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The cold world of skimo & alpine climbing

The cold world of skimo & alpine climbing

Monday, October 31, 2011

UltraLite Alpini Shelter 200

Over the years I have used a lot of kit.  Much of it home made.   Not because I was cheap but because you simple couldn't always buy the gear you needed in the US.    Back in the '70s I made my own bivy sacks (bothy bag) from coated nylon on my Bernina sewing machine.

A quick search under goggle images for "bothy bags" will turn up a pot full of them

But here in the US you would be hard pressed to come up with a proper bivy sack.  I am not talking sleeping bag covers here, but real climbing bivy sacks.  The kind that will make the difference between survival and death if caught out in really bad weather in the mountains.

Thankfully I know one place that can square that situation away,  Brooks-Range.

http://brooks-range.com/home.php

Half the size of a Nalgene 1 liter bottle and 8 1/2 oz on my scale for the two man version.

http://brooks-range.com/UltraLite-Alpini-Shelter-200.html


Simple idea, coated nylon generally, keeps heat and moisture in.  Works better than you would ever suspect keeping you warm.  They were made from silk or canvas before nylon and used on most of the  big north face in the Alps as standard survival gear from the '30s on.

Not bad in a pissing cold rain either.





14 comments:

marcello said...

i don't get it, can u hang from it? the pic is unclear, could u explain?

Dane said...

You can't hang from it. It has no bottom

NotMessner said...

The Brooks-Range web site says, "Condensation is kept to a minimum thanks to breathable fabric..." Do you think a version in eVent would be worth the extra weight? Of course, the cash increase would be humonguous. P.S. What's up with their Rocket? Is it still de-laminating?

Dane said...

I'm happy with coated nylon. But this one works fine imo. No clue on the Rocket, sorry.

Kens Mountaineering said...

Thanks for the review Dane!
I just bought myself a terranova superlite bothy, but should have got this one instead.

ive got their rocket tent and the cuben version has been discontinued because they couldnt sort out the issues. They sent me their propel tent as a replacement since it has permanently replaced the rocket.

NotMessner said...

Would it be possible to run a light cord from a high attachment point, ice or rock, down through a tiny hole in end of the middle pole-holder, continuing down to a hanging stove? P.S. have you tried out the new Titanium Jet-Boil Sol, which they say can be stripped of excess weight to bring in down to 7 or 8 oz?

Dane said...

Not used the new Jet Boil. Easy to hand a stove in these bags with a little imagination.

Anonymous said...

Wondering if you can you lie down in this you and actually get a bit of rest? Or is more for emergency rather then semi-planned bivys?

Dane said...

Most climbers use them on a planned bivy.

Anonymous said...

I was looking for one recently and came across Ortik products (tupek and tupek guide)
same idea taken a bit further, it is heavier but imho gives more options and looks slighty bigger
great blog Dane

Anonymous said...

I´ve bought one tupek from ortik ,it´s much better and well designed, the ventilation really works and the version that I bought has a side door.Beside it has ground floor so it works perfectly has a tent also.
The "ultralite Alpini Shelter 200" it´s not a really inovation.

ps-I´ve notive that the drawings from instructions are very simmilar to the Tupek that I bought...really strange...

John Smith

Jonas Duvall said...

Not strange Brooks made a flat out copy of the Ortik product. But they were unfortunate to copy the old version when the new tupek shelter was being presented.... Research & Copy is not a good strategy for 'development'...

Jonas Duvall

Anonymous said...

Where can you get the Ortik Tupek in the US? The Ortik Website lists one US dealer but they don't seem to carry any Ortik products.

said...

Rock Exotica was the distributor of Ortik in the USA. Now I don't know which company has the distribution on the US. But I know a shop that sells Ortik for the US:

http://www.highmountainshop.com

Cheers.

José