Alpinist, Rock & Ice and I’m sure others will offer their opinions.

Here at CiloGear, we just say Bravo, guys. That’s pretty cool.

Nice Butt and Better Pack

Of course, here at CiloGear, we always look for the pack pictures, in this case, a well used Dyneema 30L belonging to Doug Shepherd. I just wonder if Doug managed to get it back from the incredibly fit Aaron Mulkey…

Southfork Love from Doug Shepherd on Vimeo.

Wild Red and Black 30L Non-Woven Dyneema WorkSack

-Blake Herrington

With 48 hours remaining in my Patagonian trip, I was frustratingly resigned to spend the final two days waiting out storms, nursing a sore knee, and feeling sorry for myself. That depressing prognostication was altered by what looked like 25 hours of dry weather, timed to allow a last-minute climb. After which, bearing any epic descents or unforeseen delays (those never happen in Patagonia do they?) I would spend the night racing back to town in time for a 6am car out of town.

Mutual Washington friends introduced me to Jon Gleason, a northwest native who had climbed in the range in years past. He suggested the Cerro Torre valley as a good objective, an area of several of the fastest-drying routes in the range. I limped over to Jon’s tent 38 hours before I’d have to leave town in the other direction, and his incredulity at the size of my pack was immediate. I had paired down my alpine kit to 18 pounds, and included it all within the confines of my 30L worksack. I emptied my pack’s contents on the ground to assure John that I did indeed have a sleeping bag and food.

Meanwhile I  pulled the empty pack up over my feet and cinched down the top, simulating the lilliputian bivy sack I planned to use that night. With a 45L or 60L pack I can wiggle the majority of my legs into the space for some extra warmth when sleeping, but with this smaller bag, I wasn’t even able to reach my knees. In lieu of an ice pack, perhaps exposure during the cold night would do my knee some good.

This trip was my first to the Torre Valley, and I had heard nothing but complaints about the 12-mile approach, much of it on the Torre Glacier. My knee felt good and my pack felt almost nonexistent compared with the 40+ pound loads I been carrying elsewhere. Jon and I rolled into Nipo Nino base camp 3 minutes before headlamp-necesitating levels of darkness fell across the valley. The remaining teams were excited to get the next day’s forecast, and we traded stories with Belgians, Spanish, and a The North Face/Sender Films crew of gringos who had climbed and BASE-jumped from El Mocho the day before. The jump had ocured prior to a storm an all-night cluster-f%*k descent, leaving two chopped ropes hanging on the peak. We planned to do this route the next day and quickly headed off to bed. I found an overhanging boulder, wrapped myself in a one-pound sleeping bag, shoved my stinking feet to the bottom of my CiloGear pack, and shivered off to semi-sleep.

The approach and route (El Mocho – The Benitiers – 5.11 A2 ED-) went perfectly, with the day being one of the warmest I experienced in the range.

The follower carried our pack for the climb, with just some food, water, headlamp, and belay jackets inside.

I tried to remain aware of the ticking clock, and we began our rappels from the summit 15 hours before my carpool out of Chalten. We had noticed increasing clouds throughout the day, and wind gusts began to pick up as we cleaned the two stuck ropes off the peak. By the time we hit the slabs beneath our route, the trickles and small cascades had reversed course and now shot up into our faces in wind-assisted defiance of gravity. By the time we reached our camp, Fitzroy was lost in snow clouds and the summit of El Mocho was rapidly fading. We packed  up and skittered down the glacier, happy to be traveling with wind at our backs. Waves of rain slapped at us, washing the accumulated trail dust, granite dust, chalk dust, and tiredness from our hands and faces. By moving steadily we stayed warm through the storm, and even the additional pounds of an added rope and soaked gear carried easily in my 30L bag.

In the end I made it back to town in time for my ride. And as I spread my gear across the airport to dry, I was more impressed than ever with Cilogear’s 30L worksack, even if it doesn’t quite cut it as a bivy bag.

For a humorous look at Patagonia’s social scene, check out: Blake’s Climbing Blog

They’ll be here at the end of February. Yep, that’s right, we’re finally going to sell the damn things.

