Ultralight Retro Gear – Jensen Packs

[Scott Jones]

If anyone remembers the old Rivendell Mountain Works gear and equipment you can appreciate these packs. Backpacker magazine, back when they had William Kemsley as the editor reviewed rucksacks and the Jensen was given the highest rating out of all of them as most comfortable pack. Anyway, some die hard Jensen fans make Jensen packs to speck and sale them. Here is the link

http://rivendellmountainworks.com/RMWJensenPackConstruction.htmls

and photo

http://rivendellmountainworks.com/2006%20Vintage%20Jensen%20Color.html

They look pretty cool.

[Alan C Kendall]

Good to see this. I've still got my original forest green Jensen, abandoned for internally framed packs many, many years ago and now just hanging in the garage. I was very fond of it, it was a great pack, but not so suitable for the generally wet UK. It was never very waterproof (the cotton back wasn't at all waterproof) and the design didn't easily lend itself to using polythene bags as liners.

Rivendell made mountain tents too – I always coveted a Bombshelter.

[Scott Jones]

The good news is that these new Jensen's can be made with a waterproof liner. Also they plan on making other retro gear including the "Bombshelter", which outperformed the more famous "Omnipotent" by Early Winters. The Omnipotent poles broke and the tent collapsed in one particular article I have, while the people with the A-Framed Bombshelter with Ridgepole survived the high winds and heavy snow. They also plan to make the Dr. Expando which was a larger Jensen pack with a unique internal compression strap system to control the load as the supplies were used out of these frameless packs.

I own an original Jensen pack and I just use a waterproof pack cover and everything works just fine. It is a very comfortable carry.

[Alan Wenker]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and this is my first post. I too was intrigued by the Backpacker review of the Jensen from the 1970's. By the time I could afford one the company was long gone. Thankfully the company restarted and I now have a Giant Jensen with a set of side pockets. I've also found two Jensen's on ebay and have managed to pick up a Bombshelter tent as well. Absolutely excellent gear, the giant Jensen really is very comfortable to carry.

If you are into retro gear, check out this site, http://www.oregonphotos.com/Backpacking-Revolution1.html I've been helping Bruce with some of the content for a few years.

[Scott Jones]

I am hoping that they will start making the new Bombshelter soon as well as the Dr. Expando. While they are at it they should design a soft pack for Canyoneering. I would modify the design where the sleeping bag compartment is designed with an internal drybag. The rest would be vinyl with drainage holes. Perhaps a snap over zipper cover for the main body to keep the grit out of the zipper.

[Alan Wenker]

I lost out recently on a Dr. Expando on ebay which was unfortunate as I have seen no others on ebay in 6 years. It would be interesting to know how many packs Rivendell made in their years, I doubt the number is very large. I'll try and post photos of my bombshelter when I figure out photo posting on this site.

[Scott Jones]

I look forward to seeing the pictures of your Bombshelter. Rivendell made some great stuff. Other gear that was fantastic back then was Trailwise, Gerry, Holubar, Class 5, Bugaboo, Down Home, Camp 7, and Early Winters.

Cannondale Tents were outstanding too. I have tried many times on ebay but have never turned one up.

Gear companies come and go, but some of those were around for years. They all went down hill after being purchased by large corporations for a lot of them.

[Alan Wenker]

Here is the link to my photobucket account with pictures of my bombshelter. This will be quicker than trying to figure out how to post photos. The winter picture of the bombshelter is not mine, that was emailed to me by another owner.

http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/meganandrusty/rivendell/

You mentioned Cannondale Tents, here is the link to pictures of my CAnnonadle tents.
http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a249/meganandrusty/cannondale/

CAnnondale made four models of tents and I have 3 of the 4 at this point. I would like to find a Lackawanna, but that may be a tough one to pick up as my guess is that was the least popular of the four.

I collect vintage gear and catalogs and the like. My largest collections are packs and stoves but I also have some tents and bags and clothing items. If anybody is interested in parting with some vintage gear or is looking for something, please let me know.

[Neil Bender]

Snow Lion also made some great down filled gear until they started using sub-standard down and went out of business. I had one of their 'Bering' baffled parkas that was super warm. When the stitching started to go, I recycled the down into a couple of vests and booties, and the remainder went into a friends bag that started going flat. To this day, I haven't seen down with clusters that big. Today's high loft down is low feather, but seems to be from immature birds with small clusters.

