Orion Archer Packs

nice balance

You never know who is reading your Blog... really, you never do.  I'm always taken aback when the Stats indicate that some 6000 or more people drop by this Blog every month. Thanks for that, first of all...  But ... well... Wow!

Anyway, before this so called Polar Vortex rolled in on top of us (we used to call it Winter, back before Toronto forgot that in Canada it snows every year)  I was contacted by Jeremy, who has apparently been riffling through the Bondi Blog.

He and his partner Matt produce really funky items for deep country skiers and boarders, under the name of Orion Packs.  And he'd spotted a lot of ski activity featured here.  "Would we be interested in looking at one of these packs, and giving feedback?' 
Sure. Why not? 

After all, although we are not exactly high mountain country, both Dave and Mike are avid downhill skiers, and Mike has worked at Grouse Mountain and Snow Valley and skied a whole bunch of other really big mountains.  So, bless 'em, they sent us a pack to try out.

easy to adjust with gloves on

The one we tried was called the Archer, it allows the skier to carry the skis angled across the back, which provides a well balanced load, and is critical in deep country where skiers may need to hike in or up to the appropriate start point.


 Carrying skis in a vertical fashion causes trouble, especially if you have to clamber downhill at any point, because the skis dig into the snow behind you.  Even angled, if the snow is deep, downhill is tougher, but uphill is just fine.





Dave and Mike both gallantly rose to the occasion to try this out, and give me their feedback. Which was all positive.






The pack is well constructed. Has a useful back pouch, and two great easily accesssible pouches on the front to let you carry essential items securely.  Those, we hasten to add, are easy to adjust while wearing bulky gloves, which is another bit plus.








The snowboard version carries a small shovel and beacon for avalanche rescue -- which would not be a big issue here in Ontario.  That in fact was the only suggestion that the boys had -- perhaps a loop that would allow a shovel to attach, and definitely a ring on the front where a whistle might be fastened. But that is pretty minor.  You could loop one around the chest strap.







They both felt the pack was well built, well designed, easy to put on and take off, very simple to load and unload skis and poles, even easy to attach a helmet. 




They were, in a word, impressed.

Go check them out. If you ski big mountains, or hike into deep terrain with nordic gear, these would be a great addition to your gear.

Thanks for giving us the chance to take such a closer look at these Jeremy and Matt!