Current letter update: 1/29/12 Geez - already!

New - Secondary Menu Index - Click

(CLICK red link above - secondary menu). This is where some subjects end up that have been part of the letter....like how to measure pack volume to compare different brands. You can't compare the different numbers companies come up with, so get the measuring tape out.

Here's my first photo of the new year below. It's a Bump 33. It's set up for side carry of skis with some heavier duty replaceable/reversable/removable buckles. The new single strap lid, like this example from one of my old 1987 pack systems, leaves better access for daisy chain access and ski-carry. I will be applying this to larger Sarcs this year as well. Bump Page

Second Pack photographed: Below, a 4,000 cuin P&G Panel Loader made from our new Full Spectra - dyed of course. CubenFiber photos will come a little later since there are delays in production right now. The rear pocket is set up to be able attach day-pack strap to and can quick release from the pack or be set to be more difficult to release for security. Click images for blowups.

McHale Packs 35th year will be an interesting year (as usual)! The photos below also show my Axe Box that I'll be promoting as a mobile pick protection system that I believe is better that sewing layers onto the pack in specific areas. They can be removed, shifted, and easily replaced. Photos also show our new Full Spectra (gray and blue fabric).

The Expedition Shovel Pocket below easily lashes on over everything and becomes a daypack itself. This is something McHale Packs has been making for many years. McHale Packs will be making a new larger size for daypack use for 2012. You get to where you're going and climb your favorite waterfall - no need to carry a pack along and you have added volume and access on the way in! I will be promoting these more in 2012 as an option to the sewn on Kangaroo Pocket. I will be posting ice climbing products on the Axe Box page. Photo at right shows separate pick covers that are hidden under the Expedition Shovel Pocket. With pick covers, the axes can even be put inside the the shovel pocket in either direction. The pick covers can even attach to the daisy chain or the pick. When attached to the pick, the pick can be carried anywhere on the pack, and the cover can be released quickly.

What's This below?! It's a Merkebeiner with a newly designed single lid strap top is what it is, and it should work fine on older Merkebeiners. It's really not new - the single attachment that is - we used it in the 80s and will be bringing it back - works fine with roll top strap configurations. The new shape is more like that of a side pocket and makes a good hip-pack.

Full Dyneema and Full Spectra packs and Full CubenTech: Keep in mind these packs take a bit longer to make than normal packs. The special dying and cutting, and special handling of these packs takes more time so please try to get orders in earlier than you otherwise would.

Below: Did you know McHale water bottle / wand pockets can be shifted and tilted for easier access for water? They can even be shifted to upper compression straps to make ski carrying easier as well. Versatility has always been the middle name of McHale Versatile Packs!

Shoulder pad pouches have changed. The zippered version is no longer being made since the velcro version seems a bit more secure. At least the zipper can't be left open and a horizontal zip does not make sense. Click below. The binos are 8" circumference folded at their biggest (the limit of this pouch) and 4.5" long which puts them inside just below the 1.5" tall velcro band.

This website is meant to simply get you interested in getting one of the packs. It is not meant to be a point and shoot website where you fill your cart and swipe your card. There are just a few hoops here you have to pass through......I've already done most of the legwork here to get you trapped into wanting a pack, but a friend of yours has probably already done that for me. To get a pack you just have to want one - everything else falls into place. Just email me and we start by demoing the appropriate pack after I find out what you are doing - after you send in the demo deposit. We do not take credit cards. After you try one you won't care how long it takes because at least you know how well they work.

I know.....the packs seem expensive. That can't be helped since they are 100% custom. Not only are they custom, I am sure you will find the quality to be exceptional - we don't think much about cost cutting - that's for big companies, but of ways to improve the packs. Still, these are bargain prices for the level we are at. Buying one of these packs is certainly a better way to spend money than buying downhill ski tickets! You'll pay for a pack pretty fast if you enjoy it at $50.00 a pop.

Features; I talk most people through the feature choices pretty easily. I once had a list of features but it had a way of growing into virtual endlessness and became even more confusing. Just think of all the packs as being the same pack with the 1st main option as VOLUME and it goes from there. Most people want to keep things pretty simple these days so things are pretty easy to figure. Give me a call or email me to get the ball rolling. Please click on the ordering info link in the MENU above to get an idea of what the demo process is like. Thanks, Dan McHale

Hello Denali is a caption I used for a pack advertisement back in the 90s. Hit the Secondary Menu link up above and find the Old Advertisements Page and scroll down a ways. Hello Denali works with this shot below also. It's a demo pack shot from a customer going to Denali. That pack sure looks big! It's an MBCMII. There could be some light and shadows illusions going on there also. Look how small the doors look. There's no way he's getting through that door! The door even looks upside down! Click images. Although McHale Packs is well known for it's smaller Alpine Packs, we are also very well known for our Giant load carrying packs. This pack can also turn into something unrecognizably small for summiting. This pack only has 60 lbs. in it at the moment. Then, if you are not so ambitious, you can just frolic in the Tulips. That's not Dyneema Grid....I think it's a table cloth. Nice color though. Good job on the design Jean-Charles!

With that I can segue into the smallest known McHale Packs;

Below: An LBP 37 P&G is part Full Dyneema and part 210 Dyneema Grid, with Gray Dyneema Grid accessories. Mixing the fabrics has been popular.

