Whippa Wollemi Ultralight 90L Pack

A few issues back, I did a review of a pack I’ve quickly come to rave about: the Whippa Overland 60 Ultralight. Made by Summit Gear—a small but thriving company that have been making packs up in NSW’s Blue Mountains since 1981, yes, the very year Wild Mag launched—the Overland is an extremely well-thought-out ultralight pack that, despite its featherweightness at just 942g, is nonetheless almost preposterously robust. But in that review, one thing I said is that although the Overland isn’t flimsy, “If you’re carrying heavy loads on big trips, you’ll want something burlier.”

Enter the Wollemi. This 90L pack is the Overland’s big brother, capable of handling trips of an extended nature. For a pack of its size, the Wollemi—at 1,221g as tested—is incredibly lightweight, which isn’t surprising, given it and the Overland share largely the same materials and design. Both packs’ bodies are constucted from abrasion-, UV- and tear-resistant Ultra 200X; their bases use Ultra 800X UHMWPE (non-branded Dyneema), which has double the abrasion resistance of 1000D Cordura; and their backs employ tear-resistant UltraGrid, which uses 210D recycled yarn interwoven with Dyneema. All this makes for an incredibly tough, robust pack. I know some doubters will think that no ultralight pack could stand up to the rigours of, say, off-track walking in Tasmania. These two packs, however, challenge those preconceptions, and I’d take them off-track in Tas in a heartbeat. One other thing: The materials just mentioned are either waterproof or have had a waterproof backing applied; thanks to all seams being tape-sealed, both packs are essentially waterproof.

Design-wise, the Wollemi, like the Overland, has a roll-top enclosure and a large, waterproof front stash pocket. In fact, of the 90L, only 82 are within the main body; the stash pocket adds an extra eight. If that’s still not enough, like the Overland, the Wollemi has an optional hood to extend the capacity.

One difference between the two siblings is that the foam thickness for the hip belt and back padding has been upped from 10 to 20mm for the Wollemi, reflective of the heavier loads it’s likely to carry. Its hip belt also has stabilisers, and has been reinforced with HDPE to add more structure. Not all differences between the two packs have to do with increased load weight, however. The hip belt on the Wollemi is interchangeable, and can be sized independently of back length. The Wollemi’s stretch side pockets are bigger and deeper. And its hip-belt pockets—which are huge; I love them—are removable. In fact, stock standard, the Wollemi  doesn’t include the pockets, but honestly, you’d be crazy not to add at least one. They’re light, too, just 52g (as tested). Fun fact: The hip-belt pockets and the side pockets are made from UltraStretch—a 4-way stretch mesh woven with UHMWPE fibers so tough that Summitgear’s auto-cutting machine cannot cut the fabric; hand cutting with carbon shears is needed.

So, how does the Wollemi carry a load? I’ll be honest (well, I’m always honest, but you know what I mean), I haven’t taken the pack out on a properly big multi-week trip yet. But I have taken it out loaded up with supplies for six days, and it handled that with ease. The pack is rated to carry loads up to 30kg; that seems pretty much spot on to me. For bigger loads than that, I’ll continue taking out my trusty 100L Wilderness Equipment Mountain Expedition, which handles massive loads with aplomb. But at 3.32kg, it weighs exactly two kilograms more than the Wollemi. That’s a big difference.

Now, here’s a question that’s absolutely fair to ask: Do I really need a pack this big? Obviously, the answer depends on the type of trips you’re doing. And yes, 90L is huge. But consider this: At 1.22kg, this is still a light pack stacked up against most 60L packs, with the thing being that because of the roll-top enclosure, if you’re not filling the Wollemi, you simply give it a few more rolls to bring it down to a 60L capacity. Oh, and there are four g-hook compression straps as well to help with this. And then when the time comes for a big trip, boom, you’ve got 90L available if necessary.

There will be loads of people for who the capacity of the Wollemi will be overkill, but for those who need the capability, even if just very occasionally, this ultralightweight but bomber pack is one of the very best out there.

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