Granite Gear Air Compressor Stuff Sack
Field Report - July 19, 2004
Tester Information:
Name: Jason Boyle
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 6"/ 1.68 m
Weight: 170 lb/ 77 kg
Email address: c4jc "at" hotmail "dot" com
City, State, Country: Waldorf, Maryland, U.S.
Backpacking Background:
I have been camping and backpacking for about 16 years. My introduction to the outdoors started with the BSA and has continued as an adult. I have hiked mostly in the Southeastern and Northeastern United States. I currently live near Washington D.C. and have made the mid-Atlantic mountains my playground. I used to carry everything and the kitchen sink, but I have become a lightweight hiker.
Product Information:
Manufacturer: Granite Gear
Model: Air-Line Air Compressor
Size: Medium, 8 in x 18.5 in (20 x 47 cm)
Year of Manufacture: 2004
URL: www.granitegear.com
Listed weight: 3.4 oz (96 g)
Measured weight: 3.0 oz (85 g)
**Disclaimer: the closest my scale will measure is in whole ounces**
MSRP: $26.00 US
Summary:
This compression sack has performed well under all circumstances. I appreciate the weight savings from the lighter materials, and have not had the end cap tangling problems that I have had with similar compression sacks. For more information on my initial impression of this stuff sack you can click here
Field Test Conditions:
The bag has been tested on 3 trips so far. The first was an early spring weekend car camping in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, the second was on a wet and misty backpacking trip early June hike in Shenandoah National Park and on an early July Big City Mountaineers route scouting trip in the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area. The weather for all these trips has been pretty good for me. There was some misty rain on the Shenandoah trip, but that was the only harsh weather I have encountered.
Field Test Results:
This sack has worked well over that past two months. The medium size works well with my GoLite Feather sleeping bag. It is a down bag that is easily compressed. I am able to fully compress this sleeping bag by making the end caps touch. I am impressed with the design of the sack. Most compression sacks have a piece of filler material to make sure the main body of the compression sack is sealed, not this sack. The drawstring top closes so completely that it eliminates the need for this additional piece of cloth. I am also impressed with how easy the sack has been to use. Normally I have trouble keeping the end cap straps from getting all tangled up but this problem has not occurred with the Granite Gear sack.
The stuff sack works ok with my EMS 20 Long bag. As shown in the picture below, I am able to compress this bag by about 80% as compared with 100% compression with the GoLite Feather bag.
The stuff sack does not work optimally with my Coleman bag. The Coleman bag fits in the sack and can be compressed, but not fully and the sack doesn't keep its cylinder shape when compressed with this bag. A larger sized sack would be better to compress this sleeping bag.
During my Shenandoah backpacking trip there was a light rain that persisted on and off through the day. Normally I place my sleeping bag in a plastic liner then my stuff sack, but that would limit me from testing the water resistant properties of the sack so I didn't do that on this trip. After getting camp set up, I pulled out the sack and removed my sleeping bag from the sack and the sleeping bag was nice and dry. Most everything in my pack was still dry so I conclude that my pack stopped most of the rain, but the sleeping bag was in the bottom where any rainwater would have collected.
I have had no problems with durability. All of the seams are intact and show no signs of wear.
Lessons Learned:
I have struggled with the non-connected end cap becoming tangled up after removing the contents of the compression sack in other brands that I have used. I have not had this problem with the Granite Gear Compression sack. I think the reason for this is because I let the compression straps completely out before trying to arrange the loose end cap over the main body for compressing. Otherwise, the compression straps are easy and intuitive to use. The ergonomically shaped release buckles are a nice feature.
Improvements:
None really at this time. Additional Color choices would be nice.
Long Term Test Plans:
I will continue to use this sack over the next four months for all my compression needs. I will be car camping with my scout troop at various places at least once a month. I will also be taking several weekend backpacking trips on the Appalachian Trail in MD/VA. Additionally, I will be taking two week plus backpacking trips, one to the Dolly Sods Wilderness in West Virginia, and the other on the AT in Central VA.
My main use for the sack will be to carry my sleeping bags. I use three sleeping bags, 2 synthetic bags: an EMS 20 bag, and an old Coleman mummy (I am unsure of the style) and one down bag: a Golite Feather bag.
The following are specific things I will examine during test, however, this list is not all-inclusive:
Durability:
How strong are the seams where the compression straps are attached? This is a definite weak point in any compression sack. How durable is the 30-D Sil Cordura body? Is it subject to easy tearing if dropped on rocks and/or other material that may be on the forest floor? Is the sil cordura waterproof?
Thanks again to BackpackGearTest and Granite Gear for the opportunity to participate in this test.
Read more reviews of Granite Gear gear
Read more gear reviews by Jason Boyle
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