Below: Stripped down for light climbing or light-packing modes. In these modes the upper frame extension 'Bayonets' have been removed and the pack has been rolled down. The pack also functions without the still remaining 7000 series twin frame stays, back pad/vents, or hipbelts. All Sarc Series packs like these can be fitted with webbing belts also.

My latest project for the website was putting all of my thoughts below about UL packs on a separate page with a link to it so it's all easy to find. You'll find stuff like this in there; Let's talk about the .73% difference in weight that is attained if you weigh 175 lbs and carry a 32 lb. load in a 3 lb. pack and go to a possibly very uncomfortable 1.5 lb. pack. That's right - big suffering to save .73% off the total of this mass hitting each ankle with each step. That's the logic many have become involved in. When are people going to start talking about percentage increase in discomfort that comes with sacrificing the pack performance just for the sake of numbers? Getting too caught up in making things lighter does not always lead to positive results. Being miserable every day of a backpacking trip to save .73% is not what it should be all about - especially if you don't need the .73% ! When durability is considered........that's another subject! I also talk about why the backpack should not be considered one of the 'big 3'. Click here to see UL Pack Comments from Dan's blog. I have to say this stuff because I work with so many people that have tried frameless packs and given up on them. What I see has to be the tip of the iceberg. It does not surprise me because I saw the same thing in the 70s! People have not evolved since that time to be suddenly more capable of tolerating frameless packs! People are just as smart now as they were back then - that's comforting to see.

Below; An LBP 38 P&G. I have it placed on the LBP 35 page (they all look the same in a photo) because there is another Coyote Brown cordura pack on that page. This one is 500 Cordura with a Full Dyneema Gray Kangaroo and bottom. Click for link to the photo set.

Did you know? Pack top pockets like our hip-pack top lid make great Kangaroo type pockets. If you've purchased a 2 layer summit flap and you go on a trip where you need more space, slap the other pocket on the daisy chains. You just need to add sliders to the front straps. The rear straps already have sliders. Click images

Here's a pic below of me with my UnLtd+1 going into the Palisades 2 years ago. There's a Bearicade Expedition bear canister inside vertically. I didn't go anywhere without my canister! Pack testing does have it's drawbacks! Next to that is a pleasant view if the trail.

Partial Dyneema/Spectra packs: Did you know all McHale Packs come standard with Full Spectra bottoms and side rim reinforcing and that it only costs $45.00 more to get a Dyneema Kangaroo pocket and $90.00 to $120.00 more to get the main packbag panel made with Full Dyneema. When you do this, for all practical purposes, you have a Dyneema pack since there are no parts remaining that are vulnerable to wear and abrasion, or that cannot be replaced easily like the top pocket.

Order and Waiting List Update: We are fairly well caught up with the Summer season orders so there are plenty of demos available to start the fitting process for Fall and Winter.

If you are somebody that's bouncing back from low performance over-hyped UL packs, you came to the right place. It's a big lie that many of those packs, that have an upper advertised limit of 25 or 30 lbs, can even carry those weights well. ( I talk about this and other subjestc quite a bit in many sections of this letter lower down ). Comfort is a very subjective term. The standard seems to be, that if a pack does not kill you, it is labeled comfortable. The UL pack industry operates at a pretty low standard of performance, education and practical knowledge. The performance of todays frameless light packs is no better than the frameless packs from the 70s, when part of my business then was to install frame systems into frameless packs for people that asked for help. Some of these packs have even found their way back to this generation as retro packs. The UL part of the current industry has indeed found a way to take us all back in time! I do get tired of ranting about it though. Way down in this letter I talk more about the importance of a good pack and how it's not ALL about what the packs weigh. To focus on weight alone is 'dumb engineering' and leads to poor results to say the least. If you are suffering with a bad daypack, do your self a favor with a high performance daypack like our smaller LBPs - you deserve it, especially if you are a tall person.

The rumors about McHale Packs are probably true (HaHa). If you want a great and exceptionally performing lightpacking pack, large capacity daypack, or multiday expedition pack, give me a call, you'll never know what these are like otherwise. There is really very little risk in demoing and you are not forced to buy a pack! It just takes more time than acquiring normal instant gratification type packs, and you already own a pack to get you by, and in many cases you can use one of our demos during summer months while waiting for your pack. Many people put up with awful packs for years and then suddenly want a custom pack instantly.

It just takes a small adjustment in thinking to get into a new pack, and it never takes as long as people think. I prefer to work with people that have matured in their thinking about 'lightweight' packs too. I don't believe that a pack is one of the 'Big 4' items that are supposed to be witled down so much in weight that they no longer perform or work. Most of our customers have been there and done that and have decided to have a pack that works, rather than one that fits into an arbitrary weight spectrum of 'UL world' base weights.

