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Initial Report - Gregory Halo Pack
June 5, 2004
Personal Information:
Name: David Sowards-Emmerd
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 8'' (1.73 m)
Weight: 155 lb (70 kg)
Waist: 33''
Torso Length: 17.5''
Email Address: drunken_marmotATyahooDOTcom
Los Altos, California, USA
Date: June 5, 2004
Backpacking Background:
I began backpacking semi-frequently about three years ago, soon
after moving to California. I generally take weekend (1 night)
trips, and occasionally take 3-4 day trips. Most of my
backpacking experience is at moderate altitude, 6,000'-12,000'
(1800-3650 m), in conditions ranging from dry desert to hail/heavy
snow in the mountains. In winter and spring I split time between
Southern California (SoCal) deserts and snowshoeing/snowcamping in
the mountains. Summer and fall I tend to stick to the high country.
My pack weight has generally been in the 60-90 lb (27-40 kg)
range (including food/water and a bear barrel) over the past few
years, but recently I've been buying lighter gear. So now before
each trip I'm stuck deciding whether to go lighter, or just carry
more 'toys' to make up for the lost weight. My pack was only
28 lb / 13 kg for my last warm overnighter.
The product was received on May 10, 2004.
Product Specifications:
Manufacturer:
Gregory Mountain Products
Model: Halo
Model year: 2004
Size: Small/X-small
Color: Harvest Yellow
MSRP: $129
Manufacturer's Specifications:
Volume: 1600 cubic inches / 26 l
Weight: 3 lb 3 oz / 1.4 kg
As measured by tester:
Pack Weight: 3.0 lb / 1.36 kg
Initial Observations and Product Description:
Materials and Craftsmanship:
Overall, this pack is made of heavy, durable (overkill! - excellent
in my opinion) fabric and components. It is constructed of 640d HT
nylon (the majority of the black fabric - see photos), 210 ripstop
nylon (the yellow fabric), and a strech nylon fabric (black, used for
the side pockets, waistbelt pocket, and few other small areas.) The
Shoulder straps and waistbelt both appear to be made of the same
material, a thin foam. A 1.5'' / 4 cm buckle and webbing are used on
the waistbelt, whereas the rest of the pack uses 3/4'' / 2 cm webbing
and buckles (haul loop, compression straps, etc.) This is my first
pack (that I'm aware of at least) that uses non-YKK zippers (Don Jin
are used instead), so durability and ease of use of the zippers is
one particular area I will keep an eye on. On the other hand, all
the internal seams have strips of nylon folder over them and sewn in
place. Overall, the construction is bomber and the pack looks like
it's build to last (hopefully!).
Size:
At 1600 cubic inches / 26 l, it's a bit small for a climbing pack
if I plan to bring a decent amount of gear, or want to carry
water or food also. However it's an excellent size for a dayhiking
pack, and it easily accomodates a small laptop for travel, or just
going to work.
Access:
Access to the main compartment is via a (6'' / 15 cm) strip between
two zippers (see photo). The strip opens from the top and is
permanently connected at the bottom. Hook-and-loop fastener connects
secures the top of the strip to the top of the pack (on the inside),
and a buckle (useless? see below) also serves the same purpose. Nylon
cord covered by plastic tubing connects the two zippers so that by
pulling the tubing, both zippers are pulled simultaneously. This is
very convenient, but would be nice to have an option to just open one
zipper for access to the pocket on the inside side of the flap. One
caveat of the tubing connecting the two zippers is that if I have
anything bulky (e.g. cordelete, climbing shoes) attached to the daisy
chain, then the tubing may be stuck at that point if I don't remove
the stuff from the daisy chain.
Pockets:
Two stretch nylon side (bottom sides of pack) pockets
are large enough to fit 1 l / 33 oz water bottles. They
DO NOT have ski-tail pass throughs as claimed on the
manufacturers website, instead, the bottom is
constructed of mesh to allow water,sand, etc. to escape
instead of building up in the side pockets.