[Alan Wenker]

I found a snow lion down bag in a thrift store that is amazing. It was the type with the double zippers over the draft tube and the oversized foot area. I need to mend a small tear and wash it as it's a bit dirty on the outer shell. Once done the bag will loft up like crazy. Down is so much more durable than one gives it credit for, a good washing and it comes out looking like new.

[Scott Jones]

Thank you for posting pictures of the Bombshelter, but also for those Cannondale Tents as well. They appear to be in great conditon. What I found so cool and advanced about the Cannondale Tents was the fact that the canopy and the Fly were integrated together. No loose parts and you did not have to have any fly tie downs. They were a little heavier, but those huge vestibules provided great storage space so the living quarters would be roomy.

I have a Snowline Expedition Sleeping bag with the double zipper system. It was called "Snowline" before they changed to Snow Lion. Use to have two ultralight bags they made. The quality was imperfect with both of those. The one had great down but leaky nylon and the other had great nylon and crummy down. I also have the Snow Lion Super Vest which had double handwarmer pockets and a secret stash pocket on the inside. It still looks good to this day.

Do you have any of the packs made by The Yak Works? I would be interested in obtaining one of those. I might have to make a trip to Seattle and hit the pawn shops looking for one. Is there any store out there that specializes in Retro backpacking Gear?

[Franco Darioli]

Hi Alan
I hope you don't mind me posting a couple of your shots .
Just copy the shots to your desktop and then use the "insert image at cursor' button .
It took me a few weeks to figure this out, I used to up-load from Photobucket before the change. But I love looking at different tent designs, so I persisted.
I discovered the Bombshelter whilst researching different types of A frame designs for a four season shelter. It was somewhat disappointing to find out that "my idea" of using two poles ( trekking poles in my case) and a ridge pole had already been done.
Franco

Rivendell Bombshelter

Cannondale Aroostook(?)

[Alan Wenker]

Thanks for posting the tent photos. You win the prize for correctly guessing the name of the Cannondale tent. The aroostook was a four person model with vestibules front and rear. All Cannondale vestibules open on either side to make it easier to avoid rain and snow while entering and exiting. Cannondale tweaked the designs a bit over time. My aroostook is the oldest of the bunch, for example the slider on the vestibule webbing is metal versus plastic. The aroostook also does not have a stake loop in the middle of the fly and the middle of the vestibule as my other two later-models do.

Scott, you are correct that Cannondale tents run on the heavy side. That said, to this day, they will weather one whale of a storm and you won't feel cramped while waiting for the storm to end.

The Rivendell Bombshelter is an entirely different beast. Although the tent will not blow down, I'd hate to have to share it with someone even in good weather as it is very small. That said, it was meant to be used in specialized mountaineering situations where comfort is irrelevant.

Scot, I do have a Yak Pak, actually I have two. I have a soft pack and also an internal frame pack. The internal frames were made toward the end of their run. Until recently I had a third, but it is on the way to New Zealand at the moment in a trade for some vintage bicycling stuff. I may know someone who has a Yak Pak (he has everything – 13 Moss tents) that he would sell. I'll drop him an email. This store in Seattle may have some vintage gear for sale, http://www.secondascent.com/index.php I've not been there, but I've heard the owner deals in some older stuff.

In the future I plan on doing photo shoots of a variety of Sigg Tourist kits made for the Svea 123, Peak 1, MSR and Borde Bomb as well as copies made by Edleweiss, Camp Ways and Optimus. I'm also planning on shooting photos of my Jensen packs as well as Jensen knockoff's made by Chouinard, Gerry, Wilderness Experience, Camp Ways, Mountain Master, and the Kletterwerks. If you're interested I can post photos when I get these done.

[Franco Darioli]

Hi Alan
First clue : you don't have the Lackawanna
Second clue : the Aroostook is the only one that has a symmetrical design, the front and rear pole and vestibules are the same size
Third clue: you have set up your tents left to right by size

Wabash, 1 person
Susqueanna,2 person
Aroostook , 3 person

As you stated they are heavy, but with the 20/30 dernier fabrics available now they would make a very interesting product.

