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WE HAD ALPINE LUDDITES ON OUR RADAR FOR YEARS, OCCASIONALLY SEEING THEIR PACKS ON OUR TRIPS AND ALWAYS FEELING A KINDREDNESS OVER THEIR HINTS TOWARDS A SUBCULTURE THAT INCLUDED ANARCHY AND PUNK MUSIC. PERHAPS NOT SURPRISINGLY THEY FOUND US FIRST AFTER A REVIEW OF EXTREME ALPINISM BY MARK TWIGHT – A GOOD SIGN – AND EXPRESSED THE WILLINGNESS TO PRODUCE PACKS TO THE SPECS OUR TRIPS TO TIBET AND THE KARAKORAM DEMAND. WHETHER THEY PICKED UP ON OUR FONDNESS FOR MUSIC, OUR THOUGHTS ON EXPEDITIONS OR OUR STRUGGLE TO GET PACKS THAT WORKED, IT WAS AN HONOUR TO HAVE ALPINE LUDDITES KNOCK ON THE DOOR WITH THEIR UNIQUE ATTITUDE SO WE HAVE BEEN EXCITED TO WORK WITH THEM.
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THESE PACKS CAME AT A SERENDIPITOUS TIME, AS WE GEAR UP FOR THE FIRST CLIMBING EXPEDITIONS TO THE 8000m PEAKS OF THE CHINESE KARAKORAM IN OVER A DECADE. ALL THESE YEARS HAVE BEEN SPENT IN NEGOTIATIONS, REVISING THE ENTIRE PROCESS AND ADDRESSING THE ISSUES AROUND THE ANIMALS WE USE HAVING HIGH PRIORITY. A RESULT IS THAT NOW ALL LOADS MUST BE CAMEL SAFE, MEANING THEY MUST FIT INTO BARRELS THAT WON’T RISK DROWNING THEM DURING THE RIVER CROSSINGS, SOMETHING THAT AFFECTS HOW WE PACK FOR THESE TRIPS. NOT ALL LARGE PACKS FIT THE DIMENSIONS OF THE BARRELS WE USE, SO SKUNK HOUSE DISCUSSIONS WITH ALPINE LUDDITES MADE THIS CENTRAL TO WHAT WE NEED.
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THESE ARE THE MOST BIG-EXPEDITION SPECIFIC PACKS AVAILABLE TODAY. MADE TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF THE APPROACHES, CARRIES, CLIMBING AND LOADS OF 8000m CLIMBING IN THE MOST REMOTE HIGH ALTITUDE WILDERNESS AREAS ON EARTH, THESE PACKS ARE THINGS OF BEAUTY. DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE LOOKING, THE FEATURES ALPINE LUDDITES BRING TO THEM AND THE TWEAKS FEEDING THE RAT EXPEDITIONS REQUIRES HAS RESULTED IN PACKS THAT ARE BOTH STUNNING STRONG, LIGHT, FUNCTIONAL AND INNOVATIVE.
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STRENGTH
WE HAVE REALLY STRUGGLEd WITH FINDING PACKS THAT MEET THE DURABILITY WE REQUIRE. SOME ARE FINE FOR THE CARRYING AND CLIMBING, BUT TILL NOW WE’VE NOT HAD SOMETHING THAT CAN COPE WITH THE DEMANDS OF KYRGYZ HERDERS.
ALL THESE PACKS HAVE EXTRA BAR TACKS WHERE IT’S NEEDED, A MINIMUM OF SEAMS TO BLOW, HIGH WEAR AREAS IN ULTRA-DURABLE MATERIAL, ALUMINIUM HARDWARE WHERE IT’S NEEDED AND OVERBUILT FEATURES. ANYTHING THAT COULD FAIL WAS DEALT WITH BASED ON A ROOM FULL OF PATCHED AND DAMAGED EXAMPLES
THESE PACKS WON’T FAIL TILL WAY BEYOND WHAT A HUMAN CAN CARRY, BEING MADE TO HAUL WITH BIG WALL SYSTEMS. THE HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT MATERIALS DON’T STRETCH SO SEAMS AND STITCHING DON’T DISTORT AND WEAKEN AND ANYTHING THAT WILL BE LOADED FROM THE OUTSIDE IS REINFORCED FROM THE INSIDE.
