Reviews > Packs > Frameless Backpacks and Day Packs > GoLite Gust > Owner Review by Rick Allnutt

GoLite Gust Pack
Owner Review by Rick Allnutt
 

PERSONAL BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Rick Allnutt
50 Year old male
6' 0'' (183 cm) in height
198 lb (90 kg) in weight
Email address: ra1 (at) imrisk (dot) com
I live in Dayton, Ohio

BACKPACKING BACKGROUND
Over the last 18 months, I have gone from being a heavyweight (2 Duluth Pack) canoe camper to a three-season base pack weight of about 9 lb (4 kg) and skin out weight of 20 lb (9 kg). I have completed 5 ultralight section hikes on the Appalachian Trail with a total mileage of over 200 miles (322 km). I am an ultralight hiker, a gearhead, a hammock camper, and make much of my own equipment. I used this pack during my transition from heavyweight backpacking to ultralight walking.

PRODUCT INFORMATION
Manufacturer: GoLite
Year Manufactured:2002
Manufacturer's Link: GoLite
MSRP: $99
Size: Medium
Color: Red
Listed Weight: 20 oz (567 gm)
Measured Weight:  20 oz (565 gm)
Weight of foam insert: 1.7 oz (49 gm)
Measured Weight without insert: 18.3 oz ( 518 gm)
Listed Pack Volume  3750 in³ (61 L)
Review Date: 1 March 2004

REVIEW
The Gust is a lightweight pack designed along the lines of the Ray Jardine ultralight revolution. This simple rucksack pack is made of polyurethane-coated Spectra cloth.  My pack is red with a mesh of white lines in the cloth. 

The suspension of the pack includes two padded shoulder straps and a padded waist belt. The shoulder straps appear to have been constructed with coated oxford cloth and 1 in (2.5 cm) nylon webbing.  The shoulder straps are adjustable with a nylon fitting.  The waist belt is of similar construction, but with a nylon, easy-release belt buckle.  There is no sternum strap and no provision for a drinking tube on the pack strap.

The Gust closes with a cord-grip on a draw string and then folds over to be held in place with an adjustable, quick-release, top compression strap.  This strap is designed cleverly so that it and the standard lift loop between the shoulder straps act as a pair of lifting loops.  This works well for lifting the pack from the ground with a rope, as might be done to lift it up a cliff face or use it as a bear bag.

The zippered pouch on the front of the pack is well suited to storing frequently used items:  spoon, water cup, camera, etc.  Unfortunately, there is no other place to store gear outside the main body of the pack.  I find the lack of mesh pockets on the outside of the pack to be a real problem.  I really like having a pocket for an umbrella, for water, and to dry socks or a tarp. 

The pack has two straps under the front pocket designed to hold an ice axe and it also has a compression strap above the front pocket.  I could find no use for these straps and cut them off the pack soon after purchasing it. 

The pack volume is 3750 in³ (61 L).  The total packed weight is recommended to be less than 30 lb (13.6 kg).  I use it with weights between 10 and 25 lb (4.5 to 11.3 kg). I uniformly line the pack with a closed cell pad, making it much like a barrel.  This makes the foam back pad unnecessary, and it is easy to remove that pad from its pocket in the pack. At my pack weights, the pack is comfortable and almost forgettable.  (I really like walking down the trail for a couple hours, with no harsh reminder I am carrying my worldly goods on my back.)

I usually do not buckle the waist strap, allowing the pack to move around on my back a little more.  The shoulder straps are effective at spreading the load and are very comfortable.  Their angle coming from the top of the back pack is just right -- not causing the straps to fall from my shoulders nor to bunch up against my neck. I do notice that the back of my shirt gets damp under the pack.  Shifting the weight for a short time, or carrying the pack on my chest for a quarter of an hour allows this to quickly dry.

Though the pack cloth is coated, the pack is not waterproof.  I normally line the pack with a large garbage bag, which does keep everything dry.  In the future, I may add a couple of grommet holes through the bottom of the pack to allow water which does make it into the pack to drip out the bottom, instead of gathering around the bottom of my waterproof liner.  Since this is where I normally pack my sleeping quilt, inside the liner, I have occasionally been bothered with a pin hole in the liner causing a small wet spot on the quilt after a particularly nasty day of rain.

TEST CONDITIONS:

The pack was used on numerous overnight hikes while I was learning how to "go ultralight."  Temperatures ranged from 10 to 90 F ( -12 to 32 C) and weather included cold dry days, hot humid days, and lots of rain.  The longest Appalachian Trail section hike I used the pack on was the 67 mi (108 km) from Hot Springs, North Carolina to Erwin, Tennessee. 

LIKES and DISLIKES:

Best:  light weight, easy to pack, rugged.
Worst: lack of mesh pockets, over engineered for the careful ultralight backpacker.

Note: I have nearly stopped using this pack, as I have "graduated" to ultralight packs of about the same size, but half the weight.  As my pack load has approached 9 lb (4 kg) without food and water a waist belt is no longer necessary.  However, I believe the pack remains a great value for hikers who are making the transition from heavier packs toward the ultralight side of the trail.  My lightest packs do not carry 30 lb (13.6 kg) very well.  This pack will carry an intermediate load like this and allow a hiker to continue to experiment with lighter equipment. 

Reviews > Packs > Frameless Backpacks and Day Packs > GoLite Gust > Owner Review by Rick Allnutt