New for review, 35-litre technical mountain pack with classic heritage from Karrimor.
Just in for review is a new Karrimor Alpiniste 35 + 10 technical mountain pack, the first review pack we've had from Karrimor in years. It's a 35-litre pack with 10-litre extension and pretty much all the mod cons you can think of.
It's so long since we've looked closely at a Karrimor pack that we weren't sure what to expect. The old Karrimor got into financial difficulties a few years back and the company was bought up behind the multi-sports group behind Lonsdale among other brands, since then it's had a relatively low profile.
The first thing that struck us about the new Alpiniste - other than the lack of purple - is that it's respectably light. Karrimor claims 1300 grammes, outs weighs in at 1340g on the button. You can also strip out the back foam and hip-belt to save another 200 grammes. With climbing packs that can be a two-edged sword as you're going to be carrying respectable hardware loads and durability matters, so we'll have to see how it carries in due course.
Beyond that it seems like a well-featured pack with some thoughtful features. The reinforced base, for example, is slightly canted, presumably to minimuse catching when descending steepish ground facing outwards. The front panel is coated with some sort of tough PU to protect against abrasion and ice tool damage, hence the shiny look and we like the simple shock-corded ice axe attachments which should work even when iced up.
There's a three-point haul loop system - one each side at the base, doubling as racking loops, one at the top of the back system - simple compression straps, wand come water bottle pockets and a seperate hydration bladder compartment with a zipped-opening under the lid. Pocket zips, there's a classic lid pocket, are YKK spashguard.
The back system's an interesting one. Karrimor is still using the 'fformat' name, but in this case it's just a narrow Y-shaped foam and stave affair that slips into the back system and transfers load into the hip-belt coupled with a frame sheet inside the pack. You couldn't really sit on it, but you an remove it to save weight along with the hip-belt.
As far as the back system goes, both shoulder straps and belt are quite sparsely padded and we're little concerned that snow will tend to stick to the mesh on the back panel, normally we'd prefer to see a smooth, non-sticking finish there.
Overall the Alpiniste 35 + 10 looks to have all the features we'd look for in a classic mountain pack. It'll be interesting to see whether the light-ish weight translates into a comfortable carry with a full climbing load on board and also whether Karrimor has banished some of the durability demons of old. Watch this space for a full review.
The Alpiniste 35+10 retails for ￡80. More information at www.karrimor.com.