by Alicia MacLeay
Amid the multitude of internal frames and specialized daypacks debuting at Outdoor Retailer last month were two packs that caught my eye for their individuality.
The TrailFlex is based on a harness with hydration pouch onto which you choose which backpack (panel- or top-loading), waistpack, and gear accessory pouches to attach, where you want those pouches to go, and even at what angle. The idea is that you can design and reconfigure your own pack depending on your activity of the day, be it fly fishing, bird watching, day hiking, backpacking, or even hunting—all on the same harness. The appeal is a less crowded gear closet and one versatile pack that tries (and may succeed) to do it all.
The other pack was the Syncpack, an articulated front pack that mounts on any waist-belted backpack and is supposed to balance your load by moving up to 10 pounds of (easily accessible) gear forward. I briefly tried out the Syncpack at OR and it did cancel out the backward pull. I felt more balanced and immediately improved my posture, until I left the Syncpack booth and had to put my kid carrier with 30-pound son back on my back. I don’t know how many people out there want or need a true front pack (although I’ve seen a number of them on the trail using waistpacks and small daypacks this way), but I can imagine other parents (and photographers, among others) trying it for the load transfer and balance, as well as the increased capacity and quick access.
I’ll be interested to read users’ reviews of the TrailFlex and Syncpack once these packs start getting put to the test.
