There are pieces of gear that I think of as standard bearers; lightweight, simple, and rugged. These pieces of gear were popular with my partners and myself and include the Grivel Air Tech Racing ice axe, the Black Diamond Betamid/Beta Light shelter, and the Serratus Genie back pack. My Betamid and Air Tech are still going strong, however, after 48 seasons of ice climbing, winter mixed alpine climbing, alpine rock climbing, mountaineering, and scrambling my Serratus Genie has come to the end of its useful life. I discovered this two years ago while rooting around with my head in the pack looking for an ice screw. I could see daylight filtering through the threadbare fabric.
In its life not a single stich tore, the zipper never failed, and the seams are as good as new. The pack fabric itself tore while I was bush whacking when an ice tool caught on a branch. The fabric around the ice axe loop tore, but I had it patched and used it for a few more years. Nevertheless, the time came to replace it.
There are very few 30 liter packs that fit my criteria for a day and a half pack; simple webbing hip belt, large lid pocket, preferably floating, single draw string opening, no zippers or exterior pockets, ice axe and crampon attachment system. It’s not too much to ask, but finding one is harder than I thought.
There is a popular boutique pack maker in Portland, Oregon that markets a pack that fits the bill; however, the packs suffer from what I call The Space Shuttle Syndrome. Too many pieces of fabric stitched together, each seam a potential failure point. Configurable, removable straps means losable straps. I’ve never seen such beat down, failing packs, as many of my partners use these. I’ve used them and admit they carry and climb very well, but at the price, three times what I paid for the Serratus, I expect perfection.
Another pack maker in New Hampshire known for 'light is right' makes a potential replacement, however, it is only 25 liters and again, at the price point I expect perfection. So began the odyssey.
Replacement #1.
It was the right size at 30 liters, had decent ice axe and crampon attachment systems and was very light. Turns out, too light as it started falling apart on its second outing. I returned it.
Replacement # 2.
It was a bit small at 25 liters, but was simple and ruggedly built. This one would not fall apart any time soon. The ice axe loops unfortunately were situated halfway up the pack which carried 50 cm tools towering over my head. I returned it.
Replacement # 3.
This one was also a bit small at 25 liters, but had decent ice axe attachments and would accept a bungee cord for a crampon attachment. The lid pocket was terribly small, and I decided I needed the extra 5 liters. I sold it for what I paid for it to a very nice fellow who needed a small summit pack for his upcoming Rainier trip.
Replacement #4.
It was advertised as 30 liters, and everything was righteous about this pack. Unfortunately, when I received it in the mail it was obviously much smaller than 30 liters. I returned it.
I went to bed each night imagining the perfect pack. I would be nearly identical to the Genie, but with a larger lid and with the daisy chains on the side of the pack, rather than the back. It would also have crampon straps, rather than the jerry rigged bungee system I used. I even contemplated buying a sewing machine and building my own, using the Genie as a template.
I found the perfect pack while perusing Dane Burn’s blog, Cold Thistle. He had a number of examples of customized Cold Cold World Ozone packs. They were a study of simplicity and functionality. I had used CCW packs and knew they were well built. I emailed Randy Rackcliff, owner of CCW, with a doctored photo of an Ozone pack, indicating where I wanted daisy chains, ice axe loops, and crampon straps. I ordered it in a beautiful, slate blue 210D Spectra rip stop fabric. The price was the same as the other two contenders, not cheap, but I was getting exactly what I wanted.
The turnaround was fast and I had the pack in my greedy mitts yesterday. It is a thing of beauty. Perfect size, large top lid, no unnecessary zippers or pockets, simple but effective ice axe and crampon attachments, removable bivi pad, well made, and light.
http://www.summitpost.org/pack/1005674
http://www.summitpost.org/pack/1005675
