Blue Ice again?

I have been lucky enough to secure a steady flow of Blue Ice climbing gear to the NA market.

They offer some unique items now and more to come in the near future.

More here:
http://coldthistletools.blogspot.com/2011/04/blue-ice-gear.html

My climbing pack?

I have gotten a number of emails asking me to be more specific on my own climbing pack design that Randy sews for me @ Cold Cold World.

These are the specs off the Spectra Ripstop version of the Ozone:


Pack weighs in at less than 1.5 #. Material is Spectra ripstop. Shoulder harness is off a full size CCW pack for the extra padding required on heavier loads. Some where above a 35L in my 21" back size.

Pack weight goes up as you add material weight.  Same pack in the red ballistics nylon shown in the pictures is 2.5#.   Better weigh your own pack if the maker published the weight.  I found one of the current manufactures a full 1/2#  heavier than advertised on their "2 LB" 210d Dyneema Ripstop, 30L sack with a 17" back panel.  I use a quality digital postal scale which seems to help.  My packs have a 21" back panel and the weights published above are those pack's actual weights in Spectra and Ballistics nylon.  No gimics.

(details)
Custom sizing (which everyone should do if it is available to you)
custom pattern originally based on the Ozone size but with a bigger more oblong bottom
2 liter+ water bottle size top pocket
2nd zippered pocket in bottom of the lid with key holder
Zippers reversed on the pockets for use on hanging belays
pull down shoulder straps instead of "pull up"
main bag has a zippered "guide book" pocket...I use it for food and a head lamp generally
covered lid buckle which protects it while being hauled
removable foam pad
oversize shoulder straps for the extra weight when required
Perlon haul loop which is easier to clip on and off the anchor in difficult stances
dbl strap patches on lid  (which I have yet to  use but couldn't live with out)
dbl rope straps across the top of the pack, attaches ropes or tools just as easily
dbl bottom
10" extension with draw string
lid is extendable and or removable
bar tacked daisy chain on the bottom of the lid strap

There are no other attachment points on the pack...everything including, helmet, tools and crampons go inside the pack.  You are forced to pack light.

I generally climb with the pack without the lid.  If the lid is attached, it is likely stuck down inside the pack while climbing.

I've been using this "same" pack for years in many different and seemingly unlikely places.  Randy's version is the best of those packs for my own use.

Sitting on a similar sized pack, during a quick ascent of the West Buttress of Denali in the late 70's, using three pin skinny skis below 11K.

Bottom pattern shape we ended up using for more comfort and volume is the larger orange pack.   Shown with an earlier smaller CCW prototype.

Final pattern for the bottom panel of these packs.

Internal, 8" x9"  pocket in the main sac.  The higher, second zipper is the foam pad pocket.

Sewn on Ozone lid and an the extendable lid version I prefer with Velcro showing on the right.

Loaded and slightly extended, with tools strapped across the top under the lid.  The tools also easily fit inside the pack as well...as hard as that may be to believe.

In all the pack is very simple.  But it is the detailing and attention to details when it is being sewn that makes the pack so awesome for my own use.  The internal pocket for a bit of food or gel and a head lamp as an example,  the extra thick, full size shoulder straps, the easily accessed and manipulated haul loop, the clean design when you need to haul, the easy extendable or removable lid, the small unpadded wings to give extra support on the hip belt when needed with heavier loads.
 
who, what and where:
 
Randy Rackliff  @ Cold Cold World  603 383 9021
 
http://www.coldcoldworldpacks.com/

Real world weight comparisons?

I wanted to make an actual comparison of gear weights and see what the real world differences are on a  team with very similar gear set ups and how small choices might or might not effect us.

We are suited up for a long one day of climb that is realistically rated a Grade V but generally done in a day. Although with perfect conditions I have done the climb in 5 hrs while roped to a partner.  Iin early January's short days, in fairly cold conditions it easily lives up to the overall Grade V label.