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Something new - the Triple Threat multi-use pocket: It's really a nenewed version of our hanging bladder holder that hangs inside the pack. They've been this versatile for awhile now. It also hangs on the side of the pack with the compression straps running through it. It also clips under a single or 2 layer summit flap or fanny-pack tops to the same hardware that can hold bear cannister straps. Pictured here it is on the side of an LBP with an Intergral Designs sil-poncho inside and a 64 oz. Gatorade bottle! They make a nice UL pocket. This one weighs approximately 65 grams or 2.4 oz. We make them with our 3 oz./yd gray Dyneema Grid fabric or whatever you like. Click images. The right photo shows the holder clipped to the underside of a Summit Flap. The horizontal or vertical position needs to be specified when they are made. Generally, on hip-pack top lids the holders mount horizontally to the Bear Cannister hardware that is now standard. We also make lids with sewn on bladder holders. They cannot be used under the lid while carrying a cannister under the lid however, that's when the TT is mounted elsewhere. It can also be mount just like the top lid mounts, without any updating, at the same time the top lid is attached - this actually makes it a Qaudruple Threat - may have to name it QT.

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To skip past many pack previews below and to read my blog about pros/cons of light packs for lightweight backpacking, scroll way down the page until you see a larger version of the photo below. There may be something new before that section though.

My time off in the Sierra and Inyo Mtns this last Fall (2009) worked out well - got some sun in preparation for this last long winter, spring, and.........! Below is a shot of me hanging out at one of the many ghost town mines in the Inyo Mtns. It's a good way to escape the Fall snows in the Sierra. We managed to get up White Mtn from the standard south route before the big snow hit. I've come home really wanting to climb/hike White Mountain from the West - from the ground up! Then, I'll have to do it from the East. I like the quite and solitude of the desert mountains. Among other trips, I also discovered a new bicycle climb up out of Eureka Valley (part of Death Valley Monument) to Summit Pass (across the Owens Valley from Big Pine) - 4200' in 16 miles - a great way to get a workout when the other Sierra passes are closed or too cold. Click image of Eureka Road terrain (taken through a car windshield). The start of the climb in Eureka Valley (at right) is 600' lower than the well known Owens Valley on the other side.

Click images below looking at the Sierra from the mine.

Before my time off I had time to make an expose' of the Expedition Bearicade cannister carrying method I used this year. It works well, and the system is an option for all P&G packs. Below: A S-Sarc with the EXP cannister. Click image and click link for the cannister page - it's also in the Secondary Menu.

Bear Cannister Page

Finally had time to photograph some recent packs. Below: A Popcan P&G made of our lightweight gray Dyneema Grid Fabric. Even though this pack is fairly large and full featured (4,000 cuin ),with an upper bear cannister circumference of 42" tapering to 36" at the bottom with Dyneema Kangaroo pocket, Lg Crest belt pouch, Presto shoulder pad, P&G extension Bayonets, it weighs 3 lbs, 15 oz. Then, stripped down to it's smaller roll-top mode it is 2 lbs, 14 oz. Switch to a webbing hip belt and it's 2 lbs, 10 oz.

Going much lighter than this, though, heads into the direction of diminishing returns, and becomes a game of numbers rather than subjective performance. There are already plenty of packs on the market to play base-weight numbers with that sacrifice performance. Even a load as light as 20 lbs becomes a burden in a pack that's too light or just does not work or perform. Many of our customers have been there and done that. What's the point in going light if it does not feel good? 20 lbs is still like carrying 4 five lb bags of sugar - a lot of weight to just hang on the shoulders - there's really nothing light about it in a bad pack. Twenty pounds sounds light, and should feel good, but a bad pack actually amplifies the effect of the weight. Many of the packs rated at 30 lbs, don't even feel good at 20. The pack below carries 30 lbs like it is not even there, but it does not get you into a UL light pack contest. Sure, it's OK to put 16 oz backpack on the spreadsheet, but the reality is, a heavier pack that works makes a huge difference at the end of the day and does not wear you down because of the extra ounces. The UL community claims the extra ounces will wear you down. If they don't claim that and the extra ounces don't wear youd down, why carry an uncomfortable pack?! It's the light pack that wears you down, not the more effective 'HEAVY' one.

It is impossible to stuff a frameless pack with a 25-30 lb. load and make it remotely as comfortable as one of these custom fitted framed packs, or most other internal-frame packs. Even then, the framed pack in these weight ranges does not have to be stuffed in any particular way to still be more comfortable than the frameless pack. The frameless pack has to be stuffed very carefully and even then it fails. Frameless packs depend on their contents for some kind of support, so whenever something is taken out, like clothing, they lose support and fail.

Why is there so much emphasis on pack weights in the marketplace? It's simply much easier to show what a pack weighs rather than what it can do, as if what it weighs means something! The awful reality is that it is very difficult to go light enough to make frameless packs comfortable at all. Even at the weights they are designed for, they are awful. We are not a country full of mechanical engineers, (even though it sometimes appears that way) so many people don't understand until they suffer needlessly and need help. If all a pack can do is be light, it's not really a pack. A pack that weighs between 2 and 3 pounds is very light, especially when it can super comfortably carry even 35 pounds, but in the UL community it is looked down on. There was a significant frameless-pack revolution in the 70s that failed. It was more FAD than revolution, however, much like the current fad/farce. The internet is such a shill-zone that it is difficult to see that the current fad of frameless packs is failing as well. From experience I know most people don't go to the mountains for torture and I mostly write this to lend support to people that want to hear what's really happening. There is a reason I refused to make frameless packs in the 70s - it's the same reason I don't make them now. Many people try frameless packs because the buz on the net sounds so great, then they realize it was just a waste of money. Much of my business in the 70s in my Boise Idaho shop was devoted to putting frames into the softpack frameless brands like Rivendell, Chouinard UltimaThule, Yakpak, Wild-X ROR, Dana Klettersacs........Boise at the time was a fairly quite little town, yet even there the amount of dissatisfaction with these packs was significant. Multiply that by all the activity country-wide. The same thing is going on now.

