NO SINGLE THING AFFECTS OUR TRIPS MORE THAN BEING ABLE TO GET GEAR ONTO A ROUTE. WE OFTEN DON’T DO BASECAMPS, GOING DIRECTLY TO A HIGH CAMP, AND DUE TO A NUMBER OF FACTORS THOSE HIGH CAMPS THESE DAYS ARE OFTEN ALREADY ON ROUTE.
THIS HAD LEAD TO UNIQUE PROBLEMS REQUIRING UNIQUE SOLUTIONS, WITH THE ACTUAL LOAD BEARING PART BEING PRIMARY. THIS ENTAILS AN EQUATION DOWN TO THE 100g INCREMENT THAT BASICALLY MEANS SQUEEZING EVERY OUNCE INTO FOOD AND GAS, SO WE DON’T WASTE ENERGY WHERE WE DON’T HAVE TO.
UNTIL NOW THAT EQUATION BARELY BROKE EVEN, FINDING A DEAD SPOT IN THE NUMBERS WHERE WE COULD GET HIGH ENOUGH WITH THE LOADS JUUUUUST WITH ENOUGH KCALS OF ENERGY TO GIVE THINGS A REASONABLE SHOT. THE THING IS WE DON’T MUCH LIKE REASONABLE, PREFERRING SOLID MARGINS AND CONFIDENCE TO BE RADICAL, THEREFORE THE ENVELOPE NEEDED TO BE PUSHED TO MAKE THINGS LIGHTER AND STRONGER IN REAL WAYS RATHER THAN TINY PERCENTILES.
THE PARBAT A8X KICKS US WELL OVER THE LINE.
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THESE PACKS ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE AND WE DON’T PRETEND THEY ARE. THE UGLY COLOURS, THE HIGH PRICE, THE LEAD TIMES, THE LACK OF FEATURES, THE APPARENT BARRENESS OF ASTHETICS AND OBSCURITY WILL ONLY ANNOY MANY, BUT IF YOU’VE EVER HAD TO YOMP AGAINST GRAVITY IN AN OXYGEN-POOR ENVIRONMENT INTO A PLACE WHERE THERE’S NO ROOM FOR A SECOND ROTATION THEN THE A8X* FROM PARBAT SHOULD EXCITE YOU.
THE DATA
120L. REAL LITERS NOT BLOWN ON POCKETS, LIDS AND BULLSHIT
725g. NOT A TYPO, AND THAT’S EVEN BEFORE TAKING THE SCISSORS TO IT
CAMEL-SAFE. FITS INTO AND STRAPS ONTO A 120L CHEM BARREL
TOTALLY DYNEEMA
PINK, DAMMIT, PINK!
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SUPERFICIALLY IT LOOKS LIKE A BIG SACK WITH STRAPS ON IT AND COULD BE LEFT AT THAT, BUT IT’S ACTUALLY MORE SOPHISTICATED. THE SIZE AND SHAPE IS SPECIFIC TO CARRYING A WEEKS WORTH OF HIGH ALTITUDE GEAR THAT INCLUDES HAVING YOUR BIG BOOTS INSIDE, AND THE EXTERNAL BITS ARE DESIGNED TO THWART THE MOST RIGOROUS OF PACK ANIMAL HERDERS. THE DIMENSIONS OF EVERYTHING ARE SPECIFIC, AS ARE THE LOCATIONS OF THINGS LIKE GRAB LOOPS AND STRAP ATTACHMENTS.
WE LEARNED ALL THIS THE HARD (AND EXPENSIVE) WAY, SPLITTING, SLICING UP, BREAKING, PUNCTURING AND RESEWING A DOZEN PACKS ALONG THE WAY. A DOZEN OF OUR TEAMSTERS WITH OVER A DOZEN ITERATIONS OVER A DOZEN YEARS FOUND AND ADDRESSED PROBLEMS IN OUR LOAD CARRYING CONUNDRUM. PARBAT LISTENED TO DOZENS OF EMAILS AND REVIEWED THE CARCASSES OF SEVERAL BLOWN OUT PROTOS AND LOOPED US IN ALONG THE WAY, AND THIS IS THE RESULT THAT SOLVES THE MOST. EASILY.
WHAT IT DOESN’T HAVE IS ANYTHING THAT TAKES UP MASS FROM SHARP END NEEDS, ie ANYTHING THAT DETRACTS FROM ITS WEIGHT IN FOOD AND FUEL. THAT MEANS NO FRAME, NO LID, NOTHING INSIDE, AS FEW SEAMS AS POSSIBLE AND ALMOST NO EXTERNAL JUNK, WHICH SOUNDS EASY TO DO BUT ISN’T. WITHOUT ALL THAT COMPLEXITY TO HIDE BEHIND, THESE PACKS USE HUGE SINGLE PIECES OF (VERY EXPENSIVE) MATERIAL, SEW TOGETHER ALONG VERY PRECISE SEAMS, USING INTENSIVE METHODS TO RETAIN STRENGTH WITHOUT WEIGHT. THIS IS NOT AN EXERCISE IN BAR TACKING AND OVERBUILDING, INSTEAD RELYING ON FINESSE AND SKILL, AND IS A TRIBUTE TO ITALIAN DESIGN.