A zippered stretch nylon pocket is attached to the
waistbelt (front of left hip). It is just large enough
to accomodate keys and an id (also fire permit, summit
permit, etc.) when the waistbelt is straped on - when the
waistbelt isn't in use, then the pocket holds a bit
more.
The fleece lined sunglasses pocket is sealed by a 'water-
resistant' zipper (I'll be testing this since the gap in
the rubber between the two sides is relatively large.) At
the top of the pack, it's 'out of the way' and seems to be
well protected from crushing - also great for holding an
MP3 player.
A long zippered mesh pocket runs most of the length of the
front access strip of fabric (between the zippers). This
inside pocket is convenient for wallet, keys, cell phone
etc., but when the pack is open, it looks like this
pocket/strip will get flopped around a lot when loading
and unloading the pack (see above photo where the pack is
open).
Compression Straps:
There are two compression straps on each side of the pack.
They can be cinched to compress and stabilize the contents
of the pack in several configurations. First, the straps
(which are sewn into the edge of the back side of the pack)
can be connected to a buckle on the flap that covers the
front access zippers, or attached directly to the
compression strap from the other side of the pack (see
photos). The suggested method for carrying a rope is
putting the rope vertically against the center of the pack
and securing this with the straps (attached over the rope).
The compression straps can also be crossed to form an 'X'
but this seems pointless to me since the straps only need
to be crossed over when the pack is either nearly empty
(things settle to the bottom and connecting the bottom two
compression straps would be more appropriate) or securing
things externally to the pack (again the standard cross over
is better for securing any gear I own).
Ice axe/tool loops, daisy chain, and the patch of
material at the bottom of the daisy chain:
The ice axe loops and hook-and-loop fastener keeper
straps stablize my mountaineering ice axe (29.5''/ 75cm
length) very well. Both the ice axe loops and keeper
straps are removeable from the pack.
The daisy chain is awkwardly placed, gear attached will bang
against the contents of the inside pocket, and also (if bulky
enough) would prevent me from opening the main compartment
(the tube connecting the two zippers has to pass over
everything that's connected to the daisy chain). At the
lower end of the daisy chain is a small patch of tougher
fabric with two slots in it. I'm not sure exactly what
the intended use is for this, the current two guesses are:
1. Ice axe pick can be 'secured' by threading it through
the two slits.
2. A pair of hiking poles can be attached to the pack
vertically, sticking the 'tip end' of each pole through
one of the slits.
Hydration compatibility:
A hydration bladder sleeve (sewn in at the top) hangs
against the back of the pack, inside the main compartment.
I am able to fit a full 96 oz / 3 l bladder in comfortably
- a larger size might stick out of the pocket a bit, but
should still function fine. A port on the right shoulder
is just barely large enough to fit my Ultimate Direction
hose/mouthpiece through (but it's one of the largest
mouthpieces I've seen).
Suspension:
This pack has quite a mixture of suspension features. The
frame support is provided by a molded framesheet with a
wide groove running from top to bottom (looks like a metal
stay could be inserted and riveted into place here -
probably the case on the larger packs in the All-Terrain
series.) The 'level 1' foam waistbelt fits snugly to my
hips/waist (no gaps). Stabilizer straps attach the bottom
sides of the pack directly to the hipbelt helping to
stabilize (go figure from the name...) the load. The
waistbelt is attached to the pack underneath the bottom
back pad (see photo) by hook-and-loop fasteners, and can be
removed completely when not needed. The shoulder harness
features the Gregory Auto-Cant mechanism to adjust to my
shoulder/neck slope (see the manufacturer's website for
details). The harness can be attached to either of two
slots in the Auto-Cant mechanism, providing some adjustment
for torso length. Stabilizer straps (load-lifters) also
connect the top of the pack to the harness. Cinching these
allows the pack to be pulled closer against my back.
Finally, three foam pads, all well separated from each
other for ventilation, provide cushioning between the
framesheet and my back. All three of these attach to the
pack either around or through the framesheet with
hook-and-loop fasteners. It appears (I haven't tried this
out yet though) that the framesheet can be completely
removed from the pack, however, the Auto-Cant mechanism
on the shoulder harness attaches directly to the framesheet,
so this is not a useable configuration.
