Tuke

The Tuke, made by TwinNeedle in Christchurch, is a medium volume back designed to be as versatile as possible with Hikers, Trampers, and Alpinists in mind. Light enough for Te Araroa but rugged and featured enough for 6-day transalpine trips. It’s what our chief guide Rob uses most of the time! The volume ranges from 53 litres for the Small to 63 litres for the Large, and can be extended – see below.
 
The idea behind the Tuke was to start with a very lightweight pack design and add a rigid HDPE back panel, a detachable lid pocket, reinforce the base with abrasion resistant 1000D Nylon, and include a few useful attachments like side compression straps, fabric base pockets on the side, bungee cord (which you can arrange however you like), and alloy toggles for mounting ice tools.
 
A novel design feature of the Tuke is the Pouch Attachment Ladder (PAL) system. This comprises three horizontal bands of webbing with Hypalon reinforcing. The PAL system allows you to choose where you attach the bungee cord, an optional front volume pocket, the pack closure strap, and the lid straps. (Changing the position of the straps allows you to overload the pack with an extra 10-15L when needed by extending the height of the lid.)
 
The PAL system also includes webbing on the waist belt so you can add the optional waist belt pocket and/or drink bottle pouch. (Rob has also added 4mm spectra cord to these on his pack, to create gear loops for carabiners or temporarily stashing an ice axe.)

At various times we have some colour combinations in stock (ready to be shipped) while others need to be made to order, with a lead time up to four weeks. We’ll get in touch to discuss your options if your chosen pack will be delayed.
 
(“Tuke” is one Māori name for the endangered rock wren, the only truly alpine bird in Aotearoa, and reflects the terrain this pack is likely to be found in as well as it’s lightweight nature.)