chris
10-14-2003, 12:19
The Hiker Fair at the Gathering this year was most impressive and I felt the need to write a, hopefully, brief note about some of the innnovative gear seen there. Aside from some standard retailers selling silnylon stuff sacks and underwear (and low prices), there were several shelter and pack designers on hand.
Two hammock (Speer and ?) vendors were there with something that looked like a taco or other hammock insulating device. Not being a hammock person, I didn't spend much time with them. There were two tarps from Henry Shires, his standard one and the new two person one. Very good looking and set up right next to Ron Moak's (aka Fallingwater, aka Six Moon Designs) two person Europa tent. Very good looking and quite spacious. I was very impressed by both Shire's and Moak's designs and think they represent a good investment for someone looking for a lightweight, two person shelter.
There were at least 5 pack designers there. Six Moon Designs (Moak's outfit) had a variety of packs on display with some interesting features. Some of the packs utilized a pocket to put a Z-rest or other ground pad into. This acts as a partial frame sheet, a concept that works very well in the ULA Zenith that I used this summer. Perhaps the coolest pack that he had used a vest as the primary load bearing entity. Rather than just a hipbelt spreading the weight of the pack out over the hips, the vest spreads it out over the torso. Plus, there is alot of storage space in the vest for things like food, a compass, camera, etc. The feature has been around for a while and may be (?) discontinued, but this was the first time I was able to see it up close. Interesting concept for those who want a light pack, but haven't gotten their baseloads low enough yet to switch to a pure rucksack. Fallingwater is a member here and hopefully will post some more about the status of the vest project.
Brian Frankle was on hand with some really sweet packs. The P2 is as before, but now a version of the pack with the most common features is being sewn together by Serratus, a Canadian company. Serratus (www.serratus.ca) makes some really great mountaineering packs. I use two of them and have nothing but the highest regard for them. Given the choice of any mountaineering pack in the world for use, I would take a Serratus over an Arc'teryx, Dana, or Gregory in a heart beat. So, the quality should remain high and help Brian get through some of his backordered packs. The P1 is now down to 3000 ci, from 4000 ci, but remains unchanged otherwise. The Zenith is discontinued, but prospective buyers might be able to sweet talk Brian into making one for them. The new pack, though, is called the Fusion and looks incredible. It uses a carbon fiber-flexible plastic (del-ray?) frame sheet along with a ground pad (Z-rest, thermarest, ridgerest, generic blue, etc) as a stiffener/more of a frame to provide a really stout looking suspension. To make things even better, you can flip the frame sheet down and sit on it like a chair at breaks. Side compressions straps and regular sized hipbelts and shoulder straps sit on what otherwise looks like a zenith. Twin hipbelt pockets. Brian doesn't have all the specs worked out, but it looks like the pack will be about 3200 ci and weight in at 2 lbs. Ugh. For an ultralight approach, that is just too much. But, for someone hiking with a baseload of around 20-25 lbs, this might be just the pack. He was unsure of price, but it seemed like it might be between $125 and $175. I believe the Fusion will also be sewn by Serratus, so backorders might not be a problem. Brian didn't know when it would be available and is working on changing the website. By the way, backorders are high (150 or so). Call or email Brian about the wait.
Other, shorter descriptions. Glen Van Peski was there with his new G5 Gossamer pack. An 8 oz., 3500 (or so) ci pack sounds pretty ridiculous to me, but it seems people with seriously light loads are using it with some success. Several clients have over 800 miles without any durability issues. Like the G4, the G5 uses a Z-rest as a partial frame sheet.
Moonbow was there with several Gearskins configured in different materials. However, right next to them, was a buy who was making similar packs, but out of various sleeping pad materials. So, you also use it as a ground pad. The kicker is that it can also be used as a hammock. There are straps designed to wrap around trees and some sort of stabilizing system to allow people to sleep suspended between trees. I didn't see any built in rain fly, but I'm sure something could be worked out. I didn't get his name, but I think he definitely wins the most innovative bit of gear award.
Two hammock (Speer and ?) vendors were there with something that looked like a taco or other hammock insulating device. Not being a hammock person, I didn't spend much time with them. There were two tarps from Henry Shires, his standard one and the new two person one. Very good looking and set up right next to Ron Moak's (aka Fallingwater, aka Six Moon Designs) two person Europa tent. Very good looking and quite spacious. I was very impressed by both Shire's and Moak's designs and think they represent a good investment for someone looking for a lightweight, two person shelter.
There were at least 5 pack designers there. Six Moon Designs (Moak's outfit) had a variety of packs on display with some interesting features. Some of the packs utilized a pocket to put a Z-rest or other ground pad into. This acts as a partial frame sheet, a concept that works very well in the ULA Zenith that I used this summer. Perhaps the coolest pack that he had used a vest as the primary load bearing entity. Rather than just a hipbelt spreading the weight of the pack out over the hips, the vest spreads it out over the torso. Plus, there is alot of storage space in the vest for things like food, a compass, camera, etc. The feature has been around for a while and may be (?) discontinued, but this was the first time I was able to see it up close. Interesting concept for those who want a light pack, but haven't gotten their baseloads low enough yet to switch to a pure rucksack. Fallingwater is a member here and hopefully will post some more about the status of the vest project.
Brian Frankle was on hand with some really sweet packs. The P2 is as before, but now a version of the pack with the most common features is being sewn together by Serratus, a Canadian company. Serratus (www.serratus.ca) makes some really great mountaineering packs. I use two of them and have nothing but the highest regard for them. Given the choice of any mountaineering pack in the world for use, I would take a Serratus over an Arc'teryx, Dana, or Gregory in a heart beat. So, the quality should remain high and help Brian get through some of his backordered packs. The P1 is now down to 3000 ci, from 4000 ci, but remains unchanged otherwise. The Zenith is discontinued, but prospective buyers might be able to sweet talk Brian into making one for them. The new pack, though, is called the Fusion and looks incredible. It uses a carbon fiber-flexible plastic (del-ray?) frame sheet along with a ground pad (Z-rest, thermarest, ridgerest, generic blue, etc) as a stiffener/more of a frame to provide a really stout looking suspension. To make things even better, you can flip the frame sheet down and sit on it like a chair at breaks. Side compressions straps and regular sized hipbelts and shoulder straps sit on what otherwise looks like a zenith. Twin hipbelt pockets. Brian doesn't have all the specs worked out, but it looks like the pack will be about 3200 ci and weight in at 2 lbs. Ugh. For an ultralight approach, that is just too much. But, for someone hiking with a baseload of around 20-25 lbs, this might be just the pack. He was unsure of price, but it seemed like it might be between $125 and $175. I believe the Fusion will also be sewn by Serratus, so backorders might not be a problem. Brian didn't know when it would be available and is working on changing the website. By the way, backorders are high (150 or so). Call or email Brian about the wait.
Other, shorter descriptions. Glen Van Peski was there with his new G5 Gossamer pack. An 8 oz., 3500 (or so) ci pack sounds pretty ridiculous to me, but it seems people with seriously light loads are using it with some success. Several clients have over 800 miles without any durability issues. Like the G4, the G5 uses a Z-rest as a partial frame sheet.
Moonbow was there with several Gearskins configured in different materials. However, right next to them, was a buy who was making similar packs, but out of various sleeping pad materials. So, you also use it as a ground pad. The kicker is that it can also be used as a hammock. There are straps designed to wrap around trees and some sort of stabilizing system to allow people to sleep suspended between trees. I didn't see any built in rain fly, but I'm sure something could be worked out. I didn't get his name, but I think he definitely wins the most innovative bit of gear award.