Results 1 to 23 of 23
Thread: Pack without Avy tool pocket?
-
08-02-2020, 11:06 AM #1Registered User
- Join Date
- May 2018
- Location
- NorCal
- Posts
- 834
Pack without Avy tool pocket?
Like most (many? some?) I use a pack with a dedicated Avy tool pocket for my probe and shovel while touring. I recently upgraded my summer pack to a Patagonia Ascensionist which is pretty much just one big compartment. I've started to really enjoy the simplicity. The fact that the 55L weighs less than my 26L touring pack doesn't hurt either. I'm thinking of switching to something similar (either the smaller pattaguci or some other lightweight climbing pack) for my winter tours. Ski carry is actually pretty solid but the one thing that gives me pause is no separate compartment for avy tools. Does anyone use a bag like this? Any problems with the avy stuff being in the main compartment? Are my partners guaranteed to die due to my lack of organization? Any tips to make it work?
The other concern is wet skins, but I think this is easily solved but putting them in bibs, jacket, or using the rope carrier of the bag.
-
08-02-2020, 01:21 PM #2
it means all your stuff is gonna get super wet anytime you need to use your shovel or probe... seems pretty suboptimal to me
-
08-02-2020, 04:10 PM #3
Yeah I switched to the ascensionist 35L as my touring pack - super light & simple, surprisingly durable (so far). BD Cirque packs are similar design. Not using my shovel/probe too often - knock on wood. In spring/summer its great since not much else in my pack, and stick that stuff at bottom below shovel/probe. But come winter may get crowded & congested.
-
08-02-2020, 06:15 PM #4
Yer gonna die.
-
08-02-2020, 07:02 PM #5
-
08-02-2020, 07:11 PM #6Registered User
- Join Date
- May 2018
- Location
- NorCal
- Posts
- 834
-
08-02-2020, 07:12 PM #7
-
08-02-2020, 07:38 PM #8
Well, yeah, but once he’s dead, they can have a Donner Party
. . .
-
08-02-2020, 08:47 PM #9
BD Cirque 35 - light mountaineering pack with ski carry and a divider for snow tools
Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkBest Skier on the Mountain
Self-Certified
1992 - 2012
Squaw Valley, USA
-
08-03-2020, 04:00 AM #10Galibier Designcrafting technology in service of music
-
08-03-2020, 08:25 AM #11Registered User
- Join Date
- May 2018
- Location
- NorCal
- Posts
- 834
The BD Cirque 30/35 does seem like a good solution to this potential death problem. Seems to have a separate sleeve/pouch in the main pocket while still checking all the other boxes. And it comes in red.
-
08-03-2020, 08:26 AM #12Registered User
- Join Date
- Mar 2010
- Posts
- 187
I like going simple, and used a pack without a dedicated avy tools pocket for a couple of seasons. I never worried about being able to get my tools out in a hurry, but:
1) I tended to get my spare clothes wet when putting the tools back. A seperate dry bag sorts this but sort of defeats the point of going for simplicity.
2) I ended up pulling all my stuff out of the bag when getting my avy tools out (taking a shovel blade out pretty much means all your other stuff comes with it). On a windy day this can be a nightmare.
3) If your stuff didn't fall out of the bag when you took your shovel blade out then don't worry - you'll have to take it all out to get the shovel blade back in
4) I cought myself once or twice thinking that I couldn't be bothered to get my shovel out (to dig a pit, not find a person )
Perhaps in certain climates or for more gnarly ski mountaineering a climbing pack would be better, but I have gone back to a dedicated ski tour pack.
-
08-03-2020, 09:05 AM #13Best Skier on the Mountain
Self-Certified
1992 - 2012
Squaw Valley, USA
-
08-03-2020, 09:25 AM #14Registered User
- Join Date
- Feb 2014
- Posts
- 2,492
I made the switch to Prival and now my whole avy kit fits on the sides of my boots. BTW, looking for a few new bc partners this winter.
-
08-03-2020, 10:44 AM #15
I use an airbag pack with more pockets than I'd like in the winter, but I use a top loading climbing pack in the spring. It is not hard to get a shovel and probe out of the pack with out removing any other items. I always put them in the pack in the same way (against the spine). Most or all of the other items in my pack are in stuff sacks. I can reach in and find both parts of the shovel and the probe without looking. I loosen the two upper side straps, open the top pocket, then tilt the pack so the spine is facing diagonally upward. The shovel and probe are then sitting on top of the stuff sacks and slide out easily. They go back in the same way. It works because I've been doing it the same way for hundreds of days. It's probably faster than getting them in and out of the dedicated pocket on my airbag pack which is just too small for a full sized shovel. Everything needs to be arranged just right for it to zip all the way.
My point isn't that top loaders are better. It's that in many cases familiarity with gear matter more than the gear itself. And not every "feature" is going to make your life better if it's just replacing another viable solution. What I would be concerned about with the Ascensionist is how the fabric holds up against ski edges. The old version was made of a pretty light fabric. New one seems burlier but is it actually designed for ski carry? At least they'll replace it for free if you cut it up after a few bootpacks.
-
08-03-2020, 11:24 AM #16
^ yeah, I really don’t think the “you’ll be slow removing your stuff in an accident” argument is the damning thing, it’s just always having all your shit wet. I’m not digging full pits every day I tour but I have the probe out a lot, and the shovel at least once a week for this or that... but to each his own. I wouldn’t balk at touring with someone with this setup, personally, as long as they were competent.
-
08-03-2020, 11:33 AM #17
-
08-03-2020, 12:18 PM #18
On the ascensionist durability question, agree that a-frame doesnt work great because the side straps are pretty thin and I've sliced the side panel in a few places (although the grid ripstop has held well). I put a webbing loop on the small ice axe loop and run skis diagonal and works better. This is the older, thinner fabric version. Works well later season when not carrying as much. In the winter, may go back to my bigger burlier deuter which has an avy pocket - or look at one of the BD Cirques
-
08-03-2020, 03:12 PM #19
I skied with the Ascensionist 30 for two seasons and it's great, but:
1. your clothing inside the pack will get wet.
2. thus, you can't bring down.
3. you will be slower getting to your shove and probe
4. transitions will be more of a yard sale
No problems with durability.
Axe carry is great.
Wicked light.
Some poster here detailed how he sewed in some retaining straps or tubes for the probe and shovel. The problem for me was the blade. It fight perfectly at the bottom of the back. Guaranteed yardsale.
-
08-03-2020, 05:21 PM #20Galibier Designcrafting technology in service of music
-
08-03-2020, 09:44 PM #21
This. The rescue team is trained to keep 100% of their gear with them at all times (except for designated cache areas) for this exact reason. If a rescuer drops a glove and another team member thinks it's a clue, the team could spend vital time searching in the wrong area.
-
08-03-2020, 10:21 PM #22Registered User
- Join Date
- Nov 2009
- Posts
- 828
Pack without Avy tool pocket?
One more vote for the BD Cirque 35. Really light but still carries well fully loaded.
It’d probably be a bit slower to get to the avi pocket than with my other pack that has a designated avi tool pocket on the outside with its own zipper, but I only use the pack in the spring when avalanche danger is low and I don’t want the weight of an airbag. Plus it’s a good general daypack for longer hiking days.
-
08-04-2020, 02:03 AM #23Galibier Designcrafting technology in service of music
Bookmarks