Amit Naor | INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER
CAPRA
live on the edge
CAPRA combines a backpack with safety equipment for a hiker in Via Ferrata routes.
These routes invite people for a mountaineering experience of hiking and secure climbing integrated into breathtaking paths.
The idea is to merge the harness, helmet, and energy absorbent into the backpack, thus allowing the traveler a quick and comfortable transition from walking mode to secure mode. All this, within less than a minute, without removing the backpack or even bending down.
The working process began while I was hiking before the exchange student program in Austria. I was amazed to find out that many hikers relinquish their security because of the cumbersomeness and the amount of time required to extract the equipment from the backpack and wear it. I have deepened my research and discovered that over 90% of casualties in Via Ferrata routes were not secured. This piece of information was a guiding light for me during the project. I understood that in order to make people hike while being secured and not endanger their lives, an increase in comfort and a significant decrease in the time required to gear up must occur.
I chose this project out of a belief that design has the power to save lives. I believe that a hiker showing up to a hike with a CAPRA backpack will not have second thoughts if he gears up and secures himself before he begins the Via Ferrata route, and doing so will save his life.
Also talking about CAPRA:
The Chicago Athenaeum museum of architecture and design
IDA - International Design Award
