SUBPOP Ultralight Ultra-strong packs

FULL DYNEEMA info: http://www.dsm.com/en_US/html/hpf/applications_textiles.htm

Full Dyneema is the Titanium of fabrics and unmatched for extreme durability and lightweight and our coloring makes it far more attracti. We also make these packs with more standard fabrics like 210 Dyneema Grid; both large and small grid, 420HT..........

Circumference profile: Subpop 0-Sarc 37/39/40.5, Subpop Chasm 41/41/40.5,

LBP 36; 36/36/36 , LBP 37; 37/37/37 , LBP 38; 38/38/38........on up to Chasm size

A Trail Runs Through It: Everyone has heard of the PCT. The POP in our our line of light packs is meant to stand for Pacific Ocean Park as another way of celebrating the entire Beautiful West Coast of the USA rather than just the trail that runs through it.

For 2008 we are bringing in a new size series called Little Big Packs. These are straight tapered packs like the Chasm but considerably smaller like the LBP 36 below. 36 refers to it's circumference of 36" which makes it easy to figure it's volume to the top of the stays as 2,500 cu in. approximately. We are introducing these for $295.00. Click image for larger image. 36 LBP Subpop photos & weights soon.

This 36" Circ pack lies right on the border of still being able to carry relatively normal gear and the photo pack is actually stuffed with an Integral Designs MK XL tent w/poles, Western Versalite sleeping bag, an Ursac half full of food, full raingear (not UL), med weight Lowe fleece pullover, and an Integral synthetic belay coat. The LBP theme also means that when you do carry UL gear the pack has the weight carrying capacity to really go out for long trips. With the twin Q-Bayo 7075-T6 stays it can handle 40 lbs with ease. Pack shown above weighs 3.25 lbs. Lightest weight for these packs is about 2.25 lbs. (inludes stays)when built for lighter loads.

These are our lightest packs. Typically they come in well under 3 lbs when customized. with lighter hip-belts, shoulder pads, frame stays, etc. for 20+ lb. loads. As with all of our packs, versatility is the theme. Be very aware of companies that say their 12 oz pack can carry 20 lbs. You decide: do you want a wimpy 20 lb. load to feel like hell or to feel like it's not there? That's a tough decision! Below: A subpop/chasm with an Expedition utility pocket and 2 layer summit flap attached. Click image for blowup. Attaching accessories to our lightest packs is as easy as the larger packs.

Guide Harness - Our unique 'off the shoulder' harnesses are part of what makes these packs better. External frames were once made this way before load-lifter straps were added to packs. Guide harnesses work very well on lighter internal frame loads. We have been using the Guide Harness for 20 years and is part of the reasons these packs are so well accepted. Click on Guide Harness photos below.

Add any of our accessories. A very lightweight rear pocket can still be added to this pack, made of silcoat, Dyneema, Dyneema grid, or Glassfiber net. Many aftermarket items fit the practical wide daisy chains. Even a more advanced top pocket can be added. Click image below. The side pockets can be mounted lower than shown or higher to accommodate water bottle pockets. This pack has a bladder holder on the bottom side of the 2 layer summit.

Volume: The 0-Sarc volume is the base volume of this simple design but we can easily design them to be smaller. Subpop refers to the compression-strap-less design; see Windsauk and Popcan. For such small packs as the 0-Sarc, compression straps are not really needed and are redundant with roll-top compression straps and light internal frames. Even our lightest stays provide far more reliable support than a compression system without a frame can provide, and with a more flexible softer feel. Be smart, always chose a frame over a compression system if one is going to be eliminated. As you run out of food, simply let your clothes fill more space and roll-top straps work well.

Longer shoulder pads - All of our anatomical shoulder pads are long enough that they don't end at the arm-pit and they keep the adjustment buckle off the ribs!

