Ski touring backpacks · Test magazine 2023
Tech talk with Johannes Braun, DEUTER
Product Manager Outdoor Backpacks and Sleeping Bags · Print page 45
Who is Johannes Braun? Product Manager for Outdoor Backpacks and Sleeping Bags at deuter
Johannes Braun is Product Manager Outdoor Backpacks and Sleeping Bags at deuter. A keen freerider and ski tourer, he develops innovative, sustainable and durable products with the aim of maximizing their lifespan. In his interview for the BACKLINE 2023 test magazine, he discusses backpack development, sustainability and the importance of ski touring within the product range.
Marking the company’s 125th anniversary, Braun highlights development milestones such as the Aircomfort mesh-back carrying system introduced in 1984 and the bike backpacks developed with Andi Heckmaier in 1990. He links the sustainability strategy “Together for 360° Responsibility” to long-lasting products intended to reduce the impact on people and the environment. He describes responsibility as an ongoing process requiring new measures and ways of thinking.
According to Braun, ski touring remains an important part of deuter’s range. Addressing the need for safety equipment, he points to the Alproof avalanche backpack series introduced in autumn 2022; the Alproof 32 received an ISPO Award in 2022. Deuter works with Alpride on the electronic airbag system. Braun says a key reason for choosing this system was that users can practise deployments at any time without additional costs.
Congratulations on your 125th anniversary. What innovations does deuter look back on with pride, and what can deuter fans expect in the future?
Over the years, many great innovations emerged, revolutionizing the backpack market: For his first ascent of Nanga Parbat in 1953, Hermann Buhl chose the deuter Tauern backpack, developed as early as 1930, which reliably withstood the extremely challenging demands of his expedition. In 1984, arguably the greatest revolution in backpacks saw the light of day – the first Aircomfort carrying system with a mesh back, which made the competition sweat, but protected mountain sports enthusiasts from exactly that. In 1990, deuter, together with Andi Heckmaier, developed the first bike backpacks. In 1996, Bernd Kullmann created a prototype of a child carrier. The deuter Kid Comfort lives up to its promise and became the first child carrier worldwide with a TÜV/GS certificate for a long time. Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner’s individual requirements as a woman for suitable expedition equipment significantly shaped today’s SL women’s models. For the anniversary, deuter launched the 125 Years Anniversary Edition in summer 2023.
In its comprehensive sustainability strategy 'Together for 360° Responsibility', deuter prioritizes responsibility for people and the environment. A conscious detour, at least with regard to economic efficiency and profitability. Why?
For more than 120 years, deuter has focused on creating products that are innovative, high-quality, and durable, with the goal of extending their lifespan as long as possible and thus minimizing the burden on people and the environment. We will continue our efforts in the future. It is a process that constantly requires new measures and ways of thinking, and to which every individual and everyone together must commit with all their heart and conviction. People, nature, economy – it only works together, that is our corporate philosophy and the basis of our 'deuter Promise', in which all measures are recorded.
What role has ski touring played for deuter in the past, and what role should it play in the future?
Ski touring has been, is, and will always remain an important topic for the deuter product range. However, due to avalanche dangers, these sports are also associated with a high demand for safety equipment. We recognized this need and launched the Alproof series, a new range of avalanche backpacks with innovative technology, in autumn 2022. Our work was rewarded with the ISPO Award 2022 for the Alproof 32.
Despite its proximity to ORTOVOX (both in the STABILO Group), deuter uses the Alpride system instead of the ORTOVOX system for its airbag backpacks. How did this come about?
We deliberately brought in the expertise of the Swiss company Alpride for the new avalanche backpacks. As a result, the Alproof series combines the high quality and maximum carrying comfort of deuter backpacks with the Swiss engineering of Alpride, who have been producing light and robust avalanche airbags since 2009. From the outset, it was clear to us that an electronic system should be used for the Alproof series, as deployments can be practiced at any time without additional costs.
