Ultralight Retro Gear – Jensen Packs

[EndoftheTrail]

[dan mchale]

edited

[Scott Jones]

Alan, the Trailwise catalog with the Ultima Thule was the 75/76 catalog. Of course Trailwise had their own line and this was the pack made famous by Colin Fletcher who passed away a few weeks ago.

I am thrilled that we have a celebrity poster in Dan McHale, here on the forum. I still detect some bitterness :), but with sarcastic humor also, but am glad to hear that you admit to the fact that you own a Rivendell pack. I have to admit that the hat with pockets idea had me laughing. Jon Krakhauer (probably spelled his name wrong) raved about his Rivendell and what a wonderful pack it was. Backpacker, gave it a great review.

I have read pro and con about all packs, including McHale packs. Everyone is going to have an opinion and that is actually fun.You can walk down any trail and see an array of various brands, including the vintage equipment

I will be posting more pictures soon of the Dr. Expando pack as well as the Bombshelter. I've also got the old A-16 catalog. They had a goosedown sleeping bag made for them by Snow Lion called the "Impact" which was pretty cool looking in the photo. Famous for it's tulip bulb foot section. Also the most disastrous product of A-16 which was their tents. They looked cool, but the poles broke and the walls leaked.

You can walk down any trail and see an array of various brands, including the vintage equipment

[Alan Wenker]

This week I emailed Bruce at Oregon Photos scans of various Trailwise catalog photos for updates to his web site.

I find vintage gear fun to use. For me this is gear I wanted to buy in the day, but did not have any money. Outside of weight savings modern gear (packs, tents & bags) hasn't changed much. In today's world there are more options, especially in clothing, and one can fine tune a load easier than in yesteryear by selecting more specific items for a particular trip. Raingear is certainly better, and lighter, than ever. LED lights are clearly an improvement over old flashlights. Most of my trips involve some old, some new.

[dan mchale]

Scott: I need to clarify that the Rivendells and Ultima Thules and other packs of that type that I rebuilt were not rebuilt because I thought it would be fun or interesting to do. I had a repair business/internal frame pack business at the time and local shops would send people to me to see if the packs could be fixed. People begged me to to put support into them so I did, for the money. After I moved to Seattle and a larger market I refused to modify those packs any longer. Like I say on my site, Dana made a pack like that in his Kletterworks Brand and when that went under or whatever it did, he came back as the Dana brand, and the packs had a very similar styling but had a frame system and padded hip-belt. The rest is history. The way I understand the rest of the history is that Dana actually designed the pack to sell to Marmot but Marmot rejected the new pack so Dana went out on his own with the new Dana brand. Please correct me anyone if I am wrong.

[Alan Wenker]

Dana's Terraplane was once described to me as a "Jensen on steroids." Unlike a Jensen the pack had side compression straps as well as a foam stiffener in the back. Like anything else, some loved them and some did not. I recall the Kletterwerks being featured in Marmot catalogs and don't know who owned what. The packbag style Dana started with the Kletterwerks has remained essentially the same throughout Dana Designs and now Mystery Ranch. I have a Kletterwerks Terraplane and the pack is built like a tank.

One aspect of soft packs that seems to be forgotten is that there is a finite load carrying limit to them. I'd not wish to try to carry 75 pounds in a soft pack. At some point the benefits of a frame will outweigh the detriments of the frame. I can't say where that weight limit lies and the limit may well vary from individual to individual.

As long as their are multiple choices of pack styles and sizes and price points the consumer wins.

[dan mchale]

I hardly think 75 lbs is the point where packs need support. Support is probably a better word than frame since they vary so much in design, like the Granite Gear packs.

What is it about the Kletterworks pack that is built like a tank and the Rivendell is not, if that is what you mean. Wasn't the Kletterworks pack made of 500 cordura? Can you post a photo of it? Also, we should distinguish between Dana's packbag 'style' VS. his frame designs that evolved through that period.

