LAST YEAR WE DABBLED WITH THE BLUE ICE STACHE 90L, A NICE PACK AND THE BEST YOU WILL FIND THAT IS NOT CUSTOM OR MADE OF MATERIALS DEMANDING SMALL PRODUCTION. WE FOUND IT TO BE VERY GOOD FOR APPROACHES BUT IT LACKS THE ERGONOMICS FOR STEEP CLIMBING, AND WE SORELY MISSED THE DURABILITY WE HAVE COME TO TAKE FOR GRANTED WITH UHMWPE.
THIS LEFT A GAP WE NEEDED FILLED FOR OUR WINTER TIBET TRIPS, WHERE MULTIPLE DAYS UP HIGH, ON STEEP STUFF, WITH FULL WINTER GEAR IS THE PRICE OF ENTRY. OBVIOUSLY THIS NEEDS TO BE LIGHT, BUT ALSO BUILD FOR TECHNICAL CLIMBING, AND THOUGH THE LOADS ARE NOT SUPER HEAVY WE NEED THE DURABILITY TO APPROACH WITH A WEEKS STUFF THEN SCRATCH UP FROZEN GRANITE BEYOND.
PARBAT HAD BEEN ON OUR RADAR FOR A LITTLE WHILE, THE COMPANY THEMSELVES JUST STARTING UP A YEAR OR TWO AGO. ITALIAN OWNED, MADE AND DESIGNED THEY ARE ANOTHER SMALL PRODUCER FILLING THE SHARP END NICHE, DISMISSING THE BULK MARKET TO FOCUS ON THE SERIOUS USER. AS THIS SEASONS TRIPS FORMED ONE OF OUR TEAMSTERS SPOKE DIRECTLY WITH PARBAT WITH OUR NEEDS, AND IMMEDIATELY THEY CONNECTED, VERY POSITIVE TO THE SPECIFICS WE WANTED.
WE HAD A SHORT AND SIMPLE LIST BECAUSE THE PARBAT RANGE IS ALREADY MOST OF THE WAY THERE. ALL THAT WE NEEDED WAS THE SIZE, COLOUR AND A BUNCH OF THINGS LEFT OUT, AND A TIMELINE WE NEEDED THEM BY TO PACK AND TAKE TO TIBET. WE LEFT THE JUDGEMENT UP TO THEM, ONLY ASKING FOR AN APPROXIMATE WEIGHT IT MIGHT BE, TO WHICH THE ESTIMATE OF 750g WE WERE EXCITED BY DESPITE HAVING OUR DOUBTS.
IN AN EXTREMELY FAST TURNAROUND THESE PACKS WENT FROM IDEA TO ARRIVING IN THE POST, IN TIME FOR A COUPLE OF TRIPS BEFORE THE REAL TEST IN TIBET. PARBAT GAVE NO HINT AS TO WHAT TO CALL THEM SO WE SETTLED ON THE ‘A8M+’, BECAUSE THEY ARE BASED OFF THEIR A8M DESIGN OBVIOUSLY, JUST MADE MORE SPECIFIC. WE LIKE HOW PARBAT NAMES THEIR PACKS AROUND ALTITUDE, ALREADY ACCEPTING THE USE WILL BE TECHNICAL CLIMBING, SO THE ‘+’ CAN MEAN WINTER, OR UNSUPPORTED, OR REMOTENESS, OR WHATEVER.
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AND WOW, DID THEY DELIVER.
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PARBAT LEFT OUT NONE OF THE STUFF PERTAINING TO STRENGTH AND DURABILITY, ONLY THE BITS THAT WE DON’T USE WHEN UP ON A ROUTE, AND EVEN THAT WASN’T MUCH. ALL THE CLIMBING STUFF IS THERE AND IS FIRST AND FOREMOST IN THE DESIGN, WITH NOTHING GIVEN OVER TO APPROACHING ASIDE FROM THE VOLUME AND SLIGHTLY WIDER SHOULDER STRAPS.
THESE PACKS HAVE MINIMAL SEAMS TO BURST, MINIMAL STRAPPING TO FLAP, NO POCKETS TO CATCH ON GEAR OR EVEN ANY ZIPS TO BOTHER WITH. THEY ARE DESIGNED TO BE A BALANCED, ERGONOMIC SACK THAT ATTACHES COMFORTABLY TO THE BODY WITH AS LITTLE BULK AS POSSIBLE. THEY ARE MADE TO OVERLOAD, BUT MOSTLY WITH THE GEAR FOR BIG ALPINISM WHICH MEANS PUFFY INSULATION LAYERS AND SLEEPING BAGS, A STUFFED IN TENT, AND A BAG OF FOOD AND A STOVE, NONE OF WHICH NEED BE HEAVY BUT ALL OF WHICH IS VOLUMINOUS. THIS IS ABOUT SIMPLY STUFFING GEAR IN, NOT HAVING TO SHOEHORN IT INTO SOMETHING TINY AND COMPRESS EVERYTHING INTO SACKS.
