Granite Gear Air Compressor Stuff Sack
Long Term Report - November 9, 2004
Tester Information:
Name: Jason Boyle
Age: 27
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:
After 6 months of rigorous use, this compression sack has earned a place on my permanent gear list. It has survived multiple trips in my backpack while keeping my sleeping bag dry. I really like the lightweight materials used to make the stuff sack and I have found this compression sack easier to use than other end cap compression sacks. I would like more color choices, as the translucent white tends to show dirt and other nastiness.
Long Term Report Conditions:
Since my field report the compression sack was used to tote my GoLite Feather down sleeping bag on the following trips: 8 day backpacking trip to the Dolly Sods, West Virginia, a 3 day backpacking trip over Labor Day weekend in Shenandoah National Park, and a 6 day 100 mile trip on the Appalachian Trail (AT) in Central Virginia. Elevation varied greatly during the trips from 668 feet (204 m) where the AT crosses the James River to 4225 feet (1228 m) on Apple Orchard Mountain on the AT. Temperatures ranged from 90 F (32 C) to the low 40's F (6 C). I also encountered sunny, cloudy, and rainy days. Actually several days of downpours!
Long Term Results:
This compression sack has displayed good durability over the length of the test. When I get to camp, the first thing I do is unpack my backpack. This usually includes just tossing the Granite Gear sack on the ground regardless of what might be there so the bag has landed on rocks, sticks, and other forest debris. The main body of the shows no signs of wear from my rough treatment or from being stuffed inside of my backpack against my other objects.
All of the seams, except for one, look the same as when the sack arrived. The only seam that showed signs of unraveling was a seam on the end cap connected to the main body of the sack. I did not notice the unraveling seam until I was sitting down to write this report, so I would say it did not really affect the performance of the sack. I took a lighter and melted the loose end to solve the problem.
The sack has been extremely waterproof. I have not used anything other than the sack to store my down bag in and have not had any moisture problems. It rained on me for two days straight in the Dolly Sods completely drenching my pack and rain cover, but the sack kept my sleeping bag nice and dry. I also experienced similar results during a driving downpour on the AT in Shenandoah National Park where my bag came out high and dry.
My only real compliant is really a nit pick. The translucent white main body shows dirt easy, but it doesn't end there. I washed the bag to see if the main body would come clean and it didn't. There are no laundering instructions so I washed the sack by itself in cold water with a liquid detergent and then hung it to dry. The main body did not come clean. Oh well small complaint.
Pros:
Lightweight
Good Durability
Easy to use
Cons:
No color choices
Thanks again to BackpackGearTest.org 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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