New Inflatable Portaledge Technology

There is a new portaledge in town - essentially a SUP with straps. The technology is called drop stitch, which enables a super high internal pressure (up to 20 psi, but only 6-7 is needed) that creates structural rigidity unlike any other portaledge. I didn’t initially plan to start a company around it but it worked so well and one thing led to another and now we (Freebird R&D Mountain Equipment LLC) are scaling up production in hopes that climbers will find it to be useful addition to existing portaledge options.

Obviously I think its great because I’ve used it so many times and did all the R&D with help from my climbing partners, but curious if people who are on this forum would use one of these based on pictures below and info on our website www.freebirdmountain.com.

Cheers,

Nick

Very Cool! Would love to use. Is it comfortable enough to sleep on without a sleeping pad, as you mention just deflating to your preferred comfort level?

Pretty rad! How does your pump system work? I've never seen a bolt hanger on a tree before (: Is that your fly design, too? Looks spacious! Did you bivy on the Finger of Fate? I think this is pretty awesome and wish you all the successes. Certainly must make you smile to sleep on a product of your own initiative and toil. Whadyaknow, l clicked the link and answered most of my queries!  Blessings for patience with the naysayers. If l needed a ledge, l'd be stoked to put forth a wee $800

That looks awesome!  Look forward to seeing you bring it to market.  

so cool. have you thought about/prototyped a double ledge? 

How many inflations per pump battery charge do you get?

Cole cunninghamwrote:

so cool. have you thought about/prototyped a double ledge? 

That would be incredibly rad. Even my broke ass would try to buy one. 

Thanks for the comments and stoke!

WadeM: Once you are ready for sleeping, release air and its comfortable to sleep on without an additional sleeping pad. Just make sure the center strap is below your lower back. I comfortably slept on it last night, outside at 24 degrees F, in the double setup with my dog and no sleeping pads. The more you release air, the more it loses rigidity so you'll want to pump it back up in the morning for breakfast and moving around on.

Stiles: The pump system is like a syringe. It is made by K-pump for exactly this type of inflatable because it can achieve the high pressure needed. www.k-pump.com. I worked with High Mountain Gear (HMG) to develop the fly, and HMG will be doing the manufacturing for each order that comes through on my website. Made in USA is important for us as much as it is possible! I definitely smile every time I get on a Multiledge!

Jabroni McChufferson: It works as a paddle board, but standing up on it is not easy due to the smaller profile than a SUP. Think paddle out like a surfer to get to deep water solo climbs or other water guarded climbs. Also good for transporting gear across water, think Moonlight Buttress.

Mikey Schaefer: It is technically on the market - we are taking preorders on the website freebirdmountain.com. I know preorders are not confidence inspiring, but we have more Multiledges currently being made than we have orders, so I hope that inspires some confidence!

cole c: I have a double ledge in the works, but that is at least a year out. I hate to say just buy 2 because I know they are expensive, but the modular options are a nice benefit (think about climbing with someone who only owns a g7 pod - you aren't beholden to bringing a double ledge if you each have your own single)... I will be looking at offering discounts for people who buy the full 2 person kit (2 Multiledges and 1 Rainfly).

Sean Anderson: It is a manual pump, but battery operated SUP pumps work too, just the problem is that the battery can run out and its a failure mode I wouldn't choose to have.

Ricky Harline: Noted on the double! 

Check the website for discounts. Unfortunately the cost of development, manufacturing, and everything else adds up so fast that I couldn't keep the cost as low as I had hoped for.

This youtube video I made will help answer and refine most of these questions too! youtube.com/watch?v=BwDCNMQ…; 

Looked at your site the other day, best of luck. Looks well in a competitive range price wise and weight is very good seemingly

Been playing around with a similar concept, going for a similar design to the delta 2p, looking forward to showing it off once I have the time to build it, not that it's a competition but my one should be only a bit heavier than the SUP with straps but 2 person. 

I also have no interest in commercialisation. 

Nick Powellwrote:

This youtube video I made will help answer and refine most of these questions too! https://studio.youtube.com/video/BwDCNMQERno/edit 

This this is the link you meant to share: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwDCNMQERno

Super cool, bro. Well done. When do you expect the first batch to be out? In time for spring? 

Kyle here of High Mountain Gear in Washington.

Nick took me up on the offer to fly to Washington to start/finish the fly design in two days, it took 29 hours to iron out all the details and make it right. Never met him before and just showed up to work. Fortunately I have designed many ledge storm flies, including those for the G7 Pod, the Taco ledge, and A5 ledges and I felt like I had reached the point where I could make it happen in that amount of time.

