It’s been something like 15 years since I bought a rucksack, but after searching for months for an internal framed rucksack, I finally settled on the Outdoor Products Pinnacle pack. I’ve used a lot of backpacks in the five decades I’ve been exploring the bush, but my favorite pack of all time is a relic of the Cold War. “Fritz” is a German military surplus rucksack and has carried the load for me for thousands of miles of backcountry and on the road travel. It’s a simple but rugged cotton canvas rucksack with two very large side pockets, a leather bottom, and a large single compartment with a radio pocket inside.

Fritz has been in some tight spots, crawled under fallen tree trunks, been dragged through mud and brambles, and has endured every kind of precipitation that can fall from the sky, but is still going strong without complaint or repairs.

So why did I forsake my old faithful rucksack in favor of a glistening new pack from Outdoor Products? In a word—photography. While Fritz carries my cameras and lenses very well indeed, my large tripod is another matter. The heavy Slik tripod doesn’t fit inside Fritz, and can’t slip down the ski slots behind the side pockets. It can’t even be carried sideways under the flap or lashed to the top of the flap without swinging violently with each pace. Sad as it is to admit, I needed to find a substitute rucksack for full-blown photo shoots.

 
I wanted an internal frame backpack which featured a single compartment that was large enough to carry the Ten Essentials along with enough gear for treks up to a week long. In addition, the pack would have to accommodate the big tripod, all my camera gear, and my snowshoes. And finally, the new rucksack would have to be very reasonably priced. I didn’t want to spend more than USD60 or so.

It was surprisingly difficult to find a pack that met my requirements for simplicity, regardless of cost. I’ll leave out the rant about bells-and-whistles and hydration bladders, and cut to the chase. I finally found two contenders for my hard-earned dollars, both by Outdoor Products, and both sold by Campmor. The OP Pinnacle and Zenith packs differ primarily in size, though the Zenith also has a zippered compartment on bottom and lacks the pair of ice axe loops the smaller Pinnacle has. In the end I decided on the Pinnacle. At USD39.95 it certainly met my requirement for low cost. Its simple design and size were additional selling points. Here’s a triptych of the Pinnacle right out of the box:

 
A quick run-down of features:

• • Single large top-loading compartment with drawstring closure
• • Large pocket in top flap
• • Compressor panel to hold bulky objects
• • Multiple straps/daisy chain loop for lashing tripod and other gear
• • ~22″h x 15″w x ~8″d
• • 3160 cubic inches capacity

After a thorough familiarization examination, I packed Pinnacle with the gear I intended to carry on winter photo shoots, then adjusted the padded shoulder straps and hip belt. Right away I saw one small problem. The hip belt is stingy in length, which isn’t a problem for a very slim winter hiker with ultra-thin insulated outwear, but for anyone else wearing bulky insulated outerwear, the belt is a squeeze. I hike in sub-zero temperatures wearing two or three layers under a fluffy down jacket, or a down vest under a heavy oiled cotton coat with large patch pockets. Also, when I use a hip belt, I like it to buckle over my pelvic bones, not over my navel. What this means is that I’ll be wearing the Pinnacle without the belt buckled when I’m decked out for cold weather hiking. That’s not a drawback for me, because I rarely want a hip belt anyway, especially when hiking near water (it’s a hinderance to remove a pack if you go for an unexpected swim, and a hip belt only makes it worse). But if you’re a bit bulky or hippy, the skimpy belt might be a drawback. The solution? Fashion or buy a belt extender.

The only way to truly evaluate a rucksack is, of course, to take it for a hike, so that’s what I did the day after a snowstorm. I lashed my snowshoes and tripod to the pack and headed for the trailhead, uncertain if there was enough snow to ’shoe, but wanting to be prepared. Stay tuned for a detailed evaluation of the Outdoor Products Pinnacle rucksack. A preview? Sure. On first go, it meets my needs admirably.

 
Send a Comment

 
Streams of water poured down from the eaves. I could cope with that. I don’t let rain keep me indoors. But my ankle was another matter. It stubbornly refused to support my weight, and this put an end to my plans for the day. There was no way I could carry my canoe down to The River. What to do? That was indeed the question. Then my eyes fell on the box where I stash clothing in need of sewing. It was filled to overflowing with cotton and cotton‑nylon “Battle Dress Uniform” (BDU) pants, many of them already boasting patches on thighs or knees. I like BDUs. They’re roomy where I want my pants to be roomy, available in a wide range of dirt‑concealing colors, and generously provided with pockets. They’ve served me well over the years, and they wear well, too. Some of my older pairs are in their second decade, still going strong despite bearing the scars of hundreds of miles of field surveys. But BDUs have one weakness. I’m not just a paddler. I’m also a cyclist, and I crank out several thousand miles each year, both on and off the highway. Anyone who rides as much as I do develops pretty good‑sized adductors — they’re the lumps of muscle on the insides of the thighs — and these brush together when I walk. The result? My BDU pants need frequent patching. It’s a fussy and tedious job, and since there aren’t too many chores I like less than running a sewing machine, I sometimes find myself without a single serviceable pair of BDUs to my name.

Which happened to be the case on this rainy morning, in fact. My last intact pair of BDUs had worn through only a couple of days before I twisted my ankle. So it looked like I couldn’t avoid serving a short custodial sentence at the sewing table, even if the only labor involved was easy. In putting paid to my paddling plans for the day, my ankle had pretty much guaranteed that. Or had it? I was looking for any excuse to avoid a stint of make‑and‑mend, and I found one. It couldn’t have been simpler. I just didn’t need to patch my BDUs right away. As luck would have it, they’d already been relegated to second place in my affections. And what had supplanted them, you ask? Campmor’s aptly named Trekmor 2/1 Convertible Pants, that’s what. These have now become my number‑one choice for knocking about… Read more…

 
Send a Comment