Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Laufbursche man purse, I mean hip belt pocket

Seems like the Laufbursche hip belt pocket has been become quite the fashion accessory among the german UL crowd; just look at the pictorial evidence present :) :

Original photo by quasinitro.

I ordered two of those hipbelt pockets when I bought my huckePACK, but it hadn't occured to me until now that it can be a great everyday pouch to carry attached to your belt, for instance to have your camera, snacks, gloves etc. handy.


Let's take a closer look at it shall we?

Mateusz offers these in two sizes ands made out of different materials: durable mesh, Dyneema X and two types of X-Pac. I have the medium X-Pack VX07 version in black, weighing in at 35 grams (1.2 oz) on my scale. This is how he describes the fabric:

X-Pac VX07
X-Pac is a very unique fabric. With its multilayer construction it combines several properties: abrasion-resistant 70den-ripstop-Cordura on the outside, a 50den polyester taffeta layer on the inside, a strong Polyester fiber reinforcement and a PET film in between. This makes the fabric extremely tear-resistant,  waterproof and gives it a very good structural stability The dacron-fibers give the fabric its typical diamond-shaped structure.

Properties: 

70den ripstop Cordura
Polyester  fiber X-PLY reinforcement
PET film (for waterproofness)
50den polyester taffeta
Grammage: 165g/m²  Color: black (outside), grey (inside)
Application areas: mainbody, back panel, bottom, lid, hipbelt, hip belt pockets


The fabric seems very strong, and with the addition of a taped zipper (YKK) it is waterproof, something I like a lot. Hipbelt pockets made out of mesh or other non-waterproof materials is a pain when it rains and you have to move the contents into the pack or another dry spot. These can be considered a real extension of your pack in terms of volume.

On the back of the hipbelt pocket there are elastics configured in a way that I think makes it compatible with a lot of packs. There are two tall ones for a large hipbelt and two that are divided by a row of bartacks. This division makes it compatible with narrower hipbelts and with ordinary belts too, hence the fashion phenomena :). There are also four mitten hooks for secure attachment. The hooks are pretty stiff and takes some effort to open and close; my only gripe with the pocket (and it's a small one). The quality of manufacture is immaculate.  The man is a perfectionist and it shows.



The front of the pocket has the now familiar Laufbursche logo which reminds me of 80s sci-fi, like my favorite movie, Bladerunner.


Here is Mateusz's own feature description:

The LAUFBURSCHE hip belt pocket fit to the huckePACK, as well as also to the huckePÄCKchen. Of course they can be also fastened to any other backpack.

The hip belt pocket features: 
YKK 3C Aquaguard zipper; 2 slider
On the right / on the left suitably and everywhere else you want.

Volume:

1,5L (medium)
1,0L (small)

Dimensions:
The dimensions are given in width - depth - height.
17 / 6 / 13 cm. (medium).

17 / 4 / 13 cm. (small).
Fabrics and weight:

Medium:
DxG =35g
X-PAC V =36g

X-PAC T =30g
Durable Mesh =35g

Small:
DxG =30g
X-PAC V =31g

X-PAC T =25g
Durable Mesh =30g

You might be wondering about the price. I won't quote what I paid because it's been a year and he might have done some adjustments. Get in contact with him if you want more info.

So there you have it, a quick review of a high quality product that is both versatile and a joy to use. I highly recommend getting one.

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