eBay find: Dana Designs Flip

A fairly simple, stripped down DD pack from what I assume is the early, leather-patch days.

A few features I thought worth calling out; like several Dana packs the compression is one continuous strap with the buckles on the user side. Some Dana packs are tacked in the middle of the strap to keep it from wandering too much, but the plastic slots imply to me that this one is not. Also like many Dana packs the top ladderlock is set on a longer piece of webbing then the bottom, I assume there is a very good reason but I have not found it yet.

The panel layout (distinct and contrasting front and side panels) with the zippered top-loading is an obvious ancestor to the current Hill People Gear Ute and Umlindi packs, probably even more so then the continuous panel Kifaru Lateseason and Day Stalker that is easy to assume is the main source of DNA for their packs.

The backpanel is kept typically spare, with a slight flare at the bottom corners providing a bit of wrap around before turning into a simple web belt.

The bottom shows two things, the dimension in the lower portion of the pack is actually supplied by darts, and not panels, as most modern packs use. Also the wrap around in the bottom corners is encouraged by the bottom panel, allowing them to be stuffed and shaped with the pack contents if the user is patient and fastidious enough.

GORUCK

I'll just go ahead and be blunt.

I don't like GORUCK.

The story of the garage start up, the dedication to American manufacturing, the fun extra products that pop up (1000d cordura tie? I can get behind that), all that is well and good. It's not even the high prices or the obnoxious cult-adherents purchasing their products that rubs me the wrong way, we've seen that all before (COUGH *kifaru*).

Its the packs.
I think they suck. I'm all for streamlining and simplifying, most of my favorite packs are quite simple and could even be simplified more, but with GORUCK I think too much was sacrificed at the alter of minimalism.

No sternum strap?
No belt?
No compression straps?
Any color as long as it's black?

I'm not fan of panel loaders, I know that is just a personal preference, but why build a backpack and go on and on and on about its durability and design it to be one zipper failure away from spewing your stuff on the ground? It's not even as beefy a zipper as some other pack makers use (looks like a #8, I'd bet dollars to donuts it's not a #10 like HPG or Kifaru). Go look at a Pointman, Ute, or even a Trizip, none of them leave you completely out of luck in the case of a zipper failure.
It's a 1000d cordura backpack with beefy stitching. It's not really going to be any tougher then any other 1000d cordura backpack on the market with beefy stitching. It's going to be as tough as its weakest components, zippers and hardware being my guess.
I'm also not going to buy the line that a relative newcomer to backpack design (with no prior manufacturing or textiles experience) is going to be able to design intrinsic durability improvements into the bags themselves. Go look at HPG's judicious use of hypalon, or read about Mystery Ranch's differentially cut double pack bottoms if you want to see what that looks like, Evan and Dana have been mulling over backpack design for years (not to leave out Patrick Smith, but I think he has more of a "brute force" design ethos that seems to have worked just fine).
Interestingly enough, I see many parallels between the cult of GORUCK and the oddly passionate attachment I used to see people express for their Kifaru E&E packs: Both offer very little value added over other generic backpacks at a much steeper price.

And the price. I'm used to paying extra for quality American made products, but even the GORUCK guys will admit $295 is pretty steep for such a simple bag (the GR1). What does the same money get you from other quality, American pack companies?

Kifaru Zippy:

3 zippered access points, full compression system, removable/adjustable shoulder straps, top and bottom lashing points, and your choice of full MOLLE or water bottle pockets.

Mystery Ranch Big Sky/Dragon Slayer/Sweetpea:

Depending on model you could get a full compression system, bottom compression straps, water bottle pockets, stowable fully padded hipbelt, adjustable yoke, load lifters, an aluminum and fiberglass frame, and some pretty extensive internal organization. Throw in another $25 and you could add the 3DAP to the party.

HPG Umlindi+Prairie belt:

Full compression system, top and bottom lashing straps, water bottle pouches, frame sheet with aluminum stay, full shoulder harness, and a full sized pack belt.

I'm not saying the GR1 isn't the perfect backpack for some people, I just don't understand how so many packs with more materials and manufacturing complexity can be offered at the same price point, there is either a hefty mark-up or some major parasitic loss in the GORUCK supply chain.


But despite all this I do have something very positive to say about GORUCK. A tumblr post led me to this:

The State of GORUCK: Edition 3
Jason needs an editor and some shorter sentences, but scroll down and you'll find this:

I have huge respect for any company willing to post their revenue on the internet for all to see. I appreciate the transparency, as well as just being interested in how businesses are run. If they ever get their Mesh Tac Hat back in any color other then black I'll probably throw a few dollars their way.

