Personal Information

• Name : Graham Blamey
• Age : 61
  
• Height : 1.82 m (6' 0")
  
• Weight : 75 kg (165 lb)
• Email : gg@higray.fsnet.co.uk
• County : Essex
• Country : UK
• Additional product related information
  
• Torso :  53.3 cm (21")
• Chest : 106.7 cm (42")
• Waist :  86.4 cm (34")

Backpacking background

I first went camping at about age five and have been camping, on and off, ever since. I started serious walking about 21 years ago and backpacking a few years later. I have backpacked, with my wife Ginny, mainly in Europe and the UK. We have spent three weeks of each year for the last seven years, backpacking on variations of the GR11, a long-distance, high-level route, that follows the spine of the French/Spanish Pyrenees. We spend at least one day a week on long day-walks, and take a number of three- to four-day backpacking trips throughout the year. We also take part in several night and weekend orienteering events. Our backpacking style; tent, mid-weight packs, Therm-a-Rests etc., although essentially traditional, is getting increasingly lighter as we explore the possibilities brought about by new materials and designs.

Product Information

Manufacturer	Gregory Mountain Products - California - USA
URL	http://www.gregorypacks.com/
Year of manufacture	2005
Country of origin	Not stated
MSRP	$139.00 US / £100.00 UK
Sizes available	S.   43 L / 2500 cu in    M.   48 L / 2700 cu in    L.    51 L / 2950 cu in
Recommended Loads	No recommended load weights are given on the website description of the pack as far as I can ascertain, but are listed on the hang tag that came with the pack @ 11-16 kg (25-35 lb)
Listed Weight of pack (from website)	S.    1.2 kg / 2 lb 9 oz M.    1.2 kg / 2 lb 12 oz L.     1.3 kg / 2 lb 14 oz
Weight of pack as Received	L.     1.34 kg / 2 lb 14.5 oz

Some features of the pack (taken from Gregory's website)

SUSPENSION FEATURES                         Wraptor™ Stabilizer, Internal Exo•Frame™, Sport harness, Gullwing™ waistbelt, Chimney ventilated backpanel

PACK FEATURES Top access, Large front and side mesh storage pockets, Silicone impregnated G 70 fabric, 210d HT nylon fabric reinforcements. Water resistant, Top pocket zipper, Mesh waistbelt pocket, Hydration sleeve and port, Dual ice axe loops and keepers.

The G-pack was shipped directly to me from Gregory's UK distributor, ESC-Outdoor.
Gregory in the US sell only from retail outlets and this practice is being followed in the UK.
Anyone in the UK wanting to buy or try a G-pack should, in the first instance, check the Gregory website and follow the links from 'Dealer Locator' in the left side-bar .
The pack shipped with a five page hang-tag.

Product Overview
Starting at the top of the pack, is the lid. This is a 'floating lid' and is attached to the pack (just above where the harness load-lifter straps meet the main body) by three, narrow, (15 mm  (3/4") adjustable straps. There appears to be about 33 cm (13") of adjustment on these straps, enabling the lid to be raised to cover an extended load. The whole of the pack lid is one large pocket that unzips (from the back side) to halfway round with two sliders. Inside the lid pocket is a small, sewn-in clip, on a fabric tab.

The main pack body is one single compartment apart from the inner hydration bladder sleeve, which is on the frame-sheet side and is 36 cm (14") deep and 25 cm (10") wide (almost as wide as the pack frame-sheet). The sleeve is slightly pouched, having an elasticated top edge. There is a hydration pipe outlet slit in the right top corner of the pack body. The top of the pack body extends up 20 cm (8") above the top edge of the frame-sheet and is closed by means of a draw-cord and cord-grip around the top hem.

Continuing with the outside of the G-pack, there is a mesh pocket on each side of the main compartment and one on the front. Each side pocket is about 28 cm x 23 cm (11" x 9") and is quite 'baggy' and difficult to measure accurately. Both pockets have an elasticated strip running around the top edge.

The single pocket on the front of the pack body is 30 cm (12") wide at the base and extends up the pack about 46 cm (18"). Again, this pocket is 'baggy' with an elasticated top and difficult to measure accurately. There is a daisy-chain strip of webbing running up the centre of this mesh pocket.

There are two axe/pole loops, one on each side of the base with corresponding elasticated clips located near the top of the pack.

To finish this rundown of the pack body, there are two compression straps on each side, the lower one just clipping the bottom of the mesh side pocket and the upper one slanting upwards from the top of the side pocket.
A compression strap which serves to tighten any slack in the large mesh pocket and compress the top of the pack runs over the top of the pack body.




