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Reviews > Packs > Internal and External Framed Backpacks > Granite Gear Vapor Trail > Owner Review by Sheila MorrisseyGRANITE GEAR VAPOR TRAIL Ultralight Internal-Frame BackpackOWNER REVIEW Date: February 16, 2007 TESTER INFORMATION Name: Sheila Morrissey Age: 26 Gender: Female Height: 5’ 8” (1.7 m) Weight: 150 lb (68 kg) Torso Length: 19 in (48 cm) Email address: geosheila(at)yahoo(dot)com City, State, Country: Goleta, California, USA Backpacking Background: I've been car camping and day hiking since I was born, but I only started backpacking in 2005. So far, most of my backpacking trips have been long weekends trips into the Sierra Nevada with friends and my dog, Patch. In fair weather, my pack is usually around 25 lb (11 kg), including consumables. PRODUCT INFORMATION Manufacturer: Granite Gear Year: 2005 Manufacturer’s Website: http://www.granitegear.com Size: Long (for torsos 21 to 25 in, 53 to 64 cm) Capacity: 3600 in3 (59 L) Listed Weight: 2 lb, 0 oz (0.91 kg) Measured Weight: 2 lb, 2 oz (0.96 kg) MSRP: US$ 160.00  Granite Gear Vapor Trail (Black/Sage color).
Photo from Granite Gear website. PRODUCT DESCRIPTION The Granite Gear Vapor Trail is primarily made of three fabrics: a very stretchy Durastretch fabric (side pockets and all of the body contact points), a surprisingly tough yet very lightweight 70-denier hybrid rip-stop nylon (most of the pack itself), and an even tougher green-colored 210-denier Cordura nylon (bottom of the pack and at anchor points for all of the adjustable straps). The body contact points are a removable padded hip belt, a padded full back panel (shielding me from the high-density polyethylene frame), and padded fixed shoulder straps. The hip belt has 0.75 in (1.9 cm) of padding and is wrapped in the stretch fabric. It measures 4 in (10 cm) wide near the sides of my hips and tapers to 2 in (5 cm) in front of my hips. A Woo Jin Uraflex Dual Stealth 50 mm (2 in) clip secures the hip belt in front of me, with the ends of the two adjustable straps sewn into the hip belt over a piece of Cordura nylon affixed on top of the stretch material. Two additional nylon adjustable straps are secured to Cordura nylon near the base of the pack and are attached to the hip belt on the same piece of nylon that secures the Dual Stealth clip. I use these straps to adjust how close the base of the pack is pulled into my back. The shoulder straps have 0.5 in (1.3 cm) of padding and have stretch fabric on the inside and Cordura nylon on the outside of the straps. They are 2.5 in (6.4 cm) wide from the top to about 12 in (30 cm) from the top, there they taper to 1.5 in (4 cm) width over the remaining length of the shoulder straps (20 in, 51 cm, total length). The shoulder straps are curved so that they fit wider on the shoulders, narrower across the chest, and then curve outwards to the sides of the pack. Nylon adjustable straps connect the bottom of the shoulder straps to the pack, just above the straps connecting the hip belt to the pack, on the same piece of Cordura nylon. I use these straps to adjust the tightness of the shoulder straps. Vertical strips of Cordura nylon down the length of the shoulder straps allow for a huge range in positions for the adjustable chest strap. If I wanted to, I could position it as far down as 3 in (8 cm) above my belly button. That may be a bit ridiculous, but as a woman I appreciate that the Vapor Trail allows me to adjust the chest strap quite high (unlike some other packs I have tried on). The chest strap can be adjusted as close as 9 in (23 cm) below the top of the shoulder straps (ending up just under my chin when I look down). Of course, I keep it adjusted somewhere between those two extremes. The top ends of the shoulder straps are attached to Cordura nylon on the pack. Two adjustable load lifter straps connect to the shoulder straps about 5 in (13 cm) below the tops of the shoulder straps (right on top of my shoulders when the pack is on) to the pack. Below the load lifters on the shoulder straps are plastic D-rings. The pack itself has a green Cordura nylon bottom, small pieces of which extend 4 in (10 cm) up the sides for hip belt and shoulder strap anchors (see the green fabric extending from the pack base in the photo below). Two ice axe loops are attached to the bottom of the pack. The pack has one big rip-stop nylon main compartment. The fabric continues about 18 in (46 cm) beyond the top of the back panel and so can be filled to a greater capacity (see extended neck of the Vapor Trail in the photo below). I secure the main compartment by cinching a drawcord lock at the top of the pack, rolling the extra fabric over, then clipping the two criss-crossing Woo Jin Uraflex Stealth 20 mm (0.8 in) clips and tightening the adjustable straps across the top of the pack. Inside the main compartment is a hydration sleeve with a cinch to hold a water bladder in place. There is a hole in the top of the pack for a water hose. It's sealed with a plastic piece that works much like those little plastic coin purses that open when squeezed. On the outside of the pack are two strips of the green Cordura nylon. They serve as attachment points for six compression straps, two on each side and two in front. The two adjustable straps on the sides can be used to secure gear in the two side pockets made of the stretchy fabric.   