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hobo_dan
Social climber
Minnesota
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Nov 21, 2015 - 05:53am PT
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I've still got "old orange". My 40 year old Kletterwerks Rock Pack. That thing has been around the block. I paid $40 in '76--should have got the Bomb pack for a little bigger size.
They still make them in Bozeman but they cost two bills now. Probably worth it still because it goes with my eyes and my new SD 60/40 parka.
The best packs have the Grocery Bag style--holds what you need and no zippers to fail.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Nov 21, 2015 - 04:29pm PT
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Can't exclude the Lowe Alpine Systems Expedition pack. The original internal frame pack if I am not mistaken and still my cragging pack, patched holes and all. Taping the stays together has been my secret weapon to scarf stuck cams and the cheater stick that I never quite needed...
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Nov 21, 2015 - 06:40pm PT
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Stevie, Greg gave the six of us those Exped packs for the '78 Pamir trip. They were a real
step up. Actually, he kindly gave the Rooskies a bunch when we went to Denali the year before.
Sadly, the head Commissar wouldn't let the poor sods use them! There we were, slogging up
the Kahiltna with crushing loads, and the poor blighters had their POS homemade jobs with
1" wide leather straps and NO hip suspension system! OMG!
I felt so sorry for them but, of course, they were impervious to pain and had the time of their lives.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Nov 22, 2015 - 03:33pm PT
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If there is nobility in suffering, then those stalwarts are royalty!
Great story!
Once Greg invented fastex buckles and the compression system moved away from grommets and shoelace then you were really talking versatility with smaller loads.
The only time that my Lowe pack let me down was after doing the Muir Wall hammerless in 1989. The weather was really cold and my partner Jay Ladin and I decided to not risk the East Ledges iced up and walk down the Falls Trail. About a mile into the trudge one of the shoulder straps blew out with no way to repair it. I had to quasimodo a hundred pound load the rest of the way.
Jay remarked that it was the only time that he ever heard me really complain on a climb together. I took a couple of weeks to finally straighten up.
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Nov 22, 2015 - 03:43pm PT
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I bought a Gregory Denali Pro for Alaska trips. They were the biggest packs that I could find, and I had to carry a lot of food and basic gear. I would be out for 35 days straight, solo. The damn thing weighs 9 pounds on its own.
I always liked Lowe stuff. I still have one of their large packs, along with a small one that I use in the desert, where you don't need to take much more than a sleeping bag and a tarp. It has been through the wringer and still looks mint.
Anyone remember the Chounard Cragh Dubh? I think that was what it was called. I ran into a guy who had one in perfect condition once. Easily identified.
The weight of the pack itself should be a priority. Just don't skimp on sturdiness. I grew to hate that big Gregory. Day after day trudging through wet muskeg and tussocks. It was like a huge red tumor on my body.
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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Nov 22, 2015 - 04:17pm PT
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would like to see documented photos of whatever Bonatti took up the Dru or the Matterhorn. Maybe that's all lost to history.
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johntp
Trad climber
socal
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Nov 22, 2015 - 04:26pm PT
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I always liked Lowe stuff. I still have one of their large packs,
Still have a big Lowe pack I bought in the 80s. Don't know the name but it is around 70-80 liters. Sucker has been all over the sierra and still looks new.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Nov 22, 2015 - 04:30pm PT
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I have a Wild Things Andinista that really performs well in the ultralight category and a Dana Designs Astralplane Overkill at the opposite end of the spectrum.
I wonder if Walter was carrying his namesake model Millet pack on the Dru?
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Capt.
climber
some eastside hovel
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Nov 23, 2015 - 08:59am PT
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I worked at Dana Design for six years until we were purchased by K2 and our jobs
were sent offshore. K2 already owned Wild Ex so we began producing those as
well. Here's one of the last packs out of the Chatsworth factory.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Nov 23, 2015 - 09:05am PT
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With my background of running an outdoor shop 1973-1983, I think there were two "game-changing" pack designs in the U.S. in the early 70's, that most all popular large packs are descended from.