Click images. The Popcan is one of the 'Subpop' packs. They do not have compression straps but instead have provisions for adding cord compression to the sides in varying ways if desired. The roll-top strap makes compression straps less needed also.

Below: The Pack in roll-top mode. This is more the actual color. I used the wrong light filter in the upper images and shipped the pack before I realized it. The pack to the right (below) with red daisy chains is similar to the back above except in all Gray Grid and is shown with a web belt. It is easy to change over to a web belt on any of the Sarc type packs. It a great way to knock a few ounces off a pack for the lighter loads. With the web belt the pack above weighs 2 lbs, 9 oz and would be lighter except for it's mondo 3" wide x 19" thick shoulder pads with double chest/sternum straps. This pack is oriented more toward a chest carry, taking advantage of the twin 7075-T6 stays spring loaded the users back. Even with the tall padded belt with twin buckles and 1/2" it still just barely breaks the barrier at 2 lbs, 15.4 oz. I'll be playing with this pack in the Sierra this Fall carrying a Garcia cannister inside and the Bearicade EXP cannister outside. A Garcia Bear cannister is carried horizontally in the top in all photos here.

Below: Harness side of red daisy chain pack with extra wide and long shoulder pads.

We make quite a few Full Dyneema packs and Dyneema GRID packs but we also make things like 1000D Cordura packs like the one below for a customer in Minnesota. It does have our heaviest duty Full Spectra bottom and rim. It's an LBP 38 ( Little Big Pack ) P&G Bayonet pack with the bayonets taken out and the top lid off and it's in roll-top mode. I just had time for these 3 shots while we're cramming end of summer pack production. End of Summer? Now wait a minute - but that was 2 years ago! Click for blowups. See LBP 35 page

Below is a S-Sarc P&G in dyed Full Dyneema. 2nd photo is in stripped down lightweight roll-top mode. Click photos for blowups.

Below: Another S-Sarc P&G in dyed Full Dyneema.

There is now plenty of lightweight gear on the market to significantly lighten pack loads. It makes no sense whatsoever to completely destroy the tool that has to carry what all of the lightweight gear still adds up to though. I could make packs that are lighter than what I make, but I do not want to make gear that does not perform well, and I will not be caught telling people something is comfortable or should be, when that is a physical impossibility. With such light loads, what is the point? The empty pack weights and limits of what is acceptable in the UL community are as arbitrary as anything can be. Performance is something much more difficult to put a number on than just dumb weight, and people even fib about that. As it stands, much of my business is from people that have already explored the line where packs are so light that they no longer work AND make things rather uncomfortable even though the basic load is pretty light. I have explored it plenty for more than 30 years! When loads go under 30 lbs, as an example, it makes absolutely no sense to try to get things to 25 lbs rather than say 27 lbs, if it means hiking all day with a pack that truly sucks your energy.....but you knew that too! The myth of the SUL backpack that makes light loads feel lighter, and lets you walk farther, is alive and well. The hardcore competition to publish lighter base weights on the net does not take into consideration overall well-being.

Thinking back to the Bucky Fuller days and building Tensegrity models, that is the sense I have for the packs. Tensegrity was short for Tension-Integrity. To me that means 'Make it Float'. The components all have to pull together and do their jobs. What makes it even more complicated though is that is usually helps if it fits, and then the owner has to know how to use it!

Below, something else in bigger packs: A new UnLtd S-Sarc in Full Dyneema. Click on those Photos!

Mountaineering Essence - You've carried the big loads in to base camp and now what? The true test of a general mountaineering pack is what it can do in its simplest and lightest form. S-Sarcs can adapt to whatever the task is and can easily carry 40-50 lbs totally stripped down - below. In it's full volume mode above it can handle over 6,000 cuin loads but in summit mode below it's a different pack....for those twinkle toe moves to the top. Even though this pack was built for a 6'6" tall climber, and is extra-large in all aspects, it weighs 3 lbs, 10 oz in summit mode and the beefy back pad and stout twin stays are still in there. Its most effective lightest configuration is with the belt and backpad stripped off and the frame still in there and it's 2 lbs. 14 oz. Because of the way stays can spring-load the pack load to your back, it is more effective to leave them in, even without the hip-belt. Packs for smaller people weigh less of course! The pack in the photo below left is using about 3700 cu in of it's volume. The summit pack to the right is from a +1 UnLtd S-Sarc of a more medium fit. It's compression straps and water/wand pockets have been left on.

Where's the map? This is fun; a customer brought his young daughter and son with him to the shop to pick up his new pack. I showed them my Backpacking Bear that I have had since Xmas of last year and they promptly opened the rear red pouch ( which I had never looked inside of ) and found the map! It's about 2" square.

