Whilst browsing the internet in the midst of my morning bout of incapacitating, insomniac anxiety, I came across a post on one of my old standbys (Cool Hunting) about a collaboration pack from some man and Rivendell Mountain Works. I was immensely pleased, and I'll tell you why:
Rivendell, for anyone who hasn't seen a film in the last ten years, is a mountain refuge of the elves in JRR Tolkien's Middle Earth, of Lord of the Rings fame. It is, I am not ashamed to say, a book I've read many many, many many many times. Expecting, therefore, some young bucks who were fresh out of college and inspired by Peter Jackson's truncated, abridged, and otherwise inadequate trilogy, I was surprised to learn that this cottage business had its roots in the early 1970s.
The packs are "vintage remakes" of designs from a time before Gore-Tex and aluminum alloy frames were commonplace, let alone widely available, and therefore evoke some of the romance not only of a simpler time in this world, but of the fantastic adventures of Elves and Men in the mind of Tolkien.
And THAT, good people, is enough nerdish wistfulness for one morning's work.
The website, by the designer's own admission, is a bit crude, but full-sized packs appear to run around $175, and being a small operation, you can have a unique input into how yours is made. Available in "Kheled-Zaram" Blue, "Dragon-Fire" Orange, "Shire" Clay, and "Emyn Muil" Brown. Shop and learn more about the community here.
