Review: RADL Pack 01
“They don’t make ’em like that anymore.” This old adage, often spoken wistfully by grumpy old men, has its counterpoints—and RADL is one of them. Their Pack 01 ($339) harkens back to days gone by, long before planned obsolescence, private-equity profiteering, and consumer culture run amok. This is the pack you’ll pass on to your kids, and who very well may pass it on to theirs. And it’s not just the quality, but rather the overall style and ethic, that make RADL outshine the competition.
To wit: the Pack 01 comes in a box, not a plastic bag. Emblazoned on said box is a well-chosen quote from poet Dylan Thomas, and included are extra goodies, including a hiker’s journal, ball cap, and more inspiring words from the likes of Walt Whitman. The packaging reminds me of an old sharpening stone I found years ago at a garage sale. The user manual read like classic literature. Which of course conveyed not only pride in craftsmanship, but also a sense of genuine purpose and the desire to reflect in words what it had created in stone. In its own small way, the whetstone company strove to be a force that elevates our existence. In our modern world of dumbing down, reducing everything to the lowest common denominator, that stone and its urbane manual were a joy to discover. So too with the Pack 01 and its superior presentation. Quality is more than creation, more than production. It includes delivery—and RADL delivers, in more ways than one.
As for the backpack’s physical features, the classic vertical design includes a sturdy but lightweight aluminum internal frame, burly 900-denier fabric, and generously padded, breathable shoulder straps, hip belt, and back padding—great features, sure, but nothing particularly unusual. Where the Pack 01 really stands out is in the details: metal hook-and-loop closures; a U-zip front access panel with heavy-duty, water-resistant zipper; external daisy chains throughout; low-profile hip-belt pockets; and dynamic z-compression straps for a streamlined, secure load. The optional waxed finish give the pack even more of an old-school look and feel. Printed inside are more quotes, including a fragment from “Ulysses” by Alfred Lord Tennyson, one of the most motivational poems in all of Western literature.
What all of this means collectively is a pack that won’t break, won’t fail, and won’t wear out—and that will motivate you to get outside more, to explore more, to see more, to be more. In short, it’s a pack that’s made the way they used to be.
Available at shopradl.com.
