Reviews > Packs > Frameless Backpacks and Day Packs > Gregory Halo > Kelli Wise > Long Term Report

Personal biographical information
Name: Kelli Wise
Age: 43
Gender: Female
Height: 5' 0" (152 cm)
Torso length: 16.5” (42 cm), as measured with a flexible tape measure per Gregory’s fit instructions, available on the manufacturer’s web site.
Weight: 135 lb (61 kg)
Email: ciyd@comcast.net
Location: Western Washington, USA
Date: December 27, 2004

Backpacking background: I've been car camping and dayhiking for 20 years and sport climbing for 10 years, and have begun backpacking over the last year. My backpacking style is lightweight but not ultralight. I am striving for a suitable compromise between safety and comfort. The majority of my hiking experience is in Western Washington.

Field information: Most of my dayhiking for the Long Term Report has been in western Washington, forested lowlands and mountain hiking below 5000’ (1524 m).

Product Information
Manufacturer: Gregory Mountain Products
Manufacturer’s web site: www.gregorypacks.com
Model: Halo All Terrain daypack
Size: Extra Small/Small, which accommodates torso lengths of 14.0” to 17.5” (36 cm to 44 cm). The small pack has a volume capacity of 1600 cu in (26 L) and weighs 3 lbs 3 oz (1.4 kg). The pack is also available in a medium/large size which has a volume capacity of 1800 cu in (29.5 L). All measurements are for the XS/SM pack I received.

Listed weight: 3 lbs 3 oz (1.4 kg)
Measured weight: 2 lbs 15.6 oz (1.35 kg)

Color: Harvest Yellow

Features:
The Gregory Halo All Terrain pack is described as a “technical small capacity pack with lots of features, including our exclusive Exo Frame system, and a full zip-down front opening providing complete access to all your gear.”

The listed features include:

Long Term Report:
I spent my summer dayhiking and backpacking throughout western Washington. My dayhikes fell into two categories: short training hikes of 6 miles (9.7 km) or less over moderately hilly terrain with 20 to 25 pounds (9.1 to 11.3 kg) of climbing gear and water or longer dayhikes of 8 to 11 miles (12.9 to 17.7 km) with 2000 to 3000 feet (610 to 914 m) of elevation gain carrying 20 pounds (9.1 kg) of food, water, camera gear, and the 10 essentials: navigation (map and compass), sun protection, insulation (extra clothing), illumination (flashlight/headlamp), first-aid supplies, fire, repair kit and tools, nutrition (extra food), hydration (extra water), emergency shelter. The Gregory Halo was my pack for all of my dayhikes and, together, we covered a lot of miles and enjoyed some wonderful scenery.

Even with loads up to 25 pounds (11.3 kg), I have found the pack to be very comfortable for the two hour training hikes. The suspension allows me to redistribute the load from my hips to my shoulders or vice versa to reduce overall fatigue. Neither the hip belt or shoulder straps are heavily padded but I never found them to be uncomfortable, let alone painful. The frame of the pack keeps the load stabilized and held the load close to my back so there was minimal sway and I never felt in danger of having the load pull me off my feet if I bent over.

The long dayhikes lasted up to 8 hours and were done in the hottest, driest part of our summers. Hot is a relative term and, in the areas I was hiking, meant daytime high temperatures of about 85 F (29 C) with low humidity. There had not been any rain for several weeks and all of the local creeks were dry, so all of my water for the day would have to be carried. I have found that a full 70 oz (2 L) hydration bladder of water and a 1 quart (1 L) bottle of sports drink were adequate for my needs. As I said, the temperatures were hot, for me, with little or no breeze, so I was perspiring freely.

A few words about perspiring and this pack. Most packs promise ventilation along the back but I have never found any that did not cause me to sweat somewhat more than I would if I were not wearing a pack. The Halo is no different. With the solid plastic pressed against my back, I expected the pack to be very sweaty. What I found in practice is that the solid plastic has vents molded into it that maintain their shape and do allow for some air to move between the pack and my back. Not a lot, but some. This is a bit better than the packs I have used that have a padded back and about the same as a pack with a frame sheet. What really surprised me is that the solid plastic would dry off completely during breaks and I really enjoyed not putting on a damp, clammy pack.

I also found that, even after 8 hours of wearing this pack on steep terrain, the pack was only getting tiresome to wear after about 7 hours. For the majority of the hikes, the Halo was hardly noticeable. Picking my way down steep, rock strewn trails, the Halo held the load close to my back and I never felt that my center of gravity was compromised. My fatigue was minimized because the Halo held the load firmly against my body and did not allow it to sway while I walked.

Looking back at my Field report, my long term experience has not differed much. The suspension system is still terrific and the load lifters and other adjustments make it easy to tweak the fit for comfort.

The hydration bladder sleeve is great for a daypack but I still have to unpack the pack to take the hydration bladder out for refilling. I would also have added one of the plastic clips to the shoulder strap to hold the drinking tube. As I use it now, I run the drinking tube through one of the D-rings on the shoulder strap. This works but the bite valve of the drinking tube is difficult to feed through the D-ring and usually results in a small amount (more than a few drops) of water dribbling out of the tube when the bite valve opens slightly as it’s squeezed through the D-ring.

I still like the panel loading especially for a dayhike pack. This lets me pack my lunch in the best place for load carrying and then access it without completely unpacking the pack. It’s also easy to see and access other frequently used items like bug juice, sunscreen, and camera gear.

The pocket on the hip belt is still too small form anything bigger than a tube of lip balm and one car key. The side pockets are still too small to be terribly useful.

I’ve almost learned to accept the dual zipper pull. Almost. I can see the advantages: quicker zipping and unzipping of the panel and a buckle that will assure that the panel doesn’t accidentally unzip and spill the contents of the pack on the ground. The difficulty of zipping the panel closed when the pack is stuffed full sort of outweighs the advantages. It’s a love-hate relationship I’m having with this feature. I will probably remove the nylon that connects the two zippers.

After 6 months, the pack is dirty and scuffed but shows no signs of serious wear or seam fatigue. There is some pilling on the waist belt that was caused by the hook portion of my camera case’s hook and loop belt loop, but the pack has proven to be very rugged even when carrying heavy loads on just about every hike I went on.

Summary:
I really like this pack. I was suspicious at first about whether the comfort of the pack would be worth the 2 lbs 15.6 oz (1.35 kg) weight of the pack, since many backpacks now weigh less, but Gregory has developed a suspension system that I find comfortable in the extreme and has not overloaded the pack with unnecessary bells and whistles. The pockets, with the exception of the hip belt pocket, are sized right and located for ease of access. This is a daypack that I will be using for years. The list of pros and cons is the same as my field report. After the 4 months of extended testing, they still apply.

Pros:

Cons:

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Gregory Mountain Products and Backpack Gear Test for the opportunity to test this pack.

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Reviews > Packs > Frameless Backpacks and Day Packs > Gregory Halo > Kelli Wise > Long Term Report