Posting pictures
After searching through the site I gave up trying to find an "how to section" and started to experiment.
This is how I do it
Have the shot on your desktop
Place the cursor where you want the shot to be , so not here but

here

Hit the insert image at cursor button
Hit the Browse button and find the picture on your desktop
Enter a name for that picture in the description box
Hit upload image
Re position the cursor in the text window (enter)

If you want another picture make sure that you enter a line in between and than repeat
(reposition your cursor)

I know that this started as a pack thread, but I like tents….
Franco

[Arapiles .]

On the subject of ridge-pole tunnel tents, I have a Fairydown snow tent that looks like a Macpac Olympus but has a long ridge-pole that's under pressure so it's curved (i.e., it's not a flat, supported one). Because of this in practice the tent is free-standing, which is kind of unusual for a tunnel tent.

[Arapiles .]

A Jensen pack went for a couple of hundred dollars on eBay a month or two ago.

[Scott Jones]

I couldn't help but laugh at the varying opinions on some of the retro gear we are talking about. Over at the McHale pack website I found this. I don't agree with all of it, but is sure sounds bitter which makes me laugh. Competition is a funny thing…….

"The current frameless pack craze is not new. There was one in the 70s and 80s. I made part of my living back then rebuilding the many frameless pack brands by putting frames back in them. There was the local Yak Pak and the Rivendales and the Ultima Thules, the RORs, the ……., ……. There will always be people building packs that do not work, and always someone to make a pack that does not work that is even lighter, and there will always be people that say how great the packs are! There are still people saying how great the soft packs from the 70s are/where! They were awesome as long as they were empty! The internet is wonderful. You can find people that say good things about whatever item you want."

Anyhow, I had some pictures to post but they must be too big so I will have to resize them. Scanning is not my specialty but I will get them here.

[Alan Wenker]

Here is me with my Giant Jensen on the Superior Hiking Trail some years ago.

The same trip – this is the one of me that is also on the gallery page on Rivendell's web site.

[Alan Wenker]

Scott, my friend does indeed have a Yak Pak. The pack is unused and may still have the tags attached. Does this forum have a private message system, or what is your email address so I can hook you two up?

[Scott Jones]

Alan,

I am heading up on a trip to Seattle. I will look around there first because I would like to be able to "try on" the pack before I buy it. One of the things the inventor of the Yak Pak said was that although the Yak Pak was their signature item, it was small potatoes in terms of sales.

If the pack feels right, then I will then contact you and give the information for you to forward to you friend with the pack.

That X-suspension system on the Yak Pak is fascinating. I wonder how that feels? Have you ever used the ones you purchased? Was it comfortable?

[Alan Wenker]

Scott, I have not had a chance to use my Yak Paks. I've now got so many packs it will take me years to field test all of them. On my next trip I'll likely use a Hine Snowbridge pack. At one point I had a trip planned using a Yak Pak and it wound up getting scrapped. So it goes. I've found soft packs to be wonderfully stable, its the packing part that takes getting used to.

As far as a Yak Pak review, this post by Larry Amkraut on Trailspace is a good read.

http://www.trailspace.com/forums/classifieds/messages/29349.html

[dan mchale]

edited

[Alan Wenker]

Depending upon the application tump lines work very well. Duluth pack still offers tump lines on their packs.

[dan mchale]

edited

[Franco Darioli]

Historically, the idea of carrying a weight on the back is relatively new whilst the custom of carrying loads over the head is a very old custom and usually left to women. Not an arbitrary decision, it improves their posture. ( I miss those days…)
So I am working on a Head Load Support System that indeed has expandable pockets . A big advantage will be that your CamelBak will not need the extra effort required in sucking the water as it will be gravity fed, hence the new official name of CamelTop (no need for silly spelling now )
There are of course many other benefits, for example will make short people appear taller, that also helps with predators ( ladies, think of those unwelcome approaches from testosterone fuelled males)
great for climbers not having any weight pulling back and being able to just access the various bits
dangling from the brim (reinforced for this very purpose)
I would like to use Dan's idea of the bayonet extenders for heavier or bulkier loads, I hope he does not mind.
Franco

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