GREGORY KEELER
5300 Cubic Inch Internal Frame Backpack
report review
Field Test Report - February 1, 2005

How ingenious an animal is a snail. When it encounters a bad neighbor it takes up its house and moves away. 
- Philemon, Fragment. (c. 300 B.C.)

IN THE FIELD

While my sole opportunity for a multi-day hike with the Gregory Keeler fell through like the soggy bottom of an ice-cream cone, I was able to use the Keeler on six overnight trips, several day hikes, some night recon training, and even a trip to the zoo.  These were all in the south-eastern Louisiana region, with variable (but usually cool) temperatures, high humidity, frequent cold rain.  Four of the overnights were night hikes, wandering in the moonlight; two were simple hike-n-camps.  Hikes ranged from 6 to 11 miles a day (or night, as the case may be).  Terrain included swampy marshland, bottomland hardwoods, and the Mississippi River batture and levee system.  I also wore the Keeler on all my daily walks, which are usually two miles each day.  My neighbors are used to this now, and don't even look at me anymore...

Auto•Cant™ Harness

...Auto•Cant™ is based on the simple idea that shoulder straps need to rotate to a range of angles to accommodate individual neck and shoulder shapes, as well as the movement of the shoulders associated with physical activity. Each Auto•Cant™ panel attaches to the framesheet with a single point swivel (aircraft grade aluminum rivet), allowing them to independently rotate and self-adjust to the slope of the shoulders. You can also fine-tune the degree of rotation by tensioning the shoulder stabilizer strap.

The Auto•Cant™ shoulder harness is one of those simple but ingenious ideas.  By attaching the shoulder straps to the frame by means of a pivot, the shoulder straps can adjust several degrees in either direction to allow a custom fit to even my broad shoulders.  I have found the harness to be superior in comfort and fit.  I go on about it later in this report.

Dual Density Wilderness Waistbelt

A fancy name that isn't entirely described.  The Wilderness Waistbelt is precurved to eliminate wrinkles, and it is cushy and comfortable.  The waistbelt is a success in my opinion.  Comfortable with an excellent fit.  Again, more on this later.

Stealth™ Harness Padding

The Stealth™ harness is contoured to wrap comfortably over the shoulders and around the chest.

Not exactly around the chest.  More like down the chest.  It is quite comfortable.  I like it.

Flo-Form® II Molded Backpanel

When conventional fabrics are bent or stitched, they bunch and crease. Put these creases against your body, add fifty pounds, and you'll experience chafing and discomfort. Flo•Form® allows our waistbelts, shoulder harnesses and backpanels to be molded to match specific shapes of the body. Built-in creases and channels prevent straps and harnesses from bunching against the body, and also promote unmatched ventilation.

The backpanel is very nice, and the lumbar pad is greatly appreciated.  The backpanel fits well and is very comfortable even after extended wear.  I experienced no chafing, and breathability was good.  

Single 7001-T6 Stay

Alloy #7001-T6 is a hardened aluminum alloy with a Brinell Hardness of 160, and an ultimate tensile strength of 97,900 PSI (6750 bar).  This exceeds the specs for annealed titanium.  In layman's terms, this is the good stuff.  I have no complaints about the stay.  It performs well in its designed role.

Hourglass FOAM-X Framesheet

The Keeler is equipped with a FOAM-X framesheet cut like an hourglass backed up with a single 7001-T6 aluminum stay.  This framesheet is rigid and kept lumpy and bumpy objects from digging into my tender back.  Is nice.

CONSTRUCTION

The construction of the Keeler is first rate.  Exposed edges are wrapped with piping.  Stitching is well done and reinforced.  I experienced no material failures at all, and the pack even washes nicely with a nylon brush, some ivory soap, and a garden hose.  I washed it twice during the Field Test period, and it came out like new each time.

Packing a pack is a lot like assembling a puzzle.  Whenever I get a new pack - or new gear - I like to spread everything out all over the place and figure out where it goes.  This is a fun process for me, and I had a lot of fun packing the Keeler.  With the Keeler I took the 'bag-of-bags' approach.  What this means is that most loose gear went into its own stuff sack.  Cooking and eating utensils went into one stuff sack.  Food into another, etc.  I chose this packing method because of the Keeler's construction.  Being able to access the pack from top, bottom, or either side means thinking about where things go, and being able to access each bag of gear individually without having to unpack the whole mess.  I started with my shelter and sleeping bag and put them both into the bottom compartment.  Both my Hennessy Hammock Explorer Deluxe and my Snugpak Softie 3 Merlin sleeping bag fit nicely into the provided space with some room left to spare.  

