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For the Journey - Packing the gear - part 9 of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

by Mike McNamee Published 01/10/2014

In terms of design, the Tilopa is a simple cylinder with a zipper-closed top, a front pocket, two base pockets and lots of fastening straps - indeed the bag is festooned in straps and anchor points; you can attach anything within reason and if it is too large to fit inside the pre-existing loops, there are accessory 'Gatekeeper' straps in two sizes - they will fit right around a small tent or sleeping bag. More typically you will wish to carry a tripod.

There are straps at the side and a vestige of a pocket at the side-bottom of the sack to drop the legs into. This has the supreme advantage of keeping the tripod, the heaviest piece of kit you might have, close to your back with less leverage than placing it right on the back of the pack as far away from your spine as it is possible to be. This is the one thing I might query about the design, a pocket large enough for a Sigg water bottle on one side might have been better (you could clip one to the shoulder or waist straps).

Talking of water, the Tilopa is fitted with a hydration pouch and clips for the mouth piece. Personally I dislike hydration packs, the modern human is obsessed with drinking water all the time, a victim of advertising from bottled water companies who have a lot to answer for on the beaches around our coast (rant over, but see right!). The hydration packs are designed to refresh the user without even the need to stop. Surely taking a pause, having a sip of water from a bottle and removing the pack from your back is one of the joys of mountain photography? If things are so intense that you don't have time to stop, you're doing it all wrong - as golfer, Ben Hogan said, "Stop and smell the roses you may only pass this way once." The hydration pouch also has the compartment for a laptop which swallowed our 17" model with ease. Hydration packs and laptops/camera are an uneasy combination and there is an option for a sealed bag to double-house it.

The base of the sack is reinforced with a double thickness waterproof material (the bag has a 20-year warranty by the way). This contains a zipped pouch for a rain cover (essential accessory in the mountains of the UK) and a 'pack it in pack it out' well-sealed pouch as well (don't ask!).

The fibreglass stiffening frame is fitted to the inside of the sack to maintain the shape of the pack. The back opening, a key feature of using this pack, precludes airflow-type solutions and also stops the use of back-length adjustment devices found in mountain sacks. This is a design compromise which ensures clean shoulder straps while providing good access to the camera gear. Indeed, if you keep the waist belt fastened but loose, you can swivel the bag around to your front, allow it to flop down and the access the contents without even putting the bag down.

The waist belt is the key component for comfort of a heavy pack, it does after all support the majority of the weight. The Tilopa belt is well padded and equipped with rear-fitted adjustment straps as well as a centreadjusting front buckle. The belt also has a number of accessory webbing loops for standard pouches (they are MOLLE compatible, the specification used for military, law enforcement and rescue services).


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1st Published 01/10/2014
last update 18/07/2022 16:31:45

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Updated 18/07/2022 16:31:45 Last Modified: Monday, 18 July 2022