Gregory Triconi Pack
Field Report – April 20, 2006
Tester Information:
Name: Jason Boyle
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 6"/ 1.68 m
Weight: 170 lb/ 77 kg
Waist: 36”/ 91 cm
Email address: c4jc "at" hotmail "dot" com
City, State, Country: Snoqualmie, WA, U. S.
Backpacking Background:
I have been camping and backpacking for about 17 years. My introduction to the outdoors started with the Boy Scouts of America and has continued as an adult. I have hiked mostly in the Southeastern and Northeastern United States. I am generally a lightweight hiker, but will carry extras to keep me comfortable. I have recently relocated to the Pacific Northwest and spend most of my time hiking and backpacking in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, but I can be found exploring the other wild areas of Washington!
Product Information:
Manufacturer: Gregory Mountain Products
Model: Triconi
Size:
Pack Bag/Frame: Medium (Received), other sizes available
Shoulder Harness: Medium
Waistbelt: Could not find a size tag
Capacity: 3800 cu in/ 62 L
Color: Spruce Blue, also available in Sequoia Red
Year of Manufacture: 2006
URL: www.gregorypacks.com
Listed weight: 5 lbs 13 oz/2.6 kg
Measured weight: Surprisingly 5 lbs 13 oz/2.6 kg
**Disclaimer: The closest my scale will measure is in whole ounces.**
MSRP: $249 US
Country of Manufacture: Unknown
Main Pack Bag Fabric: 630 D / 210 D high tenacity nylon
Load Range: According to Gregory comfortable up to 45 pounds (21 kg)
Product Description:
From the Gregory website:
Multiple inner pack zip-thru access points, exclusive Response™ suspension technology that automatically delivers a custom fit and a low profile front pocket make the Triconi fit for a variety of adventures~inter-continental traverses, week long ultra-light thru hikes or just a day of cragging.
At first glance the pack seems similar in design to many other internal frame packs, but Gregory has added some new features to a classic style pack. For a detailed product description please see my initial report.
Field Conditions:
I have used the Gregory Triconi in all precipitation conditions since it arrived. I used it on 2 snowshoe day trips, and a three-day snowshoe backpacking trip in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington, where temperatures ranged from 50 F to 30 F (10 C to -1 C). Elevation here ranged from Sea Level to 3100’ (945 m). I have also used the pack in Joshua Tree National Park, California, on a day hike, and an overnight backpacking trip. Temperatures ranged from 50 F to 85 F (10 C to 30 C) and max elevation was 5000’ (1524 m). My pack weight has ranged from about 20 pounds to 35 pounds (9 kg to 15.9 kg) during this time frame.
Summary:
So far this has been a good pack. It is very comfortable with any load and seems to be very durable. I only have a couple of small nitpicks at this point. The first is that the pack is heavy and the second is that some of the packs features are not accessible with my winter/early spring configuration.
Field Results:
The pack fits me well and has been easy to adjust. I have not made any more suspension adjustments since my initial pack fitting. The shoulder straps and hip belt fit me properly and have not caused any unexpected strain or soreness. The “Response System” did not require any getting used to and I can definitely feel it moving with my body as I hike. I think the pack is very comfortable and the only thing I can identify that makes it different from other packs is the suspension.
The pack fabric seems to be very durable. I have carried items on the outside of the pack such as an ice axe and snowshoes and the pack bag shows no signs of damage or wear. Additionally I have plunged off trail through brush looking for campsites and the bag shows no signs of wear.
On my three-day snowshoe trip, I was blessed to experience several hours of light rain each day. Unlike my hiking companions who used pack covers, I did not. The fabric on the pack bag did get wet, but my contents on the inside did not. I did have my important items in plastic bags just in case!
I have found that the pack is easy to load if I follow my normal system of packing. This consists of starting with packing my sleeping bag in a compression sack and clothes in the bottom pocket. Then I place stuff I will not need until I get into camp like my Primaloft jacket into the top pocket. Next, I place my stove and food in the top pocket. Finally, I place my rain jacket and tent on top of the cinched top pocket. I keep essentials like medicine and other assorted gear in the top hood pocket. I had to place my Therm-a-Rest on the bottom using the bottom compression straps. I would have liked my blue foamy to go there too, but it would not fit. I had to use the side compression straps for it, not ideal in my opinion, but it works.
One of the things I really like about the pack is the outer zip pocket. I stored my snacks, lunch, TP, map and rain pants in this pocket. My hiking partners could easily unzip the pocket and get me anything that I needed. The pocket is tall enough that it can be unzipped without all of my gear going everywhere.
A feature that makes this bag different from other internal frame packs is the side zip that allows access to main bag. This seems to be good feature at first, but with my winter hiking gear I have not found this to be very useful. I find that I have a piece of gear in the way that keeps me from accessing the packbag through this zipper. For example, in the picture below, I have an ice ax on one side and my blue foamy pad on the zipper side. Hopefully as the temperatures warm this spring/summer, I won’t have to carry as much gear and can use this feature.
