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xcit
Nov 27, 2002, 10:55 PM
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Anyone have experience with the Macpac brand of outdoor gear. They are based out of New Zealand and appear to have really great high end products. I wonder if this is the gear that Adventure Consultants uses since they are in NZ as well for their Mt Everest trips?
[ This Message was edited by: xcit on 2002-11-27 15:02 ]
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mnutz
Nov 28, 2002, 7:33 AM
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I haven't used them personally, but I have some backpacking friends with Macpac packs. They swear by them. Superlight and super tuff.
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womble
Jan 2, 2003, 5:45 PM
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Macpac stuff is fantastic... I'm kind of puzzled that they don't have a presence in the US. Their packs tend to use a poly-cotton fabric with kevlar/cordura bases which don't depend of waterproof linings that nylon bags need (still not _completely_ waterproof, but over time better than nylon + a flaking waterproof laminate). Some of their ultralight sleeping bags don't have insulation underneath, just a sleeve for a sleeping mat. So their design paradigm is slightly different to US and European brands, which I think is a good thing.
Build quality of their gear is fantastic as is customer service- I've been carting an old Macpac 85l pack around the world since '93 and had the base replaced free of charge once and a compression strap fixed once (free again).
Also, it looks different from most other gear
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hawthorne5630
Jan 3, 2003, 8:59 PM
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Macpac gear is awesome. I have two backpacks, a sleeping bag and some clothes. The backpacks are increadibly comfortable, durable and functional. My larger backpacking pack is comparable to the Bora 80 but is two pounds lighter and cost about $100 less.
You can order from Macpac's web site, www.macpac.co.nz. Shipping to the US is only about $30 and arrives in less than two weeks. Additionally, I have never been charged and duty tax.
Adventure Consultants does use Macpac gear.
I think Macpac doesn't try to market their gear in the US because it would be a difficult market to get a hold of and nobody knows about them. Once someone asked me if my Macpac pack was from Kmart. Ha.
Mark
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socialclimber
Jan 4, 2003, 12:03 PM
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Macpac gear is as good as any you can buy. The conditions down here generally tend to be wet so they pay alot of attention to waterproof-ness. They are the market leaders in NZ but the company is small by US standards and as I understand it, excessive import duty makes it unfesable to sell Macpac products there.
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womble
Jan 5, 2003, 12:29 PM
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I'd been wondering why they don't exist in the US. In the UK they are seen as one of the best brands you can get (I consider it much better than most of the local stuff here). The seem to have distributers in Europe as well, though I've not really noticed much Macpac stuff there. In London, it's usually Kiwis and Aussies who have the gear
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crux_clipper
Jan 7, 2003, 8:37 AM
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Macpac are the way to go, nothing can beat them. My mate works for a place that repair outdoor equipment, and they ALL have macpac gear....it could also be because they get the stuff for 60% off the RRP.
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womble
Jan 7, 2003, 10:56 AM
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This is going off on a tangent, but I've checked and Macpac stuff is slightly cheaper in London than it is in Australia- after being shipped halfway around the world and having a 17.5% tax slapped on it. Oz is the most expensive country I've come across for outdoor gear, and it's not because of the weak Aussie dollar- this is after exchange rates have been factored in. Beats me how people there can afford gear.
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socialclimber
Jan 8, 2003, 10:28 AM
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Sliding evermore along that tangent, If you are impressed with Macpac maybe you should look at Fairydown gear too.
www.fairydown.co.nz
These guys have been around longer than Macpac and are their main competition in NZ. Ed Hillary used a Fairydown sleeping bag during his attempt on Everest. Not surprisingly, they marketed the bag as the "Everest" model shortly after. My Dad bought one in 1955, it's been well looked after and after 48 years hes still using it. All I'm trying to say is Fairydown gear is quite well made.
Fariydown dont seem set up on ther website for mail order but a shop in town called Mainland Great Outdoors stocks Fairydown and sells by mail order.
www.mainlandoutdoors.co.nz
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womble
Jan 8, 2003, 1:03 PM
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Actually, my tangent was a whinge about the cost of gear in Australia
But yeah, Fairydown stuff is of very good quality as well. I almost bought one instead of my Macpac Cascade many years ago. I'd go so far as to say that with packs specifically, stuff designed in NZ/Oz tends to have longevity more in mind than American or European brands simply because the poly/cotton fabric will retain water-resistance for longer. The packs also tend to be less gadget-orientated than some of the newer North American offerings.
Only problem is that stuff appart from Macpac is incredibly hard to find anywhere else. I suspect that most people are not willing to mail order expensive unseen gear over the internet either.
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shawkshaw
Jan 9, 2003, 2:04 AM
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macpac stuff is second to none. they give you world wide lifetime warrenty. They are actually made in New Zealand to so the runs are small and the quality high. im pretty sure if you watch vertical limit you will see macpac everywhere on the actors. There packs are very comfortanble and go the distanve when tested. i have a heap of their clothing and am extremelly impressed at how it feels. definitely get some if you can. plus if its not widely avaliable in the US you will have some cool gear that no one else has.
i didn't realise austrlian prices were that bad they don't seem that way for me.
steve
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womble
Jan 10, 2003, 12:20 AM
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Haw haw haw sorry Steve, just had to laugh when you mentioned Vertical Limit. We had a jokey Vertical Limit night after we did an alpine course in Switzerland. Sheesh, was that movie terrible
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socialclimber
Jan 10, 2003, 1:09 PM
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"That" movie was filmed in NZ, and we 'aint proud of it, but that may have something to do with amount of Macpac gear in it.
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nadroj
Jan 11, 2003, 9:16 AM
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I've had a MACPAC sleeping bag and back pack for ten years now and there both still going strong. I used both of them when I went backpacking around the U.K last year. The pack still keeps the rain out (after another spray with silicone), I think there may have been one or two days that it didn't rain .
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twospoons
Jan 14, 2003, 5:46 AM
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Coming from Australia, i'm probably a bit biased to buying Australian or NZ outdoors gear. But mostly i do it because i'm sure of the quality far above a lot of the foreign brands. Macpac do make great gear, a lot of people i know use their packs and other gear, myself i use a OnePlanet (by Aiking) made in Melbourne, Australia.
OnePlanet are worth checking out if you like Macpac and want a new rucksack - their ExactFit harness in my opinion is the most comfortable harness system out there.
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shawkshaw
Jan 15, 2003, 8:34 AM
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yeah Vertical Limit did Suck. actually no it didn't i might go grab some nitro glycerin incase i get stuck in a chimney whilst climbing.
but at least it got Macpac a bit of international airplay.
steve
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socialclimber
Feb 22, 2003, 7:34 AM
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I had a visit today m a mate I havn't seen in a long time. He has been back-packing the world and has used the same Macpac "Cascade" pack the whole time. It's been looking a little the worse for wear because it's had no repares since he bought it in 1987. So while in Christchurch he dropped it off at the factory to have it fixed. The colour was pretty faded but the bag was sound.They replaced two zips and a plastic buckle. Not bad for 16 years on the road.
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