The brothers Grimm masquerading as "Team Arcteryx LT" for this discussion.... ;-)

This is the list of weights I keep on the blog:

http://coldthistle.blogspot.com/2010/04/weights.html


What we used that was the same with slight weight differences noted below

Spantiks
Vertical front point crampons
Atom Lt Hoody
Arcteryx pants
Hoody pile pull over shirts
under shirt
long johns
CCW packs
EB down jackets

What we used that was different:

inner boot 5 oz / 9 oz.
harnesses 10 oz / 12.2 oz.
carabiners 10 @ 10 oz / 10 @ 25 oz
crampons 39 oz / 45 oz
packs 25oz / 38 oz
helmet 8oz / 16oz
water bottles/water 34 oz / 68 oz
hooded/unhooded  down 13.8 oz / 13.2 oz
gloves 7oz gauntlet/ 6.5 oz x 2  with short cuff (13 oz)
pants 19 oz / 17 oz
long johns 6 oz / 6 ox x 2 (13 oz)
________ _______

177 oz  verses  265.8 oz  =  88.8 oz or a ............ 5.5 lbs difference.

What does 5.5# mean to you?

Most of that weight difference is in the actual packs weight  we used (same Cold Cold World basic designs, different material, one stripped, one not ) and the decision on the amount of  extra water carried.   The helmets stand out as well.  Interesting with that the same manufactures helmets, that the heavier hard shell helmet broke when hit by a dinner plate and the lighter, foam core one did not with a similar hit.  We were out 10 hrs total and both of us brought water back to the car.

Low temps were -30C or -22 F at the beginning and end of the climb.

Climbing packs?

Ken Glover's photo from the Canadian classic, Deltaform.

Colin Haley said it well, "it's 2000 year old technology...amazing how pack manufactures can still screw it up".

That was just before him showing his audience for the evening  two really basic alpine climbing packs that were prototypes he was using and happy with from one of his sponsors, Patagonia.

Those same packs that could just as easily be copies of the original Wild Things or later CCW packs. Or the Karrimore Brown, Whillians or Haston sacs bitd. See a theme there?

"Colin Haley photo of Bjørn-Eivind Årtun unroped  on the Cassin, June 2010."


It doesn't take a large pack to alpine climb in.  Most have figured it out that somewhere between 18L and 35L is about all they want to climb seriously in anyway.

Nothing has really changed.  Some are going bigger today and most are climbing faster and lighter because of the new technology.

John Bouchard..who had more imagination and an idea of where we would be going that almost anyone else in NA at the time.

In 1981 John Bouchard and Marie Meunier started Wild Things. New to most Americans, the "light is right" idea was already well entrenched by those climbing hard things in the Alpine. Guys like Bouchard pretty much had the idea written in stone for themselves. Generally back then everyone sewed their own stuff (swamis, packs and clothing) to some extent. Wild Things was one of the first to sew up stuff guys were trying to make on their own.

It was a big deal in 1981.

Not that well known but Wild Things supported and influenced and entire generation of serious alpine climbers, Bill Belcourt (now at Black Dianmond), Randy Radcliff (now at Cold Cold World) and Mark Twight (where is he these days?) all got started in the retail/whole sale business to some extent and stayed a while at Wild Things. It was the "tin shed" of alpine climbing on the East Coast (most of NA actually) with Bouchard instead of Chouinard at the helm and a good step higher in technical alpine climbing.  Bouchard  maybe with even more impact on what we do and see today in gear than Chouinard has. Micheal Kennedy, Mark Richey, Mugs Stump were all big Wild Things gear fans. Most were.

Mugs Stump had that same imagination pushed the idea even further by his own climbs.

Wild Things gear was a natural progression of what Lowe Alpine Systems, Don Jensen and Sacs Millet started before them.

You either got it or you didn't, then and now. The gear was exceptional for a certain use. If you weren't using it for that, it likely sucked for your use. Many of those original designs were the first look at very specialised climbing gear...clothing and packs.

Pays to remember that Mugs and Paul went over the 'shrund on Moon Flower with one Wild Things Andinista. It was in part their climbing sac, haul bag, bivy sac and hammock. Today guys do it in day packs. But they wouldn't be able to do that today if a few weren't always pushing the limits on gear and technique before them.


And several generations later.  And here is a Cold Cold World pack..still sewn one at a time by Randy Rackliff. You are looking at 40+ years of experience and technology here.

Few designers have so much experience in the use and application of their own designs.  Chouinard, Todd Bibler, John Bouchard, Don Jensen come to mind.  My point is there aren't many in the same category.  None making climbing packs.  When cutting edge practioniers are directly involved in design and manufacture it makes a difference.

