Gadgetory

I think the relationship between durable and lightweight is very complex and it's really easy to do one or the other very well and it's sort of difficult to combine them and to sort of find that 60/40 because you have to pick which one is 60 and which one's forty but I think trying to find that balance is the hardest part of product development so we are here in Silverton to get to test a couple of the prototypes that we've built for the New Mutants series in addition to that we've rounded up a couple of guides an athlete to try to get their unique insight into into pack design and what they're looking for in an alpine pack so we've got these guys out here gotten on some ice today it's spring climbing out here to be sure fortunately a lot of these guys are already carrying a current version of the mutant and so they're able to offer insight whether or not they've cut off the compression straps whether or not they use the helmet carry so what features are important to them and what's held up over time I like as a few features as possible on the pack when I go to pack it for the day I want to have a small pack as possible and the more stuff that's stitched to it or put in the way or dividers or whatnot just get in the way of this game of Tetris and I play pack in my pack next is how it fits over your shoulders whether you have a QE coil on your you have extra slings on you that you can get off and on how it fits over your helmet how when you look up route it fits and has a place for the helmet to cradle into to look up at routes because when you're out buying climbing you're constantly looking up and down up and down so if it's constantly getting caught that makes it not user-friendly craftsmanship is the most important feature for me in a pack because when I'm on an Alpine climb I really want to know that my pack is going to be reliable for the duration of that time period I don't want to be worrying about any of the stitching buckles any other of the associated features which make the pack something that I want to bring on that program or that trip I think it's easy to be able to pick up a bag and say what you like and don't like but to have a relationship with that bag for three years and to be able to still say what you like and don't like it's just a stronger relationship and so it's better feedback it's easy to make a super simplified bag just strip it all it's ultra lightweight there's nothing on it and it's also he's really easy is to over feature the pack so finding that intersection of useful and sort of overbuilt there's actually a challenge and I think one that we struggle with every day and so now that we're updating it we're just we're reassessing that all over again and I think having guides athletes retailers weekend warriors and ourselves do that I think we're going to make a really special bag you hi merely here with summer Jack here we had the Lapland sleeping bag this is one heck of a bag it has a dual zone insulation system meaning we've put two different types of insulation in this bag in the key areas that you need it the top has a dry down insulation which makes it super warm and cozy while the bottom has our slumber lock probe synthetic insulation which does not compress when you lay on it thus providing more warmth these bags have a hood light construction in our arms out feature giving you the option to pull your arms out read a book dig into your pack or do whatever you need without losing that warmth especially on those cold mornings when you just still want to get out of your bag they also have dual zips on either side giving you a venting option so you can throw a leg out or vent throughout the night making it extremely comfortable lastly these bags pack down to a great stuff sack so you can go backpacking with them take them into the high country and they're not going to be a huge cumbersome thing to carry around the Lapland sleeping bag is your go-to choice as it has the dual zone insulation it has a nice comfortable mummy leg fit and it packs down to a small lightweight stuff sack making it a great choice for whatever adventure you're headed to next you for decades Emma Cyrus geometry and John Light hydration bags have provided serious adventurers with reliable water on demand now the bags updated designs only improve these collapsible and time-tested water haulers the dromedary bag is still our burliest solution for collapsible backcountry water storage built of abrasion resistant 1000 denier fabric engineered to endure the abuse of expedition crews it can handle everything from boiling water to freezing it's heavy duty exterior is now hydrophobic to keep it from soaking up extra water weight and inside and improved food grade lining offers better tasting water the new lower profile three-in-one cap lets you fill drink and pour with greater ease and streamline webbing with new grommet locations improved pack attachment and hanging for fast and light travel and general trips into the backcountry our new John Lite bags are fine ultra light ultra compact water Holly reconstructed of the lightweight durable these bags deliver high-capacity water storage yet fold down to the size of their cap the supreme pack ability comes with the weight savings to match keeping you moving efficiently on the trail like its earlier sibling the gem light bag features rugged art welded seams and the low profile three and one cap the new dromedary and drawn light bags are now designed to each answer a particular need whether you're on an alpine style expedition or a fast-paced through hike our water storage bags and keep life's most vital resource reliably at your fingertips