An occasional meandering set of random thoughts about the stuff
we're testing and other geary things...
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Macpac Torlesse: very rough
mesh.
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Berghaus Duel: smooth
snow-shedder
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Osprey Atrmos: little
perforations
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One of the aspects of vogue-ish ultra-lightweight kit that doesn't
really get the coverage it should is durability. Sure, there are
lightweight materials based on fabrics like Cordura or using kevlar
for reinforcement that are relatively light, but they're also
expensive and relatively rare as a result.
The bottom line is that if you build stuff light, you can't
reasonably expect it to last as long as your bombproof old kit.
That's the price of a waterproof jacket that weighs in at 300 grammes
rather than 1000 grammes.
Fortunately most clothing isn't dragged along the ground
regularly, so you can get away with some liberties, but where there's
contact and friction, there's always going to be abrasion. And that's
what's happening with lightweight shell jackets - I know from talking
to manufacturers that lightweight jackets are returned with abrasion
damage from pack straps fairly regularly, even though their
lightweight shells aren't recommended for regular heavy pack use.
Bear in mind too that runners with lightweight packs will still
give clothing a hard time simply because of the exaggerated movement
and friction between pack and clothing.
Which is all very well, but most walkers and all backpackers,
however light they travel, will still use a pack. One thing that
no-one seems to have considered is how abrasive pack straps are.
The OM Limp Wrist Test...
Out of idle curiosity I had a sort through some of the packs we
have on test and devised the OUTDOORSmagic LWT procedure or 'Limp
Wrist Test' which involves simply rubbing the sensitive skin of the
inside of your wrist against the shoulder straps to see how rough
they feel.
The variation between packs is astonishing: a Macpac Torlesse with
a wicking mesh surface felt like rubbing your skin against a cheese
grater, a Lowe Alpine pack with a similar surface felt similarly
rough. At the other extreme, the much smoother fabric used by Haglofs
on their Tight Evo and a similar surface on two Berghaus technical
climbing packs was significantly smoother.
An Osprey daypack fell somewhere between the two - rougher than a
smooth fabric but not as abrasive as the really coarse-grained ones.
Best of all was an old Karrimor pack which used a very smooth nylon
fabric simply encasing foam straps.
Then there's construction - many packs have stitched seam lines
running down the underside of the shoulder straps which may well
increase abrasion damage. Interestingly, on some of its packs, Osprey
tweaks the seams so that stitching sits out of the way on the front
of the strap. Ostensibly that's to protect the stitching, but it may
also reduce wear on clothing.
Until someone does some definitive testing, we're working on
hunches, but out there somewhere there's an opening for a
lightweight clothing friendly pack. One that minimises
abrasion through smooth construction and fabrics and works
effectively with relatively fragile lightweight clothing. Yes, it may
be less durable than a rougher fabric, but then most top-end
lightweight jackets cost a lot more to replace than an average
daysac.
Is anyone listening? Until then, if you're a lightweight jacket
owner, you might like to try the Limp Wrist Test on your own pack
straps...
