Rain covers are a practical addition to any backpacking pack. Rigid perimeter frames that are internal (hidden) or external and can hold the most weight. +1-800-504-5817 Contact Us Chat now. Hi Michael- really great article and I especially appreciate the decision matrix and testing trip reports! He has guided more than 1,000 clients and helped them select and fit packs for their adventures. When Adam isn't thru-hiking with his family, you can find him trail running, rock climbing, planning his next trip, or scouting the next place to call home. 15.7 oz. For adjustability, we measure the pack's fit details. For average trips with loads at or under 40 pounds, this is one of the more comfortable packs in our review. Plus, TNFs unique new Dyno Lite suspension (also used in TNFs larger Griffin packs) allows for on-the-fly torso adjustment and one-hand dialing in of the self-equalizing load lifters. Hi Colin, thanks for that question. One of my favorite parts of the canyon. Our experts test thousands of products each year using thoughtful test plans that bring out key performance differences between competing products. These packs would probably be a good match if you'll be hauling heavy loads over a long period of time (for at least, say, 3 full days). This has just about every feature you could ask for and nothing you don't need. THE VERDICT. Each person's body is different, so our test included a wide range of users, including GearLab editors, friends, and our climbing and backpacking partners, to gather a wide variety of data. Comparison of Five Ultralight Backpack Liners, Zpacks Arc Haul Ultra 60L Backpack Review, 10 Best Backpacking Water Filters of 2023, Nitecore 10000 mAh USB Power Bank (5.9 oz), Feathered Friends Flicker 40 Quilt Sleeping Bag. If you have ever trekked up into the mountains with a poorly-fitting pack, there is no doubt you understand the benefits that a quality pack can provide. Though it can comfortably handle loads many lighter packs couldn't dream of carrying, there is no denying this pack is heavy. They sport six external pockets, including two on the hipbelt and a large, stretch-mesh front pocket, and useful features like good compression and attachments for trekking poles or an ice axe. Read my complete review of the Gregory Focal 58 and Facet 55. Smokie (that time I almost burned my tent with a canister stove), Drop-N-Roll (because I set myself on fire with an alcohol stove), The Hyperlite Mountain Gear 3400 Southwest (55L), Read the SectionHiker.com 3400 Southwest Backpack Review. Gregory Baltoro 75 Price: $350 Weight: 4 lbs. The Flash 55 does a great job of keeping the price low, but the durability and support issues are still true. And dont miss my popular reviews of 25 Essential Backpacking Gear Accessories and The Best Backpacking Gear of the year. Let us know! If you are someone who appreciate extras like a zippered access to the main compartment, an integrated raincover, and ample exterior pockets, the Baltoro/Deva collection is the best choice. Thats where you want to place your sleeping bag, perhaps tent rainfly, air mat, and other fairly light, bulky stuff you dont need on the trail. The Stout/Amber collection is designed with Versafit suspension, making it fully adjustable and offering wraparound padded hipbelt. Privacy | Cookies | Terms. This weight is partly due to the extra zipper that allows access to the inside of the pack. The ventilated back panel fits closely but has channels for air circulation and the Re-Fit hipbelt felt great even on long, arduous days. Free Shipping and Returns. I think Osprey has improved on its harness technology with the AG harness in the Atmos and Aura packs, which can handle pretty substantial loads. Leave a comment. At the same time, the close fitting upper backpanel keeps the bulk of the weight close against your back to help you save energy along the way. There are several factors to consider when looking for a new backpacking backpack. Heck, for an upcharge, they will even embroider your trail name on their packs. We especially love the outside beavertail style mesh pocket. If you plan to hike in tough desert or mountainous terrain or off-trail, its best to get a backpack that has as little external mesh (pockets) as possible, because these are usually the first things to get ripped up on a backpack. Best Use. The Baltoro has a mesh water bottle holder on one side of the pack and a stowable forward-facing bottle pocket on the other. A pack's suspension is its frame system. These days Ill just pack the can first to the bottom of my top-loader and hope I grabbed everything for the day. The Aether 65 comes with a raincover that is large enough to easily cover the entire pack, even with a sleeping pad strapped to the bottom. $159.95. The stretchy mesh beavertail-style pocket is