In this configuration I am not able to get to the zipper without removing the blue foamy. In this case it is easier for me to access the pack through the top.
Another nitpick I have is the elastic side pockets. If my pack is configured for winter gear like in the picture above I am unable to place anything in the pockets. If I am using my normal set up I am able to place a standard sized Nalgene in each pocket, but I cannot reach the Nalgene without taking my pack off.
The water bladder pocket does a good job of holding my water bladder in place. If I filter water directly through my bite valve end I am able to fill the bladder without removing it from the pocket. If I have to fill the bladder through any other method I have to remove it from the pack. I am not able to remove the bladder through the side zipper with a fully loaded pack.
On several of my day hikes, I carried an almost full pack. The compression straps allowed me to cinch the pack down tight and take up the excess space that was not being used. Also the suspension performed well regardless of the amount of gear that I had packed into the pack.
My final nit is the pack weight. Even before loading the pack with any gear I feel that the pack is heavy. The pack alone weighs more than my sleeping bag and tent combined. No fault of the pack’s just a fact.
Improvements:
I would like to be able to access the side pockets where I keep water bottles while the pack is on. I would also like to see pockets or a way to add pockets to the hip belt for easy snack/gadget access.
Test Plan:
I have evaluated the pack on the following characteristics over the past two months. My answers are in blue.
Fit:
- This pack features the “Response Suspension” that is supposed to mirror my body and evenly distribute weight so that I am more comfortable. How easy is this system to adjust? Initial adjustment was easy to do with the included instructions. I have found it easy to adjust load lifters and to tighten the hip belt and shoulder straps without any problems.
- Does it require any getting used to? Nope.
- Does it really distribute weight more evenly and make me more comfortable? The pack is comfortable; I cannot pinpoint it to the “Response System” though.
- The independent camming hip belt is supposed to automatically register my hip angle and provide an exact fit every time I put it on. How comfortable are the 3D hip belt and shoulder straps? Very comfortable.
- Are they easy to adjust? Yes, see my answer above.
Durable:
- How durable is the fabric? So far it shows no signs of wear even after off trail hiking and carrying snowshoes and an ice ax.
- Should I be worried about tossing it on the ground once I get to camp? No problems so far.
- How well does it hold up to off trail hiking? Good so far.
Usefulness:
- This pack seems like a typical internal frame pack with a top loading part, a bottom loading part and an external front pocket. So what makes this pack special? See my description of the pack’s features in my initial report.
- The pack has a top cover but I am unable to tell based on the website picture whether there is a pocket in the hood. Yes, there is a pocket in the hood.
- If so what can I store in there? I am able to fit assorted gear in there like my meds, fire starters, small personal first aid kit, lighter and matches, extra Ziplocs, tent stakes, and so forth.
- Next is the top loading compartment. How easy is it to stuff things in there? Easy, it is a large pocket.
- From the diagram on the web page there appears to be an access zipper near the back of the pack. There is a zipper on the left side of the pack. It allows access to both top compartment and the bottom compartment.
- How easy is the top pocket to load from the zipper? So far it has been difficult because I have had to stash gear on the outside of the pack that covers the zipper.
- Is it easily accessed from the zipper or will my gear fall out easily? See above.
- Is the hydration pocket in this part of the pack? Yes, it is in the top pocket.
- Can it be accessed via the zipper? No.
- The website mentions two ports, are they big enough to fit my bite valve through without disassembling the whole valve? Yes.
- Can the water bladder be filled while it is still inside of the pack? Yes, if I use a filter that connects to my bite valve. Otherwise I need to remove the bladder.
- Finally there is the bottom pocket. Is it large enough to hold a sleeping bag? Yes. If I use my compression sack I can fit my GoLite Feather bag and other gear in the pocket. If I don’t stuff my bag it takes up the entire compartment.
- How easy are the zippers to operate when the compartment is jammed full of gear? It can be a little tough, but I just work them one at time to get the compartment closed.
- How useful is the external pocket? Super useful! I store quick access stuff there like snacks, and my map.
- Can I cram gear in there or do I need to be careful in my planning? I can cram gear in there but it does work better with a little forethought.
- It looks like the zipper unzips downward to open the pocket, if so I will probably need to be really careful of gear falling out unexpectedly. This has not been the problem that I thought it might be.
- Do the multiple compression straps actually help snug the pack down if I don’t fill it up with gear? Yes.
- Are there options to be able to expand the pack if all of my gear doesn’t fit inside of the pack? The top pocket collar does extend some. I also found ways to stow stuff on the outside to get the most out of the pack.
- Are the side pockets reachable while wearing the pack? Nope.
Thanks to Gregory and BackpackGearTest for allowing me to participate in this test.
Read more reviews of Gregory gear
Read more gear reviews by Jason Boyle
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