[Alan Wenker]

I did not mean to imply the Rivendell products were poorly made, in fact quite the opposite. Rivendell's products were very well built. The Kletterwerks just took durability to a higher level. My terraplane was made out of 1000 cordura with a heavier bottom, likely ballistics cloth. The Kletterwerks used to say in their ads, "if you can find a better made pack I'll buy it for you."

I do have pictures somewhere of the Terraplane and will post when I get find the picture.

[dan mchale]

It's funny how these forums go. I know the Rivendells were well made. I was wondering what 'tank' meant. Tank can mean way over built too. I remember the Kletter packs as being well made but not especially heavy. My Rivendell is 1000 cordura also.

[Alan Wenker]

The 75 pound weight I threw out previously was simply to illustrate a point.

In the mean time, I found the terraplane photos easier than I would have guessed.

The blue part at the bottom is the heavier fabric, the rust is 1000 cordura.

[dan mchale]

Thanks much. That one does not have a foam back on either side of the divider inside does it?

[Alan Wenker]

Dan, this does have a foam back. There are two verticle sleeves on either side of the divider. I believe the foam is removable and the divider is zippered so it can be removed as well.

[Scott Jones]

Can you post one of your Yak Pak or one from your catalog?

[Alan Wenker]

The yak pak photos are in the other thread. In the mean time here is a Kletterwerks Terraplane review from Backpacking Journal.

Here's a review in Wilderness Camping.

I'm out of town for a week and will have to pick this up after I return. It's been a great deal of fun taking a walk down memory lane.

[Scott Jones]

Thanks for posting all those pictures of the Yak Pak. That brings back a flood of old memories. Use to have quite a few of their catalogs at one time. I will post a couple more of the Jensen Packs for you.

and another picture on how to load the Jensen

[Alan Wenker]

Scott, the black and white Rivendell photos are great. Do you know the year of your catalog? My catalog is in color and I believe one of the last years before they went under, maybe 1980 or so.

[Scott Jones]

My catalog states that it is the winter of 78/79 Rivendell Catalog. It is all black and white.

Do you have pictures of the Super Yak Pak? Post those if you could please with price and description if possible.

I will be posting the Camp 7 system that Rivendell was promoting in conjunction with their packs soon.

[Alan Wenker]

Scott, I posted the Yak Pak photos in the Alpine Designs thread as the rest of the Yak Pak information was there as well. These threads have merged a bit.

[Scott Jones]

I have been looking to obtain a pack from the late seventies/early eighties that taunted it's X-frame construction. I think the company was out of Berkeley California and was called Synergy Works or something like that. You wouldn't happen to own one of those packs do you?

[Alan Wenker]

I do indeed have a synergy works pack as well as one of their gore tex jackets. Mine is a single compartment panel loader with 4 snap on side pockets and one large snap on front pocket. I do not recall the model name. I don't have any photos, nor do I have any of their catalogs scanned.

The company was from Oakland and the original owners live (or at least did several years ago) on a sail boat near Port Townsend, Washington. A local outfitter there had some new, old stock inventory some years ago. I had thought about buying a pack from them, but ended up getting mine on ebay. I may still have the phone number if you are interested.

[Christopher Chupka]

My only piece of retro gear are my old salopettes. Original soft shell with a wool/stretch nylon blend. Navy colored polypro elastic at knees, nice gray color wool with bright red nylon knee and seat patches. A zipper runs vertical from the chest to the lower back. They were made by Summit Research who made all sorts of bullet proof clothing.

I check eBay occasionally for any of their stuff but I can't find anything.

[Scott Jones]

I reposted this for you Alan since it seemed awful small the last time.

Could you post the name of the Outfitter or store that carries those Synergy packs or the phone number. Maybe they still have a few in stock.

[Alan Wenker]

Scott, the store in Port Townsend which had synergy works packs is called Sport Townsend, (360) 379-9711. My information is a couple of years old so I have no idea if they have any left. If you strike out there I do have a friend who has one for sale.

Thanks for posting the larger photo of the Camp 7 system.

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