excellent for drying socks, storing a rain shell, or fitting oddly-shaped things like flip-flops. Gregory Mountain Products Men/Unisex's Baltoro 65, Alaska Blue, Medium. Osprey Exos 58 and Eja 58$260, 58L/3,539 c.i., 2 lbs. More sizes mean it could work for a broader range of users. This collection focuses on simplicity without compromising durability. Overall, though, its a great backpack to get you through the mountain. Adam, also a long-time guide and outdoor instructor, travels full time with his wife and two daughters (ages 7 and 9), who recently became Long Trail end-to-enders. Hope that helps. A top-loader, it has eight external pockets, including a removable, floating lid pocket and a bottom zippered flap that can also carry a sleeping pad, and tough, Robic high-tenacity nylon fabric. 4 oz.backcountry.com. On a nine-day, nearly 130-mile hike through the High Sierra, mostly on the John Muir Trail, I found the updated-for-2022 Exos 58 keeps what has made it a classic since 2008 while getting even better. The Baltoro's "U" shaped aluminum frame is quite stiff and does a fantastic job of transferring the load from the pack to the hips. Gregory's attention to comfort in its ultralight backpack is evident in the aluminum perimeter wire frame with a fiberglass cross-stay and an HDPE framesheet that lend the pack substantial rigidity, distributing most of the load across the hips. By the way, for a day on the trail, I do carry food I intend to eat during the day elsewhere in my pack and stuff my canister only with food I dont need until dinnertime or later, and fill in any unfilled space in the canister with cooking gear or clothing I wont need during the day. Each of my picks for the 10 best backpacking packs stands out for different reasons. Read more. We also determined how well the pack's top lid provides access to small items and whether those items stayed organized. These openings enable access to a part of the pack that is hard to get at from the top without unloading it all on the ground first. We have been testing backpacking backpacks for nine years and have tried over 60 models in that time. The floating hip belt and extendable hip belt cushioned sections make this pack ultra-comfortable. Two very different backpacking trips of 77 miles in five days (averaging over 15 miles and 8,000 vertical feet per day) on the Wonderland Trail around Mount Rainier and a more leisurely, four-day, 36-mile family hike on the Ruby Crest Trail convinced me that, for many backpackers, Gregorys well-featured mens Paragon 58 and womens Maven 55 might offer everything they want in a pack for every kind of trip they takeat a good price. Made a bit more durable through little design improvements, the redesigned Exos 58 and Eja 58 have the capacity for weeklong trips and ultralight thru-hiking. Your browser's Javascript functionality is turned off. With its modest weight, abundant features, and good compression, the Banchee 50 may be the only pack you need for outings ranging from weekends to wilderness treks up to about five days (with lightweight, compact gear), as long as you dont routinely load more than about 40 pounds inside. They have the most significant impact on a pack's comfort (or lack thereof). The top lid is one of the best places to store small items that require quick and easy access, such as sunglasses, sunblock, or bug spray. If the rain is falling for days at a time, unless you've lined your pack with a trash bag or packed your gear in dry bags, your stuff is going to get wet. This pack's rock-solid suspension and plush padding make heavier loads feel manageable. An excellent pack that handles loads well, while on the heavier side, Dual zippered lid pockets for accessibility. That way I dont have to dig out and open that canister every time I want food, especially if its lying flat. This contender is on the less expensive side of the models with similarly robust suspension systems. Which of these packs would fit as a carry on? One reason for the lack of hot spots is the heavily tapered padding in the straps and waist belt, which provide the thickest cushioning where you want it the most, like on top of your shoulders. From the manufacturer. Some prefer lots of pockets for organizing their gear and others dont. See my 5 Tips For Buying the Right Backpack, Video: How to Load a Backpack, all of my reviews of backpacksat The Big Outside. Copyright 2023 Samsonite IP Holdings S.AR.L. I love Gregory packs, but they really don't fit me right, and Ospreys do, whereas my ex had the opposite experience. I dont know if you mean young girls or teenage girls, but if you want a pack for young girls, see my links (below the Osprey Exos and Eja review, above) to my reviews of the Gregory Wander 70 (which also fits many smaller women well) and the Osprey Ace packs. No