RE: Questionaire for all outdoor users!

Age 17 Sex Male Hometown Upper Hutt How did you hear about Macpac? Gear my uncle gave us a few years back What was your first Macpac purchase and what was the reason behind this purchase? Before the new Stellar Tent we had a 13 year old Minaret which was just about worn out. Got a new Stellar tent because they looked functional to New Zealand conditions, easy to get in/out, keeps sandflys out, good size and weight. How often would you make a purchase at Macpac? 1-5 times a year Prob this since we just go in on the sales and pick up a bit of gear that way since they are good deals and we trust the product 5-10 times a year 10-20 times a year 20+ times a year What is the main reason you go to the Macpac store? - There is something I want/need – I am just going there to get that - To Browse Both of these normally if I see something for cheap and it will get some use when I'm tramping I will tend to buy it. How often do you wear Macpac clothing? Full-time tramping and as well as use the raincoat to go to school in if it is raining. Do the Macpac products you have purchased perform as well as you expected? Yes pretty well but you can only expect a piece of gear to last a certain period of time before it gets worn out. Would you wear Macpac clothing in a situation other than trekking, travelling etc. For example; out to a casual dinner? If it is cold and I need to wear a windstopper or raining and I need a good jacket. If Macpac were to offer more formal or urban clothing for example a shirt, or a skirt, do you think this is something that would interest you? If it was affordable and fuctional/sytlish. What other brands do you purchase? Kathmandu etc too many to name. What activities do you partake in? Tramping!! What kind of travel do you do? (eg- backpacking, tramping, holidays etc) Tramping How often do you travel? at least once every three weeks and a big 4-5 weeks of tramping around Dec/Jan. Where do you travel to/where have you travelled to? Around the National/Forest Parks of New Zealand. (basically where any tramping hut is!) How do you tend to pack when you travel? Clothes and sleeping bag at the bottom, food in the middle, some more clothes near the top if its winter and lunch right on top. Map etc in top pocket. (Currently use a Cascade 90 and my father uses a Macpac Torre.) Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you needed a product that was not available to you... please describe this situation... Not really but I found your shop in Petone does not stock gaiters which I really need a new pair of as my Kathmandu ones have been in the wars a bit. Is there a product you feel Macpac does not currently offer that you would like to see them offer? Braces to hold your pants up. Some sort of padding that attaches to your pack straps. Polyprops. Stuff bags. Wide fit boots. Snowshoes. etc etc How do you feel Macpac stands against competition such as Kathmandu, icebreaker etcetera? Quite good considering ALL Kathmandu clothing is overpriced and have not really goten into Icebreaker and I trust the quality of Macpac gear as it has saved my skin on many occasions. Are there any other improvements you feel could be made to the products provided by macpac? Bigger buckles on your Cascade range of packs as they are too small! If you saw a radical change in the Macpac products, for example very different colours/styles etcetera, how do you think you would respond? I would rather see a good quality product I normally just buy blue or black gear. My website is www.freewebs.com/hellmission/ if you want to see where I have taken your gear. Your Macpac packs are the best in the world they don't get bashed up whether your crawling through the leatherwood or daisy, throwing your pack down in the mud rocks whatever and they are a truly amazing range of packs.

Age: 53 Sex: Male Hometown: Auckland How did you hear about Macpac?: A:Owned packs for years What was your first Macpac purchase and what was the reason behind this purchase?: A:Cannot remember How often would you make a purchase at Macpac? 1-5 times a year- A: possibly if they didn’t keep closing their stores 5-10 times a year 10-20 times a year 20+ times a year What is the main reason you go to the Macpac store? - There is something I want/need – I am just going there to get that - To Browse - To Check the prices against other stores A: All of the above How often do you wear Macpac clothing? A: Never, Havnt found anything that suits to date Do the Macpac products you have purchased perform as well as you expected? A: Alpine gaters but the studs fall of almost straight away so get a boot maker to fix them as soon as I buy (Chinese Manufacture?) Would you wear Macpac clothing in a situation other than trekking, travelling etc. For example; out to a casual dinner? A: probably not I want tramping gear not Après tramping clothes If Macpac were to offer more formal or urban clothing for example a shirt, or a skirt, do you think this is something that would interest you? A: no What other brands do you purchase? A: Anything that is light and durable with outdoor performance in mind What activities do you partake in? A: tramping, Travel What kind of travel do you do? (eg- backpacking, tramping, holidays etc) A: All of the above How often do you travel? A: tramp every month 2 to 5 days and two overseas trips of varying length each year Where do you travel to/where have you travelled to? A: Started travel at about 5 years of age and have been most places since How do you tend to pack when you travel? A: light Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you needed a product that was not available to you... please describe this situation... A: no Is there a product you feel Macpac does not currently offer that you would like to see them offer? A: I long for a return to NZ inspiration and Manufacture How do you feel Macpac stands against competition such as Kathmandu, icebreaker etcetera? A: unfortunately for the New Zealand buying public you are all starting to look the same. Couple that with Chinese manufacture and its all down hill. Are there any other improvements you feel could be made to the products provided by macpac? A: New Zealand Manufacture If you saw a radical change in the Macpac products, for example very different colours/styles etcetera, how do you think you would respond A: depends on the item but I would consider anything

