Kwame Adu

Sews and repairs packs at a community repair shop; former field mechanic on multi-week trail crews. At our lab, stress-tests hardware and documents field-repair workflows so gear stays in service longer.

Repairable design keeps gear outside longer and builds real trust.

In week three of a trail crew season, a hip-belt buckle shattered 12 miles from the road. We cannibalized a sternum slider and a spare strap to keep the pack in service. That five-minute trailside fix burned in a lesson: smart, standard hardware beats fancy, non-serviceable bits every time.

I prefer standard, replaceable hardware and honest fabric weights over slick proprietary bits.