The strictly panel loader daypack below is slim even in a normal length. This one was made for a long torso and it's really slim and can be customized to be even flatter. The LBD daypack is roomy daypack and can carry any dayload like there no load there, or it will carry an ultralight over-night load like there's no load there. It's an LBP afterall - Little Big Pack. With only one of the large water bottle pockets this Long fit weighs 2 lbs., 15 oz. This one is made of 140 dyneema grid reinforced with 420 HT fabric. Volume is approximately 2,000 cuin. The pack measures about 26" x 11" x 6". The MX compression straps can be easily removed and replaced with drawcord and with lighter reinforcing in the bottom and shoulder pads, and in a regular fit, and with even lighter twin stays, the pack is easily under 2.5 lbs. They can be made in any fabric. This pack is a demo being shipped to a foreign land; Santa Barbara, California. $389.00 Click images for blowups.

Most recently, packs have gone to England, Sweden, Norway, Singapore, Hong Kong,.......better get Canada in there, it's been hot lately. It's across a 'pond' from here. Puget Sound that is. A brief mention of my home state of California is in order too. Although it's not really 'Foreign', it's big enough to be a country on it's own. I send more packs there than anywhere - that's fitting since it's my home! I like to think of it as export trade. I like thinking the world is still fairly large and a place like California is very special, and not to be taken for granite alone - HaHa. In the past, I have sold many packs right in Seattle, but ever since going mail order in the mid 90s, and with the uptick in internet use, I'm saving Seattle as a kind of watershed market. Maybe someday I'll move home and export to the country of Washington.

Below: What it's all about - finished products - happy customers! In my job I have to be a webmaster, photographer, painter..... Subtle colors reign with dyed full Dyneema. The pack below left is an LBP 40 P&G in full Dyneema. The top lid and bayonets have been removed and the bag rolled down with the roll top strap. Click images. The pack S-Sarc P&G on the right is mostly slate with Royal webbing. Both packs go to Hong Kong. Pure white Dyneema is a blank Canvas. Over 35 pieces usually get dyed for the average pack and then the pieces have to processed and scrubbed before construction.

You can always brigthen things up later if you get tired of blending in. You might want to brighten things up to be more visible in winter snow - below. Click images for blowup.

After solving part of my foot problems by getting some taller footbeds under my insoles I had a great time this last weekend ( early september - several years ago now) up in the mountains. The taller footbeds got my left foot and insole up into a wider part of the boot so the rear end of my left 5th metatarsal as more room. I already have a bad ankle and width problems were driving me mad. We did a short little 3 day mountaineering traverse that has a great view of Mt Daniel. Below, I'm posing in a Nunatak bivi/quilt thingy. What a great multiple use piece! The other shot is my friends getting to the start of the ridge near Paddy-Go-Easy Pass with LBP 36s: one with a kangaroo and one with a lash-on expedition pocket. As usual, I grabbed a demo. It was an LBP Chasm. None of the packs had bayonets and worked better than great in the 30+ lb. range. Click for blow-ups. The pack on the far right below is actually the gray/yellow LBP featured at the top of this page.

On the trip we climbed a beautiful little peak called Sherpani. It's the nice pyramid on the right. Mt Stuart is in the clouds at the far left below. Click image for blow-up. This photo was taken later in the day the same day we climbed Sherpani.

Below: An image of good old fashioned peace of mind.

This is pretty peaceful too! Click image to crash your computer.

Below: A full Dyneema LBP 36 - We are also now ( 4 or 5 years now) making our compression strap system completely removable - for many years the straps could be replaced. The straps attach at the loop-lock buckles seen in the photos - in the 4th photo 2 types of buckles can be seen. The system makes it possible for straps and buckles to be easily replaced, updated, or reversed in direction. We are also working on new accessories like tubular ski holders that easily attach with there own built in compression straps. See LBP page . An un-dyed white dyneema LBP is shown for contrast.

Below: Just off the line - 100% Full Dyneema with 50% dyed gray. It's an UnLtd +2 P&G that went to the Polish Glacier Route on Aconcagua. Click images for blow-ups. Attached is a 2 layer summit flap, Expedition Utility Pocket, and 2 sided wand/water pocket. The center photo shows the pack stripped with bayonets out and in roll top mode. This is a big pack at 44" circumference. In summit mode the 5,000 cuin. bag with hip belt, back vent/pad, and frame weighs 3.25 lbs. and can still easily carry heavy loads comfortably if needed. With the removal of the heavy duty version of the backpad this pack has, the pack goes under 3 lbs.

Greetings from McHale Packs! email me: dan.mchale@comcast.net Below: Me in the Sierra 4 Falls ago now - Humpreys Basin. I must like those old red gaitors! Our most fun trip on vacation was a 5 day cross-country circumnavigation of Red and White Mountain near McGee Pass. Click for blow-ups. The last evening we were surprised by a pretty hefty snow storm (October) and got up at 7:00 AM during a clearing and scooted over McGee Pass. Since I'm from the Los Angeles area I still consider the Sierra my backyard! One of my hobbies too, is riding up steep passes on a bicycle. I got to do my second ride up to Onion Valley and did the ride up to the Pine Creek Trailhead the same day during some pretty good wind. On another ride up the Devils Gate road we got to witness part of the Everest Challenge where the riders try to do 29,000 feet of gain for time over the weekend. I only got in 4 rides, with the ride from the top of Westgard Pass to the Bristlecones being a new one for me. This year (2008) I got in 2 new hill climbs. I've been wanting to ride up the Deer Park road here in Washington for years and finally did it. My broken wrist is finally healed up! Deer Park is the Mtn Bike dirt version of the Hurricane Ridge road except it does the 5,000' of gain in fewer miles. The last 2 miles gain over 600 feet per mile! The other new ride is the road up to the Mt. Ashland ski area in southern Oregon. It starts down in the 2,000' elevation range in the Oaks and ends in alpine timber at 6,580' with a great view of Mt. Shasta. It's a beautiful ride. Mt. Ashland has a Mtn Biking sister road like Deer Park that I'll have to go back and do. I rode the Shasta ride while I was there too. I've riden it at least 10 times in the last 10 years. The Hurricane Ridge road has been closed all year to biking because of reconstruction and opening weekend was 10/17/08. I was there and squeezed that one in just before winter! Hurricane is the only 5,000' climb north of the Sierra I think. So many great rides.....so little time!

