Say hello to one of the most interesting lightweight day-packs we've seen for ages. 
 
Every so often, something just appears at OUTDOORSmagic HQ out of the blue, this unusual-looking Columbia Mobex daypack - due out in 2010 - is the latest alien life form to disembark from the UPS space ship and we thought you might like a quick look.

We have actually seen it before on the Columbia stand at the OutDoor trade show in Germany a few months back - it won an industry aware there -  so we can tell you that it's called the Mobex and that it's a highly unusual design which apparently takes cues from adventure racing and and leaves.

Leaves? Yep, you know those veins that support the structure of a leaf, the weird, geodesic-style poles of the external Exoflex frame on the outside of the pack are supposed to echo those lines giving strength and support with minimal weight.

Somewhat amusingly, you can crush it into small spaces for easy transport without breaking it and it resumes normal service as soon as you let it out back into the world. It does look, for all the world, like a small, geodesic or dome tent, helped  by the tent-look colours .

We also like the neat shock-corded pole attachments, stretch pockets and a clever, belt-mounted water bottle holder. At 830 grammes for what looks like about 25 litres capacity it's light rather than ultra-light, but what it does have in spades is wow factor. It does simply look quite innovative.

We'll do some digging and use the Mobex and fill in the blanks later, but on first acquaintance, we rather like the odd little creature.

More Columbia information at www.columbia.com