Rackliff's alpine climbing resume is worth a look.   Finding out what he has done is a little harder.  Among his climbs are early solo ascents of Slipstream and Polar Circus, a complete ascent of Moonflower Buttress, and the obvious and unrepeated Reality Bath.

A video and more here:
http://www.marktwight.com/videos.php?id=2

When I wanted to replace my small (30L) climbing pack I looked around, bought a few production packs and one "custom".   One of the production packs I have kept but the others I returned in short order including the spiffy "custom".  Obvious the makers had no idea what the intended use was to be for a "climbing sac".

A little heavy and too expensive, but one I kept and really like, but now use only as a ski pack, the Arcteryx Khazi 35.

Back to Colin Haley's original comment, ""it's 2000 year old technology...amazing how pack manufactures can still screw it up".


For most every climb I have done that didn't require a sleeping bag I've used a pretty basic but actually very complicated pack.

*1973*

So when I went to replace that pack it quickly became obvious I'd want someone building them that was of a like mind set.  The pack I was looking for wasn't full of flash, hype or excuses just the basics done extremely well.

Custom red Ozones in *2009*

I like the option of a removable lid as I seldom use one climbing.

Custom Ozone made from White Widow Spectra Ripstop.

Turns out Randy Rackliff at CCW was already making what I wanted and was willing to make it even better for my own needs with little extra cost.  Although I suspect it was more labor than I imagined, he has been more than happy to oblige when I ask.   No excuses, no argument, just helpful suggestions and a quick delivery time.   With one more even smaller climbing pack in the works now at CCW, my long term climbing pack requirements are covered.

Specs off the Spectra Ripstop Ozone:
Cost $130.
Pack weighs in at less than 1.5 #. Material is Spectra ripstop. Shoulder harness is off a full size CCW pack for the extra padding required on heavier loads. Some where above a 35L in my 21" back size.

custom sizing
custom pattern originally based on the Ozone size
2 liter+ top pocket
2nd zippered pocket in lid with key holder
Zippers reversed for use on hanging belays
pull down shoulder straps
main bag guide book zippered pocket
covered lid buckle
removable foam pad
oversize shoulder straps
Perlon haul loop
dbl strap patches on lid
dbl rope straps
dbl bottom
10" extension
lid is extendable or removable
bar tacked daisy chain on the bottom of the lid strap

Another project from CCW that I am pleased with is a big sack.  Something I don't use often these days but when required a big sack needs every bit of the attention to details as a smaller more sophisticated climbing sac does.

No surprise I suspect that I base my needs on the  Wild Things' original Andinista.  I used one a lot over the years both guiding and my own trips to the greater ranges.

Wild Things took the large pack idea way beyond anyone before them.  The Andinista was a pack you could lug huge loads of gear to base camp with, then zip it down and strip the lid and use it as a summit pack.  Wild Things and CCW were also the some of first to use Dyneema® in pack production.  More than one pack sewn at CCW that went out with a big name manufactures label sewn on for the brand name, sponsored climber.  Saying it, doesn't make it a reality.

From the Wild Things web page:

I went looking for a new larger volume climbing sack. Of course anything I wanted would have to be sewed up to my size and a special order. I have lots of packs but the only company I own several of and continue to use every where, is the CCW stuff.


Built mainly from a black "spider web" Spectra rip stop, Choas in size, leashless tool attach and crampon bag included.

Worth noting CCW retails (and still amazing to me) are less for a totally custom pack than others are for a production pack.

Totally custom pack to my specs, with select materials, harness and accessories with the Chaos' volume. $245 and $10 shipping from the East coast to Issaqauh WA. And amazingly, a week after the order was placed it was shipped out to me. Freak'in stellar customer service!

Not the best know fact...but certainly no surprise if you know their back grounds, Twight, Belcourt, House and dozens of others have used "COLD COLD WORLD" packs off and on for years.

The one shown is a size Large with a 19.5 back.

Postal scale says 2# 4oz stripped (lid and foam off)
Tri folded 9mm Foam 3 or 4 oz (3/4 size and 22"x37")
mongo size lid another 8 oz

Just under 3# all added up and 4000+ cu in. for a size large. Extension is at least another 1500ci. 4000 in³ = 65.5482 L

Big enough to be used as a half bag if required and strong enough to stand in while hanging on the haul loops. Material is 500 denier nylon with a Spectra carbon fiber ripstop reinforcement woven into the fabric. The pack could be made lighter using lighter weight materials and triple the cost. I was looking for something lwt weight, would look good in photos and tough enough to last a decade or so, all without dropping a gazzillion $.

