Field Report

Field Report Gregory Deva 60 Pack
April 25, 2006
Contents:
Product Information
Field Conditions
Comfort and Fit
Bells and Whistles
Durability
Test Plan

Tester Info:

Name: Heather Oakes Palmer
Age: 29
Gender: Female
Height: 5'5" (1.65 m)
Weight: 140 lbs (64 kg)
Email address: alekto-at-yahoo.com
City, State, Country: Atlanta, GA, United States

Backpacking Background: I consider myself an intermediate hiker and beginning backpacker for over five years; my longest backpacking trip being only three nights. Day hiking and weekend backpacking comprise most of my weekend warrior experience averaging one backpacking trip per month and two day hikes per month averaging between 10-15 miles (16.1- 24.2 km) per day. I tend to backpack in warm, humid climates, with a good amount of hiking in the southern Appalachian Mountains and I have rarely hiked in below freezing or snowy conditions yet. I am a lightweight backpacker and buy my gear accordingly, often splitting various objects and amounts of weight with my husband.

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Gregory Mountain Products
URL: www.gregorypacks.com
MSRP: 249 USD
Year of Manufacture: 2006
Model: Women's Deva 60
Size: Small
Color: Azure
Listed Weight for the Small: 5 lbs 3 oz (2.35 kg)
Total Arrival Weight: 5 lbs 4.6 oz (2.4 kg)
Lid Weight: 6.9 oz (196 g)
Volume: 3700 cu in (60 L)
Dimensions Length/Width/Height: 29x18x14 in (74x45.7x35.6 cm)
Lid Dimensions: 12x13x6 in (30.5x 33x15.2 cm)

Product Description: The Gregory Deva 60 is a 3700 cu in (70L) capacity internal frame backpack with a female specific suspension system. The Deva 60 features: top, front, and bottom zipper access, 3 side zippered pockets, removable hydration sleeve and port, mobile separator between top and bottom sections, waterproof bottom, several straps and holders for different items, compression straps, ventilated back panel, and a lid that converts to a fanny pack. The unique suspension has an independent camming waistbelt and shoulder straps that allow the straps to move with you.

Field Conditions:

So far the pack has been tested exclusively in the mountains of north Georgia and western North Carolina, and in trails near metro Atlanta. The average elevations I will be hiking in will range from 1500 ft (457 m) on the trails near the city, to 2500 though 5500 ft (762 through 1676 m) in the mountains. The temperatures have been anywhere from 50 F to the high 80's F (10 C to high 20's C) during the day and has dropped to low 40's F (4.4 C) at night, the humidity will probably still suck at 80% or higher. The trails I've taken the pack on have mostly been spacious with brush being sparse this time of year. As the spring progresses, the pack will continue to have more encounters with trees and foliage. The trails also have their fair share of big rocks that make me keenly aware of my balance as I scramble and hop on them. I've had no precipitation so far, but I have gotten the pack a little wet from standing water and streams.

Field Report:

Comfort/Fit:

My initial impressions of the comfort and fit of the Deva 60 were not very positive. The fit seemed awkward to me not being used to the Gregory suspension system; the straps felt bulky and dug into my armpits, I was not used to the waist belt fitting over my waist instead of my hips, the independent suspension of the shoulder straps made me feel off balance, and the height of the pack with the lid on makes it difficult for me to move my head and look up. Once I learned how to fit the pack, some of my initial apprehension disappeared. The position of the waist belt affects how the straps need to be adjusted for me, during my first hike with the pack I played around with tightening and loosening the shoulders and chest strap until I found a fit that did not cause the shoulder straps to dig into my armpits. I really got used to the new feel of the waist belt and the small amount of space between the shoulder straps and my shoulders within the first two hikes, especially with the cushy padding in the back panel near my tailbone and shoulder blades. The fit was easy to learn initially, and continues to refit easily after removing the pack.

The first test of the pack was on a moderate 10 mi (16.1 km) local trail but not wanting anything to be too easy, I packed 23 lbs (10.4 kg) of winter gear in the pack and chose a trail that may have been moderate but still involved tricky rock scampering. I thought the rocks would be a good test of my balance using the Deva's mobile shoulder harness as I need to use my hands sometimes and pay close attention so as not to fall off a rock into the polluted creek. I discovered quickly that my balance was adversely affected by the `normal' fit of the Deva, and that if I didn't want to have an embarrassing encounter between my face and a rock on a heavily used trail I needed to tighten the shoulder straps and bring the pack very close to my body. Bringing the pack closer to my body made all the difference as I was no longer swaying on the rocks, and on a different hike I brought the pack closer to my body while going downhill on a very slick section of the Appalachian Trail which I feel prevented me from eating mud.

The pack seems well able to handle my typical backpacking load of between 19-25 lbs (8.62- 11.34 kg), and since I can't feel any real difference in comfort based on weight carried I can easily believe (and will test later) that this pack can comfortably carry up to 45lbs (20.4 kg). I do notice that when I am able to carry less weight or have more room in the pack, I am more comfortable packing the lid into the main body of the pack rather than keeping it on top. The height of the pack with the lid on top makes it difficult for me to look up or move my head and shoulders around to stretch. After six different days of hiking or backpacking, I continue to appreciate the comfort of the Deva 60 and have discovered that I easily became accustomed to the new feel and fit despite my concerns.

Bells and Whistles:

Having only had top loading packs in the past, I had some high hopes for testing a pack with multiple access points. The first strike is that the bottom section is useless unless I'm packing my small down sleeping bag, as my bulkier synthetic bag does not fit through the bottom access so I have to unhook the separator panel and load it from the top. As I noted in my initial report, I do wish that the panel between the bottom and main compartments was totally removable. When I do pack my smaller sleeping bag, I can easily access it from the bottom. I have found the back pocket very useful for objects such as snacks and rain gear, as with the side pockets that hold other items I usually need in a hurry. I haven't really used the back access for the pack, I think I'm still conditioned to use top access only but I plan on using it more often for my later testing. The mesh water bottle holsters have been useless for me so far; I tried placing my toilet paper in the smaller one, and it immediately popped out onto the trail due to the mesh holder being too small. The other holster is not completely enclosed and is angled more sideways instead of up and objects that I put in that holster fell out since soon as I started moving as there was nothing to keep them in the holster.

In my initial report, I wasn't able at first to find the hydration port…but I got better! The removable hydration sleeve is useful to me when I am trying to move gear around in the Deva 60 to change the weight distribution. The sleeve also helps keep condensation from the reservoir from transferring onto the pack, the sleeve even fits in my day pack also helping keep condensation from dampening it as well.

The convertible fanny pack is my least favorite feature. My old water reservoir would not have fit in lid/fanny pack due to its length, my newer model 1.8 liter (61 fl oz) platypus and first aid kit fit inside but made the fanny pack too heavy to wear comfortably during a last minute exploratory hike up and down a gorge. The waist belt dug into my skin and I had to hold the pack to prevent it from slapping my stomach while moving.

If I had to pick a best feature not related to overall fit and comfort, the ventilated back panels would get all my love. Hiking in unseasonably hot, mid-80's F (about 29.4 C) in early March with no tree cover and with long sleeves made me deeply appreciate the finer points of ventilated back panels. On my next backpacking trip with pretty high heat and humidity for early April, those back panels made all the difference in keeping me feel cool and less sweaty. I got in the car with a very soaked shirt, except for one lone dry strip in the middle of my back. No having that line of sweat trickle its way down your back into your trousers: priceless.