Custom | Blind Banana Bags

Your backpack is the thing you interact with the most while out hiking. Using one that suits your needs, both in terms of fit and features will greatly improve your experience.

How does it work?

1. Have a good idea of your needs. Think about what you’re missing from your current pack(s). If you’re not too sure, you can either contact me or use it as an excuse to go hiking some more until you find out 🙂

2. Have a look through the pack guide to make sense of the selection of base packs and suspension systems.

3. Look at the specific options available for the pack below. If you want further inspiration, take a look at my Instagram.

3. Fill out an order form. You’ll get a price and can order to get a spot in the production queue. If you want further customization than what the form offers, you can contact me. These changes carry a minimum custom charge of 200DKK.

Packs have been updated recently so I’m currently working on an exact description of every option for each pack. You’ll see them listed here soon 🙂

What fabric should you choose?

EPLX – lightweight option for on-trail hiking

EPX – long-lasting option for on-trail hiking

UltraTX – long-lasting option for off-trail hiking

If you want more nuance and specifications, read further below.

EPLX

The lightest all-polyester waterproof fabric. Great for on-trail hiking when weight matters. It will handle soft goods well but is not the best choice if you pack sharp items unprotected internally. Can be repaired with seam tape.

200 denier polyester face, 45° polyester Cross-ply and waterproof 0,5mm polyester RUV-film.Polyester components are 100% recycled.

Weight: 146 gsm

EPLX Black

EPLX Coyote

EPLX White

EPX

Solid 3-layer fabric with long waterproof lifespan. Great for on-trail hiking too. There’s many colors to choose from and the backing means you can pack pretty much whatever you’d like.

C0 DWR, 200 denier polyester face with 45° Cross-ply, and 70 denier polyester ripstop backing.

Weight: 200gsm

Ultra200TX

The best of both worlds – the abrasion resistance of Ultra with the increased stability and prolonged waterproof lifespan of a 3-layer laminate. The ultimate choice for long lasting frame packs!

200 denier Ultra face, 45° polyester Cross-ply and 70 denier polyester ripstop backing.

Weight: 200gsm

Black

White

For most pockets waterproofing is not a concern and therefor non-laminated fabrics are used. They’re lighter, more supple and cheaper too. In terms of technical properties Ultragrid does come out on top but there’s not much in the difference. In other words, pick the color you’d like!

A more detailed comparison

Properties like waterproofness, abrasion resistance, tensile strength, and tear resistance can be measured in a standardized way. Therefore, they tend to be the most common way fabrics are compared. However, they only hint at the longevity and performance of a fabric, as real-world usage differs wildly to the singular properties tested in isolation. Below is a chart of fabrics I offer with some common alternatives ranked by weight:

Fabric	Weight (g/m2)	Abrasion (ASTM 3884 cycles)	Tear strength warp/weft avg (N)	Waterproof	Recycled components
DCFH50	102	500	191	Yes	0%
Ultra200	119	4400	516	Yes	40%
Ultragrid	132	1100	na	No	90%
DCFH150	170	500	245	Yes	0%
RBC400	178	3000*	na	No	90%
Ultrastretch	186	3000	na	No	0%
EPX200	200	500	115	Yes	100%
VX21	210	500	93	Yes	0%
Ultra200TX	210	4400	516	Yes	60%
Ultra400TX	244	8800	689	Yes	55%
EPX400	304	3000	159	Yes	100%
EPX400HH	310	15000	159	Yes	48%

*based on fabrics with the same face

What can the numbers be used for?

In my experience, face fabric denier correlates better with real-world performance than most other metrics. Fabrics that score low for their face denier generally perform better in real world conditions than standardized tests would suggest. The opposite is also true.

Example: The ~200 denier polyester face of EPX/EPLX holds up better than the 50 denier polyester face of DCFH50, even though they score the same in abrasion testing. Ultra200 doesn’t perform an order of magnitude better than DCFH50, but it is still significantly stronger.

A note on Ultra

The amazing properties of UHMWPE used in Ultra are not without caveats, as it is very slippery and has a low-energy surface, meaning it makes for an unstable weave that is hard to bond. This is why Ultra has 1/3 polyester in the face. It stabilizes the weave and allows stronger bonding of the film, which further stabilizes the fabric as a whole. The film is not just for waterproofing, but also an integral part of the fabric. In real world conditions the film deteriorates and the integrity of the fabric gets compromised. I’ve had a much higher rate of fabric failure with UItra because of this and have discontinued the fabric as a result. EPLX performs just as good or even better at a lower price.

The new UltraX features a stabilizing X-grid and a thicker film improving the longevity. I’ve considered it but ultimately decided to stick with UltraTX as it has performed great and is worth the added weight for frame packs especially.

The outside is not everything

While all the main fabrics are waterproof to over 200psi (140000mm HH!), packs made from them are not equal in waterproofing, especially over time.

As I’m lucky enough to have a dad that develops sports clothing and tests fabric as his day job, I enlisted his help to test the internal abrasion resistance of my most used fabrics. He uses a Martindale tester, which can be loaded with a coarse woolen pad as an abrasive. This is a milder abrasive than the ASTM 3884 test in the chart above but perhaps more relevant as it more closely mimics the wear inside a pack. You can see more here.

Normally testing goes up to 50.000 cycles. The samples are pictured after 90.000 cycles. This was the point where you could see discernible wear on all but one sample.

EPLX (upper left) faired the best with no visible wear.

Ultra (upper right) had wear through the film only at the small creases created where the sample is gripped.

UltraTX (lower right) had very little wear, only visible on the cross-ply.

EPX (lower left) had wear all the way through the woven layer at multiple points along the cross-ply .

Both EPLX and Ultra have the same film. This version of UltraTX has a smoother weave internally than EPX. While only a sample size of 1 it’s always great to test things as this went contrary to my own intuition.

The smoother surfaces seem to handle textile abrasion very well. Packing your drybags, tent and clothing appears to not be an issue. In real world use, multiple types of wear happen.

The woven layers showed more wear from this particular test, but do better in every other test that I can think of. The naked film is much more susceptible to scratching and puncturing. Once it is even slightly compromised, it becomes more susceptible to wear and tear as witnessed on the Ultra sample.