Outdoors

Paxis backpack provides quick access with swinging pouch

Paxis backpack provides quick access with swinging pouch
The Paxis Mt. Pickett 18 at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2015
The Paxis Mt. Pickett 18 at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2015
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The Paxis pack offers quick access to things like cameras, snacks and maps
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The Paxis pack offers quick access to things like cameras, snacks and maps
The Paxis backpack uses a lockable swinging arm to give you immediate access to essential gear
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The Paxis backpack uses a lockable swinging arm to give you immediate access to essential gear
MindShift Gear's Rotation180 Panorama 22L retails for $200
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MindShift Gear's Rotation180 Panorama 22L retails for $200
Paxis co-founder Paul Vierthaler shows us how the "swinging pod" works
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Paxis co-founder Paul Vierthaler shows us how the "swinging pod" works
Paxis co-founder Paul Vierthaler shows us how the "swinging pod" works
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Paxis co-founder Paul Vierthaler shows us how the "swinging pod" works
This lock secures the arm and opens with a pull of the shoulder-mounted quick release
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This lock secures the arm and opens with a pull of the shoulder-mounted quick release
The Paxis Mt. Pickett 18 at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2015
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The Paxis Mt. Pickett 18 at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2015
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Backpacks are an essential means of everyday carry for everyone from grade school students to world record-setting athletes. While they remain one of the most comfortable and popular ways of carrying equipment, books, clothing, food and water around, they're not perfect. The Paxis backpack attempts to solve one downside, eliminating the need to take the pack off to access your most essential items.

On a hike with his wife, Paxis co-founder Paul Vierthaler realized something: he loved hiking, but he hated backpacks. More specifically, he hated having to constantly take his pack off to access things he needed on the trail. Vierthaler explained this to his wife, and she challenged him by suggesting that he had some good ideas but lacked follow-through.

So, with the driving winds of friendly marital one-upmanship filling his sails, Vierthaler got to work and tinkered together a solution in his garage. A few years of refinement later, a more accessible breed of backpack was ready. Vierthaler and his team called it the Paxis.

Paxis co-founder Paul Vierthaler shows us how the "swinging pod" works
Paxis co-founder Paul Vierthaler shows us how the "swinging pod" works

Similar in spirit to the Wolffepack, the Paxis backpack provides quick interior access without the need to remove a shoulder strap. Unlike that design, the Paxis pack doesn't give you immediate access to the entire backpack, but to a lower waistbelt pouch. The right shoulder-mounted quick-pull release pops the hinged aluminum arm free, allowing the pack to swing to the front, where the wearer can quickly find what they need.

The rotating backpack seems to be a fast-growing category. Vierthaler tells us that Paxis began selling its packs about half a year ago, not that long after the Wolffepack was successfully funded on Kickstarter. In January 2013, MindShift Gear closed a successful Kickstarter campaign on its own Rotation180 backpack system (seen below), a design that went on to win 2014 Red Dot and Outdoor Industry awards.

MindShift Gear's Rotation180 Panorama 22L retails for $200
MindShift Gear's Rotation180 Panorama 22L retails for $200

The Rotation180 is quite similar to the Paxis and aimed at photographers. On paper, we prefer the 180's rotating waist pack design over the Paxis because it doesn't involve the external arm, which looks like a heavy, clunky solution that might easily break or injure the wearer should he or she trip and fall while it's deployed. MindShift Gear's Rotation180 Panorama backpacks are also considerably lighter than Paxis backpacks; its 22-liter pack weighs in at 2.9 lb (1.3 kg) compared to 5.5 lb (2.5 kg) for the 22-liter Paxis.

Paxis offers the US$239 18-liter Mt. Pickett 18 and $249 22-liter Mt. Pickett 20 models. Each pack features NYLAR water-resistant ballistic fabric construction, waterproof zippers, a padded/vented back, a tablet pocket, and the swinging waist "shuttle pods" with built-in wallet and internal organization.

Source: Paxis

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5 comments
5 comments
Paul van Dinther
Interesting idea. I looked at all the links provided but I actually think this design might be superior because there is little weight transfer taking place. The weight remains on the shoulders.
Rotation180 looks awful because it suggest the hip strap can be loosened and then rotated. This means weight transfer from the hips to shoulders and good luck bringing it all back in order again. I suspect on a fully loaded pack you end up taking it off anyway in order to get the hip strap right.
Wolffepack looks awful. Really? A pulley? Again. Total weight transfer from shoulders to arms and a thin string is supposed to haul the pack back up? Maybe if it only contains a map. But a full pack? No way. Again. Much less effort to just take it off.
Keith Reeder
OLD idea:
http://www.photographybay.com/2009/10/12/think-tank-photo-rotation-360-camera-backpack-review/
20phalley
Love my paxis backpack! I am a firefighter and emt. It has worked great on medical calls, but my favorite use is snowboarding and photography. It is light weight, comfortable, and very accessible!
JimRoot
I have been a Paxis owner for about a month, and have done both a written review as well as a video of the unboxing (see links to both below). While I haven't seen or used the others in this article, I can say that I've been very pleased with the performance of my Paxis in the short time I've used it. It's now my carry on while I'm in the field, and it's rugged and durable construction has performed very well thus far. Being that I'm constantly in the field, I put a lot of wear and tear on things, and for it to still look brand new after all it's been through in a short amount of time is a real testament to the product.
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hirrjubMaMk&feature=gp-n-y&google_comment_id=z12wwn4w4rmjurehd04cdjthkoraulp4sts0k
Blog link at Weather Underground: http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JimRoot/comment.html?entrynum=50
JamieKnight
I have to agree with most of the previous comments in that Paxis has a much better product when it comes to functional backpacks. While I may be biased from actually having used the Paxis backpack before and not the Rotation180, this article jumps to the conclusion of the Rotation180 being superior over a "clunky arm" and a difference of 2.5lbs.

While the extra weight on long hauls can be a drag if you are not conditioned for it, the difference is not noticeable. The clunky arm is not clunky at all and provides a great solid platform from which to work from, unlike the Rotation180 which, from what I have read and seen, is a glorified fanny pack.

At the end of the day, the Paxis backpack is meant for those who need a very reliable and study backpack that gives them quick access on the go