I know it's not the point of the story, but if you need gear repaired, try Rainy Pass Repair. They fixed a beloved but irreplaceable (discontinued, manufacturer went bankrupt) pack for me. Similarly, I sent a pair of boots to Dave Page, Cobbler for resoling and am thrilled by the repair.
Not affiliated with either, but I am a happy customer.
I tried this once, and failed. By the time a major seam of a well-made backpack fails, they are all, about to fail. My backpack was 5Y old and was in the "wearout" phase of life, where everything fails at once. Replacing an important zipper completely (seams had failed, not zipper itself) only gave my pack another 6 months of life. Yes, a shoe repair shop is the right place to go, but $90/yr is an expensive backpack indeed!
I currently have a Yellow Columbia half-track and the quality is unreal, I've used it every day for 6Y, with laptop+clothes+gear, no damage yet!
Another alternative is to buy quality in the first place. I spent around $100 on a Patagonia backpack, and it’s been in everyday use for over 6 years and is still fine. If it does fail, Patagonia has an excellent repair program.
I have noticed that many "quality" brands tend to introduce lower quality lines as they grow in size. Perhaps as they hire more business folks and the founders becomes further and further removed from the operation of the company. At first glance the lower quality line can be hard to tell apart from the higher quality products.
Also, price does not necessarily determine quality so it pays to be learn some of the telltale signs of higher quality products such as the stitching and materials used.
This. I used to carry Fjällräven backpacks. That brand is/was basically Sweden’s Patagonia. If you bought a Kånken model backpack in the eighties, it would last forever. Then sometime in the 00s they moved production to Asia. Guess what happened to the quality …
I bought a Targus laptop backpack 19 years ago, during freshman year of college. I have used it almost daily since then, carrying not just laptops but all kinds of other loads: clothing, snacks, books, you name it. I have traveled internationally. I've taken it with me to rugged hiking trips. Anything you can imagine.
It's still in fantastic condition. Never had to repair it, except for one time when one of the strap clips got crushed by my car's door.
Imagine that: a backpack, almost daily heavy use, carrying all kinds of stuff in it, and it almost never required repair.
I'm 100% sure they don't make them like that anymore.
I use a Peak Design Messenger bag daily and it's in absolutely perfect condition after years of commuting, international travel, holidays etc. Their backpacks are built to the same standard.
That's what I did. After faffing about with various cheap bags from a variety of places, I heard about Tom Bihn's backpacks. I went to their showroom in Seattle, tried on a few backpacks, and left with one[0] that fit nicely against my back and had all of the pockets I could want.
That was four (five?) years ago and that bag has been on multiple vacations and work trips and carried every day by bus and train and walking, in the rain and snow and dry, with nothing but a little dirt.
I've had a pair of Tom Bihn's bags for 10+ years now, and they're still going strong.
The shoulder pad on the little messenger bag is going, but that's a wear item, and the rest of the bag is totally solid. The backpack is still as good as when I got it.
> The manufacturer of my backpack, for example, offers a sort of warranty, to communicate to me the alignment of their values with my own (for a durable product).
If you’re thinking about sustainability policy, one idea might be to require warranties like this one for all material objects. This would force companies to internalize the cost of goods that wear out quickly and incentivize them to create more durable products.
It may sound radical, but I’m convinced that’s the general direction we need. If you sell a non consumable/perishable object, you should be required at the very least to accept the good back from the customer at no cost to them, and recycle/reuse/dispose of it properly. Requiring 5-10 year warranties or more is also something we should consider. I’m not sure what the exact answer would look like, but those directions seem like the right way to get ourselves out of the huge landfill/electronic waste hills we’ve buried ourselves under.
In Norway Stormberg has a deposit scheme (panteordning). If you have one of their jackets you can return it to them and get NOK 50 in return just like returning a bottle or can to the supermarket.
I spent $400+ on an arcteryx backpack 20+ years ago. Last summer, I hiked the Cape Wrath "Trail" in the Scottish Highlands. It continues to be flawless.
I wrote to the company afterwards to thank them for a product that still works better than I could imagine, and in fact is better than any product they make today (at least for the purposes of a 17 day backcountry trip with almost no resupply).
Sadly, one of the reasons I bought the Arcteryx at the time was that they were still manufactured in north American (BC). This is no longer the case, and from my inspection of their current products, while they are still superb in comparison to the competition, they don't really do well in comparison to the late 90's versions.
