Not one but two interesting new brands from Britain. We go for a short walk with one of the men behind Crux and Lightwave
'Lots
of people feel that they're being fed a shedload of hype,' says Adam van
Lopik one of the two men behind new UK outdoor outfits Crux and
Lightwave. 'Gear loaded with lots of features you don't need,
actually has a detrimental effect in the outdoors.'
His point is that the cunning gizmos and gadgetry espoused by many
top-end manufacturers add weight, bulk, complexity and cost to
essentially simple kit and have as much to do with marketing as they
so with solving real problems. Do you really need a complex
accessory-carrying pocket on the back of your pack or a window in
your tent? Is heavier fabric necessarily tougher?
Along with company founder - male - New Zealander Carol McDermott,
Adam has a background at Berghaus where he was product manager for
the clothing range, so he's no starry-eyed amateur. He's taken a big
salary cut though to commit himself to the purist philosophy at the
heart of Crux and Lightwave.
Of course philosophy isn't going to keep you dry at night or carry
your climbing gear for you, which is why Adam's popped down to the
Costa del Bleaklow for a quick yomp across the peat and a chance to
tell us about the kit and let us try it briefly.
Packs
Crux produces three packs, all minimalist, lightweight sacs aimed
at climbers. It's immediately obvious that there are no silly
gimmicks here. The flagship £120 AK50 is a 45-litre climbing
pack with a ten-litre lid extension aimed squarely at technical
alpinists.
It's all very 'less is more' with the body fabric being a light
but extremely tough-feeling PU-coated Keprotec fabic with a 28/72
ratio of Kevlar to Cordura. It promises to be extremely tough and rip
and abrasion resistant, though short of a rabid sheep attack, it's
hard to tell on Bleaklow.
The AK50's essentially very simple. The only obvious 'features'
are twin axe loops, diagonally slanted compression straps and a haul
loop. There's an internal 7001-T6 aluminium 8.5mm tube frame for
added support when the going gets heavy and a minimalist seamless
back system.
If the thinnish, ergonomically curved straps look rather like
those on the Berghaus Extrem range of climbing sacks, it's because
Carol was involved in their design as well, ditto the minimal but
suprisingly effective winged hip-belt. The frame feeds loads directly
into the belt for better carrying and there's no mesh in the
construction - it attracts snow, so the finish is smooth.
Of course you can't tell much from a quick two-hour hike over the
hills, but it is immediately clear that the pack is acceptably
comfortable and decently stable with a light-medium load. A choice of
three back sizes means you should be able to find one to suit your
physique too. It also gleams quality in a quietly understated 'object
of desire way', not that purist, functional climbers will care about
that of course.
There are currently two other packs in the range, the A50
(£90) - an AK50 but using Dynatec fabric instead of the
Kevlar-reinforced option - and the larger A70 expedition sac which
weighs a mere 1.35 kg for 70 litres of capacity, 85 litres with the
lid extended, which is mad really.
Tents
Crux produces just one tent, the X2 geodesic, which we (ie: Adam)
pitched 'somewhere on Bleaklow', though Lightwave - more details
later - produce a further three tents but with dozens of possible
configurations...
Anyway, if the weight of a full geodesic and the complexity of
pitching has always put you off, you have got to check out the X2. It
weighs in at just 2.8kg complete - not much more than a Macpac
Minaret tunnel - and is devoid of fiddly tensioners and complex
additions.
The fly is almost translucent and looks fragile, but uses a
72g/m2 ripstop, high-tenacity nylon
which has been silicone-coated on both sides rather than using the
normal PU coating. Adam says that the silicone actually enhances the
material's tear resistance by not sticking the fibres together
meaning they can roll over one another so when you try to tear the
material, you're trying to tear a bundle of fibres rather than a
single one.
At any rate, it feels tough and I couldn't rip it with my bare
hands. It also pitches very simply by geodesic standards. Slot the
four colour-coded Easton alloy poles into mesh sleeves and locate the
ends into appropriate grommets. There are no tensioners or weird
connectors to complicate things, then just throw the flysheet over
and secure.
There are some nice design touches - the pegs are jewel-like,
square section, machined alloy, that we reckon could double as
knitting needles and the guylines are made from Dyneema, making for a
light, strong cord that doesn't absord water like nylon guys.
There are two neat closeable vents either side of the front
entrance. Inside it's light and roomy with plenty of room to sit up
under the flattish roof plus the usual mesh storage pockets. There's
only one entrace at the front but storage for one and a half packs
under the rear porch accessible from inside the tent. The door has
just one, central zip to save weight and simplify, but we can't see
that being a problem in use.
If we were looking for a mountain geodesic, the X2 would
definitely be high on our list, maybe even at the top. At £375
it's not cheap, but it looks just a bit special.
Lightwave
Alongside Crux, Adam and Carol have also surreptitiously unleashed
Lightwave onto the market. While the Crux stuff is aimed mainly at
climbers, its sister brand is focussed on trekkers and
backpackers.
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No gimmicks, but nice pegs just
the same...
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We didn't have time to look at any of the three Lightwave tents in
the flesh, but there are three basic tunnel designs in the range
sized as 'compact two-person', 'roomy two-person / compact
three-person' and 'roomy three-person'. It's not quite that simple
though as you can choose from different permutations of specification
for each size.
So, for example, you could opt for an Arctic fly with an extended
vestibule or an Arctic heavy duty groundsheet inner, or ultralight
poles saving 300 grammes on the lightweight version or heavy duty
poles, or a more 'price-aggressive' fly etc, etc, etc...
It's an interesting idea - if a bit baffling at first acquaintance
- and means you can 'design' the spec of the tent to suit your
intended use and pocket. Plus if the fabrics, material and
construction are up to the same standards as Crux, they will
definitely be worth checking out. Oh, one last point, a three-man
tunnel tent weighing just 3.1 kg... More in the future I'm sure.
The End
'We want to produce really good gear, using good materials and
spend money giving consumers a good deal rather than marketing,' says
Adam van Lopik. Crux and Lightwave are small acorns right now, but
based on what we've seen, they're heading in the right direction and
it's good to see a British company with a fresh and interesting
approach.
Buy online through Field and Trek - see OM
shopping section.
Crux web site
Lightwave web
site