Things I Like:
- Durable construction from my initial impressions - time
will tell on the zippers.
- I really like the front access panel (aside from the
pocket flopping around). It provides access to everything
in the pack quickly without having to dig to the bottom.
- The compression strap design looks like it'll keep any
size/shape load stable and is very easy/quick to adjust.
Additionally, the straps are well spaced vertically along
the length of the pack.
- The overall design of the pack is very streamlined (read
narrow). This should make it great for biking, as well as
'out of the way' for climbing and skiing.
- Excellent attachment method and location for connectors
for ice axes/tools.
- Sunglasses pocket means I don't need to drag along a
carrying case for sunglasses, and is a great way to carry
an MP3 player.
Things I Don't Like:
- Workmanship - slightly off center framesheet (see photo
below - the pad on one side is slightly higher).
- There's lots of extra webbing from adjustment - the waistbelt
webbing reaches close to my knees. How well can these be
'tucked away'?
- Rope Attachment - holds the rope vertically using the
compression straps (rope is heavy! - ~8 lb / 3.6 kg for
my 50m rope) far from the body as opposed to the standard
'over the top of the pack' method. Will have to experiment
with this - probably easier to carry a mountaineer's coil
separately.
Potential Improvements
(just initial ideas from initial observations):
- Since this is at least partly designed as a climbing pack,
gear loops on the bottom would be VERY useful.
- Get rid of the single daisy chain that will get in the
way when carrying a rope (it's also in the way of the front
access zippers if anything is attached to it). Replace it
with two daisy chains - on the central seams of the flaps
that cover up the front access zippers - see photo.
- Get rid of the buckle at the top of the daisy chain -
as far as I can tell this doesn't serve any purpose since
the zippers 'should' stay in place and there's also a
hook-and-loop fastener at the top of the access flap as
a backup.
Test Plan:
Testing Locations:
Testing will be carried out over most of the areas of CA,
at elevations ranging from sea level to 14,000' / 4,200 m.
Testing Activities:
Biking:
I've already biked to work a 8 days with the Halo, with loads
ranging from 5-20 lbs / 2.3-9 kg, and from completely compressed, to
hauling a 3' / 91 cm poster tube. I will report on this in my field
report, but I expect this pack will see much more biking use
this season (the manufacturer's website suggests using the
Halo for carrying wine to the swimming hole - well, how many
bottles can I safely carry home from BevMo on a bike shopping
trip?)
Climbing:
Now that the rain is over with, climbing season has started on
Skyline (SF peninsula). I'll be making occasional weekend trips
up to the crags when I'm around town.
- How much will it hold, can I carry a good day's worth of stuff
including water and snacks?
- How well does it hold a rope/glacier rope?
Mountaineering:
- Possible trip to North Pallisade/Mount Sill with a friend
who's trying to finish up the California 14ers.
- A Mount Shasta trip up Bolam Glacier is in the planning phase
right now.
- General boulder hopping and scrambling in the Sierras.
Snowshoeing/Skiing?:
Depending on whether the testing period overlaps with winter
in the Sierras, I may be able to try the Halo as a ski and/or
snowshoe daypack.
Travel:
I'll be in Denver for 5 days over Memorial Day weekend, and will
be taking the pack as my carry on luggage. I will have at least
one day to wander one of the 14ers (bus trip to the highest
astronomical observatory in the US, with a few hours for
sightseeing - have to see what the next closest 14er is...)
Hopefully I will find time to make it to the forest more than
this, but it will depend on time and weather.
Overnighter?:
I believe I can fit everything in this pack for a minimal
overnight trip, and hope to try this at least once during
the testing period.
Specific things to focus on during testing:
- How stable/balanced is the pack when scrambling?
- How much weight will it carry comfortably?
Read more reviews of Gregory gear
Read more gear reviews by David Sowards-Emmerd
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