But seriously, I'd rather have a Blackhawk! 3 day then a GR1, and that's saying something.

Nothing new under the sun

Stumbled across an Osprey Solo today, a backpack that I'd never seen before yet was quite familiar:

I think I have found the ancestor of the Hill People Gear Tarahumara.
Large vertical zipper opening
Similar side panel geometry
Designed to attach to larger packs
Single piece removable shoulder harness

 (Apparently the newer version ditched the compression straps and went with a sewn-on harness)

Now I don't begrudge the Hill Brothers for borrowing from another pack, Even has often said that there is nothing new and that whether intentionally or not every designer borrows from those before them. He is also an admitted Osprey fan, and even refers to the front closure on their Ute pack as "Osprey style reverse pull." This just leaves me surprised that I'd never heard mention of this pack on their site or any of the many forums were the Tara has been discussed, they are certainly open about their inspirations and design process.

HPG certainly has nothing to hide, they have added so much that the capabilities of these two packs can hardly be compared, they added a beefy compression system, a fuller harness, dual water bottle pockets, and a host of other features, so this is not an "I caught you!" post so much as an observation on how much borrowing happens in the design world.



UPDATE 7/12/14
Found another backpack in the same genus while flipping through my old Backpack magazines, the Mountain Hardwear Riff:

no one-piece harness but the same center zip and this time with waterbottle pouches. I don't know which came first but I wouldn't be surprised if this is just an Osprey solo rip-off.



UPDATE 7/28/14
and another, this time the Lowe Alpine Moab. bottle pockets but no compression straps.

State of the market: wearable sleep systems

The idea of one's sleep system doing double duty as a garment is not a new idea, match coats and great kilts are two old examples that come to mind.
I won't waste your time explaining the advantages or disadvantages of the concept, any reasonably intelligent person can get there on their own and there is already much information (and marketing) floating around. What I will go over as thoroughly as I can are all the commercial options available right now, generally the conversation arises in either an ultralight backpacking context or a tactical/preparedness context and something usually gets left out.

I have only included the fill wight of the synthetic options because I find it more useful then temp ratings but I don't have as firm a frame of reference on down fill weights. I have tried to include only options that can be used as a full length sleep system, hence my omission of the Kifaru Woobie Express and the horrible Sierra Designs Elephant Foot.

Keep in mind that temp ratings on top quilts and open blanket style sleep systems are even more variable then sleeping bags (which while wrong are reasonably consistent).

I can't tell you which came first but the Jacks 'R' Better sierra sniveler is the earliest I know of:

http://www.jacksrbetter.com/shop/sierra-sniveller/

firmly in the lightweight camp, a down top quilt with liberal use of velcro. Optional hood and sleeves add a lot of versatility. A slightly tapered flat quilt with a velcro closing head hole, worn poncho style. Certainly the most well known in ultralighter and backpacker circles.

30*F?
24oz
$270

10*F?
30oz
$310

optional hood: 2oz, $60
optional sleeves: 5oz, $80

Another of the early contenders, the Exped Dreamwalker (previously the Wallcreeper):

http://www.exped.com/usa/en/product-category/sleepingbags/dreamwalker-650-m

A mid-weight, feature heavy sleeping bag/parka. Has armholes, front pockets, a jacket style hood and a full zip front with a bottom cinch cord. The bottom is un-cinched and re-cinched around the users waist for walking mode. Can be opened flat for a spacious quilt as well. I've heard mixed reviews of how well the foot cinch works to seal out the cold. Does have baffles blocking the armholes.
Available in two weights of down and a synthetic version.

down:
36*F
38oz
$480

synthetic:
5oz fill
55*F
37oz
$230

It deserves special mention that this bag has a matching bivvy sack/rain jacket, but the idea of a "rain vest" holds little interest to me.

