2007 Lumbar Packs Preview

For carrying smaller loads while trail running, hiking, cross-country skiing, or just ambling around town, lumbar packs, with their low centers of gravity, are made to be stable. And since they have no shoulder straps they effectively transfer pack weight to your lumbar region and off your shoulders, back, and neck (for heavy loads, Mountainsmith offers Strapettes, a shoulder harness that converts their lumbar packs into daypacks). Lumbar packs (a.k.a. hip packs or fanny packs) have been around for a quarter century, but if you haven’t tried one out yet (or need to replace that 25-year-old model) check out these new offerings for 2007. For more details on a specific pack, visit its product page.

Contents

• Mountainsmith

• Granite Gear

Mountainsmith

Technical Lumbar Packs
Mountainsmith invented the lumbar pack category back in 1982, and for 2007 they’re introducing a new line of technical lumbar packs designed for trail running, mountain biking, and fast hiking. The packs—the Epic, Ultra, and Sprint—feature Mountainsmith’s Air-Flow Back Suspension System, a four-point compression system for stability that creates a separation between your back and the pack for breathability during aerobic activities.

All of the Mountainsmith technical lumbar packs have a clip-on attachment point and elastic sleeve for gel flasks, flapped mesh pocket for energy bars or electronics, internal padded MP3/iPod sleeve with cord port, reflective highlights, white interior linings for visibility, and internal organizer panel. The packs have a waist belt tail management system and are constructed of 210 high-tenacity Cordura, neoprene, and synthetic leather. Mountainsmith’s technical lumbar packs will be available in January of 2007.

Recycled Classic Lumbar Packs
Two of Mountainsmith’s Classic Series lumbar packs, the Day and Tour, will be offered using new recycled fabrics (450d PET recycled Velocity body fabric and 150d PET recycled rip stop lining). Recycled versions of the Day and Tour are made with fabric woven from threads produced from 100-percent recycled plastic beverage bottles. Each pack reuses between 13 and 16 plastic bottles and has the same durability, comfort, and performance as other Mountainsmith packs. Mountainsmith’s recycled lumbar packs will be available in January of 2007.

Granite Gear

Mountainsmith may have been the first to produce outdoor lumbar packs back in 1982, but Granite Gear wasn’t far behind. They offered a line of hip packs their very first year, 1986. And now they’re bringing them back because “to be honest we missed them,” says the company, “and we found ourselves pulling the old 1000D models out from the closet to use for a ski or hike…the darn things are handy and for certain things more comfortable than a backpack.” The Granite Gear hip packs will be available in February of 2007.

Wing Series
Granite Gear’s Wing Series features four simple, functional hip packs. The packs all have a one-piece padded back and belt design for a wrinkle-free hip hugging fit, internal and external pockets, built in ear-bud portholes, and water-resistant YKK zippers, and are made of stretch fabrics and lighter weight HT10 Cordura.