thanks for the feedback everyone that's great! Just one last question and then I'll have everything I need! Can you please describe in as much detail as possible how you pack for a trip that's going to be a week or longer in duration? for example what do you take? what do you pack at the bottom and what do you pack at the top? what are your priorities if you run out of space? how do you optimize your space? any tricks?

Hi Kathryn. I don't typically go out for that long at a time, but I think I'd pack much the same way and take the same things that I'd take overnight, probably because the first thing I'd sacrifice for a longer trip is extra clothes that I don't really need beyond what's required for safety. The main difference would be the extra food required and probably extra fuel for cooking, and that would be on the bottom. For a week-long trip, I'd be much more likely to have de-hydrated food for most nights and less fresh food, although I'm lazy as it is so I sometimes just go with de-hy food anyway if it's just me. For me, *everything* comes out overnight regardless, one way or another. This is because I pull out the bits I need overnight, and the rest comes out in the morning so I can re-pack it efficiently. Most people I know have a similar pattern. During the day, things I'm unlikely to need until the evening (or later) will be towards the bottom. (Typically this is dinner food and breakfast food, sleeping bag, tent/fly, mattress/thremarest, cooker & fuel.) Then I'll stuff in clothes, trying to keep in mind that I *might* want them during the day, even if it's unlikely. As for ranking the clothes, thermals would be nearer the top (if I'm not already wearing them) and hut clothes (fleece jumper, spare socks and spare undies) would be nearer the bottom. Above all that, I'll usually have lunch food, a raincoat, over-trousers (esp if we're going above the bush-line where it could get windy), and possibly crampons if I'm expecting to be near snow that day. All of this goes into a single compartment inside a pack liner to protect from rain and rivers (and to keep my pack bouyant), which I rarely compromise. Therefore the zipper into the bottom part of my pack isn't very useful, although sometimes use it to stuff plastic bags down there in case I need them later. In the top section of my pack and therefore outside the pack liner, I'll usually have things like snack food, sun-hat, beanie, balaclava, gloves, map & compass. I also make a point of doing everything possible to avoid attaching anything to the outside of my pack, except a camera and a small pocket (for snacks) that I attach to the front part of my hip-belt. I've just seen so many cases where people have lost expensive things through having them snag on branches when doing that. I think that's everything, hope it helps.

I pack pretty much the same however long I'm going for, except for food: Tent goes down one side (only way it fits) if I am carrying one. Sleeping bag and liner go at the bottom. Shoved in the gaps around the sleeping bag goes a bag of hut/camp clothes (sandflyproof trousers, any changes of socks and underwear, polypro top, towel if I don't think we're likely to stop and swim along the way, "toilet bag" which is a plastic ziplock bag with hut tickets, torch, batteries, toilet gear). Above this - cooker, pot, bowl, breakfast / dinner food, and resupplies of snack food. I keep lighter and pot scrubber in the gas cooker pouch, and candles with the food. Above this - accessable warm clothes (polypro leggings, polar fleece jacket, light jersey if I am wearing or likely to wear it that day, hat. On the top - lunch food (if I am carrying it) and first aid kit (if it won't fit in the front pocket). Top flap - waterproof jacket, overtrousers, pack cover and toilet paper. I have a water bladder so this goes down one side, outside the plastic pack liner. Front pouch - snack food, mug and spoon (for drinks at lunch), camera, pen and paper, insect repellent, sunblock and pocket knife. On the sides - plastic bag for rubbish, and a trowel. And map and compass, because I can get them out and put them back without taking the pack off. If the weather is good and we're on tracks, I often attach the camera pouch to the waistbelt. I never use the divider in the bottom main part of the pack. Everything inside goes in a plastic survival bag (except the water bladder), and then in it's own plastic bag (except for the pot).