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THIS PACK IS EXTREMELY CLOSE TO AN IDEAL DESIGN WE HAVE SOUGHT AFTER FOR YEARS, BASED ON THE ASSUMPTION OF HIGH ALTITUDE ALPINISM WHERE YOU LEAVE EITHER A CAMP OR THE ROAD WITH A WEEKS WORTH OF GEAR, THEN STILL NEED TO CLIMB. THIS MEANS THE AWKWARD COMBINING OF A BULK LOAD MOVER AND A PRECISION TOOL – SOMETHING THAT HAS NEVER EXISTED TO OUR SPECIFICATIONS – USUALLY RESULTING IN A MUTANT THAT IS THE BEST OF NEITHER.
LOADED UP THE A8M+ COPES WELL WITH UP TO 20KG, WITH A SWEET SPOT AROUND 15KG WHICH IS ABOUT A CARRY LOAD UP OFF A GLACIER TO THE BASE OF A ROUTE. ROPES, TOOLS, SHOVELS etc GO ON THE OUTSIDE EASY ENOUGH AND IT EXTENDS PROPORTIONATELY MORE THAN THE MAIN DIMENSIONS ALUDE, WITH ENOUGH GIRTH TO CARRY WITH STABILITY BUT NOT SO MUCH AS TO AFFECT CLIMBING.
WE CHOSE TO LEAVE OUT ANY RIGID FRAME BECAUSE THE LAST 10 YEARS WE HAVE ALMOST NEVER USED ONE, HAPPY WITH THE STIFF FOAMS BEING FOUND IN GOOD PACKS THESE DAYS, AND COMPRESSING LOADS WELL TO KEEP THEM DENSE AND STABLE. NO RIGID FRAME THEN MEANS NO SLEEVE FOR IT, SOMETHING ELSE WE DON’T USE EVEN WHEN A FRAME IS PRESENT, MAKING FOR A TOTALLY CLEAN INTERIOR THAT DOESN’T CATCH WHEN PACKING AND SAVES A GOOD BIT OF WEIGHT.
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ON THE BODY THESE PACKS SIT CLOSE, WITH THIN PADDING THAT EXPECTS YOU TO HAVE LAYERS UNDERNEATH. THE BACK PAD IS DENSE ENOUGH TO ENFORCE THE PACKS SHAPE, AND THE DYNEEMA EXCELS AT ELIMINATING THE WARPING THAT SENDS PACKS WITHOUT INTO LUMPS. IT FEELS CONTAINED AND ALIGNED BECAUSE IT IS, AS ALMOST NOTHING IS STRETCHING, WITH WEIGHT TRANSFERRED DIRECT ONTO THE BODY WITH NO BUFFER OF SQUISHY FOAM.
YOU WON’T WANT TO YOMP BODY WEIGHT IN THESE PACKS BUT THEY GOOD FOR WHAT THEY ARE MADE FOR, ESPECIALLY THE GREY AREA TRANSITIONING FROM GLACIER TO ROUTE THAT NEEDS LOW GRADE BUT REAL CLIMBING STILL WITH A LOAD. THIS IS ANOTHER PEICE IN THE PUZZLE THAT BRIDGES THE FLATLANDS WITH THE ROUTES, THAT ALONG WITH VANGUARD TENTS ALLOWS US TO PUT HIGH CAMPS HIGHER AND HIGHER.
TO CLIMB IN THIS FEELS LIKE A 40L PACK, NOT SURPRISING AS THAT IS PARBATS FORTE, SO WHEN EMPTIED OF THE GEAR YOU NOW WEAR OR HAVE IN YOUR HANDS IT BECOMES LIKE A 2-DAY PACK IN BOTH ENCUMBERANCE AND WEIGHT. THE DYNEEMAS INHERENT RIGIDITY MEANS NO FLOPPING AND FLAPPING AND THE LARGE EXTENSION REDUCES TO NOTHING TO BE SECURED AND CINCHED WITH A ROPE STRAP, SO EVEN WITHOUT COMPRESSION STRAPS YOU HAVE A MASS THAT IS CONTROLLED AND LIGHT. THE ROLLTOP WILL ROLL DOWN PAST THE EXTENSION THROAT ITSELF IF NEED BE, AND THE ABSENCE OF A RIGID FRAME LETS THE BACK PAD ROLL WITH IT.
GETTING THINGS DOWN TO ABOUT 40L IS SIMPLE, AND CAN INSTANTLY EXPAND TO TAKE A FULL 8000m DOWN SET AS NEEDED, WHICH WAS A BIG PART OF OUR DESIGN CONCEPT WE HAVE ALWAYS STRUGGLED WITH. THIS MAKES HIGH ALTITUDE BIVIES A MAGNITUDE OF ORDER EASIER WITH A PACK THAT’S EASY TO STUFF, WITH ALL THE VOLUMINOUS INSULATION THAT HIGH COLD ROUTES ENTAIL.
