We can't give you the full low down quite yet and we'll have full
details and proper pics of the finished things from the Harrogate Go
Outdoors show in a couple of months, but we can reveal that the guys
at Mountain Equipment have completely revamped their pack range for
2004.
ME's sponsored climber, Yorkshire beefcake John Dunne, has spent
the last three months slaving away over the development of the new
packs and putting in the air miles between the UK and factories in
Asia.
The result is a completely new range of packs to replace the
durable but conservative and ME rucksacs introduced a
couple of years ago. Like most of the climbing packs we saw at
Friedrichshafen, the emphasis is on lightness and simplicity.
Shape is streamlined with a cut away base for easier face out
descending, there are laminated straps, removable hip belts, space
mesh backs for improved cooling and some neat touches like Hypalon -
think black inflatable Zodiac fabric - pull tags and axe straps plus
the inevitable water-resistant zips.
The back system is a HDPE sheet with a single alloy stave for
stiffening and coping with hardware loads. The new fabrics used feel
good and tough, but the pre-production models on the ME stand were
incredibly light to the point where we were looking for the hidden
helium balloons...
The climbing packs are going to come in 55, 45 and 35-litre sizes,
cost £60, £80 and £100 respectively and look and feel
like serious light but tough contenders. There are also three new
zip-loading day packs. More details later in the year.
John Corteen
