Long Term Report Gregory Electra Women's Backpack -Small

 

Name: Cheri Tyre-Roberts
Age: 43
Gender: Female
Height: 5'7" (1.7m)
Weight: 137 lbs (62kg)
Email address: tyrerob at earthlink dot net
Location: North Central Florida, USA

Date:
6/23/2004


Backpacking Background:

I have been backpacking for over 20 years. The majority of my
trips have been 3-6 day trips. I am in the second year of my section

hike on the Appalachian Trail. The majority of my backpacking is in

Florida, in extremely hot conditions such as the Florida Trail in July,

or the North Carolina mountains.

The terrain in Florida is varied, trail conditions are extremely
sandy, swampy, muddy, or completely wet. In North Carolina the
terrain is muddy and rocky with drastic elevation changes. I also
backpack with my dogs and young children ages 9 & 11. I pack light
but am not obsessed with it as I enjoy some of the "creature
comforts". 


Product Information

Manufacturer: Year: 2004

Manufacturers Website: http://www.gregorypacks.com

Materials:  210d "Double Box" HT Nylon Body Fabric, Shelter-Rite bottom, 7001-T6 Stays, and a floating framesheet.

Listed Weight:  5 pounds, 15 ounces  (2.7 kilograms)

Listed Volume:  4365 cubic inches (72 liters)

Weight as delivered: 6 pounds, 1 ounce (2.8 kilograms)                               

Weight measured with U.S. Postal Scale

Actual Measurements: 

small waistbelt (smallest to largest adjustment) 23 to 59 inches ( 62 - 149 centimeters)

backpanel and lumbar pad 19.75 inches (50 centimeters) tall, 10.5 inches (27 centimeters) wide 

Listed pack size: 4365 cubic inches (72 liters)

Color: Formula Red

MSRP: $299 US

 

 

Product Features and Construction

 

The Gregory Electra impressed me immediately with its comfort, fit and balance, all of which made it seem very light.  The Electra is an internal frame extended backcountry type of pack with a load capacity of up to 65 pounds (29 kilograms). The Electra is designed to fit women.  I found the following features very helpful in adjusting the pack to a custom fit; a narrow backpanel, Flo-Form II Women's Harness, Adjust-A-Cant waistbelt that functions to change the angle that the waistbelt rides making a custom fit for the "curve" of my hips.

The Electra is designed with a large center compartment that opens to the top with a partially separated sleeping bag compartment at the bottom. The sleeping bag compartment is covered by a very durable looking black material (Shelter-Rite) on the bottom and lower edges.  These surfaces would come in contact with the ground when the pack is placed on the ground in the upright position.  The sleeping bag compartment has an external pair of heavy-duty zippers. The main compartment has a large hydration sleeve that fits next to the stays keeping the bladder weight close to the back.  There is also a small port that looks large enough to fit any tube and valve.   

Other than from the top, the body of this main compartment can also be accessed from the outside by a zippered opening located on each side of the bag. The top of the main compartment is closed with a drawstring sewn into the extended top of the bag liner. The main compartment is also closed with a drawstring sewn into the heavier "double box" HT Nylon Body Fabric.  The top compartment also functions as a fanny pack and can be separated from the main pack.  It has a double exterior zipper that opens in a U shape.  Inside this top compartment is a small clip for attaching a key or other small item. 

The outside of the Electra is a very attractive red with black pocket covers, zippers, straps and harness systems.  The Gregory logo and Electra name are embroidered in white on the top compartment.   There are two outside pockets with zippers on the back of the main compartment separated by a piece of fabric that has six "daisy chain" loops.  These outside pockets are not big enough to fit a water bottle.  On the right (while wearing) hand side of the Electra is a water bottle sleeve with an elastic "lock" cord to prevent the bottle from falling out.  On the left is a mesh pocket that is large enough to carry a fuel bottle and poles.

The Gregory Electra has straps everywhere!  There are two compression type straps that run under the sleeping bag compartment to carry a pad or tent on the outside of the pack if needed.  The sides of the pack are laced with compression straps to help secure the load closer to the body.  All of the zippers appear very well made and are threaded with cord and a rubber "thumb grip" to allow easy access in challenging weather.