Nick as a person seems like he has a solid background and understanding of the Multiledge's performance characteristics. I like that he followed through/reached out and is working with Skot's Wall Gear and myself, which is generally hard to do for many reasons.  I also appreciate how BD ledges just keep getting heavier and are making more room for small companies to capture that market, and the Multiledge system fits in between reasonably light and ultracomfort. I imagine that this setup is good for 90% of wall climbing, and has some advantages over the Pod in stability(standing, pooping, swimming to climbs, longer drop height=more room between the straps) I personally didn't feel like the Multiledge and Taco ledge were direct competitors so I went with it. I felt that Dorf would have appreciated the ML and would have helped figure something out for Nick if he were still alive, so I hoped to continue the patent-free stream of innovation that some companies feel compelled to stamp out.

Everything is a balance of cost/weight/origin of manufacturing/companies actually stocking their products. I hope that the ML finds a home in the Wallosphere.

Nick putting the fly on for the first time near the end of two whole days of work.

John Shultzwrote:

Super cool, bro. Well done. When do you expect the first batch to be out? In time for spring? 

Yep, preorders that come in during January will be delivered for spring wall season. If we get more orders than expected, then a second batch will be started and those will also make it in time for spring wall season, albeit a little later than the first round of inventory we are creating now. Plenty still available in the first batch though!

Ok, I got one. Am I in the first batch? 

Flying with a regular ledge is BRUTAL, all around. 

I love everything about it, but the name. How about SUP-ledge??? Can't wait to surf El Cap this spring   

Congrats on the innovative product!

Cheers from Osaka,

John 

I already have plans to use mine this spring!

Can you patch & repair it while on a wall ? I've had small rocks whiz by and hit helmet on El Capitan & Half Dome .

John Shultz: Yes! you are in the first batch. Thanks for the order!

Skot: Me too! What routes do you think the Multiledge is best suited for?

Gerald Adams: Yep, the patch kit needs a 4 hour cure time and can be done on the wall. If you have to use it before the 4 hours, its still possible, but needs several layers of tape on top to prevent bubbling.

small rocks will just bounce off the Multiledge by the way, it would take bowling ball sized razor sharp falling rocks to do real damage.

I can't speak for the singles - never owned one and I don't solo - but IMO a well made double that comes in around 10 lbs with a bomber fly is going to be more valuable in the marketplace.  My observation is that doubles far outnumber singles out there on the walls.  On longer routes, many including myself still bring 2 doubles as the additional weight over 2 singles is relatively small and the added comfort is huge.

I purchased 2 of the G7 Pods awhile back and it took me all of about 10 minutes at the base of the local crag to realize they were virtually unusable as a double compared to my A5 double.  I ended up selling them a few months later - unused.  

My observation since they came out is these get purchased and used "one and done" by noobs and big wall theorists to use on trade routes where there are large ledges nearby to actually have a place to spread out on.  If they move on to steeper routes, those same people seem to end up in Al frame double ledges as they gain experience.  If you have experience with hanging camps where there are no ledges nearby, the reasons will become immediately obvious.  

Note Jacob and Bronwyn - supposed G7 athletes and former Pod models - made the switch.  Even for their epic "Sea to Summit" trip where everything had to fit in small boats and multi-day overland carries were involved - they carried the heavier and bulkier Al frame ledges.

When you're committed to a completely hanging bivy, a double portaledge becomes a very important place eat, recover, find shade and weather storms.  Having some 2-piece that shifts in the middle and has straps everywhere is a no-go.  You need to be able to have 2 people sitting in their own sleeping spots and able to sit without their head going through the fly.  You have to be able to shift your weight around without dumping your camp as you reach around and move things or one person has to take a crap or climb down to get things out of a haul bag.  I could go on.  The old A5/North Face double is just under 15 lbs with the basic fly and hasn't been replaced yet in the market place (11lb ledge+haulbag, 4lb fly).  If I lost my ledge, I'd have zero reservations going straight to a 30lb (w/fly and haulbag) BD Perch - it's your most important piece of equipment by far and your life could depend on it.

TLDR - seems to me this same "SUP" concept as a double with pretty much a copy of the A5/NF/BD middle fins and suspension - could possibly be a replacement - if weight and bulk were lower than the A5 double - with a factory seam sealed fly.  The ledges from the 90's are still working fine and getting a lot of use - but the flies all seem to be leaking.

2c suggestion for your next product.

I agree nate, the utility of a lightweight 2 person ledge is huge, and especially benefits solo climbers. My design solves this problem, the issue is my design is labour intensive and expensive so you would never take it commercial.