Below: Packs we used in the Sierra last year: a S-Sarc +1 P&G pack and a Chasm P&G at Rosy Finch lake on a 5 day cross-country trip cicling Red and White Mtn. Also, beautiful Bighorn Lake up past Rosy Finch Lake. Click images for blow-ups.

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Full Dyneema and Full Spectra packs: Keep in mind these packs take a bit longer to make than normal packs. The special dying and cutting, and special handling of these packs takes more time so please try to get orders in earlier than you otherwise would. We simply can't crank these out in rush form - don't really want too! Quantities of this fabric are always relatively limited as well, especially considering its record in the recent past....

What is McHale Packs? I/we are a company that believes that a high degree of customer interaction via a custom fitting process, a custom building process, a high degree of product innovation, product quality, performance and integrity, are important to attaining an exceptional backpacking experience . The packs are primarily general mountaineering and backpacking packs meant to make long treks or heavy approaches manageable and comfortable, that then convert and transform into more compact summit or side-trip packs. There are also a number of great thru-hiking packs - all of which can be customized. The pack designs are actually quite different - it's not at all just about gettng a custom fit pack. Our Bypass Harness alone is worth the extra money these packs cost and even the 'Guide Harness' is unique in the industry......and this is just the beginning of why the packs are different. .

The prices for the packs herein represent a bargain considering the years of enjoyment these packs can provide, and the effort that goes into building them. The packs themselves easily warrant the higher prices, but in the process you get to learn new techniques of adjustment and gain a higher knowledge of backpacks in general. In order to get what we really need sometimes, it is not always possible to get something for nothing, which is what the price of most packs on the market represents.

The cost of a thing is not about what you spend on it, but how much it does or does not reward you in ten years. Some packs cost you by not rewarding you and many packs pay back in spades. Unless people have tried many different packs, they do not understand how different they can be from each other. Like a custom Bicycle builder, I participate in the construction and assembly of each and every pack. To me sewing is a form of machining that I have my own high standards of to insure ultimate reliability. I see a backpack as a machine as well. Having my own standards for the performance of the machine is what sets the packs apart. There are many backpackers and climbers that go out in misery year after year after year and do absolutely nothing about it and THEN over-react and buy something too light and/or too small, and no matter how IT is loaded, IT does not work, and they are still in misery. The pack industry today is in turmoil and confusing to many. I believe in going light, but do not think going light has to mean you do it with an annoying uncomfortable pack.

If you have been backpacking or climbing for a long time, and are just not getting the experience you would like with your pack, and are looking for something special, give me a call. Backpacks are not a passive item like a tent or sleeping bag. They require more understanding to get much enjoyment from. This year I will be celebrating 33 years of custom pack making, 42 years of personal gear making, 43 years of climbing, and 45 years of backpacking. Me and my main work partner, Pam Brown, no doubt hold the world record for the highest number of high quality high performance custom packs made, although Pam has been doing it with me for only 21 years!

The year that I officially started making commercial custom packs, 1977, was a good year. I soloed Yosemite's Dihedral Wall on El Capitan that year See Dan's El Cap Story......, and started selling the packs I had been prototyping. At that point I had already had 6-7 years experience in the backpacking retail environment beginning with managing a store called Mtn Life in Campbell, CA 1970/72. The owner of Mtn Life, Tom Hendricks, knew many in the industry, and was even the 1st sales manager for Class-5 equipment, so I took in as much as I could. When I left Mtn Life I took over the bankrupt Mountain Store in Tarzana, California in 1973. I turned it around in one year, took a break then moved on to starting up The Old Boise Bootworks in Idaho before going into manufacturing....

What's with the video equipment in the Graphic at the very top of this page? This is one of the ways I can communicate with my customers across the country for pack fitting and trouble shooting pack adjustment, or to take a look at their current pack. They learn from our instruction videos and DVDs and I learn from their home videos email pics, CDs and DVDs. Many people are too shy for the live movie thing, or can't seem to find the time, but volumes can be learned if you take the chance and let me trouble-shoot your problems. Even if everything seems to be going fine with a pack, many times with a little instruction, almost any pack can work better. This service is invaluable and I guarantee you will learn from it - nothing ventured, everything stays the same. It's part of the service so get your camcorder and take advantage. Most people simply use digital cameras for fitting a pack, but for the more dynamic part of trouble-shooting the details of adjustment, video is the only way to do that.

Scroll way down this letter until you see the header below. That where the real action starts.