With my sleeping system stowed, I stood the Keeler up and began to toss in my various bags.  First I put my Platypus water bladder into the provided hydration pocket, then I tossed in the bags for food, cooking gear, sundries, water treatment kit, shower, and my camera.  I had a lot of room left over.  I unpacked the sundries bag and loaded some things into the side pockets, the back pocket, and the lid pocket.  Now I had even more room in the main compartment.  Hmmm...  Then I remembered that maybe I should pack some extra clothes since it was cold out.  I packed my big fluffy jacket and that took up plenty of room, so I was ready to go.  Normally I stuff things like my towel into an external pocket, but the Keeler has little in the way of external pockets, so I stuffed those things into the back pocket.  I then attached my sleeping pad underneath and the idea occurred to me that I could have packed the sleeping pad as a roll inside the Keeler and that would have taken up some room.  I did this on another occasion, but this destroys the side access feature so I don't particularly care for it.  I then decided to pack my umbrella, and I inserted the top end of my Birdiepal Compact into the ice axe loop, gave it a few twists until it was snug, and then secured the top with the ice axe keeper.  This works really well and I was quite pleased.  I am still shifting things around in the Keeler, and I will report on my final packing configuration during the Long-Term Review.  I always had plenty of room in the Keeler, even with winter loads.

Whenever I wanted something, I had a mental map of where everything was in the pack.  It was never necessary to open the top of the pack while I was in the field.  I just opened one of the side compartment zippers and pulled out the bag that I needed.  When it came time to camp, I just undid the bottom compartment, set up my hammock, and my entire pack was still packed.  This is a very big deal to me, and I really enjoy this feature of the Keeler.  Normally I am very sloppy in camp and I wind up with everything spread out all over a NeetSheet under my tarp because I had to pull everything out to get to my shelter.  With the Keeler, everything stayed together just where it belonged.  In a crowded campground if I wanted to go to the bathroom I didn't have to leave all my stuff behind to be pilfered.  I just picked up the pack and walked to the latrine.  I didn't figure that anybody would walk off with a fully pitched hammock...  Of course, I don't normally camp in crowded campgrounds, but some folks do.  

Putting the Keeler on is easy enough, although I found the lift loop somewhat wanting.  When the hood is cinched down all the way it interferes with the lift loop somewhat.  In any case, I really had no trouble getting the Keeler on and off.  Once the monkey was on my back, I clipped my hydration mouthpiece on the right side, dropped a can of insect repellent into the right side pocket, clipped my knife on the right hipbelt stabilizer strap and my pepper spray to the left hipbelt stabilizer strap, and I was ready to go.  

The first thing I noticed whenever I started to walk was how well the Keeler fit me.  I am very pleased in every respect with the fit of the Keeler, and Mr. Gregory deserves some kudos for his attention in this area.  

I have a bad case of Bursitis in both shoulders.  Any pack weight on my shoulders for more than a half hour or so causes agonizing pain.  The Keeler allows me to use a hip belt to support all the weight of the pack, but some 'driving' is still necessary.  Years of experience have taught me that little adjustments here and there every so often make walking with a pack much more comfortable, and I quickly learned the rhythms and techniques that worked to 'drive' the Keeler in this way.  I carried a true sternum strap - a strap that can go all the way around the pack and around my chest to stabilize the pack and allow me to loosen the shoulder straps completely - but I never needed it.  The Auto•Cant™ Harness is a total success in my book.  When I move, the harness moves and this is a big relief for my shoulders.  My old A.L.I.C.E. pack moved in a similar way, but the harness on the Keeler is even better.  Mr. Gregory, my shoulders thank you.  

The shoulder strap adjustments snug easily, but I there are no thumb loops at the end and I really miss that feature on the Keeler.  I have become accustomed to them, and I will put a few stitches in it at the end of the test to make some thumb loops.  The sternum strap is moveable and easy to adjust.  While it is my usual habit to drop my pack during top-of-the-hour breaks, I found that with the Keeler, I didn't usually bother to take it off.  

I carried pack loads ranging from 25 pounds (11.34 kg) to 40 pounds (18.14 kg), even when I didn't need that much gear in order to test the Keeler's performance under various loads.  Performance didn't vary - the pack just got heavier.  The felt weight of the Keeler - and indeed any pack - is very subjective.  Even when I was carrying 40 pounds (18.14 kg), the Keeler did not dig in to me or bite me in any way.  I was perfectly comfortable up to the maximum load capacity, and it didn't feel like I was carrying 46 pounds (20.87 kg).  (The weight of the Keeler + 40 pounds (18.14 kg).)  Of course, I also know how to pack.  Care should be taken with heavier items to make sure that they are high and as close to the back as possible.  The Keeler never became 'sloppy' even while I was running - not that I run that much.  By tweaking the adjustments of all the straps, I was able to 'tune' the pack to a very comfortable and acceptable piece of gear that moved with me.  All of the adjustments are readily accessible and easy to fiddle with.  This is obviously more intelligent design at work.

The breathability of the backpanel was good, but not excellent.  I will see how good or bad it really is when spring and summer settles into the Deep South.

The hipbelt stabilizer straps are 1 in (2.54 cm) wide webbing.  Since I use waist belt stabilizer straps to attach things like pepper spray and my knife to my pack, I like my stabilizer straps to be the full width of the waist belt - in this case 2 in (5 cm).  I found that the 1 in (2.54 cm) straps were adequate in this role, but I'm still greedy and I'd prefer the 2 in (5 cm) straps.