New Pack

bigpaul - I think you are onto a winner there, you should suggest it to TVNZ. The contestants have to tramp for 8 hours over tracks in the most beautiful parts of NZ. Not only do they have to race against the clock but at the end, while completely buggered they have to prepare a gourmet dish prepared from ingredience and equipment carried with them on their backs.

lol:) Id pay to watch that

Ok, dose anyone have any comments about macpacs. Some people seem to love them while others hate them??

Very good workmanship. Excellent value for money. You'd have to be hard on your gear to look further because stronger and better quality options are much more expensive. The Macpac dynamic harness has a common fault using plastic runners for the stabilisers which in time tend to tear however they usually replace them under warranty. That harness is really not meant for more than 20kg loads as is in fine print with the older catalogues at least. The Quantum harness in the bigger bags eg Torre, cascade etc is excellent for its integrity under load and is therefore good for anything heavier. The debate over canvas vs synthetic goes on regardless of the brand. It's a personal choice. Remember you can reproof canvas. Synthetic is lighter but cannot be reproofed.

My only compliant with Macpac packs is that they weigh more then most small cars. Even their lightweight options are still relatively heavy. They also last forver so less chance of getting a cool new pack to play with anytime soon.

I've really come to hate the Quantum Harness on my Macpac (Glissade), but it's quite possibly because it doesn't fit as properly as I thought it did at first. (I'm quite bony around the hips.) It slips and slides a lot, which is especially a problem when I'm trying to balance somewhere and suddenly my pack shifts its weight. Note that according to Campbell Junor (one of the Mouton Noir heads), Macpac's planning to re-release a couple of the older models that disappeared with the consolidation a couple of years back (Ravine and Torre) later this year. http://www.windy.gen.nz/index.php/archives/277#comment-10467 I think I'll seriously consider getting myself a Ravine if they haven't changed the design too much in the new version.

The ravine is a model designed originally for outdoor education groups who want to purchase multiple numbers on a limited budget. Mont did an equivalent model (name escapes me at the moment). Same quality parts and workmanship however less bells and whistles. Theory is less to go wrong with it, lighter and more affordable. Single compartment bags without zips etc provide less problems with age and less access points for water. A vestige for experience and organised trampers who aren't dazzled by pockets and straps etc. Great choice.

The firmness in the hip belt of a quantum harness which keeps it's integrity under load (doesn't collapse to focus the weight on the side stabiliser strap in the middle) is also one of its curses for some. It means it sticks out and doesn't fold against the pack for storage or transport.It also, as Izogi says, doesn't necessarily hug every part of the hip in some people and therefore feels less snug. The choice in backlength (pack size) of the model might also contribute to movement but that goes with any poor choice in backlength. I found the pack in use to be excessively noisy (creaks and groans) because of the firmness in the harness. In particular the side stabiliser strap on the belt which uses a pulley system. Effective in spreading the load on parts in the strap and making it easy to tighten. This has been employed by different manufacturers over time in various models but usually dropped at some stage because it adds to cost of manufacture and provides more things to break after some time in use. The benefit not outweighing the disadvantage.

Thanks for the input guys, its certainly given me something to think about. The macpacks do seem strong and well built, but as militaris said, they are heavy. The deuter Airconect Pro is the other pack im considering. Its a very comfortable pack and a lot lighter than the macpacks, but ofcoarse they are made of lighter material (wont last as long) and a few more features (that I dont really need). Damm, now im just confused.

I do have trouble understanding why a pack should need features, but they all seem to have them.