Mountain Equipment Tupilak 45+

The 45 litre Tupilak sack is designed for multiday routes or the longest climbing days. A durable, highly weather resistant yet lightweight climbing sack, optimised for alpine and winter climbing.

It has some interesting innovations including the The Grappler Buckle, a durable, one-handed pack closure system. This unique buckle design features an easy to grab ‘lobster tail’ and pincer hook which provides a fail-safe ‘grapple lock’ on to the cowl’s integrated webbing spine. Purposefully designed with an angled spine, the Grappler^TM buckle lies flush against the top of the pack whilst remaining easy to release with or without gloved hands. Constructed with an uncluttered Diabolo profile (an hour glass shape that maximises load stability and packability), the pack is marginally wider at the base and at the top, improving stability and making stuffing in gear easy, even when you’re rushing against the weather and encroaching darkness. It will also stand upright of its own accord. At the same time the main body of the pack is gently tapered at its centre, the pack is more streamlined and mobility is improved. The lid system is very similar to that on the Patagonia Ascensionist series but includes an internal roll top snow valance to keep the weather out.

In addition, it has two strong haul loops to make hauling your sack on long multi-pitch climbs reasonably straightforward - these also provide ready anchoring points at belays. The high density EVA foam back panel is light (105g) and can be removed to aid drying the sack out after a particularly wet day, to strip weight back to an absolute minimum or to replace it with a bivi mat. A ‘floating’ internal accessories pocket provides storage for a few essentials such as snacks and a head-torch. It can be accessed from the outside as well as the inside. The rucksack has been purposefully designed to be exceptionally stable either fully or partially loaded and as such the side compression straps are only really required if carrying poles or a sleeping mat. When you’re not, they can be left off to save weight and prevent unwanted snagging. Welded to the main body, the internal weather-proof cowl is positioned such that it can help to stabilise a partially loaded pack and act as divider, allowing damp items such as mitts or ski-mountaineering skins to be stored separately. The roll-top closure helps seal out spindrift etc. If not required it can easily be tucked inside the sack. The thermo-moulded and bonded hip-fins provide crucial support when carrying heavy loads and again weigh very little (60g) but can easily be removed if not required. The shock-cord system provided means that extra stuff (crampons, a sleeping mat, that jacket you just took off and will probably want to put on again in a few minutes) can all be stored on the outside. The chest strap, ice axe toggles and shaft tethers can all be removed: whilst this won't save much weight it does give the peace of mind that all the components can be easily replaced should they be damaged or become worn.

• 45 litre minimum capacity.
• PACT™ 300 and 100 R² fabrics; durable, lightweight and water resistant.
• On Demand Minimalism; all components removable.
• Integrated cowl-lid closure for easy packing and weather protection with durable aluminium Grappler™ buckle.
• Internal 'floating' accessories pocket; accessible from inside or outside of sack.
• Internal weather-proof cowl with roll-top closure.
• Side compression straps with aluminium Hammerhead™ toggles.
• High Density EVA back panel, shoulder straps and 38mm webbing hipbelt with removable hip-fins.
• Dual axe toggles and attachment points for side compression straps.
• Haul loops, Daisy Chain system and Shockcord system.

Back Length: 19" (47cm).

Volume: 45 litres +.

Min Weight: c 730g.
Max Weight: c 1020g.

Mountain Equipment Tupilak Packs all come in a single back length which is 47cm (19"), using the length of the EVA back panel as the back length. This back length is designed to fit as many people as possible and still carries well at the extremes of its range (packs have tested by users that are over 6ft and some just over 5ft, male and female). However, if you are very short or very tall, they may not be suitable for you. They are best tried for size fully laden.

PACT^TM fabrics: Painstakingly developed over the course of three years ME's exclusive PACT fabrics are the result of a long journey to engineer the best pack fabrics available from the ground up. So many of our own experiences have shown fabrics to either be too heavy, too light or lacking the robustness to truly be considered suitable for alpine climbing. Developed in tandem with two separate processors, one a textile developer and the other a specialist in TPU and PU laminations, PACT 300 and PACT 100 are both densely woven fabrics comprised of high tenacity Nylon 6.6 yarns with a double rip-stop construction. They feature a DWR face-coating for water-repellency and snow shedding with an air and water impermeable 25 micron TPU coating on the inside. The result is a set of fabrics that together provide the near perfect balance of durability, low weight and weather resistance.

PACT^TM 300: Using 300 denier yarns and weighing 177g/m² this is the strongest, most abrasion and puncture resistant yet pliable PACT fabric. A single layer is used throughout the main body of Tupilak packs with a double layer providing additional reinforcement and structure in the base. It is also used in strategic areas for additional reinforcement.

PACT^TM 100: Using 100 denier yarns and weighing 115g/m² this is the lightest PACT fabric. For its incredibly low weight it provides exceptional tensile strength but being lighter it is solely used in the upper body and Cowl of Tupilak packs as well as internal roll-top closure. An uncoated version of this fabric is also used as an internal lining fabric.