Lowe Alpine turned 50 this year an impressive milestone, and one they’ve reached by consistently making some of the best backpacks on the market. Since the very first bag released by Greg and Jeff Lowe in 1967, their focus has been the same – to make the best kit possible for hikers, climbers and mountaineers.
It was perhaps inevitable that they’d make good kit for climbers, after all the boys have been using climbing gear their whole lives. Their father, a renowned American alpinist in his own right, took them up the Exum Ridge route on Grand Teton at the tender ages of 9 and 7. Jeff, the younger of the two, was the youngest climber ever to tackle the route at the time.
To celebrate their 50th, the brand are putting a whole range of rucksacks, including the brand new Superlight Ascent technical climbing pack (also included in the Summer Outdoor 100), as well as more casual retro-inspired models like this, which is designed for day hikes or just carrying around town.
“Whether you live in the middle of Shoreditch or the outskirts of Sheffield it’s the kind of backpack you’d be happy to carry around in your everyday life.”
Our initial impressions of the Klettersack 30 were that it looked the business. We particularly like this Tabasco-coloured canvas of this version, but all the colourways look brilliant, and work well with the little bits of leather detailing like the zippers and the attachment points. Like the styling, the retro materials hark back to the early days of outdoor backpack manufacturing.
But this isn’t just a throwback – the Klettersack has got all the features you’d expect to see on a contemporary hiking daypack, including a hip belt and an adjustable chest strap to help with heavy loads. The sleeve inside is multi-functional – able to hold a water bladder when you’re up the hill or, if you’re only going as far as your local coffee shop, a laptop.
