Show your support for our public lands with the NorthSt Bags Pioneer 8 Hip Pack. NorthSt is known for their excellent panniers and backpacks, all made in the USA (Portland, Oregon). The Pioneer 8 Hip Pack follows in that tradition, but with a twist. For each Pioneer 8 sold between now and Nov 21st, they’ll donate $5 to the National Parks Conservation Association. So you get a sweet little pack, and help preserve our land for future generations. Shopping with your conscience has never been easier.
I was already familiar with the brand, but didn’t own any of their bags or panniers. So they sent me a Hip Pack to check out. After years of inspecting the construction and materials of all sorts of outdoor gear, I feel like I know what to look for. Right off, I like Pioneer 8. Straight, even stitching is a good sign of quality workmanship. Continuing on that theme is the Lenzip® zippers. These are high quality, American-made zippers. A few inches of bright paracord added to the pulls is a nice touch. And the pack itself is durable 1000 denier CORDURA® Nylon with a DWR finish. Rounded edges on the large buckle ensure security and comfort. Yes, even the limited edition Woods brown/green color combo appeals to me.
Since you probably want the specs, I won’t forget to share them, even though you can find them on the NorthSt site. It’s got a large main pocket, and a smaller front pocket. At 8″ wide x 2.5″ deep and 4″ tall, it’s got a capacity of 90 cubic inches. That’s 1.5 liters for our metric friends. Total weight, including the belt that fits 30″ to 46″ waists, is 7 ounces (or 199 grams).
At that size, it will easily hold your phone, keys, wallet, cash, stash, and more. If you’re me, it fits a couple of energy bars, a pocket knife, lip balm, and my car keys when at the park. For those that still carry compact digital cameras, there is room for extra batteries and memory cards. Perfect when traveling light with a real camera too. Turns out the main compartment is the exact size of a Canon 600EX-RT flash unit. This makes it my new best friend for portraits at the park or trips to the zoo.
Now, I know we used to call them “fanny packs”, and some folks made fun of them. But now they’re hip packs. That is, you can wear them on your hip, back, or front. Either way, they’re hip again. Because everyone has stuff to carry, and bulging pockets just don’t go well with skinny jeans. Also, sorry for the stock photos, but I spend way too much time trying to match my images to the actual colors before I took the easy way out.
As a reminder, purchasing the NorthSt Bags Pioneer 8 Hip Pack before November 21st generates a $5 donation to the National Parks Conservation Association. Since 1919, they’ve been looking after our national parks. They are here to serve the people, not the private industries that would like to drill, strip mine, and otherwise destroy our nation’s natural monuments. It’s been said that we didn’t inherit this land from our parents, we’re merely stewards of it for our children. So grab a hip Hip Pack, and do some good at the same time. NorthSt Bags.
Brian
A special thanks to NorthSt Bags for sending out a bag for me to write about. And also for backing the NPCA. Consumers today have plenty of choices when it comes to where they spend their money. NorthSt Bags makes it an easy choice. American-made, and defenders of the great outdoors.