Hill People Gear’s new Type 1 Wildland Fire Pack is now available. For those who have been following Hill People Gear for a long time and know something of those who work there, it seems like it would be only a matter of time before they launched a pack like this.
Some of Hill People Gear’s brand DNA comes from wildland firefighting. Co-founder Evan Hill used a jumper pack on the Wyoming Hotshots back when they were still made in the Rigger’s Loft by smokejumpers. When he started building packs, they were belted lumbars like the jumper pack. In fact, the Umlindi follows that lumbar pack tradition.
Kevin McDowell is a Marine and wildland fire veteran who joined HPG initially as their Operations Manager and now serves as Marketing Director. He has been driving the company to create a fire pack and now HPG FIRE is born.
The Type 1 Pack is sold as a complete system. It consists of the following components, which can also be purchased separately:
Base Pack – The Type 1 Pack is based on the Umlindi V2 Backpack. However, the side compression straps from the standard Umlindi have been removed.
Line Pocket – The Line Pocket is a simple compression pocket and side pull compression straps that is sized specifically to work with the Umlindi.
Fire Shelter Case – The Fire Shelter Case can be set up for right or left hand shelter deployment. It attaches underneath the base pack and also to the Line Pocket to raise the rear edge and keep the shelter from resting on the firefighter’s bottom.
Prairie Belt – HPG’s most robust load bearing belt is included in the system. By default the Type 1 Pack ships with the 30+ Prairie Belt, but substitutions for other sizes are possible.