The harness straps are slightly S-curved and are fairly flat and lightly padded. They have daisy-chain webbing on each and a sternum strap which can be fitted through any of the daisy-chain loops.

The waist/hip belt is, similarly, lightly padded and has a curved shape. The whole of the outside of each belt wing is a zippered, mesh pocket. The pack is stiffened internally by a moulded framesheet and against the wearer's back are two vertical padded panels with a gap of about 40 mm (1 1/2") between them. At the base of the back system is a padded lumbar pad.






There are fairly conventional load-lifter straps at the point where the harness straps meet the top of the body. Where the bottom of the harness straps connect to the base of the pack is slightly unconventional in that each harness strap connects at two points about 100 cm (4") apart. (see photo left).



Initial Impressions
When I unpacked the G-pack, the first thing that struck me was its light weight. It's by far one of the lightest, framed packs of its size I've used. The second thing, once I'd had a good look at it, was the quality of construction. All the stitching, bar-tacking, seams and finishing are of very high quality. The G 70 fabric (pack body and most of the lid) is a silicone impregnated ripstop and is a pleasing shade of dull green. The rest of the material used is a heavier, black, 210 HT nylon and this is used in any potential stress or wear areas; the base, the lid top etc. The mesh and straps used are also black and the pack has a very low-key appearance which I like. The single main compartment seemed larger than its quoted 51 L (2950 cu in) but whether this is an illusion or not will become clear in time. The lid pocket is also nice and big and I like the inclusion of a key-clip, although this is sited quite deep in the pocket and not right at the mouth like I'm used to.

It looks, at first sight, to be relatively easy to load this pack and compress it quite tightly if not using all the outer mesh pockets but by the same token, if extra, bulkier gear is being carried, all the outer pockets can be easily pressed into service. The hydration pocket looks as if it will take my 2 L (70 oz) Platypus bladder comfortably (I suspect a 3L (100 oz) one might fit too).

Trying the G-pack on, straight out of  the packaging, was a strange experience. Once I'd made a few harness adjustments, it felt very comfortable, if a little like wearing a piece of plywood with a harness attached (but I do accept that, at this capacity, I'm used to more padded back systems). It's pretty easy to make adjustments 'on-the-hoof' and I'll need to experiment with this. It did feel astonishingly light (it's lighter in fact than my regular 35 L (2135 cu in) daysack) and it's certainly going to be interesting juggling and packing my usual loads.

Testing
I had hoped to start using The G-pack immediately as a daypack, so that I could get the feel of it and work out how various harness and strap adjustments altered the carrying comfort and behavior. When I loaded my usual daypack contents in, they disappeared into the G-pack's cavernous interior and nestled in the bottom leaving a large empty space for most of the pack. This didn't make for a very comfortable carry (not surprising really) with all the weight at the bottom of the pack, something I dislike as it feels so unbalanced. I'm going to next try a full backpacking load and use this on day-walks and I'm confident that with a bit of experimenting I'll get the comfort level right.

Over the next couple of months of the Field Test period, I'll be using the G-pack on a number of 2-, 3-, and 4-night trips in the south-east UK and the English/Welsh border area. The terrain will be mostly hill country through fields, down- and heath-land and some forested areas. Weather is most likely to be cool (min 0 C (32 F)) overnight with most likely rain on occasions. Early morning frosts are likely, but I wouldn't expect freezing temperatures at this time of year. We also have planned a visit to the Tramuntana mountains of Mallorca in November. We hope to undertake a complete traverse of the range from south to north. The terrain here is mixed woodland, with rocky ridge walking, some scrambling and a lot of ascent and descent. The weather should be fairly stable at this time of year and overnight temperatures shouldn't drop below about 5 C (40 F) so I will still be able to pack fairly light and the G-pack will be a valuable part of my system.

During the testing period I'll be looking at every aspect of the G-pack, generally:

Is the pack comfortable?
Is the padding on the harness and hip-belt sufficient for the heaviest load I might carry?
Is it stable and can I make adjustments on the go, to counteract the different demands of the terrain?
How easy is it to load and unload?
How easy is it to reach items that may have migrated to the bottom of the pack?
How useful are the lid, hip-belt and mesh pockets?
If the mesh pockets aren't loaded or cinched down, will the surplus material be a liability and snag on passing branches?
How durable is the pack material?
How weather-proof is the Sil-nylon and will I still need to carry a separate pack cover?

Likes so far
Very light weight
Very roomy
Well made

Dislikes so far
Nothing

I am grateful to BackpackGearTest and Gregory Mountain Products, for the opportunity to test this pack.