For the first time in our weekly Friday Focus segment, we will be featuring one of FirstSpear’s OEM partners and a product FirstSpear produces for them; Hill People Gear and their Umlindi Pack.
Why Hill People Gear started
According to the Hill brothers who founded Hill People Gear, this is how the legend began:
HPG started as a series of personal projects built to solve problems that weren’t satisfied by anything else on the market. Other people started seeing and wanting these things for themselves so we decided to give it a whirl. As our market has grown, we’ve been able to expand our product line from unique items unavailable elsewhere into better renditions of items that are more widely available. When we hear from a guy who used to climb with Yvonne Chouinard and starting backpacking before we were born, or from a guy who is a full time adventurer and jungle instructor — and they’re liking our packs better than anything else they’ve ever carried – it inspires us to keep turning out gear that will stand the test of time.
Why American production
We’re able to make decisions based on more than just the bottom line because we’re a family owned business. Helping maintain American manufacturing infrastructure means we have smaller profit margins, but at the same time we’re doing our part to build stronger communities here at home. This is how you fix social and economic problems the American way. Individuals freely deciding to do what needs to be done brick by brick, not governments bungling around with top down half-solutions. Our customers understand this and part of why they choose to send their hard earned dollars our way is because they also believe in investing in American infrastructure.
Why FS
We were lucky enough to fall in with First Spear before they had their production line set up. We knew a guy, who knew a guy. That’s really been the basis of our partnership with FS. From the beginning, we were doing business with people who operate the way we do – do a good solid job without cutting corners, fix problems head on when they come up, don’t be chickenshit about the little things, and above all be trustworthy. It should come as no surprise that this results in production quality as good as you can get anywhere and a very easy going working relationship. There may be drama in our business from time to time, but it doesn’t come from our partnership with FirstSpear.
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Umlindi Pack
The Umlindi Pack is an exercise is designing the largest pack practical for use without lifter straps. It features a one piece contoured shoulder harness which doesn’t get in the way of shouldering a rifle. The padded back panel ensures comfort for the wearer. The Ute-style pulley compression system accepts the Palspocket, Tarapocket, or Tarahumara packs. Additional features include dual wand pockets, 3 reinforced hang tabs inside the pack, a hose port, half depth slot pocket inside of pack, and a parachute cord tool loop in back center. Use of an optional Prairie Belt or other war belts makes the “Lindi” into a large lumbar pack.
Available in Khaki/Ranger or Foliage/Stone. Hill people would also like to offer SSD readers a discount code for the Umlindi Packs. Use the coupon code “FSFFK” (for khaki/ranger) or “FSFFF” (for foliage/stone) for $20 off an Umlindi pack through 6/27.
