Scramble's Tower 11L Pack Extender

The Tower is a full-zip, detachable, large capacity side pod / side pocket / side pouch designed to hold all the gear the long distance trekker may need to quickly access between packing up in the morning and setting up at night. The Towers come in a range of weights, from the lightweight HEX and NEO-Lites (120g) to the bombproof 1000D Cordura (205g) and 850D Ballistic Nylon (220g) DURAs. All of them however are made from the kind of material generally reserved for high stress / high abrasion areas on good to high-end packs and all provide excellent protection from rocky terrain and stormy weather alike. As long as your pack of choice can handle the additional load, the Tower will seriously extend its capacity and in so doing extend your range, especially in Winter when kit is always bulkier and heavier.

The Tower enables buyers of new packs to consider opting for a tough minimalist climbing pack knowing it can be configured and extended for touring / backpacking with the use of a Tower or two. The outdoor industry might not appreciate selling less packs, but at Scramble we've always had the view that one or two packs should really suffice (a small 20L pack and a 30/40L pack that can be extended to around 60L). The Tower makes that ideal a genuine reality, providing:

• meaningful additional capacity without overly extending the user's width profile
• a high centre of gravity (to not compromise pack stability / agility)
• a high degree of protection from the environment (being extremely strong, abrasion and weather resistant)
• full, quick and convenient access to the gear you need while on the move

All Towers provide this, but there are trade offs; generally, the tougher they are, the heavier they'll be (or in the case of the X-PAC, the pricier). The table below outlines the differences across the range. But before we look at the differences, let's see what they all have in common. 
 

Datasheet

Available on SYSTEM

 

Release News

We've already written extensively about why the Towers were made, how they were designed and how they performed during the testing phase and we hope you'll dip into those posts to get a good idea of why we went to the trouble of making them.

Here, we'll introduce the range and, as concisely as possible, provide a guide as to what kind of activity each might best suit.

Contents

• Introduction: Editions & Attributes Overview
• HIT (Core Edition)
• DURA (Core Edition)
• X-PAC (Core Edition)
• HEX (Limited Edition)
• NEO-Lite (Limited Edition)
• Product Image Gallery

 

Introduction: Editions & Attributes Overview

The range is comprised of two groups, "core editions" and "limited editions", as their names suggest the core editions will hopefully always be available and make up the mainstay of the range; the limited editions are where we've sourced excellent materials with a specific function but cannot, at least to our satisfaction, guarantee a consistent supply.

• Core Editions: HIT, DURA, X-PAC
• Limited Editions (currently): HEX, NEO-LITE

Colour coding weights: We've split the weights into Ultralight (130g or less = extreme), Midweight (between 130 and 170g = high) and Heavyweight (170g+ = good)

 

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Core Edition

Aside from the X-PAC model, the HIT is perhaps the best all-round performer and the closest to what we originally envisaged for the Tower. Suitable for general mountain trekking, scrambling, climbing and an ideal balance between weight and protection. The 420 denier high tenacity nylon is very strong, has excellent tear and abrasion resistance and comes with a substantial inner PU coating and factory applied DWR, making it highly weather-resistant. In our opinion, if you're not sure which one to go for, take a HIT.

Available on SYSTEM

 

 

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Core Edition

The DURA range of Towers are intended for use in extreme rocky environments (or for carrying heavier than normal loads or for those carrying gear that needs added protection, like photographers). Ideal for arid rocky terrain and any situation where durability and bombproof toughness override weight concerns. 

A quick note on the materials used on the DURA range. There are two black versions, the DURA500, which is very similar in performance to the HIT models and the DURA850 which is a monster. The DURA850 is very similar to the DURA1000s, but if one were to split hairs, it may have a marginally better tear strength and the DURA1000s may have marginally better abrasion resistance. Both are insanely tough. 

The DURA1000 comes in two camo models, digital and Erebis ATP. Erebis ATP has some additional properties, probably more relevant to military personnel, but worthy of mention: 

A note on EREBIS ATP by Cortman Textiles

Cortman Textiles was a key part of the initial development of the Multi Terrain Print (MTP) camouflage pattern with the MOD. The MTP pattern is exclusive to MOD approved manufacturers only. So Cortman Textiles developed a pattern that not only matches the official MTP but offers the same high quality finish and exceptional service life. This pattern is called Erebis:

• 1100 decitex Cordura fabric offers tremendous durability
• Excellent water resistance
• Unrivalled Infra Red Reflectance (IRR)
• Coated with olive pigmented PU providing water resistance and added durability
• Acid printed giving superior colour fastness
• Anti fungal treated for long term use

The DURA1000 Erebis ATP and DURA850 Ballistic Nylon are both substantially more costly fabrics than the regular 500/1000D Cordura, and though we've tried to keep their prices to a minimum, they do come with a £2.00 premium.

Available on SYSTEM

 

 

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Core Edition

The X-PAC Tower is the Rolls Royce of the range and ideal for mountaineering as it combines all the virtues of the other Towers while being only 10g heavier than the lightest 120g HEX and NEO-Lites.

Dimensional Polyant's X-PAC VX21HS high performance pack laminate is a unique material, with its multi-layer construction it combines several properties: abrasion-resistant 210D nylon on the outside, a thin layer of polyester tafetta on the inside and strong X-PLY-fibers in between. This makes the fabric very tear-resistant, highly durable and 100% waterproof and gives it very good structural stability. The fabric has been used by Arcteryx, Black Diamond, Klättermusen etc. in their high-performance-backpacks.

Available on SYSTEM

 

 

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Limited Edition

The HEX is at the ultralight end of the range. Made from a strong yet relatively light 400 denier hexagon ripstop nylon, the high viz HEX is ideal for scrambling, climbing and any high risk activity where being seen could be a life saver and keeping pack weight to a minimum is paramount.

Available on SYSTEM

 

 

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Limited Edition

The NEO-Lites tie with the HEX as the lightest in the range. Only available in black, the NEO-Lites, made from a 205 g/sm dense nylon have a thick neoprene inner coating and are ideal for saturated environments (think jungle) where keeping your pack weight to a minimum is essential. The neoprene coated nylon used in the NEO-Lite Towers is often used for the skirting on lighter-weight hovercrafts, so it's able to take a good thrashing.

Available on SYSTEM

 

 

Warranty

All the Towers come with a 3 year warranty. For the limited edition models listed above we may not be able to provide a replacement, in such circumstances we would offer either the HIT model as a possible replacement or provide a refund.

Note: Using the Tower in any way other than its intended usage, i.e. using it as a bag, hanging it fully loaded via its attachment loops etc. will void the warranty (we know you wouldn't do these things, but some people aren't so smart). The attachment loops, though very strong and likely capable of handling such loads, are there as guides for webbing straps and for cinching the Tower to a pack to aid stability.

 

Product Image Gallery

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Last Updated: 19/12/18