The World's Best Caving Pack

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The World's Best Caving Pack

Postby cavescom » Sep 1, 2007 10:48 pm

The best cave pack in my opinion comes in three sizes...see it here
http://tinyurl.com/28lq7e . UPDATE: Howies new packs are not near the same dimensions as the older. The older pack style
I use is 30" tall and 9" round.

I have a few suggestions and a little about the pack below.

Howies "New" Vampire packs are sewn oblong so they sit flatter on the
back and as you will find out they wear seemingly forever. My first
one is still going strong after many years and many drags in low,
high abrasion trips loaded down with gear. The material is a senior
ballistic nylon that is coated with a yellow urethane coating on the
outside and an additional urethane laminate on the inside.

Suggestions:
If you order Howies Vampire tell him you would like this....
1) Have him sew the bottom on tucked out and triple sew the
protective skirt on using that outward tuck to secure it.
2) Make sure you order the pack with detachable straps....the straps
Howie sends with it aren't worth much.
3) Order straps with heavy duty buckles from Onrope and tell them you
want 33" straps from buckle to buckle when fully extended. By having
these extra long straps it will allow the pack to ride low when fully
loaded and allow you to flip it to either side to go through tight
spots without having to hardly ever remove the pack. This
customization alone will save huge amounts of energy on a long low
trip!
4) For those hauling heavy loads in difficult(crawlin caves) I
recommend where the skirt is sewn to take Shoe Goo/Plumbers Goop and
cover the leading edge of the skirt that may get caught and also
spreading a light coat over the whole skirt which will protect the
stitching.
5) One final thing is on the Cover photo below(which is a photo of
Howies newest Vampire) you will notice 2 attachment points for the
pack straps.....initially I thought that would be a good idea but
after using it in Zicafoose my advice is to order the Vampire with a
Single attachement ring(see here http://cavediggers.com/photos/Middle%20Earth/05-03-03%20ME%20pics/slides/Mark%20Passerby%20Recon%20new%20toy.html ) for the
top strap attachment point. The 2 point attachment with the longer
straps tend to come off the shoulders too easy when making ducking
moves etc.

Howies Pack will be featured on the cover of our Issue 10
http://www.cavediggers.com/Pack.jpg The Vampire is great for regular sport
trips or big enough to haul camp gear and all the personal gear that
goes along with such a trip.
Hope that helps a bit.

Mark Passerby, Cavediggers.com

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cavescom
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