Email me at: dan(dot)mchale@comcast(dot)net The dot means period of course (.)

Phone: 206 533 1479

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IT'S NOT FABRIC - IT'S DYNEEMA! That's just a marketing jingle I came up wiith a few years ago. Fabrics made from spectra and dyneema are pretty remarkable!

My Dyneema and Spectra disclaimer: Although Dyneema and Spectra are truly remarkable fabrics I in no way advocate that it is neccessary to have them for a full pack. They are a luxury. It would be more important just to get one of my packs. That move is more important than it's Super Fabric aspect. To me, packs are all about how they carry. If one company makes a pack out of dyneema or spectra and another out of canvas, I would buy canvas pack if it carried better. 500 Cordura is an under-rated excellent option.

Above: A customer photo of one of our S-Sarcs made from the white stuff - Full Spectra - from a number of years ago. Can you identify where in the Cascades it is? Hint----Cascade Pass looking...... This fabric is once again part of our inventory. That pack is Full Spectra. In recent years we have had it's cousin; Full Dyneema but things are shifting back to Spectra again in the supply chain. Above: pack on upper right - a S-Sarc without the P&G - click for blowup. The 4600 Cubic inch pack weighs 3 lb 6 oz. By taking the top bladder holding lid off and using roll top mode, and removing the water pockets, it's 2 lb. 14 oz of tough as nails pack (well, almost), and it's still got the back pad on it and the stays inside, and a padded hipbelt. Some companies give the weight of their packs with eveything off including the stays! This basically is a Windsauk type model - high volume pack - minimum straps.

Scott Fischer was the guy that turned us on to Spectra in 1992. He gave us an early-bird view of what the fabric could take! Scott used McHale packs on all of his high-altitude climbs beginning in the early 80s. I stock Full Dyneema (DSM - the European version of Spectra and the originator) mostly for people that know what it is and want it - it is a luxury. In the inventory is also full spectra, non-woven dyneema (Cuben), and spectra combined with Cuben, Cuben fabrics by themselves and Cuben combined with polyester.

It's Not Fabric - It's Dyneema! This is the Titanium of fabrics and is in a class by itself when it comes to extreme durability for weight. My belt sander test is the most telling; When I put a single layer of our 4 oz dyneema between my thumb and the whirling belt sander, my thumb gets too hot to hold the fabric down, before the fabric starts to wear, or at least before it loses much of it's strength. Obviously, this is a very subjective test! With out latest Spectra/Cuben, the Spectra can even be blitzed by the abrasion and heat of the belt sander and the Cuben is still intact - the new stuff CAN have an advantage! We have done slower, low pressure cycling tests to make sure the belt sander test is legitimate. In these and other tests, normal fabrics have disappeared/disintegrated at the 150 cycle mark and the dyneema is just roughened up and still has most of it's strength. I have done steel wool tests. Even our highest tenacity 420 does not take long to get through - less than a minute, but it takes some serious long term scrubbing to get through the full dyneema that is half the weight. Adding only 9% to 10% Dyneema to a high tenacity 210 fabric makes our Dyneema 'Small Grid' fabric pretty tough and long lasting for a sub 4 oz fabric. Imagine 100% Dyneema or Spectra.This stuff is almost out of the realm of fabric and is as revolutionary as Nylon was to Hemp. Just using it in key parts of a pack is almost all you need - which is standard for McHale Packs. A customer just recently told me a story about how some ravens pecked through his friend's fairly tough pack and got into the food but the dyneema pack foiled them. He could even see the indentations of where they tried to peck through!

One of the oddities of selling Dyneema or Spectra for me is my customers want to attack their new pack with knives and forks, or they want to drag it down the road behind the pick-up to see how tough it really is. It's always fun to see what it can take! I don't recommend that though - it's like pulling a plant out of the ground to see if it's alive. Give it time. It's tough but it's still light - it is not self-healing! Now, I supply a small extra piece of fabric for the knives and forks on request. http://www.dsm.com/en_US/html/hpf/applications_textiles.htm

Below: New photos of our first pack of the new generation Full Dyneema (now old)(new gen is at the top of this letter with more coming). It's an UnLtd +1 with 2 layer summit. Click images for enlargements. I will post new more info about Full Dyneema soon. This pack can extend upward another 12" with it's full extension skirt. This 6500 cubic inch pack, as is in the photos, weighs only 4 lbs, 10 oz. and is pretty indestructable. It is also equivalent to a size Xlg with the lower frame alone measuring 24.75" . The overlapping Bayonet frame extensions bring the overall frame length to 29.5". With the super hip-pack top ( includes fanny-pack with 2" belt, map pocket, wallet pocket, and bladder holder ) that it's owner ordered, the pack weighs 5 lbs, 3 oz......The 2 layer summit flap weighs 5 oz and the super hip-pack 14oz.

Below: Left image - same pack in summit or side trip mode with lid, lid straps, water pockets, bayonets and bypass straps, and backpad removed. 2 images right; A Full Dyneema S-Sarc P&G that went to West Virginia recently. It has a rear pocket that can expand outward with its full wrap bungy cord attachment. These rear pockets can be made any volume and easily turn into summit packs. Click images for blowups.