First was the frameless pack design, that was then stuffed tightly to achieve a rigid state, so some of the pack's weight could be carried on your hips.
Don Jensen started that trend with the Jensen Pack, and it was then refined, or just ripped off, by a number of other pack companies. Two of those I remember were the Chouinard Ultimate Thule & The Yakpack.
Alpinist Magazine borrowed my 1973 vintage Jensen Pack for the cover- photo of a nice article on the history of the Jensen Pack.
http://www.alpinist.com/doc/ALP48/26-tool-users-jensen-pack-rassler
26 Tool Users: The Jensen Pack by Brad Rassler
Here's a shot of me leading with the same pack in 1975 on Cascade Falls by Banff.
As noted in the Alpinist article, the Jensen Pack demanded carefull packing technique to carry it comfortably.
the ergonomic pack allowed climbers and skiers to tackle steep, technical terrain without the awkward sway of an aluminum frame or the roll of a cylindrical sack. Shaped by a brilliant mathematical mind, the Jensen melded with the user's back, but only with careful planning: if packed meticulously, the spineless rig stood tall, its structural pillar formed by the pressure of the contents. Improperly crated, the Jensen puckered and sagged.
By the mid-70's, the obvious advantages of the Lowe Expedition design: ease in packing, compression to hold the load close to the back, & internal stays to make the pack rigid, thus allowing some of the weight to be carried on hips, were killing the Jensen pack.
The Jensen design was changed with a full zip-out back & greater volume. It was not a great seller in my store. With Jim Donini's encouragement, my employees and I had changed from Jensen fans to Lowe fans.
By 1976, we were all climbing in Lowe packs.
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nutstory
climber
Ajaccio, Corsica, France
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 23, 2015 - 09:27am PT
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Fritz, thank you very much for posting the LAS advertisement published in Summit. I did not know it. One more interesting photograph of the early prototypes of the Lowe Cam Nut to treasure in my archives!
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frank wyman
Mountain climber
montana
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Nov 23, 2015 - 09:40am PT
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I have a "Great Pacific Iron Works" Ultima Thule, blue backpack, Great shape, if anybody is interested. Bought in in the 70's. Make me a offer..
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nutstory
climber
Ajaccio, Corsica, France
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 17, 2015 - 01:48am PT
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Dec 17, 2015 - 07:50am PT
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Keith Leaman
Trad climber
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Dec 17, 2015 - 08:03am PT
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Thanks SLR, I was wondering where I got the inspiration for this drawing. Yeeaars ago. Courtesy of Don Hunter. VVVVV Edited ~ It is Dave Alcock with a Karimor ad/pack?
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Dec 17, 2015 - 08:09am PT
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Keith,not sure who that is on the cover of the magazine, I sold my entire collection of books and mags.
=
I believe this is a Millet pack, from the 1970s
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nutstory
climber
Ajaccio, Corsica, France
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 17, 2015 - 09:03am PT
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I believe this is a Millet pack, from the 1970s Yes it is. I would say a Eiger or a Walker. The bottom of the Walker could be opened and it had an additional pocket.
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couchmaster
climber
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Dec 17, 2015 - 12:54pm PT
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Haha, I have a version of that Millet pack Nutstory that I still take out on occasion (where I know it will be left on the ground and I don't care if it gets stolen or trashed by a bear) I'd forgotten how nice they looked new, but that's it- same colors. Mine doesn't have the side zipper. They had these add on packets that you could strap on if you needed extra space. I should take photo to compare and contrast.
I had the next gen Karrimore Ihateplastic. I gave it to a local climber kid when I was climbing in Thailand a few years back. It had a small hole in it worn from climbing a chimney and being pooly padded and packed, which Karrimore had said was guaranteed for life. I didn't want to return a beat up old pack, although I still loved it. Kid was sooooo stoked, you'd have thought he'd won the lottery. I didn't want to tell him it was my shittiest pack or that I probably still had more packs left in my basement back home than the local climbing store had for sale. Haha, 1st world.
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Dec 17, 2015 - 03:02pm PT
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BTW awesome drawing Keith
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