Left: Granite Gear Vapor Trail (top) with my old pack (bottom) and my dog's Granite Gear Ruff Rider pack (right). Right: Using the extended neck of the Granite Gear Vapor Trail. (That's a dog leash in my hands, not backpack straps). FIELD USE CONDITIONS I have used my Granite Gear Vapor Trail pack on backpacking trips in the Sierra, Sequoia, Inyo and Los Padres National Forests in California. All of these trips were on established backcountry trails, with some rocky sections of trail and a few small stream crossings. Temperatures ranged from 40 to 80 F (4 to 27 C) during the hikes, but the pack has been in temperatures ranging from 10 to 100 F (-12 to 38 C) at night (cooler end of the range) and in my car (warmer end). I have used the Vapor Trail in light snow flurries and frost has developed on it at night, but I have not used the Vapor Trail in rain.  FIELD USE RESULTS I started backpacking using an old external frame pack and purchased the Granite Gear Vapor Trail in 2006 because it is more comfortable than my old pack, it is light weight, and it is on the lower end of the price range of backpacks. My torso length is within the range for the regular size Vapor trail, but I chose the long size because it felt more comfortable to me than the regular length when I tried on weighted packs in the store. I usually pack my Vapor Trail with a BearVault 400 canister on the bottom, clothing squished on the sides, the tent fly (someone else gets the tent in exchange for my carrying the bear canister) and my sleeping bag inside. I strap the tent poles to the side of the pack and my sleeping pad to the back. I typically carry about 25 lb (11 kg) in my Vapor Trail, and it is fantastically comfortable. I haven't had any problems with uncomfortable pressure points, extra sweatiness from the full back panel, or a shifting pack. I'm especially impressed by the very comfortable hip belt, but that could be because this is my first padded hip belt. It has been pointed out to me that the bear canister acts as additional support inside the Vapor Trail. That may be true, but I find the pack is equally comfortable on trips when I don't bring the canister. I was initially afraid that the lightweight rip-stop nylon fabric that makes up most of the Vapor Trail would be easily torn. I probably am more careful with this pack than I might be with a pack made of a more heavy-duty material, but I don't know how necessary that is. So far, after a year of use, there are no signs of any tears or worn areas in the fabric, even on the bottom of the pack. I forgot to put the pack in my tent vestibule one night, allowing frost to form and then melt on my pack. The fabrics proved to be water resistant since my clothing inside didn't get damp. Aside from the internal hydration sleeve (which I have yet to use), the only pockets on the Vapor Trail are the two stretchy side pockets. They could hold 1 L (0.3 US gal) Nalgene water bottles, but I would have to pack those first before packing the main compartment. With a full pack, it's hard to find anything that will fit inside the stretchy side pockets. I've found that the side pockets are really only good for holding my tent poles, which can then be strapped in with the adjustable side straps. I usually do try to throw lots of other little gear in those side pockets, but I ended up losing my topo map out of a side pocket on my last trip. Fortunately, a friend was walking behind me and caught the map before it went flying. From talking with others who own Vapor Trail packs, it seems some other people also miss having multiple pockets on their packs. I generally have to give away the small stuff (e.g. keys, map, flashlight) for someone else (or the dog) to carry for me or I risk losing it in the bottom of the pack. On a Vapor Trail web search, I found that Granite Gear has answered this common complaint with an attachable lid piece with a zippered pocket (sold separately). With Granite Gear's goal of making a superior ultralight pack, I can't figure out why they included two plastic D-rings, two ice axe loops and a cinch on the hydration sleeve. I haven't used any of these features. I would rather they cut those features and instead include one usable zippered pocket for the small gear that I need to access frequently. PROS
The Granite Gear Vapor Trail is a great pack. My main complaint is the lack of a zippered pocket, but I've solved this problem by letting others carry the permit and map! Read more reviews of Granite Gear gear Read more gear reviews by Sheila Morrissey Reviews > Packs > Internal and External Framed Backpacks > Granite Gear Vapor Trail > Owner Review by Sheila Morrissey | |||