Haglöfs Turtle Shield is a new take on pack back system design, transferring the weight directly onto the middle and upper back rather than via a hip-belt, but does it work?
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Haglöfs Rand 38 Pack - First
Look
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Price: £120.00
(SRP)
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Weight: 1650 grammes
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Features:
Expandable ski-mountaineering backpack, Turtleshield
technology, 420D Dupont Cordura and 840D Ballistic polyamide
fabrics, Hypalon reinforced QR ski attachment, combined
compression system / snowboard / snowshoe carrier, external,
expandable bellows pocket, lid with Spandex stretch and one
internal and one external pocket, detachable hip-belt with
side adjustment control and gear loops, wing-shaped side
stabilisers, detachable double ice axe loops, hydration
system sleeve and outlet, reflective printing.
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Beautifully made and designed with quality materials.
A tad heavy, not much head clearance.
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The Concept The Rand is actually designed as a
ski-mountaineering sac and some of the features are specific to
ski-mountaineering use, but the real interest is in Haglöfs
Turtleshield back system, which is an interesting new take on the way
packs work.
Generally modern packs aim to transfer as much weight as possible
through to the hips via a padded hip-belt. Apparently Haglöfs
research suggested that a more efficient and stable solution was to
create a back system that conforms more closely to the upper back and
transfers more weight directly to the back.
The result is the Turtle Shield idea, so called because of the
dramatic curve of the back. Haglöfs is also using Turtle Shield for
its Climber and Tight Pro. Otherwise the sac's aimed to be a
bombproof and effective ski-mountaineering sac that, to quote
Haglöfs, aims to give a 'perfect fit during both ascent and descent'.
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Hip-belt incorporates handy gear
loops
but sits high without careful adjustment
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Features We're not going to go into all the details since many
of them are really specific to skiing use, but there's a lot of tough
materials used here including Hypalon and Cordura on ski-mounting
attachments and at high wear points. You also get classically
designed ergonomically shaped shoulder straps and hip-belt in spot
on, high density foam plus a three-litre bladder hydration
pocket.
The real talking point though, is the Turtle Shield. It consists
of a 3D pressed polyethylene framesheet, closed cell foam padding and
a Spandex mesh weave that goes against the back, plus the whole
structure is given form by a Delrin rod that runs right round the
outside of the plate and holds things together.
In Action Our first observation was that all that technology
plus the bombproof fabrics and construction comes at a price;
compared to the latest lightweight packs, the 1650 gramme Rand 38 is
a tad heavy and the Climber 40 weighs slightly more at 1680
grammes.
Initially the fit also takes some getting used to. The Turtle Shield
means that the Rand sits higher and closer on the back than more
conventional packs with the foam-covered plate curving our over your
shoulders, hugging your upper back then curving back into the small
of your back. It also places the hip-belt higher than normal, which
is a boon if you're wearing a harness, but feels a bit odd. You need
to fiddle with the adjustment for maximum comfort.
Loaded up with a climbing-sized cargo, the back system worked
really well. The close contact with your back feels efficient and
stable with it with no swaying about under lateral motion and we were
cautiously impressed. We were less happy with the hip-belt. Letting
it sit high feels weird and borderline uncomfortable, but lowering it
to the hips meant that the back system didn't sit properly.
Eventually we achieved a reasonable compromise by adjusting the side
tensioners, but we'd definitely advise careful fitting and adjusting
before buying.
The irony is that the Turtle Shield is so stable and effective at
transferring load through the shoulders - think ethnic people
carrying loads using headbands - that a seriously padded hip-belt is
arguably unnecessary. You can remove the one supplied and we'd like
to see an alternative, thinner waist belt purely for stability.
The rest of the pack seems fine, really well made using top
quality fabrics and components and with some ingenious touches for
skiing types including a great big expandable bellows pocket on the
back of the pack that also makes a handy stowage point for soaked
waterproofs.
One observation if you're thinking of using the pack for climbing
though, is that the lid tends to prevent you looking up when the
pocket's used. Not a problem for walkers, but an issue on steep
climbs. The climbing-specific Climber version, however, looks to have
more clearance for the back of the head built in.
It's always interesting when someone goes against the existing
orthodoxy and with the Turtle Shield system, Haglöfs has done just
that. We were a bit skeptical to start with, but the back-hugging,
high-sitting back system really does work well with the potential
bonus of improving access to your harness, though the hip-belt itself
incorporates a gear hanger on either side.
We
found it stable, to the point where we often chose not to fasten the
hip-belt and also a good carry despite our initial worries that the
weight would feel too high up and unstable as a result.
We did have some doubts - given that most of the weight transfer
seems to be direct to the back, does the pack really need a serious
padded hip-belt at all? Plus the design does mean that you need to
try carefully before buying to make sure that the belt sits
comfortably for you.
Otherwise we were, as usual, impressed with Haglöfs attention to
detail and quality of build and materials and while it's not a cheap
pack, it feels built to last.
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