WANT TO MAKE A LOAD FEEL 20% LIGHTER?
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20% IS A BIG CALL. IT’S ACADEMIC FOR A DAY TRIP WHERE YOU’RE ONLY TALKING ABOUT A KILO OR SO, BUT WHEN YOU’RE STARING DOWN THE BARREL OF AN APPROACH CARRY UP 15km OF GLACIER AND SCREE THAT 20% IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HAVING TO DO IT 4 TIMES INSTEAD OF 5. SOME OF OUR TRIPS ARE DEFINED BY THE ABILITY TO CARRY THE LOADS IN, AND THOUGH WE BUILD IN PLENTY OF TIME TO GET THIS DONE, MAKING IT EASIER MAKES A FUNDAMENTAL ADVANTAGE RIGHT AT THE POINT IN A TRIP WHERE IT MATTERS MOST. ANY ADVANTAGE AT THIS POINT, AS YOUR BODY IS ADJUSTING TO THE ENVIRONMENT IT’S IN WILL SET THE COURSE FOR THE REST OF THE TIMELINE AS BOTH PHYSICAL CONDITION AND STRATEGY AND EVEN A 10% ADVANTAGE WITH LOADS WOULD BE SIGNIFICANT, BUT MAKING A 25kg LOAD FEEL LIKE A 20kg ONE IS UP THERE WITH WARMER SLEEPING BAGS, LIGHTER TENTS AND MORE EFFICIENT STOVES WHEN IT COMES TO REAL LIFE EFFECTS.
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THE BASIS FOR THIS IS CUSTOM FITTING YOUR PACK. NOT A PACK – YOUR PACK. YOU CAN FIDDLE ALL YOU LIKE WITH ADJUSTABLE LENGTHS, COMPRESSION STRAPS, LOAD SHIFTERS, PACKING AND FRAME CHOICES, BUT MORE THAN ALL THAT COMBINED THE HUMAN-PACK INTERFACE IS WHERE THE REAL DIFFERENCE LAYS.
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A CUSTOM FITTED PACK MAKES ALL THE OTHER FEATURES WORK BETTER BECAUSE THE PROPORTIONS ARE SET TO OPTIMIZE ON
– HIP AND SHOULDER HEIGHT ARE RELATIVE TO COMPRESSION STRAPS, COMPRESSION LOADS DIRECTLY ONTO THE STRONGEST PARTS OF THE BODY
– HIP BELTS CONFORM TO THE ANGLE OF THE HIPS, LOADING AROUND THE HIPS NOT JUST ONTO THE CRESTS
– LOAD SHIFTERS MOVE THE WEIGHT ONTO THE SHOULDERS WITHOUT COMPROMISING BACK OR STRAP LENGTH
– FRAME DIMENSIONS DIRECTLY RELATE TO THE VOLUME OF THE PACK AND THE VOLUME OF THE CLIMBER WITH THE LENGTHS AND POSITIONS OF THE INTERFACING PARTS – SHIFTERS, COMPRESSION, BELTS, STRAPS etc – REFLECTING THE UNIQUE METRICS OF THE USER.
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‘CUSTOM’ DOESN’T MEAN CHOOSING BETWEEN 3 BACK LENGTHS, BENDING A FRAME STAY, GENDER FEATURES, WIDER STRAPS OR HIP BELT HEIGHT – THOSE THINGS ARE ALL STANDARD TO ANY PACK SERIOUSLY MADE FOR EXTENDED USE. WHAT CUSTOM MEANS IS BUILDING A PACK BASED ON THE VARIABLES OF AN INDIVIDUAL BODY AND RELATES TO THE PROPORTIONAL INTERPLAY OF SEVERAL METRICS COVERING SHOULDER DEPTH & WIDTH, HIP WIDTH, LOWER HIP HEIGHT AND HIP GIRTH.
THESE THINGS EXTRAPOLATE TO A PACKS HEIGHT, WIDTH AND GIRTH; 70L IS 70L BUT CAN BE SPREAD HIGH, WIDE AND DEEP IN RELATION TO THE USERS DIMENSIONS. IF YOU’VE SEEN A SMALL CLIMBER WHO HAS SIMPLY PUT ON A STANDARD PACK ADJUSTED TO THEIR SIZE BUT IS STILL STRUGGLING BECUSE THE DIMENSIONS ARE ALL THROW OUT, PROPER CUSTOM PACKS ELIMINATE THIS.
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CUSTOM PACKS MEAN CUSTOM FRAMES SIZED ACCORDINGLY. THERE’S NO POINT CONFIGURING THE LENGTH AND WIDTH OF A PACK ONLY TO FIT IT AROUND A FRAME SIZE THAT DOESN’T CHANGE. ALPINE LUDDITES ADDRESSES THIS WITH INDIVIDUALLY CUT ALUMINIUM FRAME STRUTS PLACED IN RELATION TO THE PACKS BACK PANEL. IF YOU’VE EVER PERSONALIZED A PACK BY BENDING THE FRAME TO FORM, THIS IS 2 LEVELS OF PERSONALIZATION BEYOND THAT AND WHERE A LARGE PROPORTION OF THE LOAD BEARING ADVANTAGE COMES FROM.
A CUSTOM FITTED PACK IS NOT AN ELITIST LUXURY, BUT IT IS SOMETHING ALL BUT IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND, WITH ONLY ALPINE LUDDITES DOING IT AS STANDARD.
WHERE DOES 20% COME FROM?
THE NUMBER 20% IS OUR ESTIMATION BASED ON HOW MUCH THE COMBINED ELEMENTS OF CUSTOMIZATION HELP. IT MUST BE STATED THAT WITHOUT CUSTOMIZATION THE ASSISTENCE OF DECENT COMPRESSION, BACK LENGTH, BELT POSITION etc ACCOUNT FOR A LOT, AND THAT CUSTOMIZATION AMPLIFIES ALL THAT.
IT FEELS LIKE, WHEN WEARING, THE 25kg LOADS COMMONLY CARRIED ON OUR TRIPS AND CONSIDERED THRESHOLD, BECOME WELL WITHIN WHAT WE CAN CARRY, AND THAT THE NORMAL EFFECTS AND REACTIONS TO CARRYING THE LOADS ARE REDUCED (STRESS IN THE SHOULDERS, RELIANCE ON RESTING POSTURES, STRESS AND BRUISING ON THE HIPS, TIME SPENT ADJUSTING SUSPENSION,
WE TAKE INTO REFERENCE 25kg LOADS CARRIED WITH HAUL BAGS; EFFECTIVELY PACKS WITH THE LEAST AMOUNT OF ADVANTAGE FROM GOOD INTERFACE. COMPARED TO THIS A GOOD PACK FEELS ABOUT 10-20% BETTER, AND THIS IS WHAT WE STANDARDIZE AS ‘NORMAL’.
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