UK-made climbing packs

UK-made climbing packs

By Ben Meakin

Crafted for climbers by climbers, these UK-made packs are built to haul gear up vertical worlds with ease. Durable, functional, and ready for every crag.

When you start looking for a new climbing pack, it doesn’t take long to realise that there's a huge crevasse in the market where good quality, affordable climbing packs should be. There just happened a similar shaped crevasse in our range, and our upcoming move to a larger factory meant that we'd have the capacity to fill it.

A load of us at Alpkit are climbers and climbing packs had always been on the radar, the chance to create a pack for climbers, made by climbers being way too good to pass up. Making the packs in our Nottingham factory was a given as it would mean that we'd have full control over the design and product. Everyone was excited, and everyone was full to the brim with ideas.

There were some features of the pack that we all agreed on:

  • Tough seams: Climbing stuff can be heavy! Webbing would be bar-tacked and seams double stitched for toughness,

  • Quality, durable fabric: Climbing packs face all the harsh conditions that we do,

  • Lightweight: Just because climbing gear is heavy, it doesn't mean your pack should be.

The problem was that 'climber' encompasses a lot of different people with different ideas and requirements and, as a result, we ended up with the mammoth task of creating a pack that was ideal for anything from an evening boulder at Stanage to Scottish winter climbing. That was quite a lot to ask from one pack, so one pack became two packs: the Chamois and the Ibex.

The Chamois was to be the ultimate all-round crag bag; the only crag bag you'll ever need whether you're sea cliff tradding, bouldering at Stanage, sport climbing in the Alps, or just heading down to your local wall. A big point for discussion among the team was size. What's the perfect sized bag for taking your rock shoes and chalk down to the local wall and for lugging your rack to the crag? Hmmm. how long's a piece of string?

It turns out the piece of string is 45 litres long with webbing on the outside: big enough to fit you rack, rope, and a bagel, with room on the outside to attach your helmet and smelly shoes. Extra touches, like compression straps, would make it more compact for those streamlined days.

Rucksacks and backpacks

  • SALE

alpkit atom packable back pack in black alpkit atom packable back pack in blue

Atom

Ultralight 13-litre day pack, folds away into its own pocket
£18.99 £23.99
  • SALE

Gourdon 20L alpkit Gourdon 20 dry bag backpack in black back

Gourdon 20L

20-litre waterproof backpack with bungee cords and mesh pockets
£30.99 £36.99
  • SALE

alpkit Gourdon 25 dry bag backpack in chilli red alpkit Gourdon 25 dry bag backpack in chilli red back

Gourdon 25L

25-litre roll-top waterproof dry bag backpack with no fuss
£32.99 £39.99
  • SALE

alpkit Gourdon 30 dry bag backpack in black alpkit Gourdon 30 dry bag backpack in black back

Gourdon 30L

30-litre waterproof rucksack with mesh pockets for extra capacity
£34.99 £42.99
  • SALE

alpkit vora 6l bum bag hip pack in teal alpkit vora hip pack - action

Vora 6L

6-litre hip pack for carrying riding and running essentials
£33.99 £39.99

Escape Hip Pack

Hip pack: UK made, weatherproof, 3L
£89.99
  • SALE

alpkit artlu 10l running backpack in nemo blue alpkit artlu 10l running backpack in nemo blue back

Artlu 10L

10-litre hyrdation vest giving secure and stable space for essential kit
£39.99 £49.99
  • SALE

alpkit gnarl 15 backpack day sack in dark grey alpkit gnarl 15L pack - action

Gnarl 15L

15-litre multi-activity daypack that's lightweight for high intensity
£32.99 £40.99
  • SALE

skytrail 14 litre mountain bike backpack in chilli red front skytrail 14 litre mountain bike backpack in chilli red back

Skytrail 14L

14-litre mountain bike backpack built for hydration and comfort on the bike
£54.99 £64.99
  • SALE

Alpkit presta 25l day pack in chilli red Alpkit presta 25l day pack in chilli red back

Presta 25L

25-litre multi-activity daypack that's lightweight, stable and streamlined
£58.99 £69.99
  • SALE

alpkit Idris 25L mountain marathon pack in dark grey alpkit Idris 25L mountain marathon pack in dark grey front

Idris 25L

25-litre ultra marathon backpack with space for overnight kit and comfort on the run
£63.99 £74.99
  • SALE

 ledge 35L back pack in nemo blue  ledge 35L back pack in nemo blue back

Ledge 35L

35-litre hiking backpack for lightweight 4-season hillwalking and scrambling
£69.59 £86.99

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

=