Black Wolf - McKinley

  

What is in a brand?

Why do these catchy names and logos trigger something deep within us that says "I must have...this is the best product available and will change how I experience life.

Anyone who knows me know I'm a marketing executives perfect target.  If I can be convinced (which is easy) with an inspirational ad campaign or a funny slogan or even see someone famous with one, I am buying it.

I remember about 8-9 years ago when Enrique Iglesias started date Anna Kournikova, Enrique wore a blue Abercrombie t-shirt with the head of a Indian chief patch on the chest.  I have one like that now.  Somehow I feel like I am dating Anna Kournikova every time I wear it.

Back to the outdoors.  Over the years I have found that one brand keeps pulling on my product strings and makes me feel like everything they make I have to buy.  The name itself makes me think of extreme adventures, wildlife and adrenalin.  Of course it says those things it an outdoor gear company but above all other brands I can't explain why, I just want to buy all their gear and its starts with the love affair with the brand itself.

Looking through my camping gear I already use some of the sleeping products, bags etc but in preparation for this trip I started to visit a couple of local hiking shops around my home & work.  I also  have been reading up online on what weight is suitable to carry over long adventures such as the AAWT and also spoke to my Chiropractor, Dr Michael Haworth of Rosanna Chiropractic.

After reviewing all the advise I have decided that the 1/3rd of my body weight rule will apply to me on my quest.  At 96 kilos I am able to take a maximum of 32 kilos on my back.  But seriously who really wants to carry that much on their back for 35- 40 days!  So my research began into products that are both durable for the journey as well as lightweight so as to reduce the energy required to complete our daily objectives.   

                                                    

At best guess I figured a 75 litre pack would do my purposes fine and had tried on a number of them before asking a local shop to get my in a Black Wolf 75 McKinley.  The guys at Aussie Disposals at Hawthorn were really helpful and when my pack arrived in shop assisted me to pack it full of similar gear as my own to really give some weight to it as I tried it on.  It became very apparent that I in fact would be better of with a 85 litre pack which they also ordered in for me without any charges or fuss.  

Of course these days there are features which most packs include as standard, hydration compatible internal pocket, external headphone ports, built in rain cover, water proof zips and adjustable everything. But beyond the great branding and standard inclusions why have I decided on Black wolfs McKinley?

It came down to 3 things, comfort, access and a clever addition.

Comfort, the Mckinley comes with a Micro Glide Gel Harness.  Whilst normal harness padding materials breakdown, the expectation on this harness is that the gel will continue to move and form with you and provide the cushioning long term that material based padding will not.  I also found the waist strap portion of the harness to be very comfortable.  As I want as much of the weight being carried on my hips as possible (off my shoulders) this was very important.

Access, the Mckinley comes with a front entry dual zip to the main of 2 compartments.  My thoughts behind this is that when setting up camp I would rather just open the face of the pack and grab everything I need instead of having to completely unpack in the search for my cutlery set at the bottom of the bag!

Clever addition, is some what of a novelty but what can I say I'm a sucker for something a little different.

On the face of the bag are 2 walking pole holders for my poles.  When I'm not used them to cross rivers or pull myself up a climb I can simply clip them to my pack with the convenience of knowing everything    

is on my pack still and I have not left anything behind.

Short story is that this thursday my father is coming over from Adelaide and we are going to go out for a couple days to have a look at the first couple days of the AAWT from Walhalla and I can't wait to try out the new bag and some of the other new gear I have recently bought.  Further demonstrations and write up will follow on the other products and why I have bought them.