Parbat EL 55L and El27L

 

Functionality and simplicity have always been the leading in factor when it comes to
packs or equipment I use when guiding or alpine climbing. A simple tube style pack, minimal or no pockets, and easy axe attachment points have been the key to what I use.A large factor in my decisions for what pack to use is also the base weight. There has not been a pack in the last five year that I haven't trimmed the fat off or added components to, to fit my needs. That is until I began using the Parbat EL line.

Parbat offers a no bullshit pack that does exactly what it is designed to do. carry well and take abuse. Since the end of April/ begin May I have been putting both the El55 and EL27 through the wringer in Washington. Some Stats on both of these, the EL27 weighs in at a feather weight 540g (just over a pound in freedumb units) and the El55 sits at 620g. When empty the pack feels like nothing I'm pretty sure the packaging it came in plus the info cards weigh more. Now the real magic in  these packs lies within the construction, the majority of the pack the material is heat sealed together. This process is the material itself bonding, not bonding it with some type of adhesive, hence a bomb proof bond with way less failure points throughout the pack. Said material is ALUULA, a product from the aeronautical field with one goal, to make the strongest and lightest material possible. They bolster a strength 8x that of steel for its weight. Parbats packs utilize the Graflyte composites throughout the body of the pack with the duralyte used as the base/bottom of the pack. This was another aspect that stuck out to me. Often in the world of fast and light our trade off becomes durability. The dyneema packs that have filled the outdoors the last years often fail around the bottom of the packs where the most friction happens. This is also where the seam tape tends to peel or delamination begins. 

When it comes to wear and tear of products, my full time guiding schedule and free time being spent in the mountains has meant to burn through equipment. Trail runners I'm lucky if I get a full season out of them, working back to 30 day trips with nols or running laps of Rainier grinds most equipment into the ground. At this point in the season, around the half way mark, there is not much wear to be seen on these packs. The system I utilize is that the 27L acts as my dry bag/summit bag inside of my 55L. The Loops on the lower bottom make walking in a harness with this pack super comfy due to me being able to clip my glacier kit and pro there but still be able to to easily grab and unclip the gear. The same goes for the application of these packs in a ski mountaineering setting. My splitboard carries wonderfully even on the 27L version. The simplicity of the attachment systems on the sides of the packs and the axe attachments make for fast transitions. The only qualm some may have, the last few seasons of packs with different companies a rise in the exterior crampon attachment point has been a trend. I prefer having as little as possible on the outside of my pack and don't miss having this option. Generally when I am carrying a heavier load the dry bag on the side of my pack would be carrying the crampons and needed layers and snacks. The 55L has load limit of 19kg but easily carries more than this well although not recommended it is more than strong enough and often when guiding, the nature of things is I will end up carrying client gear.

The last major point of these packs is that in a world of greenwashing, this material is legitimately mendable and recyclable. Parbat uses 98% of each textile element minimizing overall production waste, and the material itself can be recycled into many other materials. Since the packs are made of moving and fixed elements this offers easy repairs from regular wear and tear.

More info on the materials and Parbat

https://aluula.com/our-story/

https://parbat.it/en/

* I am currently an athlete with Parbat and testing equipment, I have bias but strongly believe in these packs and materials.