D4 Portaledge Kickstarter September 2017 Update
D4 Portaledge Kickstarter September 2017 Update
Posted by John Deucey Middendorf (Creator)
News from the Field:
Sam England reports: "Just got back from a successful trip to the East Coast of Baffin Island. The D4 kept us safe and sound during our Grade VI first ascent. The 4 point suspension ledge performed excellently. We found that we saved a ton of space in our haulbags thanks to the integrated fly system. The size was perfect for us and we found it to be the easiest to set up ledge we've ever used."
Pete Zabrok, who has recently witnessed at very close hand the largest El Cap rockfall in modern times, reported earlier on his recent ascent of the Waterfall Route: "I just spent the night under nearly the full force of one of the world's most feared big wall waterfalls - Horsetail Falls on El Capitan on the Waterfall Route. Everything is essentially bone-dry. Absolutely unbelievable!! The D4 fly is ETS - Emphatically The Shit! Thanks Deucey!"
Tree Climbers: Our D4 Portaledge has also proven to be a favourite with tree climbers, mostly due to its lightweight, strong, and compact folding features, and has recently been used on an two-week educational series in Tasmania. Links:
PRODUCTION NOTES
We have now produced and shipped over 35 D4 Portaledges all over the world. We are currently only a few weeks away from our promised goal of the first 28 discounted Kickstarter D4 Portaledges offered for September delivery. Only four people who ordered the "September Ledges" are likely not to receive their portaledges by the end of this month, and we apologise to those four, but they should be shipped in the first couple weeks of October. The final batch of Kickstarter portaledges originally promised for 2018 will also likely be shipped in the next month or so, and we look forward to then accepting new orders for the over 50 requests on our D4 Portaledge waiting list (sign up at http://www.bigwallgear.com ).
SUPER ALPINISM TOOLS
Below, another shot of Marek Reganowicz looking very comfy on the very first D4 Portaledge prototype, which he used for 30 nights completing two first ascents in Baffin Island earlier this year. Marek is currently in Yosemite with his latest D4 portaledge.
Marek is one of the leading super big wall alpinists that Chouinard predicted way back in 1963: "Yosemite Valley will, in the near future, be the training ground for a new generation of superalpinists who will venture forth to the high mountains of the world to do the most esthetic and difficult walls on the face of the earth.” --Yvon Chouinard, 1963 AAC Journal
We are driven to help these superalpinists achieve their goals with new lightweight tools being developed at the D4 ("Deuce4") prototyping shed in Tasmania. Our latest invention is a superlight compact-folding, instant-deploy belay seat, which is currently being tested by product testers worldwide. We plan to offer this new patent pending tool in an upcoming Kickstarter.
