The Back Story

Rivendell Mountain Works was the brainchild of Larry Horton back in 1971. The flagship products were both based on designs created by the late Don Jensen, who was a climber active with the Harvard Mountaineering Club, in the 1960’s. Larry had a keen sense of how to manufacture these products to a high standard and a design philosophy of adhering to a theme of simplicity. In the 1977 catalog, Larry wrote “In spite of our choice to remain a cottage industry-or, perhaps, because of it-we have managed to continue an innovative influence on the world of equipment for backpackers, climbers and skiers.”

One thing that RMW gear came to represent, in the 1970’s, was gear that was reliable and had great longevity. Packs and tents are certainly two of the most important items that you need to be able to trust implicitly. Even now the Jensen Pack™ is built to be far more durable than many packs on the market today. For longevity and during extreme use, it is just not going to come apart on you. These packs are overbuilt to the nines.