I had a similar issue with Kelty. My old one from the late 90s lasted 20 years and had amazing craftsmanship. I use my backpack every day for commuting on bike in all sorts of weather. The old one was amazing, with thick nylon and robust zippers and straps.
The same model from 2016 only lasted me a few years before it failed. It was super thin with these weenie zippers, and obnoxious doodads.
It's actually not economics. What if I set up on a sidewalk in SF (you pick which one) with a heavy-duty sewing machine and offer to fix people's backpacks for a dollar or two? That question should get you closer to what is actually going on.
It would have taken less time and money to just sew it by hand. You can use scrap material, or order fabric from ripstopbytheroll.com (a popular supplier for anything MYOG).
I buy most of my long distance hiking gear from US cottage shops which have great service but sometimes you have to mend your pack or tarp yourself on the field. It's quite easy once you get into the habit of doing it early rather than letting it disintegrate into nothingness.
> It was funded, however, by companies like Philip Morris, Anheuser-Busch, PepsiCo, and Coca-Cola, and it’s goal was to “confuse the public narrative regarding waste, and distract from the corporations and manufacturers creating the litter and waste” (wikipedia).
I looked for this part on the linked wikipage and didn't find it. I looked at the edit history and it turns out that this wikipage is subject to a PR fight and the account DoBeautifulThings keeps removing parts that may be too critical and adding things that put it in a positive light. The source for the quote was this recording: https://www.npr.org/2019/09/04/757539617/the-litter-myth
After a lot of back ache and destroyed backpacks, I found a backpack from Crumpler, model Sheep Scarer. I carried it everywhere for over 10 years, hiking, working, travelling. It was very practical, comfortable, surprisingly weather and theft proof, and basically indestructible. Unbelievable bang for the buck.
The overall design was great but one of the key element is the shoulder straps that were tied at the front of the bag, not back-side. This was what made it theft-proof and extremely comfortable as it would push it towards your back, and more so with added weight, because physics.
Unfortunately I lost it (luckily it was mostly empty), and they don’t make it anymore. I’ve been unable to find a decent backpack til then.
> The overall design was great but one of the key element is the shoulder straps that were tied at the front of the bag, not back-side. This was what made it theft-proof and extremely comfortable as it would push it towards your back, and more so with added weight, because physics.
Could you elaborate on this? I don't see anything special from photos.
Notice how the zipper is behind the shoulder straps. When worn, the bag can only be opened ajar, and the zipper operated only with much difficulty, which makes any attempt at stealing blatantly obvious.
Also this makes the tension from shoulder straps apply to the outermost fabric structure of the backpack, whose weight will therefore make it press against your back instead of pulling backwards on shoulder straps due to the overhang of the typical backpack design. The bag naturally rests on your shoulder and stays close to your back all the way instead of pulling you back on shoulders and pressing against your lower back only.
41 comments
[ 4.3 ms ] story [ 105 ms ] threadNot affiliated with either, but I am a happy customer.
I currently have a Yellow Columbia half-track and the quality is unreal, I've used it every day for 6Y, with laptop+clothes+gear, no damage yet!
I have noticed that many "quality" brands tend to introduce lower quality lines as they grow in size. Perhaps as they hire more business folks and the founders becomes further and further removed from the operation of the company. At first glance the lower quality line can be hard to tell apart from the higher quality products.
Also, price does not necessarily determine quality so it pays to be learn some of the telltale signs of higher quality products such as the stitching and materials used.
It's still in fantastic condition. Never had to repair it, except for one time when one of the strap clips got crushed by my car's door.
Imagine that: a backpack, almost daily heavy use, carrying all kinds of stuff in it, and it almost never required repair.
I'm 100% sure they don't make them like that anymore.
I use a Peak Design Messenger bag daily and it's in absolutely perfect condition after years of commuting, international travel, holidays etc. Their backpacks are built to the same standard.
https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/everyday-bags/
That was four (five?) years ago and that bag has been on multiple vacations and work trips and carried every day by bus and train and walking, in the rain and snow and dry, with nothing but a little dirt.
0 - This is the one I got: https://www.tombihn.com/products/synapse-25
The shoulder pad on the little messenger bag is going, but that's a wear item, and the rest of the bag is totally solid. The backpack is still as good as when I got it.
If you’re thinking about sustainability policy, one idea might be to require warranties like this one for all material objects. This would force companies to internalize the cost of goods that wear out quickly and incentivize them to create more durable products.
