Lighter, tougher and better carrying too and in the shops imminently.
Legendary Sheffield
climbing
pack brand Pod has a
new
range of sacks which will be in the shops right about now
- spring 2010 - and runs alongside their current collection rather than
replacing it. We had a sneak in-depth look at the new packs.
The idea behind the new range isn't to replace the existing ones, but
to offer a more contemporary-looking alternative that shares the
brand's reputation for simplicity and durability. In addition, the new
range is both slightly lighter as standard, but can also be stripped
down to save even more weight for minimimalist summit pushes.
And while the brand is now owned by Equip, the company behind Rab and
outdoordesigns, Pod founder Pete O'Donovan was involved both in the
concept and test of the new packs.
Alpine Range - 30, 40, 50
litres...
There are 30, 40 and 50-litre packs aimed at mountaineers.
Fabrics were specially developed for Pod and are, the company says, as
tough as existing Pod fabrics, but lighter. They're Cordura, but a high
density weave, with more tightly-packed threads and rip-stop
yarn with an added waterproof coating.
The base is 420D ballistic fabric while bodies are 210D HD Cordura. To
give you an idea of the weight savings, a 50-litre Black Ice is 1.78
kilos, while the new Alpine 50 weighs 1.60 kilos. That's not the full
story though, the packs can be stripped of lid, hip-belt, frame-plate,
stave and bungee attachments to take the weight down to just 850
grammes...
The packs themselves are in Pod's traditionally simple mould, but with
some neat updated touches. The back system uses a thermo-formed pad
that doesn't stick to snow or absorb water, in combination with
removable alloy stave and stiffened frame plate, while once you remove
the lid - four snap buckles - you'll find the sack closure underneath
is a dry bag-style roll-over, so the pack is still neat and clean even
with the lid removed to save weight.
Another nice touch is hidden bar tacks on attachment points. The
bar-tacking is there, it's just tucked away under the pack fabric. It
looks neat, but it also prevents grit from working into the stitching
and abrading it.
Finally, Pod says the new packs carry better than the old range as
well. Weights are 1600g, 1555g and 1150g respectively with
stripped weights of 850g, 800g and 800g. The larger versions come in
two back lengths. Prices are
£100,
£120
and
£140.
Granites
Also new for this spring are the
Granite 16 and
Granite 25 - the 16
is a neat little multi-pitch pack with a big side-opening zip for rapid
access, while the Granite 25 is slightly bigger and could equally do
duty as a summer scrambling and all-round mountain day-pack we reckon.
Fabrics used are again Cordura, but heavier than the Alpine
range, but overall weight is respectably low at 540g for the 16 and
560g for the 25. Both feature snow-shedding, non-absorbent back panels.
In the shops imminently, full details at
www.podsacs.com
