[pct-l] RE: Prototype Pack-More Info

[reynolds@iLAN.com (Reynolds, WT)]

I am hoping to get other people to test the pack because I can't. I don't
have the time. I am hopeful that the pack, being simply a copy of an
existing pack, will have minor problems. I did try the water suspending
trick with the Kelty. It worked well. Marketing it is no big deal. Money
isn't the issue. You can't get rich selling backpacking gear. I expect three
or four prototypes before I finally get the one I want for Ginnie.
 
Thanks,
 
tom

-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Moulder [mailto:cmoulder@nyc.rr.com]
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2001 6:33 PM
To: Reynolds, WT; 'Camping List'; Reynolds, Ginnie
Cc: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: Re: Prototype Pack-More Info


Have you personally beta tested your new design yet? I mean, with an actual
one- or two-night trip in the woods?
 
You have created a product for a niche that you know well, so why not take
it out for a spin yourself? I know from experience that no matter how
thoroughly you think you've thought things through, reality tends to shred
"solid" assumptions and expose problems the designer never even thunk of in
the first place. And sometimes a solution to one problem creates another.
How does suspending the bear canister and water bag from the stays work in
actual practice? How will it work for people who don't use a bear canister
or a water bag? How does it work if you use a bear canister but not a water
bag, and vice versa? Does drinking the water during the day throw the
balance off? From a marketing standpoint, you will have to sell the concept
before you can sell the pack.
 
Remember the old saying, "Perfection is realized not when there is nothing
more to add, but when there is nothing more to take away."
 
Don't take this negatively, because it is intended only to point out
reality.
 
In the final analysis, I applaud your efforts. A lot of people talk -- very
few people do.
 
-- Bob M

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Reynolds, WT <mailto:reynolds@iLAN.com>  
To: Reynolds, WT <mailto:reynolds@iLAN.com>  ; 'Camping List'
<mailto:campinglist@gentleye.com>  ; Reynolds, Ginnie
<mailto:ginnie@iLAN.com>  
Cc: 'pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net' <mailto:'pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net'>

Sent: Monday, February 12, 2001 9:10 AM
Subject: Prototype Pack-More Info


This pack is, of course, "The ADZPCTKO". I have simply borrowed from the
many ideas that I saw last year. I do not currently have pictures.

The pack is constructed of 400 denier pack cloth [not waterproof-use a trash
bag as Glen Van Peski suggests]. It is dark blue. The pack bag is patterened
after a Kelty Cloud pack [the white pack I had at ADZPCTKO last year] but is
somewhat larger to accomodate about 4000 cu in [Kelty rates its Cloud at
3500 cu in]. It is a top opening single bag with a drawstring top. The bag
has a couple of velcro strips for attaching quick release stuff like an Ice
Axe but is largely devoid of dingleberrys.

The back length of the pack is identical to the Kelty Cloud. Kelty says that
its pack is suitable for a 16-18 in back. My experience is that the pack
will work for 6-2 [me] down to 5-8 or 9. The shoulder straps are sewen into
the bag [no yoke] and are more suitable for the shoulders of a man, again
like the Kelty Cloud. I find the pack very comfortable as did Tim Karau, the
manufacturer [6-0]. It was to big for my wife [5-4].

The suspension system is dual parallel aluminum stays and a separate hip
belt. There is no framesheet or pad [use a Ridgerest or Thermarest wrapped
around the aluminum stays if you desire this again a la Glen's GV4 pack].
The hip belt is NOT the rigid belt like the Kelty. It is, instead,
patterened after the Natural Balance pack with the exception that the foam
used is somewhat denser than the Natural Balance Material. 

The design goal of this pack is to carry 30-40 pounds but weigh less than 2
pounds. The idea is to suspend your water bag [a standard REI fabric covered
plastic bladder]or bear canister from the top of the stays [they extend well
above shoulder height for this purpose] thus transferring weight directly to
the hip belt without causing compression to the rest of the load. It is
therefore suitable for baseweights of 15-18 pounds, light but not
ultralight, as is fitting for my much discussed, much maligned, opinion of
appropriate pack weight.

Tim Karau, a personal friend, is a professional bag maker. The pack is
excellently constructed but is nevertheless the first prototype. We would
like someone to load this up with 30-40 pounds, carry water in the
configuration envisioned, and walk down the trail some miles......and give
us a report. We do NOT want someone carrying 20 pounds total weight [get
Glen's GP4] or someone carrying 50 pounds [get a Dana]on those long
waterless stretchs with a full load of food.

Who is interested?

Ladies, I am not discriminating against you. The next pack will be 4"
shorter in the back 12-14" back] and designed for my wife. We will use
lighter fabric and hope the pack will weight about 24 ounces and have a 3500
cu in capacity. We intend to gain the other 500 cu in of capacity with a
removable top pouch that weighs about 4 ounces.

My plans?
I am building a pack for my wife. Tim Karau will market the result. If
someone really wants to order one for a 2001 PCT thruhike, we could supply
them at AZDPCTKO. Price is $200. However, the first two are prototypes. One
man and one woman needed as per the offer previously posted. [see below] The
color will not necessarly be blue. My wife prefers green but availability is
a problem. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Reynolds, WT 
Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2001 6:30 PM
To: Camping List
Cc: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net <mailto:pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net> 
Subject: Prototype Pack


I have my First prototype pack.

It weighs 2# 1oz. It has a full suspension and hip belt and is a single bag
of about 3500-4000 cu in. It is suitable for a person between 5-10 and 6-2.

You may prototype it [you agree to send it back] or you may purchase it [you
send me a use report but you keep it] for $100.

So?

Tom

Ps: my second pack will be for a woman about 5-5



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