Mountain Equipment's 2004 Packs Up Close

We told you a little about Mountain Equipment's new 2004 pack range a couple of months back, but we had a proper close-up browse of them at last week's show and they look great.

The packs have been developed by ME's sponsored climber John Dunne and, says ME, offer the same sort of features as the likes of Arc'teryx and Osprey, but at a very competitive price. The old ME packs were looking a bit dated, the new ones drag them into the 21st Century with a vengeance.

So what do you get? First, they look great, both the alpine-style top-loaders and the smaller Breeze packs which access via a side zip. Fabrics are designed as a compromise beteen lightness and durability with 420 denier Nylon on the body and a tougher 2000 denier fabric on the base of the sacks.

The back system looks thoroughly modern with ergo-shaped straps, laminated breathable foam padding, a removable waist belt with webbing back up option for stability and a neat hip-belt fastening system that borrows from Osprey for maximum comfort. Support comes from a polyethylene sheet backed up with an alloy T-shaped malleable strut, while you also get two wand pockets, an easy clip shockcord accessory cradle, removable lid with pocket and water-resistant zip and a hydration pocket.

The detailing is nice too, with Hypalon, Velcro-fastened ice tool straps and a Hypalon reinforced exit hole for a hydration tube too. The bottom line is that they look great with simple, clean lines, feel very light for fully specced sacs and if they work as well as they look, should be serious contenders.

The 55-litre version will retail for around £100 when it hits the shops early next year, so not cheap, but hardly overpriced either.

More Mountain Equipment information from their web site.