Gregory, Granite Gear, Osprey HELP

“The ol lady wants a new back for heading to Glacier this summer. Right now we are considering the Granite Gear Vapor Ki, Osprey Ariel 55 and Aura 65, and the Gregory Deva. She is a 16" in torso so is right on the verge of XS and S depending on the manufacture. Any suggestions on the 4 packs. The most days we would be out is 5 possibly 7 days.

I have a UL 55 liter pack but still have my Gregory palisades pack if we needed the extra space.”

“Boy fuego threads defenitly get the attention around here. In less time Noncom's Merchant of death thread got more views and more posts.”

“LOL. all I could think of was Gregory, Granite Gear, Osprey.....OH My!

Flash, how much gear do you carry? How much weight can SHE carry? I guess all of these fit in. My Problem with a Big pack is I am tempted to fill it.”

“I can carry 60 lbs (alot of it is camera gear.) She can carry 40 lbs but we are trying to shead weight. She would like to be around 30 or less and I've gotten myself down to 40. She likes to carry extra cloths to keep warm and fresh. I also for got to bring in this info. She currently has a North Face Crestone 60 (60 liter pack) that is 5 lbs 11 ounces is it is the wrong size for her (I bought it because we needed to get her a pack for the Rocky Mountain trip and that was the best the local store had to offer)”

“I would not go with the Granite Gear pack unless you are sure the weight in it will be less than 30lbs, less than 25lbs is even better. Lightweight packs are for lightweight loads.”

“The Ki looks like a great pack but don't make the mistake of putting much more than 25 pounds in this UltraLight pack.
It is designed for light loads.
I would say 30 MAX.

I took my Granite Gear Vapor Trail out for six days without any problems, but all my other gear was ultralight also.”

“Yep thats what I was thinking to Lumber. The guy are REI said if we go with the granite gear bag to DO NOT go over 30 lbs.”

“Great minds DO think alike. ;-)”

“Wow a complement from the stomper of stoves. I might have to print that out and frame it. ;-)”

“LOL at Lumberzac, I would suggest making a gear list for the trip putting all of her gear in a sack and taking it to the gear store, that way you can see what pack it will all fit inside. All of the packs listed are good packs, but the one that fits her and carries all of the gear will be the best one. I hate having to strap gear to the outside, it makes the pack unbalanced and it has more of a chance to get hung up on something.”

“It might be a good choice to go with the Gregory and just pack it light. Going borderline on weight maximum might make sense for something close to home, but I would error on the side of caution.

The last thing you need is an overweighted pack divorcing ya. ;)”

“I have the Granite Gear Vapor Trail and have used it for years now. Last year, my husband got one. I carry around 30 lbs, more at first, less later because I carry the bear can. I put my sleeping pad along my back. It may be that the extra support helps. I do it for fitting in my gear. I've used it solo for multi-day trips, and it has been great.”

“The one I'm leaning towards just because I know her is the Ospery Aura. Its lighter that her old back but will allow that extra space for her extra cloths which for her keeping warm is a higher priority than losing weight. We are also dumping the 3 lbs bear keg for a ursack. That frees up room in my pack for the tent saving 4 lbs in her pack. Looking at her list and my list we should be able to get her around 27 lbs thats going with what we already own and moving items to my pack that she used to carry. I got mine reduced by lighting up on the camera gear, cloths, pack, and bag.

I love new gear I can't wait to get her old stuff on ebay.

Also anyone intersted in a old Bear Keg.”

“3 votes for the Granite Gear.”

“Gotta agree with Laq...depending on how long you are out you never know if there will be a problem that may require carrying a BIT more weight. You can more easily carry 30 lbs in pack built to carry 40lbs than try to carry 40 lbs in a pack made for 30.”

“It really depends on what fits her body.

I used a ULA Catalyst for our thruhike last year and loved it. It carried a gallon and a half of water or 8 days of food, when necessary, but was also comfortable when my pack weight was in the low 20s. Since you share gear, it should be roomy enough. (It carried my 10 degree sleeping bag, which some of the packs won't do.)

I don't know if there is a small size though.”

“I carry an Osprey 75 on longer trips - it carries weight really well and fits me better than the similar size Gregory did.”

“I love Osprey packs!!!! I highly recommend them. I have a Gregory and it's a nice pack, but I find it uncomfortable and thus it is in reserve backup. I know other people who also find their gregory packs to be uncomfy.”

“Earth I second you on the Gregory packs. I like my palisades alot but at times it seems uncomfy. My TNF Skarab UL pack on the other hand fits me alike a glove.

Oh and another question for the women. Of those of you that have been pregent did you still backpack? And if you did how far along did you go untill you stopped backpacking?”

“Don't know anything about these packs but to echo others:

1. Get a pack that fits well.

2. Unless you are going to do the lightweight/ultralight thing all the way e.g. all gear, skip a lightweight pack.

3. Experience has taught me that it is always easier to start big and get smaller as you learn what you can live with and without.”

“We bought the Gregory Diva for my wife. I have Osprey packs and love them - so I was sure that's what would be best foe her too. We went to REI and tried on loaded packs and the Gregory fit and felt the best.”