The Dakine Helipack (a skiing / snowboard rucksack) is an awesome bit of
uni equipment.
After a friends' positive experience with them and discussions on RSU
recommending them I took the plunge and ordered one (I bought from
www.wiggle.co.uk - they had a good pricing offer on them and do free
shipping). It is an awesome piece of kit - it could have been designed
with unicyclists in mind.
The bag offers several carrying modes: diagonal ski carry, vertical
snowboard carry, quick access snow shovel carry. It has luggage straps
galore on the outside (two horizontal straps, one long strap that can
be added on as an extension or separate strap when needed, one short
strap for gripping skis. Each of these fastens shut with a plastic
clip - all except the ski carry strap are interconnectable via
compatible clips!). There's also a webbing loop for gripping the lower
end of the skis.
It's hard to describe just how versatile these straps are; since each
of the main straps comes in two parts (which can be separately adjusted
and interconnected). A number of webbing loops are also available.
There is an *enormous* selection of possible arrangements for carrying
whatever load you need to shift.
The pack has chest and waist straps for extra support and padded
shoulder straps. Two external compartments (plus the shovel carrier)
for easy access to small items, plus a decent sized main compartment.
There is a netting pocket for a hydration pack inside the main
compartment, plus an insulated route for the drinking tube leading from
the main compartment to the left shoulder strap.
The pack itself is compact and can be strapped securely yet comfortably
- should be good for muni / long distance expeditions although I
haven't tested this yet. My main application so far has been for
strapping unihoc equipment to myself before bicycling out to practice.
This has been a shining success: my 20" uni straps securely to the back
of the pack without making it uncomfortable to carry. It is vastly
superior to my previous strategy of looping luggage straps through the
shoulder straps on my old backpack. Whatsmore, there are enough loops
and straps to hold every part of the uni firmly in place - no more
worrying about the frame swinging about. I've recently bought a hockey
stick bag which I can also strap onto the helipack, making it easy to
carry all my unihoc kit on my back.
In my view, the Helipack is just plain awesome, I'm glad I spent the
money. It's well designed, versatile, and could have been designed for
unicyclists - or anything else that requires compactness combined with
easy load carrying.
--
mark williamson
Dave: Just a question. What use is a unicyle with no seat? And no
pedals!
Mark: To answer a question with a question: What use is a skateboard?
Dave: Skateboards have wheels.
Mark: My wheel has a wheel!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
mark williamson's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/11301
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/58728