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LIGHT
TO BE HONEST, WE IGNORED WEIGHT WHILST PUTTING ALL THIS TOGETHER. A GLANCE AT THE MATERIALS, DESIGN AND ALPINE LUDDITES PEDIGREE TOLD US THINGS WOULD ALREADY BE LIGHT ANYWAY, SO WE DISCARDED THAT AS A FOCUS AND JUST GOT ON WITH PRODUCING A PACK THAT DID THE JOB. THAT THESE TURNED OUT AS PROBABLY THE LIGHTEST THE EXPEDITION PACKS EVER MADE WAS A WELCOME BUT NOT-UNEXPECTED OUTCOME.
AS STANDARD THESE PACKS CAN BE STRIPPED OF ALL THE USUAL BITS LIKE LIDS & FRAMES, BUT IT’S THE BASE PACK AND IT’S REFINED DESIGN THAT CONTRIBUTES MOST – NO GIMMICKS OR THINGS THAT ARE ‘NICE TO HAVE’, JUST THE ELEMENTS NEEDED TO MOVE LOADS UPWARDS.
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FUNCTIONAL
THE THINGS HERE THAT WORK ARE ALMOST TOO NUMEROUS TO LIST SO WE WILL JUST NAME THE BITS THAT MATTER MOST.
PARTS OF THE PACKS ARE IN HI VIZ COLOUR AND RETROREFLECTIVE TO FILL THE NEED TO BE SEEN AND MULTIPLE DISTANCES, ANGLES AND LIGHT CONDITIONS. THE TREND FOR PURE WHITE PACKS WAS COOL FOR A WHILE – TILL YOU NEEDED TO STASH ONE OR BE SPOTTED FROM KILOMETERS AWAY – SO WE FIXED THAT AS A PRIORITY.
WE’VE NEVER HAD A LID THAT DID THE JOB OF BOTH WEATHER PROOFING THE TOP AND BEING BIG ENOUGH TO FIT THINGS LIKE WATERBOTTLES, BIG MITTS, SHELL JACKETS AND A DAYS FOOD, AT ONCE. NOW WE DO.
SOME OF OUR PACKS HAVE HAD CONFIGURABLE STRAPS TO VARYING DEGREES OF SUCCESS, SOMETHING IMPORTANT FOR BIG LOADS BUT THAT HAS ELUDED MOST DESIGNS. THIS TIME IT’S DONE RIGHT WITH THINGS THE RIGHT LENGTH, FUNCTIONAL UNDER TENSION AND STRONG ENOUGH TO DO WHAT’S NEEDED.
A MAJOR FAILURE OF OTHER PACKS HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN OVERLOADING, TREATING THE MATTER AS A DETAIL RATHER THAN A BASIC. SORTED. A GENEROUS EXTENSION THROAT THAT RETAINS THE INTEGRITY OF THE REST OF THE PACK MEANS THIS CAN BE LOADED TO LAUGHABLE VOLUMES TO JUST GET ON WITH IT IN A WORLD WITHOUT PORTERS WHERE THERE’S NO ROOM FOR A RETURN TRIP TO GET THE REST OF THE GEAR.
BIVY PADS HAVE LONG BEEN A STANDARD – BIVY PADS THAT YOU CAN RELY ON, LESS SO. THESE PACKS USE PROPER INSULATING FOAM DESIGNED TO INTEGRATE WITH A SECOND PAD OR STAND ALONE, MADE TO FIT EASILY INTO THE PACK LIKE THE BIT OF PRIMARY GEAR THAT THEY ARE RATHER THAN AN AFTERTHOUGHT.
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INNOVATIVE
AT 40L THE MATERIAL A PACK IS MADE OF IS MORE NOVELTY THAN IMPORTANT, BUT THE BIGGER A PACK GETS THE MORE THE INTEGRITY OF THE MATERIAL MATTERS – SHIPTON’S LAW LET’S CALL IT – AND WHEN YOU BREACH THE 100L/30kg THRESHOLD THINGS LIKE UHMWPE ABOUT ALL THAT DOES IT FOR SOMETHING LIKE THE NORTH SIDE OF GASHERBRUM I.
