UKC

Are Crux packs just badly made?

I'm sorry if this depresses those who love their crux packs but my AK47 has been rubbish......

Firstly it pays to be honest, and to be truthful this bag has been used quite hard for winter and summer climbing, backpacking etc... I do over pack it, I don't gently put it on the ground, it has been hauled once and there is some UV fading going on. I am not a guide, nor am I out every weekend thrutching up gabbro wearing this pack. I don't expect packs to last forever, but......I have only had it 2 years and last winter I couldn't climb!

To be brief the pack is failing in two critical places.

1. Where the lid buckle joins the lid it is almost ripped off.
2. The bottom is falling out near the back pad.

I have had various rucsacs before, mainly Lowe Alpine or Karrimor and have never had failures in such critical areas.

I know of other Crux users who have had similar failures in similar areas.

Be warned they aren't IMHO well made mountain packs. They won't be getting my custom again, I expect packs to last longer.

Comments welcome.

p.s. I will be posting photos shortly for a 'Rate my Hole' feature.

In reply to grizzpup: I've seen similar bad wear... I had a £30 quechua sac and my friend had a crux, we skied the vallee blanche and then climbed the ladders back to the station with the skis on the sides of the pack. Despite being properly attached both sides of the crux suffered significant wear from the skis, whereas mine was fine!

In reply to g taylor: Looks like my shallowness may have paid off. I was looking at Crux AK47's last year as a climbing pack. I ended up buying a Lowe Alpine instead despite being told that Crux were bombproof I decided not to buy it on the grounds that it looked shit!

Harry.

In reply to grizzpup: Might the answer be to not over pack it as I can see that both areas would fail from a pack beeing stuffed up to the eyeballs.If you frequently need to overpack it then imho you are either taking too much stuff or you need a bigger pack.

In reply to Removed User: TO balance the argumant, I've heard alot of good things about cruxes too and Stuart has been known to overpack his sac.

In reply to g taylor:

Mine (AK70?) seems fine after a few years of gross overpacking and assorted abuse by a wide range of baggage handlers. Maybe yours is just a dodgy one off?

In reply to grizzpup: Was there any damage evident after using the bag for hauling? I would think most lightweight packs would probably limp away from a bad hauling experience.

In reply to fish08:

Even haulbags will limp a bit after being hauled when over-packed!

I was given an AK47 (long story!) so don't know how old it is, but my initial suspicions about the light weight fabric used on the neck were confirmed when my nut key got caught in it and holed it.

Also: 1) care is needed opening the top pocket to prevent things falling out. 2) I'll have to sew on points to attach bungee for carrying crampons on top of sac: stripping bells and whistles is all very well, but it's a mistake in my view not to have bungee attachment points on the lid.

All that said, it is light and does carry well.

In reply to grizzpup: my Crux 30 with the roll down top went back for repair after a couple of weekends winter climbing in Scotland, it was only packed for the day, the anchor points for the shoulder straps ripped out.

back to my POD, but its too big for a day cragging wether ice or rock

In reply to grizzpup:

This really annoys me when people slag off stuff from small niche market companies without actually speaking to them first, its not like you will not be able to sepak to the manager, they e-mail you back within about 24 hours if they are in the office, so....

Here is a mad idea, why dont you speak to Carol at Crux about it, rather than putting out bad publicity on here, I am sure he can help you out and assess whether it is the product that might have been part of a bad batch or something.

In reply to smithaldo: Quite aggree.Son and heir senior swears by them and to say he abuses sacks would be an understatement.He had a problem with the first one he had after about 12 months and after speaking to the nice people at crux he received a new one 2 days later.Nothing is indestructable at least not that you could carry in comfort

In reply to smithaldo:

Well sorry if it REALLY ANNOYS you, but my posting was motivated by not only my own crux pack failing, but the fact that I know of several other people's bags which also failed.

Fear not I will be contacting Crux.

Small niche companies live and die by the quality of their products.

As an example, I did own a RAB Summit 800. Warm yes, but appallingly finished, loose threads, loose stitches etc... I do own the odd RAB item now, but I would never spend £300+ on another Rab bag. By contrast I recently bought a PHD down vest for my girlfriend. It is superbly finished with the neatest stitching and detailing I have seen. I would buy one of their £300 products.

I don't see why climbers and mountaineers should just support small niche companies, just because they are just 'small and niche'. They have to be damn good as well.

As per a lot of the postings above it seems that others are having similar bad experiences, which is a shame because obviously we didn't go down the Berghaus, North Face route.

.......but maybe we should have

In reply to grizzpup: Can't say i am over impressed with mine either. Some little areas of stiching aren't that fab and some features of the pack seem abit useless...the waterproof pocket at the top (or atleast i assume thats what it is...it has a watertight zip etc...) leaks so badly that it becomes a second camelbak. Caught in some of the worst weather i have ever been out in in Yangshao china...the main body of the bag did keep everything bone dry though.

I bought it in all honesty because i thought it looked quite retro cool. Won't buy again in all honesty, its pretty basic in all honesty for the money.