Adjustable fit: With the Q-Bayo frame-base adjustment, the stay length AND pack length can be lessened as the load gets lighter because a 15-20 lb. load affects your posture differently than a 30 lb load. The longer length adjustment can give you more spots on the hips to carry a heavier load and still keep the load off your shoulders with the Guide Harness. O-Bayo is a feature option for all of our lighter packs and does not cost extra. Q-Bayonet Swivel click here

5 cord loops down each side of the pack provide for future pocket attachments of any kind (much like the daisy chains do) and also variety of accordian compression systems. Almost any companies products can be easily made to work with the loops. It's a versatile/variable system that can accomodate a zigzag cord system down the sides, or zigs between the daisy chains only, or simple single cords all the way across the pack and through the daisy chains. Even a zingle horizontal strap can be set up as a clothes line or to nominally take slack out of the pack. Keep in mind that if you need a compression systen, Compression straps work much better without adding much weight and in larger packs they are superior. You simply choose one or the other. This system is nice because you really don't need any system with a small pack with stays. A frameless pack; well, nothing helps! We can help you customize the volume. See Pack Volumes Page.

Why are compression straps better for larger packs? It is a nice feature to be able to make larger volumes smaller. Compression straps pull on buckles that are located in the area of the vertical daisy chains and when the strap is drawn it pulls on the entire panel of fabric between the daisy chains and pulls it in closer to your back. For cord to do the same thing as effectively, it takes a very impractical amount of it.

Price: Small Dyneema Grid $389.00. Large dyneema grid $369.00.

See our original Dyneema Grid Subpop below - click image for blow-up. New images soon! Full Dyneema adds less than $200.00 to the regular Subpop price. Add for dye. C

Prices include demo trial, custom fitting, and consultation.

See the Summit Flap Bladder Holder Page

Below: a 4,000 cu. in. Subpop/Chasm that weighs 2 lbs 4oz, which includes all of it's padding and hip belt, and twin stay frame - in roll top mode. It weighs a bit more ( 2nd pic ) with it's extendable summit flap and large twin water bottle pockets ( 1.9 oz each ) but is still only 2 lbs 10 oz. In this weight it is also a medium/large fit capable of 30-40 lbs easily. Click images for blow-up. More photos soon with accessories attached.

Below: The harness side showing smaller lighter Duraflex belt buckles, Glassfiber net covered backpad, simple non bypass and non P&G harness.......

Below: A side shot of the Subpop with Side pockets. Our side pockets connect to each other across the rear of the pack for maximum stability. The lower strap can be seen running across the center utility pocket.

Below: Older model Subpop style White Spectra Chasm the way a climber might use the side loops to add climbing slings to the pack. Single buckle hip belts are among the choices for simple and lighter packs mostly for 0-Sarcs or smaller but singles are not as effective in spreading the weight to the whole belt. ( Spectra and Dyneema are essentially interchangeable names, the difference being Spectra is of USA license and Dyneema is the original from the Netherlands).

----The basic loops down the side of each pack lend themselves to inventive usefulness........in this case putting to use basic climbing slings and runners. All sorts of variations can be rigged. -------------------------------------------------

I predicted that the companies from about 5 or 6 years ago making soft frameless packs would have to start adding frames to their packs if they wanted to survive as viable companies. It was an easy prediction to make because I saw the same process happen in the 1980s and 1970s. Now I would like to see the idea of carrying 20 lb. loads in sub 16 oz. frameless packs and the advocacy of it considered as simply bad advice - because it is bad advice for anyone that needs advice, and people should be warned that there is no such thing as a comfortable 20 lb. load in most light frameless packs. It is simply the dumbing down of an industry at work.

It makes little sense to carry 20 lbs in a 1 lb. pack and be shit-faced miserable all day long when another lb. would solve the problem, and also have the capability to carry even more weight when needed. When I started making packs back in the 70s I was asked to put frames in many of the frameless packs of the time. The new crop is just as bad as the old crop and would benefit greatly from more support. Weight is not the only thing that creates fatigue - mental as well as physical misery causes it.

Call it what it is; misery. I have to laugh when I read in chatrooms that such and such a pack is comfortable with 20 lbs but can't handle 25 lbs. If you see a review like that, run the other way laughing! What they really mean is that it is less miserable with only 20 lbs.!!!

Dan McHale