cut a perfect pattern than it is to build a shaped pattern by using many different pieces of fabric and sewing them together.  Even the very best fabrics easily fail at a poorly sewn seam.   Use a poorly designed pattern, add bad sewing and quality control and you end up with packs that fall apart in use.

This from an email exchange earlier in the week with one of my climbing partners:

"I bought my white one 30L NWD (which is now tearing apart and all taped up) in April 2010. Its my "go to" alpine multi day pack pretty much in summer in Cascades.  Oh, did I tell you what I found the other day?  One of the shoulder straps attachment seams is half torn apart which implies I need to fix it (again!). I am afraid it would not survive another trip."

Mind you this is a less than 2 year old,  current production, $500 retail pack the owner is discussing with me!   And it is not the same $500 pack being discussed on an Internet forum at the top of this blog!  Just the same US domestic manufacturer.  I've seen this particular $500 NWD pack in person and truthfully...it is duct tape holding it together.   I wouldn't personally take it on another climb.  Happily it is not my pack or my choice.  'Cuz I would be pretty pissed.   I'm being kind here by not posting the pictures.

Take a look inside your favorite pack.

Here are some examples of well built packs and their stitching and tape jobs.   The FISH pack not so much.  But hard to argue its durability after 20 years of hard climbing and ZERO required repairs.  I included the last pack pictured from a Canadian manufacture that uses multiple seams and fabric pieces with an exceptionally well fitting pattern that is sewn extremely well.  Lots of ways to build a quality pack.  Pick your own wisely.

 This one's sewing is very clean and much more likely to hold up because of multiple stitch lines.  These are the shoulder strap tacks.  It is also a well worn 3 year old pack.  In fact it is the the red ballistics nylon one I have posted any number of pictures of in the past.  The clones to this pack in Spectra and Dyneema ripstop look the same internally.   All the sewing and taping is very clean and tidy.
 

Alley Swinton climbing, Dave Searle photo

Let me leave you with some facts.  The actual weights of packs I have had here on my digital scale.

CCW 35l custom climbing sack, Spectra rip stop, 2# even (based on a Ozone)
Same CCW in ballistics nylon 2# 7oz
Same CCW in Dyneema r/s 1# 12oz
REI Flash 18L 9.2oz 
Arcteryx Khazri 35l  2# 13oz 
CCW Chaos, custom 21" back, Spectra r/s, 3# 10oz
Jensen 4oz. red pack cloth LG 1# 11oz
Jensen green 8oz Cordura 2#3oz
Cilo 30L in 210d Dyneema r/s 17" back  2# 9oz