ALPINE LUDDITES HAS WORKED WITH INNOVATORS IN THE FIELD TO PRODUCE A CATALOG OF FABRICS THAT MAKE THE DYNEEMA AND SPECTRA OF BEFORE APPEAR BORING. MOVING ON FROM THE STATUS DISPLAY OF PURE WHITE, THESE MATERIALS ARE STRONGER AND COOLER LOOKING, AND IN PACKS THIS SIZE IT MAKES AN IMPACT.
ALPINE LUDDITES ALSO INNOVATES SIMPLY WITH IDEAS, WITH A NON-PRECIOUSNESS THAT PUTS ANY IDEA ON THE TABLE TO BE SOLUTION-BASED RATHER THAN BRAND-ABSORBED. NEAR-OBSESSION WITH THE GREAT PACKS OF THE PAST MATCHED ONLY BY A THIRST FOR THE IDEAS OF THE FUTURE, PLUS A PAN-INDUSTRY ARRAY OF INTERESTS THAT INCLUDES BIKE PACKS AND PACKS WITH FLUFFY PANDA EARS, THE IDEAS TO DRAW FROM ARE UNEQUALLED.
MANY OF THE INNOVATIONS GONE INTO THIS PACK ARE SUBTLE AND GEEKY BUT HAVE AN EFFECT EQUAL TO THE OBVIOUS THINGS LIKE THE FABRICS. THE ANGLE OF THE BAR TACKS, THE WAY DRAWCORDS WORK, HOW THE STRAPS THREAD AND WAYS TO ATTACH THINGS ALL QUIETLY MAKE THIS A DESIGN THAT WILL MAKE SENSE HALFWAY OF THE GLACIER TO A CAMP NO ONE HAS LAID EYES ON IN A DECADE OR TWO.
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CUSTOM
LOTS OF CLIMBERS SHRUG OFF THE NOTION OF CARRYING HEAVY LOADS – AND THEN THEY HAVE TO. AN HOUR OR TWO IS DOABLE, BUT BEYOND THAT THINGS GET DARK. THE BEST WE CAN DO MAKE CUSTOM FITTED PACKS AVAILABLE, SOMETHING WHICH CHANGES THE GAME WHEN THINGS GET HEAVY AND IS SOMETHING ALPINE LUDDITES IS ABOUT THE ONLY COMPANY TO OFFER. CUSTOM BACK LENGTH, CUSTOM HIP BELT, CUSTOM FRAME STAYS; IF YOU’VE NEVER CARRIED A PACK TAILORED TO YOUR FRAME THIS WILL BE A REVELATION ON THE SCALE OF THERMOFORMED BOOTS AND WELL WORTH GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS.
WE LIKE TO THINK WE’VE COVERED ALL ANGLES BUT SOMETHING ALWAYS COMES ALONG. THESE PACKS ALREADY COME IN VARIOUS BACK LENGTHS – THAT’S NOT REALLY CUSTOM – BUT THERE’S ALL SORTS OF OTHER OPTIONS AS THERE SHOULD BE FOR THE TRIPS WE DO. ALPINE LUDDITES IS THE ONLY COMPANY WHERE CUSTOM REALLY MEANS ANYTHING – PANDA EARS PROVES THIS – SO IF IT’S PACKS THAT ARE HOLDING YOU BACK GET IN CONTACT.
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BOTTOM LINE; THESE PACKS ARE NOT MADE TO SOUND GOOD IN A REVIEW, THEY’RE MADE TO SOUND GOOD WHEN YOU’RE SEARCHING FOR A CAMP SITE BY DYING TORCH LIGHT IN A PLACE THAT’S KNOWN FEWER HUMANS THAN THE MOON. BEING ABLE TO MOVE SERIOUS AMOUNTS OF GEAR IS PRIMARY TO WHAT WE DO AND TILL NOW IT’S ALWAYS INVOLVED COMPROMISES WE HAD TO ACCEPT BUT DIDN’T LIKE. LIKE THE SAMAYA TENTS, ELITECLIMB TOOLS AND MONTANE SUITS THESE PACKS NAIL DOWN A BIG PIECE OF THE PUZZLE TO HAVE REAL EFFECT WHERE IT MATTERS MOST.
