Reviews > Packs > Internal and External Framed Backpacks > Granite Gear Vapor Trail > Owner Review by Anthony Smith

Owner Review
Granite Gear Vapor Trail Backpack

Personal Biographical Information
Name – Anthony (TJ) Smith
Age – 30
Gender – Male
Height – 5’ 10” (1.78 m)
Weight – 155 lb (70 kg)
Email Address – tjsmith1946@gmail.com
City, State, Country – Pensacola, Florida USA
Date – August 30, 2005
Background – I have been camping for a little over 5 years now, mostly car camping. I have recently begun backpacking, and I am constantly adding new gear to my “collection” in an effort to get my gear list tailored more towards backpacking. Most of my backpacking trips are short duration, not more than one or two nights. I am planning some longer trips in the near future.

Product Information
Manufacturer – Granite Gear
Year of Manufacture – 2004
Manufacturer URL – www.granitegear.com
Stated Weight – 1 lb 14 oz (907 g)
Stated Size – 3600 cu in (59 L)
Weight as Delivered – 2 lb 3 oz (1106 g)
Size – Regular
MSRP – US $150.00
Product Description – The Vapor Trail is a basic backpack without a lot of frills. The pack does have a hydration sleeve inside the pack, with a small outlet hole at the top of the pack. The pack is basically a cylinder with compression straps, and an extension sleeve at the top with a draw cord that is cinched tight to close the pack and then rolled down. There are 2 straps that cross the top of the pack with plastic buckles to connect the straps across the top of the pack and contain the rolled up extension sleeve. There are also compression straps on the front of the pack which are used to cinch the pack down around the load contained within. This is to stabilize the load as the pack does not have much suspension to secure the load.
Attached to the back of the pack there is a padded, curved hip belt. The belt has a plastic buckle at the ends of the straps to secure the belt around the waist, and there are adjustment points on both sides of the buckle as well as on both sides of the belt where it attaches to the pack. The pack also has padded shoulder straps, which only have minimal adjustment to tighten or loosen the straps. The shoulder straps also have "load lifting" straps at the top which serves to stabilize the load carried. The back of the pack is also padded, with rigid stabilizers running the length of the pack and contained within the back padding. There is also a pocket on either side of the pack, made of an elastic material, for items that need to be easily accessed (water bottles, etc.) The Vapor Trail is only available in one color combination, which is listed as Sage and Black. The main body of the pack is black and two flaps on the front, which the compression straps attach to, are Sage (a green color.)

Field Information
Locations Used
I have used my Vapor Trail in numerous locations throughout Northwest Florida. I have accumulated an approximate total of 25 to 30 trail nights of use in the time I've had the pack. During my use temperatures have ranged from a high of 95 F ( C) to a low of 32 F (0 C). I have experienced clear sunny days while carrying my Vapor Trail, as well as various amounts of rain from light drizzles to fairly heavy rainfall. The trail conditions I have experienced have ranged from well cleared, well maintained trails to dense brush that required careful maneuvering to avoid getting stuck in the brush.
I have also used my Vapor Trail on a few car camping trips as a convenient method of carrying my equipment. Currently, the majority of my gear stays stored in my Vapor Trail, ready to head out at a moment's notice.

Discussion
Right now, the Vapor Trail is my first choice when traveling the trail for more than a day hike. I find the pack fits my torso very well, I am able to stabilize loads better than any other pack I own, and keep the load closer to my body. I attribute part of this to the "load lifting" straps attached to the shoulder straps which help shift some of the load closer to my back and not have the load hang so far away from my body. All this leads to a more comfortable trip which gives me a more enjoyable experience. When using the Vapor Trail, I can carry more weight than in my older frame pack in more comfort for longer distances due to the padded hip belt distributing the load well onto my hips. The only problem with fit that I have found, and this is not exclusive to the Vapor Trail, is that the hip belt prevents me from carrying items on my belt (such as a multitool.) The belt I'm wearing does not ride properly and causes the item on my belt to "dig in" to my waist, causing a great deal of discomfort in a relatively short period of time. So far I have remedied this by not wearing items on my belt, instead looping them onto the straps of the pack.
The padding of the hip belt, shoulder straps, and back pad all help to make the Vapor Trail quite comfortable to wear. I have found that the padded back allows some flexibility in placement of items within the pack, as they are not as likely to poke me in the back as with other lightweight packs I had tried previous to the Vapor Trail. One concern I had with the amount of padding and the conditions I travel in (most of the time) is that the padding would absorb my sweat and begin to smell. I have not yet had this occur, and have not had to wash the pack.
I am able to carry spare clothing, rain gear, my sleeping bag and foam pad, Hennessy Hammock, cooking gear, and food for 2 to 3 days with ease. I do not even need to use the extension collar when carrying this gear. Early in the use of this pack, I did have to modify my packing methods to accommodate the nature of a lightweight backpack. One method I have found to make packing a bit easier is to use stuff sacks to organize items contained within the pack. I am still modifying my methods as I change out specific gear items and as I gain more use with the pack and find I'm needing different items at different times than anticipated. I also consider the hydration sleeve an asset, as hydration bladders are currently my preferred method of carrying water.
The pack has held up well in the terrain I have traveled. I have caught it on several snags and brush and the fabric has not ripped at any point yet. I have gotten a few scuffs and marks on the fabric but nothing that has penetrated through. Any dirt and debris I have gotten on the pack has cleaned off by just brushing the pack with my hand. The seams and stitching do not show any signs of fraying or coming unstitched yet.
The Vapor Trail has done quite well with the precipitation I have encountered on my trail experiences. I have yet to experience significant leakage, even without using a dedicated pack cover. The small amount of moisture I have had come through the pack was kept off my gear inside by the use of the stuff sacks. When storing my pack at camp, I have used a garbage bag as a pack cover to ensure the contents did not get wet with the pack sitting still and this has worked so far.

Reviews > Packs > Internal and External Framed Backpacks > Granite Gear Vapor Trail > Owner Review by Anthony Smith