In reply to grizzpup: Well, one of the reasons it's not particularly nice seeing someone slag off a small company is because quite a lot of the time it turns out that the item in question was used inappropriately (hauling while fully loaded, for example), or as said above it may have just been a bad batch that Crux could do something about. Nothing they should be losing customers over.

I'm sure it's no coincidence that Crux seem to get recommended on most threads regarding climbing packs.

In reply to FreeloaderJoe:

Are you sure you're being honest about that?

In reply to FreeloaderJoe: Basic? That is the whole ethos of what are trying to provide i.e. basic, but lightweight, comfortable and sturdy.

With all due respect it sounds like you just bought the wrong pack for purpose.

In reply to grizzpup: Also agree with the last post before mine...

...there is a massive trend (and i have noticed this especially with the mountain bike biz) to support small companies even if they just aren't turning out the goods. Hope is the notable example, who i feel have been producing sub-standard goods for years (although they have upped their game plan in the last couple years).

I wouldn't say im unhappy with my crux, just think it could be better. It looks pretty tired after less than a years use.

In reply to fish08: Yes. I understand the purpose of the bag, and thats why i bought it. But comparitevely, you get alot less for your money when buying a 'basic' item than say an Arcteryx bag for not much more money.

In reply to FreeloaderJoe: But with a quick look it seems that most of the Arcteryx bags will be about half a kilo heavier and about twice the price (which may not seem like "much more" when you are already spending that amount...)

It's just a totally different product offering. It's a bit like buying a Down jacket from Rab and then slagging them off because they didn't make it out of synthetic materials.

In reply to FreeloaderJoe: And sorry mate, not having a go really. Just see these types of critiques as being slightly off the mark.

In reply to FreeloaderJoe: Just been looking at this in an outdoors mag but cant quite seem to match up the bit about not much more money.I,ve used Arcteryx in the past and in all honesty can not see why they are raved about.Mind you if you wear a £400 waterproof you would probably convince yourself that it was worth it and the same goes for the packs.

In reply to fish08:


okay fish, if you read my posting correctly you would see that I admitted occasionally overpacking my bag AND hauling it once.

I did not do the two things simultaneously.

I hauled it about 20 metres on Eagles Rock over snow and ice, not up El Cap.

What you are saying is that I used a mountain pack inappropriately.

What the Blo*dy hell do they think climbers are going to do with packs. I personally have better things to worry about when climbing than wondering whether the ar*e is going to tear out of my bag.

In reply to grizzpup: Nah, I was saying that quite often in these cases it turns out that misuse was a big factor, and therefore diminishes the responsibility of the manufacturer somewhat.

Fair enough, you should be able to concentrate on your climbing. But in that case why buy a lightweight option?

In reply to grizzpup:

rab were sold a few years ago and production moved to china, when it went down hill in terms of quality.

In reply to smithaldo:


Which is not the usual way, it has to be said. Correctly outsourced, quality should improve. Most small scale UK manufacturing is not done in new state of the art facilities with state of the art quality control systems but in a leaky shed somewhere with practically victorian sewing equipment.

In reply to grizzpup:
I have bought one of their tents, jacket, and rucksack (AK57). They have all being excellent pieces of gear. For the weight, I am not sure you can do better with the rucksack. I also own a GoLite Jam2, which is lighter, but made of paper if you compare both.
If your problem is due to bad manufacturing, I can't think of anybody else that would be as responsive and diligent to fix it. I had a small problem with my tent (which anyone smart enough could have fixed), and they shipped me a new one to the US, no questions asked (before I even sent back the one I had). Shipping wasn't cheap (they paid for it). They also sent me another piece of gear before I even paid for it!!
I am sorry about your problem though. I know is frustrating, but I would give them the benefit of the doubt until they had a chance to address your problem.

In reply to grizzpup:

I've had a crux AK47 for about 5 years and it has been brilliant. The only thing that has worn out is the rubberised waterproofing on the lid pocket zip (although the zip still works fine).

Mine is the older version with a detachable lid pocket so maybe things have changed but I really do rate it. It gets used almost daily and it's the do it all sack I always seem to choose over the others I have. It's a really comfortable carry for me too.

Can't fault crux based on my own experiences but sorry to hear other peoples comments.

Cheers, paul

In reply to peakpaul:

Likewise I am a a satisfied customer. My first one (an early model) leaked like a sieve - due to the material. The more recent ones get better and better. I currently have an AK37 and an AK57.

I've had alot of ruscacs in my time (sometimes up to 10 on the go at once (I know I know) and I have to say the Crux ones are overall the best. I say 'overall' because every sac has its weakness - the Crux packs strength to weight ratio is howver very good.

One or two things I'd like to see changedthough - but I'll be sharing those direct with Crux - because I know they'll take the points on board and somewhere down the line I'll be buying an new model incorporating customer suggestions. Not something that a lot of manufacturers would do - or even acknowledge.

In reply to smithaldo: I wouldn't worry about it so much. By the time the thread has died a death there will be as many people praising crux. These things are pretty self moderating.

In reply to grizzpup: sounds like you just got a dud. If it was me id have a go at stitching it up and see how it does then.

rem