Milestones

Business Entrepreneurial Award

2002 Outpac Designs was awarded the prestigious Business Entrepreneurial Award at the AustCham ANZ Australian Business Awards in Hong Kong. The Business Entrepreneurial Award was presented this year to Outpac Designs Limited, a dynamic company that designs, manufactures and markets travel security products for a global market. In presenting the Award, last year's Business Excellence Award winner, Jack O'Mahony, CEO of Cochlear Ltd acknowledged the importance of encouraging the spirit of entrepreneurs. AustCham Hong Kong.

Backpacker's Editor's Choice Award

1999 Outpac Designs launched the original "pacsafe" product in 1997. Shortly after, this product won the coveted Backpacker's Editor's Choice Award. As I approached the ticket counter for my flight to Montana, the agent gave me the same skeptical look my mother used to when I'd ask for an advance on my allowance. After poking at the steel mesh encircling my backpack, the ticket lady said, "You'll have to put your pack in a plastic bag so that thing doesn't damage our conveyor belts." Such sweet irony-a pack that might damage the airlines' property instead of the other way around. My pack was safely ensconced in the Pacsafe, a protective cover that thwarts not only airport goblins but also knife-wielding thieves. The Pacsafe has traveled with me across three continents, delivering my gear unscathed to a dozen distant trailheads. Using the security cable and padlock, I've chained my load to trees and lampposts and ducked into stores for supplies. I've even used it to bear-bag my food. The Pacsafe fits like a standard rain cover and either wraps around your pack's hipbelt and harness so they don't catch on conveyor belts or lets them hang free so you can shoulder the pack. It cinches closed with a tug on a steel cable and locks with a small brass padlock. When not in use, the Pacsafe folds into a grapefruit-size pouch. But best of all, it's nearly indestructible. Despite my best efforts with hammer and hacksaw, I couldn't dent the stainless steel mesh or plastic components. The consensus: The Pacsafe... a wise pound of prevention. By Jonathan Dorn, BACKPACKER Executive Editor, April 1999

Pacsafe Products