Subscribe to Outside Magazine
advertisement
Survival Guru

Today's Question
What should you do if you run into a cougar in the backcountry? answer

What is the number one backcountry skill people should learn? answer

Eco Adventurer

Today's Question
What are the five best environmental movies of all time? answer

What are the greenest colleges? answer

Videos Ask Dave
  • What kind of dog will make me look manlier? answer
  • Is there a sport that safely combines my twin passions for guns and kayaks? answer
  • How come most of the world's cultures enjoy eating goat, but Americans don't? answer

Online Favorites

Special Issues

Photo Galleries
save this page print this page email this page
  • share this page

Outside magazine, October 2000
DISPATCHES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12		 Page: 1
Gear
John Cutter, Designer

Sam Yocum
"Mountaineers are looking for new challenges, and the routes they are going for are so difficult, no one can climb them fast enough with the current technology on the market," says John Cutter, the 42-year-old gear designer who is stitching up the tents, bivy sack–inclusive packs, and haul bags that Jared Ogden, Mark Synnott, and Kevin Thaw will use for their October ascent of Mount Jannu. Cutter has patterned and constructed his own designs since high school, when he broke his mother's sewing machine making a bike pannier. Now under contract to The North Face, Cutter specializes in ultralight packs and tents, including this prototype for a new version of the company's discontinued Jetstream pack, which won't hit the market for at least a year. This and other designs—such as the Jannu team's portaledge—perform at their best in lofty places, but ultimately, Cutter feels most at home in his workshop. His take on the portaledge: "You couldn't pay me to spend the night in it." —Misty Blakesley

Page: 1