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AND PINK! THE FUTURISTIC WHITE OF DYNEEMA WAS VERY COOL A DECADE AGO AS A STATUS SYMBOL BUT WAS ALWAYS A PROBLEM WITH MAKING THINGS VISIBLE. IN WOVEN UHMWPE OTHER COLOURS REMAINED ALMOST ABSENT ASIDE FROM BLACK WHICH WAS WORSE, SO WHEN THESE NEW COLOURS EMERGED WE LEAPT FOR IT. TECHNICALLY THIS IS ‘ROSE’, THE SAME AS SAMAYA USE, MAKING US THE BRIGHTEST, PINKEST AND CHEERIEST CAMPS IN THE ALPINE AS WELL AS LIGHTEST, AND SETTING US FURTHER APART FROM THE HARLEQUIN VE25 SCENE WITH OUR KANDY KOLOURED ELECTRIC KOOL-AID CAMPS (OR KAMPS???).
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THE REAL FINAL WEIGHT?
TURNS OUT 750g WAS WRONG AND PARBAT WERE OFF BY ALMOST 15%. THESE THINGS WEIGH 650g WHICH PEAOPLE HAVE ASKED IS A TYPO, AND WITH STILL ROOM FOR MODIFICATIONS. FOR COMPARISON, PARBATS REGULAR 60L A8M WEIGHS FROM 750g UPWARDS TO ABOUT 900g WHICH IS STILL AS LIGHT AS PACKS GET – TILL YOU GET TO THIS ONE WHICH IS 20% BIGGER DESPITE BEING THAT MUCH LIGHTER.
THINGS THAT DID SCRAPE IN WITHIN THE 650g INCLUDE BOTH AXE AND TOOL ATTACHMENTS, 4 X COMPRESSION STRAPS, A REMOVABLE HIP BELT AND A FOAM PAD THAT (ODDLY) ISN’T REMOVABLE (THOUGH WE DON’T CARE). FOR THOSE WITH THE NEED ALL THESE CAN BE REMOVED, THOUGH SOME WITH A GOOD PAIR OF SCISSORS, LEAVING YOU WITH AN 80L PACK THAT WEIGHS SOMEWHERE AROUND 550g. THIS IS A NUMBER NOT APPLIED TO LARGE PACKS BEFORE, AND WHERE EVERY 100g EQUALS A 400kcal MEAL, IS A PEEK INTO THE EQUATIONS THAT THE ASECENTS OF THE FUTURE WILL BE BASED ON.
IS IT TOO LIGHT?
IN THIS CASE NO, BECAUSE UNLIKE THE STACHE 90, THE A8M+’S MATERIALS (DYNEEMA) AND DESIGN (MINIMAL SEAMS AND JUNK) COUNTER THE THINGS THAT MAKE A PACK WEAK TO ABRAISON, WARPING, MOISTURE AND STRESS. WHERE SOME PACKS FOCUS THEIR DURABILITY ON REINFORCEMENT AND OVER-BUILDING, PARBAT HAS CHOSEN TO ACHEIVE IT IN OTHER WAYS ALBEIT ONES THAT COST MORE AND DEMAND A HIGHER DEGREE OF CRAFTSMANSHIP.
THIS DOESN’T MEAN IT IS A HAUL BAG OR FOR MONSTROUS FLATLAND LOADS THOUGH – THIS IS STILL A DEDICATED HIGH ALTITUDE PACK THAT PUTS ITS WEIGHT AS A PRIMARY PRIORITY. A FRAME CERTAINLY COULD GO IN IT FOR BIG WEIGHTS, AND MAKE AN AMAZING LONG DISTANCE TREKKING PACK, BUT FOR THINGS LIKE BIG WALLS IT IS TOO LIGHT TO TAKE KILOMETERS OF GRANITE.
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FINAL WORD
ADVANCES IN THESE THINGS, INCLUDING STUFF LIKE SAMAYA TENTS, MALACHOWSKI SLEEPING BAGS AND ELITECLIMB TOOLS, IS PUTTING THE TOOLS OF THE HIGH ALTITUDE CLIMBER EVER FURTHER FROM THE REGULAR STUFF. FOR THE GEAR-GEEKS THIS IS ORGASMIC, BUT FOR THE REAL CLIMBERS THIS EQUATES TO KILOGRAMS SAVED, THAT TINGLES ON THE EDGES OF HUMAN PERFORMANCE IN A VERY REAL WAY.
TITANIUM SPORKS AND CUTTING OFF LABELS IS ALL ACADEMIC, BUT THESE NUMBERS IN BIG TICKET ITEMS ARE TANGIBLE BECAUSE THEY CAN BE FELT AND THEREFORE PLANNED WITH AND TRAINED FOR. FOR SOME THIS WILL MEAN FASTER ASCENTS ON COMMERCIAL ROUTES, BUT FOR FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS IT HAS A DIFFERENT APPLICATION – GOING FURTHER AND HIGHER INTO TERRAIN THE REST OF THE INDUSTRY HAS NEVER HEARD OF.