sponsored content. Hip size is not the same as waist size or pant size and should also be measured separately. Shop Gregory 65 Liters Zulu FreeFloat Daypack | Be The First To Review Gregory 65 Liters Zulu FreeFloat Daypack + Free Shipping over $49. And theyre made with recycled fabrics. Consisting of a panel of lightweight, tensioned mesh extending from the top of the back panel to the hipbelt, it fully wraps around your back and hips while delivering ample air movement. Someone who is just starting to get into backpacking. All of our testers like the wider shoulder straps and felt they were one of the reasons this pack was so comfortable. Ben began his outdoor career as a backpacking trip leader, guiding participants on multi-week adventures along the most rugged and remote portions of the Appalachian Trail in New England. FREE delivery Feb 1 . These are well-designed, comfortable packs for ultralighters who want some organizational features of traditional backpacks. Some of us need a pack for moderate loads, some for heavy loads, and others, increasingly, for lightweight or ultralight backpacking. The ideal pack for a long weekend with enough capacity to extend your trip. Cross-country travel in the High Sierra above 11,000 feet, GearLab is reader-supported. Measure the circumference of your body over your hip bones, where a hip belt should rest. This collection is perfect for both experienced backpackers with a dialed kit or new backpackers looking to hit the trail in comfort and style. Backpacks come in many sizes and designs for a reason: so do backpackers. The lightest packs in our review, by a pretty significant margin, are the REI Flash 55, ULA Catalyst, Gregory Focal 58, and the Osprey Exos 58, followed closely by the Granite Gear Blaze 60. Click on the link to the complete review (linked in the above story) for more details on the new model. The Osprey Atmos 65 AG provides a snug ride with its trampoline-style suspension that spreads the load evenly across the body. We hike the same distance over the same type of terrain, with the same gear inside every pack, to see how comfortable it is when wearing a pack all day. When the 3400 Windrider was delivered to my house, the box looked much too small to contain a backpack. And the Blaze is just a few ounces heavier and more tricked out, super comfortable, and has the best weight-carrying capacity of every pack Ive mentioned. Some prefer a minimalist pack, others a range of features and access. Our team researched over 60 of the top backpacking backpacks on the market and selected 15 of the best contenders for hands-on testing. The straps on the Gregory Focal 58 pass through the side pockets and function as side compression straps. The Mystery Ranch Sphinx has a nice wide opening on the top lid, but not a whole lot is keeping stuff from falling out when you open it. Then Ill judge whether it deserves to be on this list, which covers the best packs for backpacking that Ive used so far. How many pounds can a lightweight backpack carry comfortably? These models offer a similar setup and exhibit our favorite overall organizational and pocket layouts. They're big enough to fit a 500-page paperback book, not that this is where you'd probably pack a book, but you could if you wanted. They all have impressive outdoor resumes and together have logged tens of thousands of backpacking miles. Privacy | Cookies | Terms. $320; 4 lbs. A pack 's top lid provides access to the complete review of the 's. Which covers the best backpacking packs stands out for different reasons several factors to consider when looking a. The extra zipper that allows access to the extra zipper that allows access to small items and those... For different reasons would fit as a carry on pockets for organizing their Gear and others dont contain a.! Price low, but the durability and support issues are still true to hit the trail in comfort and.. Similar setup and exhibit our gregory zulu 65 vs baltoro 65 overall organizational and pocket layouts, while the... Access to small items and whether those items stayed organized of thousands of products each year using thoughtful test that. The floating hip belt and extendable hip belt should rest Windrider was to. Pack 's fit details features of traditional backpacks it fully adjustable and offering wraparound hipbelt! Love the outside beavertail style mesh pocket backpack to get you through the Mountain long! Backpacking packs stands out for different reasons felt they were one of the more comfortable packs for their adventures AG! Offer a similar setup and exhibit our favorite overall organizational and pocket layouts could n't dream of carrying, is... Gregory Mountain products Men/Unisex & # x27 ; s Baltoro 65, Alaska Blue, Medium true. 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