It may sound radical, but I’m convinced that’s the general direction we need. If you sell a non consumable/perishable object, you should be required at the very least to accept the good back from the customer at no cost to them, and recycle/reuse/dispose of it properly. Requiring 5-10 year warranties or more is also something we should consider. I’m not sure what the exact answer would look like, but those directions seem like the right way to get ourselves out of the huge landfill/electronic waste hills we’ve buried ourselves under.
See https://www.stormberg.com/no/om-stormberg/baerekraft/panteor...
or via Google Translate for those who can't read Norwegian https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=no&tl=en&u=https%3...
It helped establish Patagonia's brand, but doesn't seem to have done anything to the broader clothing industry.
For those who care, however, it's not too hard to learn to fix things ourselves with a little practice. Especially for non-tech products.
I wrote to the company afterwards to thank them for a product that still works better than I could imagine, and in fact is better than any product they make today (at least for the purposes of a 17 day backcountry trip with almost no resupply).
Sadly, one of the reasons I bought the Arcteryx at the time was that they were still manufactured in north American (BC). This is no longer the case, and from my inspection of their current products, while they are still superb in comparison to the competition, they don't really do well in comparison to the late 90's versions.
The same model from 2016 only lasted me a few years before it failed. It was super thin with these weenie zippers, and obnoxious doodads.
https://imgur.com/a/wmIggaz
I bought a new Vertx backpack a few months ago, and the craftsmanship looks great and is working well so far.
https://vertx.com/gamut-2-0-backpack
B) you make much less than minimum wage?
I buy most of my long distance hiking gear from US cottage shops which have great service but sometimes you have to mend your pack or tarp yourself on the field. It's quite easy once you get into the habit of doing it early rather than letting it disintegrate into nothingness.
As an hobbyists backpack maker, who has made backpacks with padding on vintage domestic sewing machines it could have been repaired with the know how.
I looked for this part on the linked wikipage and didn't find it. I looked at the edit history and it turns out that this wikipage is subject to a PR fight and the account DoBeautifulThings keeps removing parts that may be too critical and adding things that put it in a positive light. The source for the quote was this recording: https://www.npr.org/2019/09/04/757539617/the-litter-myth
Here is an edit from them that removes this part (2019-10-03): https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Keep_America_Beau...
A revert of the change (2019-10-03): https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Keep_America_Beau...
The change is back in (2019-10-04): https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Keep_America_Beau...
Another change that reverts some lobbying edits (2019-09-12): https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Keep_America_Beau...
If you want to see the wikipage version which contained the quote, here it is: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Keep_America_Beau...
Lobbying on Wikipedia is real.
As to the anti-littering / "crying Indian" burden shift PR campaign, see Annie Leonard's article "Moving from Individual Change to Societal Change":
http://www.pfree.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Moving-fro...
Updated the post with some of this research y'all did: https://s3.amazonaws.com/4rk/screen-shot-2020-03-22-10.25.27... . Thanks again for sharing the edit history you found!
The overall design was great but one of the key element is the shoulder straps that were tied at the front of the bag, not back-side. This was what made it theft-proof and extremely comfortable as it would push it towards your back, and more so with added weight, because physics.
Unfortunately I lost it (luckily it was mostly empty), and they don’t make it anymore. I’ve been unable to find a decent backpack til then.
Could you elaborate on this? I don't see anything special from photos.
And also why don't you buy a second hand one?
Here:
- https://balotot.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Crumpler-Shee...
- http://unhunter13.free.fr/forum/crumpler/sac_ouvert.jpg
- http://forum.tt-hardware.com/fichiers/uploads/upload_6_3/fer...
- https://s3.bukalapak.com/img/8108548365/w-1000/IMG2019011313...
Notice how the zipper is behind the shoulder straps. When worn, the bag can only be opened ajar, and the zipper operated only with much difficulty, which makes any attempt at stealing blatantly obvious.
Also this makes the tension from shoulder straps apply to the outermost fabric structure of the backpack, whose weight will therefore make it press against your back instead of pulling backwards on shoulder straps due to the overhang of the typical backpack design. The bag naturally rests on your shoulder and stays close to your back all the way instead of pulling you back on shoulders and pressing against your lower back only.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSGpH_7...
> And also why don't you buy a second hand one?
Ultimately I may, but they've been out of production for years and hard to source around here, so I tried a number of other backpacks first.