San Francisco based Boreas Gear is about to oust Mile High Mountaineering as the newcomer on the backpack block. Wondering why commuters carry around highly technical mountaineering packs and fed up with a different pack for every outdoor activity, the Boreas team came together to design versatile outdoor equipment you can use everyday.
Boreas was started by a group of outdoor industry veterans, including Tae Kim, the Creative Director behind Alite Designs. With too many over-designed, over-featured, and overpriced backpacks dominating the industry, Boreas is creating versatile packs that can take you on the airplane to the hiking, biking, climbing you plan to do on the other end.
With many different ideas in the works, Boreas has chosen to start with a line of technical packs. The range includes a small, body hugging active sport pack, a couple of daypacks, and some larger ultralight and classic backpacking packs.
Boreas strives to maintain a simple, clean line without reducing the pack functionality. A great example of the Boreas design style is with the dual daisy chains. The daisy chain webbing tucks neatly away into the body of the pack, remaining hidden until needed.
Boreas hopes to officially launch their line of technical packs for Fall 2011. The company is letting me test out one of the Lost Coast 60 packs so stay tuned for a full review.