Exped more recently offered a second wearable sleeping option, the Dreamwalker DUO:

http://www.exped.com/usa/en/product-category/sleepingbags/dreamwalker-duo-syn-160-m

Basically a fullsized poncho with a zippered head hole. Designed as a comforter for two people, snaps to a fitted sheet that can be attached to a set of sleeping pads.

down:
48*F?
35oz
$430

synthetic:
6oz fill
50*F?
56oz
$320


New kid on the block, the Hill People Gear Mountain Serape:

http://www.hillpeoplegear.com/Products/tabid/762/ctl/ProductDetails/mid/1916/ProductID/64/Default.aspx

square poncho sized blanket with a clever zipper system that wrangles the excess fabric better then a typical toggle or belt. Attached hood with a 1/4 zipper opening gives it a pretty big wearability advantage over it's competition. Uses Primaloft insulation unlike the bulk of the poncho liners out there, what I've read/heard seems to imply that climashield has better warmth to weight but Primaloft deals with water better. I think in general this product has introduced the idea to a lot of users that otherwise wouldn't have thought twice about a "silly ultralighter" product like the JRB quilt. Better marketing and customer interaction has made this a more popular option then some of the similar products.

also usable as a half-zip sleeping bag:

2.4oz fill
40*? (general consensus from Mt. Serape users, seems very optimistic)
25oz
$175


Probably the most sleeping-baggy of the group, the previously mentioned Sierra Designs Mobile Mummy:

http://www.sierradesigns.com/product/mobile-mummy-800-3-season

Perhaps the least intuitive as well, but no less clever. You unzip the bottom a ways and stick your legs out while you button the bottom out of the way behind you (seen below center):

Very similar to the Exped but without the hole at the bottom and with a more nuanced shape and design. No zippers blocking the armholes, relies on wide overlapping baffles instead.

2 season:
39*F
29oz
$330

3 season:
27*F
36oz
$380

The Ecotat was an earlier option but I knew it had been more or less discontinued. I recently found out it is still being made by Wiggy's as the Freedom shelter:

http://wiggys.com/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=299

very little information on their website about it, but I think it safe to assume lamilite is involved and it is on the heavier end of things. Built like an Exped Dreamwalker but with no armholes and no pockets. instead it has a head hole to wear it as a poncho.

unknown fill
temp unknown
weight unknown
$262

A lesser known option, Wiggy's Insulated Poncho:

http://wiggys.com/moreinfo.cfm/252

By far the most affordable option, just a quilted poncho liner with attached hood. Despite the comparatively hefty fill weight word is that the stitch-through quilting inhibits its warmth. Only other thing I've ever heard about it is that it does not pack down very well. Uses lamilite and climashield insulation in an unknown combination. Available in MARPAT which is hard to find these days.

6oz fill
temp unknown
weight unknown
$80

A higher end version of the same, the 782 Gear Smoke Kloke:

Uses climashield insulation, square poncho with hood. Multicam option will appeal to some.

2oz fill
temp unkown
19oz
$132


Perhaps the least known option I've found, the Integral Designs Poncho Liner:

http://www.fellfab.com/military/poncho-liner-blanket/

I've never heard anyone mention, recommend, or otherwise acknowledge this product, I found it just poking around on their site. Uses Primaloft Sport insulation, has a silly half-circle zipper head hole and a perimeter zipper for sleeping bag use.

3oz fill
temp unkown
28oz
$220 (listed elsewhere on their sight for $150)

And finally, last and in my mind least; the Poler Napsack:

http://www.polerstuff.com/products/the-napsack

A shameless rip off of the Exped Dreamwalker, (I really hope there is some licensing agreement no one has bothered to mention) if you handle one in person you can feel the cheapness radiating out of it.
I include it only out of a determination for completeness.

unknown fill
50*F
42oz
$130


*ADDED 5/29/2014*
I'm simply shocked I forgot to include this option, I've know about it for some time but it just slipped my mind:

Feathered Friends Rock Wren:

(photo from Outdoor Gear Lab)

a very light, high quality option from a reputable dealer. It functions like a cross between the Mobile Mummy and the Dreamwalker, but could be older then both. Unfortunately this bag has gotten critisized for poor hood seal and no baffles over the arm zippers. A warmer version is available as the "Winter Wren."

35* F
28oz
$340

25* F
33oz
$355

So what are my thoughts about all these? The Sierra designs is the only one I'd really consider for my only sleep insulation. The JRB might work but the verdict is still out for me on top quilts.
I am mostly interested in one of these as an emergency layering/sleeping piece (coupled with a poncho in a car bag or day pack) and as an overbag for a normal sleeping bag.
For this purpose the HPG Mountain Serape definitely seems to offer the most versatility and value, but I would change a few things about it. Since it is made by and for larger guys I could get away with a considerably narrower width and would trade that weight to bump it up to 3oz or 4oz of insulation.

What I will probably do is buy the Wiggy's poncho just because of the price and cut and sew on it till I get a better idea of what works for me. If I love the system I will probably upgrade to the HPG.

If you know of an option I forgot or have never heard of please point it out and I will add it to the line-up.