Words and Photos by Hyperlite Mountain Gear
Hyperlite Mountain Gear's origin story is rooted in our founder, Mike St. Pierre's love of adventure and backcountry exploration by way of long trails or, in many cases, no trails at all. It was also rooted in dissatisfaction.
In the early 2000s, he delved deeply into the relatively new discipline of ultralight backpacking, and while his ideal backpacking kit was beginning to take shape in his mind, he became increasingly frustrated with the lack of durable, lightweight, and design-driven gear that could match his vision. So, being the problem-solving type, he acquired a second-hand sewing machine and educated himself in fabric technology, design, and production processes. The first result was the iconic Windrider pack. Shortly thereafter, the Windrider gained a sibling with the Southwest. Eventually, the Junction rounded out the family of go anywhere, do anything, any time of year backpacking packs that tens of thousands of kindred explorers have used to achieve their goals and enjoy their time outside with gear that is light, super reliable, and weatherproof.
You could say Mike hit the nail on the head with these packs. So, after fifteen years and a bazillion happy miles hiked with them, he worked with the R&D to give them a revamp. Why? Let's ask him and R&D Director Victoria Rude.
BEFORE WE GET INTO ALL THE EXCITING UPDATES ON THESE LEGENDARY PACKS, LET'S TAKE A MOMENT TO GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING. WHAT WERE YOU TRYING TO SOLVE WITH YOUR FIRST PACK DESIGN?
The idea for Hyperlite Mountain Gear came about four or five years prior to actually launching the company. I already had product ideas in mind but wasn't ready to make a company out of it as I was not willing to just make my designs out of traditional fabrics. In my search for innovative materials, I came across a group of people in an online chat room discussing Dyneema and the America's Cup Sailboat that utilized the material in their sails, and that year, that boat dominated the race. In researching further, I found the fabric manufacturer and reached out and was able to place an order for 9 meters, which allowed me to start tinkering.
WHAT DOES THE ORIGINAL WINDRIDER REPRESENT TO YOU?
The Windrider was the very first pack created by our new company. At the time, there were very few options available that were as lightweight as what I was looking for. Almost everything in the market was big, overbuilt, and heavy, with tons of pockets, zippers, and burly fabrics. Finding Dyneema and marrying it with a simpler, streamlined design created a pack that was not only extremely lightweight but also very durable and much more water-resistant than anything on the market at that time.
WHAT PROMPTED THE ARRIVAL OF THE SOUTHWEST AND JUNCTION?
The Southwest and Junction were both derived from our customers. We've always made listening to user feedback a priority here at HMG. When we offered custom packs, one of our most requested pack builds was a WR/SW hybrid with Southwest side pockets and a Windrider center pocket. We got so many custom requests for this that we decided to permanently incorporate it into our product line.
OVER THE PAST FIFTEEN YEARS, YOU'VE PROBABLY GOTTEN A LOT OF FEEDBACK AND HEARD A LOT OF STORIES FROM OWNERS OF THESE PACKS. WHAT ARE SOME FAVORITES OR STATS YOU'RE MOST PROUD OF?
There have been so many amazing stories over the years that make it hard to pick just one or two. The bigger thing that makes me excited and proud is the ever-growing list of remote and amazing places around the world our packs have been able to reach, helping consumers achieve successful adventures.
Victoria - We do customer repairs here in the R&D studio, and there's one Windrider that has come back for repair two or three times from a customer that's local to our shop. She's triple-crowned with it, uses it in the winter for her job as a ski patroller, and refuses to give it up. It's always awesome to see packs that have gone through so much and hiked thousands of miles but are still so loved and still out there performing.
SO, WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO REEXAMINE AND REWORK THESE THREE ICONS? WHAT WAS THE NEW "SOLVE"?
After making mental lists of little things we all would change on our personal WRs, SWs, & JCTs here on the R&D team, we thought it would be a good idea to open this feedback up to our athletes and customers. What we heard was a resounding love for the packs and an echo of requests similar to those ideas for changes we already had. From there, it was a no-brainer–we could make these small updates to improve fit, functionality, and durability but still maintain what people loved about these packs. This, coupled with the willingness from Dyneema to develop a new fabric with/for us, we knew that this update would be our next project.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE NEW UPDATES AND WHY?
Victoria - My favorite updates are the shoulder straps which are slightly more shaped than our current ones (they're the same ones you see on the Aspect), so they sit more comfortably on your shoulders and around your neck, preventing some of the "pinching" that some customers experienced with our old straps. This, combined with the sewn-through back panel for a more contoured fit, makes the pack carry more comfortably. Other than that, we updated the side pockets to be a bit deeper and lower on the back edge so you can more easily grab water bottles with your pack on. With the removable compression straps, this makes the side pockets much more functional for me. We can't forget the new Dyneema Woven Composite 3.9 fabric either–it's just really nice. More Durable than our Dyneema Composite Hybrid 3.8 (DCH50) & 5.1 (DCH150), and it weighs the same as the DCH 3.8. It has a much nicer hand feel and doesn't have the same crinkle as our Dyneema Composite Hybrids.
WHAT KINDS OF NEW STORIES ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING ABOUT THE WINDRIDER, SOUTHWEST, AND JUNCTION?
We're looking forward to hearing more stories about how far and on what adventures these packs take our customers. I consider them our great "all-around" bags. They're not just for thru hiking or backpacking trips–our customers and athletes use them for packrafting, bikepacking, mountaineering, skiing–you name it. I love hearing about the creative trips customers take these packs on and look forward to hearing more!