 

 Field Trial

Florida Trail Conditions:

I used the Gregory Electra on a 4-day, 42 mile (68 kilometer) backpacking trip on a section of the Florida Trail in early January.  The temperature during this trip ranged from 40 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 to 21 degrees Celsius).  There was not any rain on this outing.  The Electra was packed with 27 pounds (12 kilograms) of gear.  All gear fit inside the backpack with the exception of the tent poles and fuel canister that I carried in the outside mesh pocket.  These items were further held in place with the compression straps located on the side of the backpack.  I stored the backpack inside the tent each night.

Product Performance:

I was very pleased with the comfort of the Gregory Electra.  The shoulder harness adjusted easily while hiking to change the weight distribution.  The hip belt fit comfortably and also was very easy to adjust while hiking.  The load rode very well which I credit to the narrower back panel and harness designed to fit women.  The Electra performed well on the trail and took the abuse of being dropped to the ground during breaks with out any sign of damage on the Shelter-Rite material that covers the bottom of the pack.  All zippers and pull cords worked well and the compression straps helped "snug" the backpack to my body keeping the load from shifting.  I did not use a water bladder fitted into the internal pocket, as I didn't have a spare bladder to use.  This posed a problem of where to put my three water bottles.  One fits in the external water sleeve but the other two I had to place on the inside of the pack.  The two outside pockets with zippers located on the back of the pack are too small to hold my water bottle.  My water bottles are the standard Nalgene Lexan Widemouth 32 ounce (1 liter) bottles 7.87 x 3.62 inches (20 x 9 centimeters). The bottle fits well in the sleeve but not in the two exterior zipped pockets. In fact I was sort of at a loss as to what does fit in these two zippered pockets.  I ended up putting small items such as lighter, matches, and a rain poncho in one.  All of the other compartments on the Electra are spacious and performed very well for the duration of this trip. 

Appalachian Trail (AT) Conditions:

The Gregory Electra was the pack I used on a 10-day 120 mile (193 kilometer) section hike on the AT.  This trip crossed the Smoky Mountains National Park and ended at Wesser, N.C.  The terrain was varied from grassy trails to steep rocky skree covered trails. The weather was cool at night 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit (4-10 degrees Celsius), rising to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius) in the afternoons.  There was only one day that it rained for about 3 hours.  During that day I used a Gregory size medium pack cover as well as a rain poncho to cover the Electra.  On most mornings I started the day with the pack cover on due to the heavy moisture found on the vegetation along the trail.  During the nights the Electra was either hung inside the shelter or inside the tent as my footrest.

I was very pleased with the performance of the Gregory Electra during this hike.  The central area was large enough to carry all of my food, clothing, cookware, stove, water and water filtration gear.  The lower compartment held my sleeping bag and Big Agnes sleeping pad. I used the external mesh pocket on the left side of the pack to carry tent poles and my fuel bottle.  The external pocket on the right hand side carried one water bottle with the other two bottles stuffed in the hydration bladder pocket inside the pack.  The small zippered pockets on the back of the pack were used to carry fire starting materials, a rain poncho, toilet paper, and a bag of trail mix.  The total weight of the pack at the start of the trip was 28 pounds (12.7 kilograms). 

The suspension of the Gregory Electra was great.  I was able to adjust the weight on and off my hips and shoulders easily while hiking.  On steep rocky areas of the trail I compressed the bag to fit closer to my body as not to disturb my balance.  After 10 days I did not have any sores due to the belt rubbing on my hipbones of my shoulders.  The pack stayed dry under the pack cover and even the few mornings that is was damp it dried with in 2 hours on the trail and the interior of the pack stayed dry.

The Electra was durable with all zippers, draw cords, straps and fabric remaining functional and in like new condition.

I did not have the opportunity to use the fanny pack (top compartment) during this test period.

Things I like:

1. Comfort and fit of the shoulder and waistbelt

2. Ease of adjustment of the suspension system to distribute or change load-carrying area

3. The color

 

Things I did not like:

1. Weight

2. No exterior mesh water bottle pockets on the back of the pack

3. Solid fabric rather than mesh on the underside of the top compartment