Good lord, why? Really, what is the fascination with the walking dead and the end of the world? Either way, this year at the Outdoor Retailer trade show there debutes yet another “Zombie Apocalypse”-branded release, and this time the product is nearly as strange as the trend itself.
It’s a backpack. It’s a tent. It comes with a machete and survival gear. Yep, grab it and go — the Zombie Apocalypse Backpack from High Peak and TentPak is set and ready for avid campers and “serious zombie insurrection preppers” alike, the company cites.
Will this all-in-one let you elude and escape those creepy guys with their arms outstretched? Maybe, but it’s a lug. One model weighs 15 pounds just with its tent and survival equipment alone.
Wait, did we say there was a tent inside this backpack? Yep. Even weirder than the name is the backpack/tent hybrid, made by TentPak, which includes a hidden two-person tent that withdraws from the pack body to set up quickly in a time of need.
But don’t sleep. The zombies will get you. Instead, we recommend you wield one of the four blades, including a Gerber machete, that come with the kit. There’s a fire-starter, too, if things get really dire.
Watch for the Zombie Apocalypse Backpacks this spring in shops. The price of all this zombie defense? Not cheap. The units start at $508 and go up depending on the pack size and zombie-killing implements inside.
—Stephen Regenold
