Friday, October 18, 2013

Soho Crash Pad

This is my attempt at a review of the Soho Crash Pad. I've been using this pad for about 2.5 years. It's served its purpose in Bishop, Joe's Valley, Las Vegas, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Wyoming and lots of small areas in Montana. 
The first thing I want to say is: the padding in this pad has held up remarkably well. Unlike other pads who seem to get soft and mushy after just a year or so, this pad is still going strong heading on three years. And we've been falling (and sleeping) on it a lot.
Due to its unique design, this pad stands out. Rather than fold in two like most pads, this folds into a triangular prism. With a flap attached to the base, this pad can carry a lot of gear without smooshing it. And the flap makes it way less likely that your stuff is going to drop out of it while you're walking around.
Check out the pictures below for details:



This is one of the features that I find very useful and clever: a stripe of cloth for shoe wiping. 



A photo of the carrying system: simple, well-padded shoulder straps.


Zipper-closed side pocket for whatever you might want to store in the pad (brushes, IDs, anything flat).


The black hole swallows everything.


...and nothing ever comes out (unless you do a back flip).


The same flap that keeps the cargo in the pad doubles protection for the carrying system, protecting it from mud and dirt.



Test driving.