Things fall apart

Another of my possessions have called it quits. This time round, its my trusty rucksack of 8 years. One of the two zips become dislodged and it can't be done up again. Oh well.. at least my stuff are falling apart now when I still have a bit of RS going for me, and not when I'm skint. I really like this rucksack. Its a litealp by my favorite Kiwi company, Macpac . It's kinda pricy, but I've done my sums and when spread over 8 years of use, it really is value for money. I remember when I first got it and was lugging it all over campus. One of my classmates KY examined it cos it just stood out from the sea of Eastpac and Outdoor packs. He ran his finger over the Aztec fabric and the large YKK zips and told me.. "this rucksack means business"

Later on, another friend, TC whom I only got to know in my 3rd year told me that when he first knew me personally, the only thought that went through his head was "so this is the joker with the macpac". He has a couple too. Somehow, like the other kind of Mac owners, meeting a macpac owner was a meeting of minds. We are suckers for the kind of rucksacks that only Macpac can churn out.

It also gave me some kind of 'respectability' in outdoor gear shops. One look at me and straightaway, you'll know that I'm not exactly a mover and shaker. I don't do lively things such as rock climbing and have no inclination towards 10 km runs and Himalayan mountaineering. But my macpac puts up a good decoy. I walk into the shop and sales assistants start pointing. It really is not that common. Maybe they're thinking, this girl knows a good thing when she sees it. Better not try to sucker her inflated product specs. I don't know any better of course, but it still gave me a great feeling.

Macpac after sales support is good too. Once I lost a buckle attached to the waist strap. It was an ordinary buckle which can be replaced rather easily. But I wrote to George at Macpac about something else and casually mentioned it. Next thing I knew, an envelope with a replacement buckle and a handful of stickers arrived in my letterbox. Such wonderful service! I like to think that my money is spent on happy workers at Macpac who are guaranteed a minimum wage rather than other manufacturers churning out their goods at sweat shops.

Anyway..its been a fantastic 8 years... I loved my Macpac before I loved my Mac (altogether now.. awwww) RIP. I'll try to get it fixed or use it as a field bag from now. Its time to move on and look for a new rucksack... I'm thinking of a litealp again...




My litealp and I on one of my many traipses abroad. This one taken along the busy streets of Colombo, checking out a used bookshop. Photo taken by SS.