I'm a bit of a cheeky bugger, so i thought i'd start with a bit of an inflammatory topic. But in all seriousness, this is something that has been on my mind and i would like to hear other peoples opinions.
I'll start by saying that only recently have i been that interested in bushwalking gear. Although i've been going on trips and walks for about 12+ years i've always used other peoples gear and had other people worry about it. I still borrow a fair bit, but i am now more interested in doing my own thing and need my own gear or at the very least i need to take responsibility for the gear i use. I also feel that i have a good understanding of how to correctly pitch tents, how to look after gear etc.
The feeling i have about Macpac is based on real life experiences and use of this equipment over a few years primarily in Tasmania but also in Victoria and NSW. I have also used, what i feel is, a wide range of the products they have on offer. To be precise, we own the following. One old school Olympus, two Olympus tents, one Minaret, one Microlite, one Bivibag, one of the older sleeping bags, two packs, one Copland jacket, a down jacket, a bunch of their fleeces and some thermals. There may even be more i am forgetting. I have personally used all of this gear bar one of the backpacks and the rain coat.
There are a number of reasons why i feel Macpac is now a second (or even third) rate gear company. Although i was never alive in their glory days, i think that this is a relativity new occurrence. edit I feel that design compromises have been made to aid aesthetics and cost of production including choice of material. edit Although they have a great store in town where i live, the people who work there don't seem to be people who like the outdoors, rather talented sales people. But maybe that is just me being elitist. Also, finding the same stuff in Kathmandu with out Macpac branding at a lower price is always annoying, although i did not wish to purchase this item anyway.
The Microlite tent. I find this tent extremely difficult to pitch correctly. I always find that the sides sag on the slightest uneven ground. Its interior space has led it to be referred to as the coffin (by me). I find it too small to cook inside. But i am told that at it's time, it was a highly innovative design and important tent. At 1.6kg it is also pretty heavy (given the size inside). Honestly, i'd prefer to bivi bag. Witch actually leads me to one potential use for this tent. Someone pointed out to me that it would be possible to remove the inner skin and use it as a really awesome tarp for your bivi bag. this would increase space, make it possible to cook. Not something i have tried yet, however.
The Minaret. Have only used in favourable conditions. Liked the design, works well for a two man. I fear it suffers from the same material problems as the Olympus, as detailed below.
The Olympus. The big heavy 'can withstand cyclones' tent. Having just come back from a 12 day trip in SW Tas using this tent I feel like i know it pretty well. I'm sure we know the good points of this tent (of witch there are many) but i will focus on the problems. The venting. Macpac changes the way the venting works on these tents and it is defiantly for the worst. It used to work that air would flow up the doors, along the roof of the tent then out the top of the other door (if there was wind). Now the venting comes from four side vents (two per door) and is not wind fed as there is no big flat panel for wind to flow up and into the vent. We had extreme condensation issues with this tent. One morning camped on the shore of Lake Pedder we woke up with more moisture on the inside of the tent than the out side. Worrying, given that a front had passed through over night. Please realise we had done out best to keep this tent well ventilated. All the vents were kept open, only the mesh door was (partly) closed with the more solid material rolled away. The fly doors were as open as possible at both the top and the bottom. The inside of the tent looked like it was hosed down. At least my sleeping bag was only half wet. I think some of this moisture had come from the tent fabric leaking, but i can't be sure. The floor of the tent is made from TorrentwearTM XP. My understanding is this fabric is not the same as what many other tents use as it is propriety to Macpac. On their website they claim it has a Hydrostatic Head of up to 10,000mm (why they don't say 10m i don't know). But on multiple occasions i have seen the floor of this tent leek. We did a walk in the Walls where dad, my little brother and i were camping. We came into a camp at about 7.30 (1.5 hours after dark) and dad set up his Olympus tent in what looked like a good spot but turned out to be a hollow, while i set up my bivi bag on a nice, well drained slope. In the morning, the hollow had collected a bit of water but worse there was a large puddle on the tent. We're talking 1cm deep water in the bottom of the tent. I was substantially drier in the (condensation prone) bivi bag. Dad was saved only by the thickness of his mattress only to keep him dry. I know that sleeping in a puddle of water is asking for trouble, but i still expected better performance. I have herd of people in their old style Olympus tents sleeping on snow and the snow underneath melting, causing a 'bouncy water bed', but not penetrating the flooring material. Going back to the SW Tas trip i was on, we go a significant amount of water coming through the floor of the tent on sloping, although moist, ground. It was enough water to make mine and my buddies Thermarest and sleeping bag uncomfortably wet. Maybe it isn't the material they use that is entirely to blame, but also the two piece floor construction that makes it leek. This two piece floor was not something i expected to see on this tent.
Possibly the worst short falling i have seen was with the Copland jacket. On a bush walk that had some pretty bad weather, it was last easter if you guys remember, the entire back and shoulders of the jacket delaminated. I've never seen anything like it before. From my understanding of the material from how it came apart, the outside material separated from the membrane witch separated from the inside material. The membrane disintegrated to the point that dad was complaining of 'slime' in his jacket before he took it off at camp and discovered the problem. When dry it felt flaky as it came off but when it was wet it was gooey. The whole delimitation happened over the course of a day, it was fine one day then useless the next. This was pretty dangerous, as we were walking in cold and snow for another day and dad was wet (as the jacket was not waterproof anymore) and cold (as he was wet). We took this jacket back to Macpac, not for a refund but as we were worried that other people would buy this product thinking that it was up to standard were in reality it is probably best left for use around town. We also wondered weather we had simply got a bad example. The jacket was bought in late 2009 but not heavily used at all. The people at Macpac were adamant that it was too dirty. It wasn't immaculately clean, but it certainly wasn't too bad either. Remembering it wasn't cleaned after the four day trip for fear of doing more damage. Anyway, they sent it to NZ to be assessed. Perhaps people know, but your supposed to put your Macpac jacket through the washing machine after even use. Seems rash given i wouldn't put a jacket i wear around town through the wash that regularly. I don't believe that in this case design was at fault as it is so similar to the Mont Tempest jacket that had lasted for years prior.
To be fair, i love my Macpac pack, it has lasted well bearly showing signs of age. It is heavy, but robust and comfortable. All the other Macpac equipment i have used has been fine except for the bivi bag witch has a floor as equallyy leaky as the Olympus's. I hope i don't come across at too negative. I like many things that Macpac have done and still do, but i feel they are not doing the best job they could and their gear is below par. They seem to not be innovating any more, rather cashing in on an image built by their ethos of times passed. I hope that people who read this do not feel i am attacking them, rather i am just sharing my opinions and experiences. Maybe other companies are no better, i honestly have not used enough of their stuff to know. Are my experiences normal? Am i doing something wrong?
Stay Safe
