murpharoo
Thru Hiker
A quick intro to the Tramplite Pack by Colin Ibbotson.
The Tramplite Pack is hand made in the UK by Colin Ibbotson. It is approx 55 litres and comes in 9 back lengths (each 2.5 cm different) and 4 belt sizes.
Colin will build it in almost whatever fabric you request. He offers 2.2 oz silnylon, 2 weights of Dyneema (3.5 and 4.5oz) , Xpack in its different forms and Cuben Hybrid (50D). Each fabric clearly has its advantages and disadvantages and Colin will expound at length regarding these.
I am not wholly convinced by Cuben hybrid, despite loving my Blast, so for longevity I opted for the 4.5 oz Dyneema. This fabric has served me well in my Pinnacle and Gust previously.
The pack is superbly made with no visible defects and superlative attention to detail.
Colin liaised extensively in the run up to production making sure my requests were fulfilled and ensuring we chose the correct back length and waist belt size.
The pack has a large mesh rear pocket and 2 large solid fabric side pockets. Both the rear and side pockets have shockcord adjustments. There is a carbon fibre frame with 2 long 4mm diameter carbon rods up each side and a carbon spreader bar at the top that supports the pack and holds the other 2 bars in place. The top and bottom of the pack open for easy access. Top is a roll closure with additional poppers and a safety whistle buckle.
The bottom has poppers and straps is automatically held tightly shut when worn (nothing can fall out). A part of the shoulder straps cord attaches to the edge of the bottom opening ensuring that when the pack is worn it closes without conscious effort. Additionally there are side compression straps, side ice axe attachment points, a chest strap and accessory straps at bottom and top.
The waist belt has 2 straps on either side meeting at a single central buckle in a V style arrangement. This helps get a tight firm grip on the iliac crest as you can independently tighten the top and bottom circumference. I have never used a waist belt like this before and must admit to never having had a problem with standard belts. It may be that I have never carried the weights that a V style belt excels at preventing from slippage. It certainly feels secure and I expect it to function well.
The bottom of the pack opens fully to allow easy access to items in the base of the pack. I envision using this to stow my rain gear outside of the pack liner. This helps reduce water ingress in to the body of the pack when retrieving / replacing wet waterproofs. Other items eg an insulating layer could also be placed there for cold rest stops. I think my usage of this feature will evolve over time.
The flexible side carbon rods allow the weight distribution to dynamically change with different loads. Colin has designed the pack so that with light loads the weight resides principally on the hips. As the load increases the carbon frame flexes to allow the weight to start to sit on the shoulders more allowing them to take a portion of the load. It is a little difficult to explain but the back length is designed to be purposefully a little long thus lifting the shoulder straps and lending them more of role of load stabilisation when the load is light. As the load increases the shoulder straps then function more like .... well shoulder straps !
Colin also built a large cuben pack liner for me that has draw cord openings at the top and the bottom. The liner is vast - fully the whole size of the pack and with the dual openings it allows full use of the top and bottom access to the pack contents. This is 36 grams in 0.54 oz cuben.
I have not yet had the opportunity to 'get out' with the pack so I cannot comment as yet on the carrying comfort after a few days backpacking. That's the real test as we all know....
Not my best video as I hoped to film outside in the sun. The weather conspired against me... it never stopped raining all day.
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