Weight for the summit pack above (left image) with lightest polypro straps: 3.5 lbs. Without some of the heavy duty features this pack has, it would easily weigh under 3 lbs. Some customers even get an extra set of lighter stays for UL packing. With UL back vent: 3 lbs, 11oz. The gray, red, and yellow pack above weighs 3 lbs, 6 oz stripped like this. With the back vent back on, or without it, the pack in this mode is fully capable of carrying 60 lb. loads. This Full Dyneema pack weighs more than simpler models, with it's stronger frame, 3 belt attachment points, covered kangaroo pocket, and heavy duty 6 oz Full Spectra bottom. The pack would also weigh less with a size 34 hip belt! We'll post a lighter version soon with a removable kangaroo. It is easy to make a pack that is dedicated for light loads well under 2.5 lbs: http://www.mchalepacks.com/ultralight/detail/sub_pop.htm

Basic Belt Pouch: The belt pouch below is a more Basic version than the padded bungy cord 'Crest' model. It still uses a dust and water resistant YKK zipper but is designed to hang free from those gear loops at the top of the hip belts using quick clip buckles rather than float like the bungy model. Newer hip belts ( last several years ) have 1" loops that are 5.5" apart at their centers along the top edge of the belts - these are the attachment points, as well as a rear loop on the pocket, that one of the belt attachment straps goes through. The loops are also there for attaching climbers 'racking loops' but we enlarged them for future pouch attachment. Older belts have smaller loops that we are now using small key-rings to attach the pouches. Price $27.00 for large, $23.00 for regular. The padded bungy version, The Crest Pocket, reg size is $39.00. The large Crest is $49.00. There is also an Xlg Crest now for $55.00. I made one to fit my old Nikkormat EL with a 135mm lens - swallows it easily with lots of room to spare - and it's very easy to get in and out.

Below: The rear edge of the large Basic is 7" tall and the regular 6". The bottom edge of both is 9" long. The rear cord loop ( barely visible at zipper ends ) must loop around the upper hipbelt attachment strap in order for the zipper to zip forward with only one hand. The zipper seam is hot cut and the main seams triple sewn and taped. I recommend the Crest pockets for larger cameras as large as camcorders. Crest is 2nd photo.

Below: Did you know......that McHale water bottle pockets can be adjusted and tilted for easier access?

Below: Crest Pouch size large. 3rd photo shows bungy support system at rear. Pouch contains a lg Nikkormat EL with 135mm lens. It's very easy in and easy out. Width of camera at back is 5.75", height of camera back is 3.75", length of camera including 135mm lens is 6". There is enough extra space to get the camera in and out with no struggle. The weight of the camera is mostly suspended by the pack frame, not the belt.

Below: The regular size crest pouch has been enlarged slightly from last year. Fabric above is gray 500 and below gray 420. It is about 2/3 the size of the large and still big enough for mini-camcorders

Below: It's easy to see what's in a Crest and easy to get it out. Not a small camera ( 4.75" x 3.125" x 2.5" ), The Cannon G2 easily fits into the regular size Crest without pressing against the hip belt and leaves room for other items. Click images below to go to the 'Crest in use' page.

Below: The bladder holding hip pack top pocket.

Below: Closed up and ready to put on. You can choose from different width belt sizes.

Lately I've been working on getting more tall guys into better packs. They do enough hunching over as it is and don't need some stupid structureless pack making it worse. It's a category where just having a good pack that works well outweighs any other obsession or consideration. I'm like the little kid in that movie 'The Sixth Sense' that sees dead people. For me though; I see uncomfortable miserable people that got (bought into) bad advice, or just don't know what's really best for them - most of the time they look dead! And, speaking of ads: here's something that came out in the July Rock and Ice Magazine.

P&G Bayonets - What are they? Below is a pic of the patented P&G system on the light packs - they add length to the 'Guide Harness' frame system and in the process the shoulder harness converts from our simple guide harness to the Bypass Harness. The base of the main frame folds up ( hinges ) to accomplish this also. They can also be seen as a way to shorten the frame to give climbers headroom after they leave base camp. The bayonets from the larger CM pack have even been used to repair broken ski tips. The Bayonets can be used to stabilize a bigger heavier load without adding the Bypass straps as well. The instructional video will be out late this winter for demo pack users. These bayonet stays are just under 12" long x 1/2" x 1/8" and weigh 2.4 oz / set. They overlap the lower main frame for half of the length of the bayonets. Click for blowup.

Below: The raw materials for just the Bayonet part of the pack ((P&G bayonets = Plug and Go) give an idea of the amount of work involved in building a pack. The materials weigh 5.8 oz. When the pack is used in the lightest daypack mode 3.6 ounces can be left behind, the heaviest parts being the stays themselves and the long bypass straps.

Below: Detail of lenomesh water-bottle pocket. They weigh 2.2 oz. each - 2/10 ounce each heavier than the double bottom dyneema grid pockets. Lenomesh has a tear strength similar to 1000 cordura and similar abrasion resistance.

Below: me in Yosemite, Fall 6 years ago, on Tenaya Peak. What a fun romp - except for the epic descent in the dark! It's all fun though. Since we missed the quick way down, we got to enjoy a walk along Tenaya lake in the moonlight at midnight.

Email me at: dan.mchale@comcast.net PHONE: 206 533 1479

dan's tiny brick binos