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OUT OF THE BOX THE A8X CAN APPEAR WORRYING, THAT SOMETHING MEANT TO BE SO LARGE AND SO ROBUST COMES IN A BOX THE SIZE OF PAIR OF SHOES. LIKE ELITECLIMB TOOLS, MALACHOWSKI SUPER ULTRA LIGHT SLEEPING BAGS AND SAMAYA TENTS THE FEEL JUST DOESNT CORRELATE. IT ALL SEEMS TOO LIGHT, TOO TRANSPARENT AND TOO THIN COMPARED TO ANYTHING ELSE – BUT ACTUAL EXPEDITION EXPERIENCE PROVES OTHERWISE.
WE ALREADY KNEW THE MATERIALS AND WORKMANSHIP WOULD SURVIVE TIBETAN PORTERAGE WITH HORSES, HAVING DRAGGED SEVERAL PARBAT PACKS UP AND DOWN THE RANGES OF EASTERN TIBET ACROSS WINTER. SO LONG AS PARBAT KEPT DOING WHAT THEY ALREADY WERE WE HAD NOT ISSUES THERE, THE TEST BEING IN THE ACTUAL YOMPING ON THE BACKS OF HUMANS. PACKS THIS SIZE IMPLY BIG LOADS, THAT NEED SPECIFIC SUSPENSION AND HANDLING FEATURES. WE SEE PACKS DAMAGED MORE BY THE STRESSES OF CARRYING AND BEING THROWN AROUND THAN BY ANYTHING ACTUAL CLIMBING DOES, AND THESE THINGS TAKE WEEKS TO GET INTO TO GET USEFUL RESULTS. AND WEEKS WE HAD, TAKING THE A8X UP MULTIPLE VALLEYS TO CAMPS IN MULTIPLE RANGES HAULING WINTER ALPINE GEAR, AND THE RESULTS ARE GOOD.
HEFTIER PADDING AND UP-SIZED WEBBING ALL MAKES THINGS COMFORTABLE FOR LOADS TO AROUND 20kg/44 POUNDS. GRAB LOOPS KEEP THINGS BALANCED WHEN CHUCKING THE THING ON AND MAN HANDLING ACROSS RIVERS. THE EXTENSION IS HUGE FOR ALL THE DOWN GEAR AND BRIGHT SO IT CAN BE FOUND IN SNOW FROM A DISTANCE, AND HAPPILY CINCHES RATHER THAN ROLLS. THE DIMENSIONS STACK JUST RIGHT, NEITHER TOO HIGH NOR TOO WIDE, THE LACK OF A FRAME BEING MEANINGLESS ONCE A FOAM MAT GOES INSIDE. THE A8X CARRIES AS WELL AS ANYTHING AND BETTER THAN MOST – WE KNOW AS WE HAVE SUFFERED THIS FOR YEARS. IT GOES TO PROVE THAT WHAT MATTERS IS DIMENSIONS AND ERGONOMIC PLACEMENT, NOT PADDING AND GIMMICKS, THAT MATTER THE MOST.
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WE THINK THIS IS THE LEAP WE NEED TO SQUARE THE EQUATIONS WE ARE FACED WITH AS FAR AS PACKS GO. FOR ALL THE GIMMICKERY IN PACKS NOT MUCH REALLY HAS CHANGED IN A LONG TIME, UNTIL NOW WHERE WE GET TO TURN ABOUT 700g FROM THE NEXT NEAREST COMPETITOR INTO 2-3 DAYS OF FOOD OR FUEL. THIS IS REAL NEWS, THAT WILL NEVER MAKE IT TO ISPO OR ANY OTHER INDUSTRY AWARD, EVEN THOUGH IT’S A FAR BIGGER DEAL THAN WHAT THEY USUALLY COVER.
FROM HERE WE OF COURSE WILL REFINE FUTHER – THE GOOD SCISSORS ARE NEVER FAR FROM HAND – BUT IT ALSO MEANS WE CAN FOCUS NOW ELSEWHERE THAT NEEDS CATCHING UP, AS MATERIALS AND OBJECTIVES EVOLVE THAT PUSH INNOVATION.
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*WE JUST MADE UP THE NAME A8X OURSELVES, WHETHER PARBAT CALL IT THIS WE DON’T KNOW.
