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Price: £
100
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Weight: 1490g (actual)
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Features
Expandable 20/40 litre technical mountain pack with
expandable volume feature, Centro adjusable back system,
self-adjusting hip-belt, Superfabric reinforcement for ice
tools, Webcatcher glove friendly system, internal pocket,
numerous lash points for carrying kit on the outside of the
pack, plus rope straps, maximum movement shoulder straps,
reflective logo.
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We don't normally get excited about packs, but the Lowe
Alpine Limited Edition Extreme Attack 20+20 is something a
bit different and we thought you might appreciate a scoop detailed
early look.
It's a pack that Lowe Alpine's put together to celebrate its 40th
birthday, but for a change, it looks forward, not back, showcasing
new ideas and developments that you can expect to see elsewhere in
the range over the next few years.
And it's going to be a genuinely rare beast. Just 200 of the packs
are due to go on sale at the end of August 2007, so if you want one,
you'd better be quick.
What Makes It Different?
The Attack 20+20's just screams attention to detail. In its normal
20-litre form it's a neat, compact shape that Lowe Alpine says means
it doesn't get in the way while climbing and allows freedom of
movement without loss of stability. It's close-fitting and sculpted
at the base so it doesn't catch if you're facing out while
downclimbing...
That's great when you're on the route, but the pack's trump card
is that with a single zip, it expands to give you a whopping extra 20
litres of capacity for, say, approaches or winter use and it does it
without looking like a dog's dinner too...
Just undo the zip which runs down the side, across the base and up
the other side and a neat bellow opens up doubling the size of the
pack in seconds...
That's just the start. There's so much going on with this pack, a
lot of it extremely clever. The smooth back panel is sculpted to stop
snow sticking to it, the narrow straps are carefully shaped to give
maximum mobility but still remain comfortable and the hip-belt is a
cunning, self-adjusting affair that pivots to sit lightly on the
ideal spot once the belt is tightened.
Neat stuff and there's more cleverness at the front. Slap bang in
the middle of it all is a patch of something called
Superfabric, it's American and derived from the defence
industry and there to stop your ice tools eating the pack fabric -
it's the bobbly stuff in the pic below. And in turn, the adjustment
there is taken care of by Lowe Alpine's innovative alloy Webcatcher
fasterners, tough, light and easy to use with gloves on.
What else? Rope storage? No problem, snap-buckled straps allow you
to carry a rope on top of your shoulder straps, good for balance
there too. The base of the pack is reinforced. Access is by
zipped-panel opening, but there's an internal hanging pocket for your
gubbinses and initally, on a quick walk up the stairs, the pack felt
snug and supportive.
Anyway, more soon. Out at the end of August, priced at
£100 which we reckon is pretty good for a limited edition
and an interesting pack. The future's bright, the future's Lizard
Green :-)
Current Lowe Alpine range details at www.lowealpine.com
andy_dt