CCW's even sewn up a few "white" ones you've seen in the Patagonia catalog that another company just loves to take credit for :-)  Imagine their customer service with that as a base line.

If you are looking for something really special for your own climbing you should make the effort to discuss your project with Randy @ CCW 603 383 9021 http://www.coldcoldworldpacks.com/

FWIW I have happily paid full retail (which is generally way less than anyone's normal  retail )  for every CCW I own.  This blog post is about as good as a personal endorsement as I'll ever give a piece of kit or a manufacture.  No one even in the same ball game as CCW for design and customer service building climbing packs these days.  When you are that good no incentive to brag about it.

Flash 18 review and Mt Goode's Magladon Traverse

OK, I have already taken some shite for suggesting that a $30 REI "kiddies" pack would be a good alpine climbing pack. As good as anything available at any price for what we are using them for.

I've now been using one for just over 6 months and stand by the suggestion. After making this post one of our local "stone killers" sent me an email in part to support my suggestion. Dan was kind enough to write the bulk of this review which is quoted much lower downw the page and high lighted.

For my part I have used the Flash 18 in the alpine on ice and rock. I've taken it on two long ridge traverses and more bush whacking than I care to remember this summer. It has become my "go to" climbing pack. I don't want to carry any more than I can get into this thing. Which has proven to be more gear than you would first think possible.

I have a 21" back. That may be not be normal @ 6"1" but not deformed either. Most of the current "love fest" small alpine sacks don't come any where near fitting me. And a poor fitting pack is just as annoying as a poor fitting pair of shoes imo. No matter who tells you "it" fits.

Seriously, this is a very good, super light, alpine pack for my own needs. Pack body is 140-denier ripstop nylon, remarkably abrasion resistant for such light material, polyurethane coating offers weather resistance. Almost anything is repairable with Seam Grip. And it is 9.2 oz total weight. You choices are a $30 for a pack that fits or $150 for from the Gucci crowd that doesn't and isn't any lighter. Easy decision on my part.

Update- May 2011
6 months later and I am using the Flash 18 ski touring and still loving it.  That is a set of 9# skis and binding and you never feel them on the boot pack.  Not the best pack for the job but not the worst I have used either.

Not just me taking this pack out. Dan Hilden used one on his and Jens Holsten's repeat of the uber classic, "Megladon" on Goode. Dan's words:

"As someone who has spent a lot more time climbing and going to school than working over the years, I have often struggled to get my hands on decent gear. I once spent a week without a sleeping bag in the North Cascades because I couldn’t afford a lightweight one. I borrowed ice tools from friends and used my straight shafted third tool for some pretty tricky stuff for two years after selling mine for travelling money in Peru. My old lightweight climbing boots are held together by epoxy, caulk, and seem grip, and are better for a laugh than they are for keeping my feet warm or dry. Pretty much all the gear I own I get used or find on sale.

After soloing the Northeast Buttress of Goode in just over 24 hours from highway 20 in 2009, I knew right away that it had not been enough to show me what I wanted to find out. I had been mentally preparing myself for the climb for years and by the time I set out to do it there was no doubt in my mind that it would go. I decided to try to climb Megalodon Ridge in a single push because I really wasn’t sure that I could do it.




My partner for the trip, Jens Holsten, is a certified beast and could have finished the job even if I pulled the old Eiger Sanction move of hiding a six pack in his pack, but I knew that I would have to go lighter than I ever had before. I spent over a month fine tuning a list of what I would need to carry and how much it all weighed. Stripped down my trusty old pack (which I’m told smells like a dead animal) weighs about 2.5 lbs. I wanted something lighter and was on the lookout for a used Cilogear or Go Light or something similar when I found the REI Flash 18. I always prefer to support smaller businesses, but since the Flash was only $30 and weighs 10 oz, (9. 2 oz on the scales) I didn’t think twice before ordering one.