Forget about WMD. That’s last year…this is NOW…it’s time for NWD!

1. Between 20 and 35% lighter than woven Dyneema.
2. Remarkably abrasion resistant.
3. 200+ pound tear strength.
4. Easily repairable in the unlikely event of a hole.

We blend our woven Dyneema with the NWD to create a whole new league of pack: it’s got superior abrasion resistance where it needs it, and it’s almost ridiculously light in the rest of the bag. It’s not nearly as durable as our woven Dyneema, but it is lighter.

If you have to ask which is better for you, pick the woven Dyneema. If you know that 26 grams will make a difference…it’s gotta be NWD.

And now some more DM for me…

30L WorkSacks

We’re waiting for the new extension material to show up, and then these will be shipping. They’re pretty neat. They’re still the pack that Kelly Cordes calls “my favorite pack ever”, and they’re super light. They’re better than ever…

1. They’re made from 210d Dyneema ripstop. The fabric is truck.
2. The bottom panel and the tool holsters are made from VX42, cause 210d doesn’t belong on the bottom of a pack!
3. The Ninja Pocket is awesome.
4. The shoulder straps have easily removable load lifters for those of us who are old and weak. For ninja sauce types, the white elastic band will conceal where you cut off the damned heavy strap.
5. The Dyneema ones are white.
6. And the new lids are the bomb…

Okay, back to my DM formula…

This is a V4 woven Dyneema pack. It had a little altercation with a bartacking machine, and we are offering it at an insane discount. When this pack comes out, it will cost $700; you can buy this one for $350. It will ship with a lid, frame sheet/pad, and straps.

UPDATE: This pack sold pretty much the same day we posted it. Thanks for your interest!

The bartacking machine put a small hole in the side of the pack. Our experience is that a small flaw like this one does not grow and worsen; a little SeamGrip or ShoeGoo will close it for good. Dyneema fabric is astoundingly strong. We took pains to photograph the hole as carefully as possible; we don’t want anyone to feel misled. The fact is, this pack is a steal at this price, even with the hole; this blogger sorely wishes he had the $350 to buy it. Check out the images below. The yellow arrow and circle indicate the location of the damage. The flaw is about the size of a quarter. Email us with any questions.

We offer the 40 liter Worksack in two distinct versions: the 40L and the 40B. The overall shape, volume, and innovative Cilo Gear systems are identical.

The 40L features a generous stow pocket on the front panel. This pocket is ideal for energy bars, cameras, and the little things you keep needing throughout the day. A Pocket-in-Pocket improves organization even further. Access is easy when you clip the pack in on the back panel haul loop.

AMGA certified guide Marty Molitoris weighs in on his 40L:

The 40L was the perfect size/weight for the objectives—plus being able to compress it allowed for me to use it as my approach pack and the pack I used to climb with. It was big enough to fit all the essentials; small enough to keep from stuffing that “extra” item in. The pocket was especially handy when I used the pack without the lid.

Marty used the 40L recently while passing his AMGA Alpine Exam.

40B Worksack

We introduced the 40B after extensive feedbacka number of top climbers including Mark Twight, Kelly Cordes and Maxime Turgeon. They wanted a smaller bag for “day” trips and general use.  They wanted nothing extraneous, but they wanted the durability of our 60L WorkSacks.

The 40B eliminated the stow pocket and 35 grams.  The addition of the internal load compression strap controls the main compartment contents, and effectively transfers the load for quick, active movement and climbing.

How do you decide between the two? Is 35 grams a big deal?

It comes down to the style of your climb and to your style as a climber. Let’s assume that the pack easily holds all of your gear, but you want better access to some of it and the benefits of the organizational pockets. Then the 40L will help you stay organized, even stripped of the lid for a day’s climb.  On the other hand, perhaps you’re planning to carry over, or simply don’t need any crutches for organization. The 40B carries your bivy gear as well as anything else, while keeping the pack as a simple top loader without any extra pockets.

Need more than 35 grams of weight savings? Then get a 40 in Dyneema…