Scramble's Tower 11L Pack Extender (Version 2)

Note: The V2 Tower product pages are now up on the SYSTEM store and will be available from the beginning of December. The X-Pac and Dark Navy HITs will be coming in a later batch but should be on the SYSTEM store soon. Also, there's a few V1 Towers reduced to clear and the V1 DURA Camos are price-capped.

Firstly, those already familiar with the Towers may wish to skip the intro and get to the updates.

The Tower is a full-zip, detachable, large capacity, vertical (side pod / side pouch) and horizontal pack extender 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 Tower in T-Bar and Side Pod modes.

The Towers come in a range of weights, from the lightweight HIT, PAX and limited edition models (120 - 140g) to the ultra-tough DURAs (made from 1000D Cordura and weighing in at 200g).

All of the Towers, regardless of weight, 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 long distance trekking / touring 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 40 - 50L 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 PAX range, 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 for those unfamiliar with the Towers, we hope you'll dip into those posts to get a good idea of why we went to the trouble of making them.

Before we look at the three core ranges, we'll quickly run over the minor upgrades that we've made. Simply put we've made sure they're easily centred when strapped in a horizontal position and we've included a much better (removable) carabiner for the top loop when attaching to packs for added stability.

The v.2 Towers have an extended bottom loop to aid centering when horizontal.

The v.2 Towers come with a better carabiner and elastic cord loop.

No other changes to the design, so dimensions and capacity are unaffected.

There's no change to the overall design so capacity and dimensions are the same as the originals.

 

Tower V2 Ranges:  HIT, DURA & PAX

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.

Prices (we did our best ...)

We managed to keep a cap on prices since the Towers were first released in December 2018, but, as you may be aware, since then governments have hit the money printer hard and we've been left with the ensuing inflation. As such, the cost of labour and materials has rocketed higher.  We've done our best to keep a lid on prices, but you will notice a jump from the 2018/2019 price. 

In this post we'll focus on the three Core Editions, but first here's the new Attributes Table:

Contents

• HIT
• DURA
• PAX (X-Pac, Ecopak)
• Product Image Gallery

 

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Core Edition

Aside from the PAX models, 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. 

We've simplified the DURA range; now they're all made from 1000D Cordura and we've limited the V2s to four colours.  We're going to make the V1 Camo DURAs available on SYSTEM with their own product page and we're going to hold them at their original 2018 price.

Available on SYSTEM

 

 

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Core Edition

The PAX range used to be called "X-PAC", but now we've added to the range of high-end laminates with the inclusion of Challenge Sailcloth's Ecopak EPX200, which features a diamond 45° CrossPly sandwiched between a 200D face fabric and a 70D white ripstop inner. In terms of performance, they're very similar to the X-Pac VX21, though the VX21, at least in terms of spec, has a little more abrasion resistance and is a fraction lighter.  As such the X-Pac Tower is still the Rolls Royce of the range.  However all PAX Towers are ideal for mountaineering as they combine all the virtues of the other Towers while being only marginally heavier than the lightest limited edition 120g HEX and NEO-Lites.

We always like to offer a high visibility option for those who may need / want to remain visible in the mountains.  The Ecopak "Electric Peacock" (Hi-VIz Teal) is our Hi Viz option and the Scramble editor's (and also their manufacturing partner's) favourite among the Towers. You'll likely see it featured in many of the upcoming reviews. 

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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Warranty

All the Towers come with a 3 year warranty. For limited edition models we may not be able to provide a replacement, in such circumstances we would simply 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: 03/12/24