When I got the pack I cut off the waist belt since the load would be light, cut a piece of foam sleeping pad to slide in the hydration pocket to make it more comfortable and give me some ground insulation for unplanned bivys, and threaded thin stretch cord between the gear loops so that I could stuff a jacket or climbing shoes where they would be easily accessible. On the climb I found that the design is good and simple. The open/close system is quick and easy even with gloves on. I can’t think of any worthwhile complaints. Obviously this thing is not going to be as durable as a pack made with heavier fabric, but it stood up to quite a bit of bushwhacking without a single tear, and it is light and small enough that you will probably be climbing with it rather than hauling the vast majority of the time. Since it came from REI, I can return it if it does fall apart after a few more uses.

The day of the climb my pack held our small rack, my personal climbing gear, an extra shirt, balaclava, socks, stove, pot and fuel, my headlamp, water bag, an ice tool, rain jacket, and a lot of food. All that I needed and nothing more. In 27 hours we covered about 35 miles, gained and lost over 10,000 feet, and climbed a grade IV+ route on the biggest mountain in the North Cascades National Park."

More here on Dan's and Jen's climb:

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/977041/TR_Mount_Goode_Megalodon_Ridge#Post977041

http://jensholsten.blogspot.com/2010/09/sound-of-goode.html


REI has a rather unique way to hang the shoulder straps and make this tiny pack fit even my long back. I suspect you'll see the usual suspects copy it any time now if they aren't already. The Flash 18 is tough enough to come out of two bushwhacks unscathed that literally shredded my shins and hands. I too cut a thin piece of foam to set in the hydro pocket but left the waist strap for balance boulder hoping and climbing. Although it pays to note it weights only 10oz and I'd treat it accordingly. I have BIG plans this winter for mine. I think this pack ROCKs!

I own 5 custom made packs and two that are off the shelf. This is one of those two and I would buy another one in a heart beat if this one disappeared. Can't say that for many packs I have owned.

http://www.rei.com/product/778466

Now what you have all been waiting for, our newly discovered gear guy, "Forrest"!
If you know what to look for between the two revues it soon becomes obvious this is a great pack!





Unknown bloggers photo (thank you!) ...but a great shot of the harness!

"Cold Cold World" climbing sacks

I went looking for a new larger volume climbing sack a few weeks ago. Of course anything I wanted would have to be sewed up to my size and a special order. I have lots of packs but the only company I own several of and continue to use every where, is the CCW stuff.

One of the best things that I have "seen" while at the Outdoor Retailer show in SLC is the pack shown below...that Randy shipped on Thursday for me. So I have yet to actually see it.

Built mainly from a black "spider web" Spectra rip stop, Choas in size, leashless tool attach and crampon bag included. A more detailed review to follow when I get home. But I am expecting a lot and CCW/Randy has never dissappointed.

Worth noting CCW retails (and still amazing to me) are less for a totally custom pack than others are for a production pack. And Randy's personal experience, actually out using the gear as intendeded, is second to none in the business. (3rd complete of Moonflower and 1st of Reality Bath come to mind...early solos of Slipstream..Tear Drop ect.) So if you need a guy who really understands your needs as a climber, he is THE go to guy imo.

Few times are the cutting edge practioners involved so directly with product design, manufacturing and development. When they are it shows.


Totally custom pack to my specs, with select materials, harness and accessories with the Chaos' volume. $245 and $10 shipping from the East coast to Issaqauh WA. And amazingly, a week after the order was placed it was shipped out to me. Freak'in stellar customer service!

Not the best know fact...but Twight, Belcourt, House and dozens of others have used "COLD COLD WORLD" packs off and on for years.

The one shown is a size Large with a 19.5 back.
Postal scale says 2# 4oz stripped (lid and foam off)
Tri folded 9mm Foam 3 or 4 oz (3/4 size and 22"x37")
mongo size...Lid another 8 oz

Just under 3# all added up and 4000+ cu in. for a size large. Extension is at least another 1500ci. 4000 in³ = 65.5482 L

Big enough to be used as a half bag if required and strong enough to stand in while hanging on the haul loops. Material is 500 denier nylon with a Spectra carbon fiber ripstop reinforcement woven into the fabric. So the pack could be made lighter using lighter weight materials. I was looking for something lwt weight, would look good in photos and tough, all without dropping a gazzillion $.

He's even sewn up a few "white" ones you've seen in the Patagonia catalog that another company just loves to take credit for :)

If you are looking for something really special for your own climbing you should make the effort to discuss your project with Randy @ CCW 603 383 9021 www.coldcoldworldpacks.com