Quality. In Life.
The other day John, CJ and Mark, part of Gregory’s R&D crew, headed up to Tahoe for some early morning backcountry skiing. They hit the trail at about 5:30 am, skinned up to Deep Creek, gained the ridge and descended a northeast aspect with some good powder. The packs of choice for this endeavor were a Drift and a Z30. All of this, and the guys still managed to be back at work in Sacramento by 10:30. Well played.
George and I are back in the office after another awesome year at the Red Rock Rendezvous in fabulous Las Vegas. Mountain Gear puts on a great event every year and we are stoked to be a part of it. For those of you who haven’t heard of it yet, Red Rocks is for climbers - everyone from first timers to those working on nailing down their technique. We had the Gregory booth set up, full line of products on display, schooled attendees on the importance of having a properly fitted pack, and gave a few bags away to some lucky individuals.
Joe Kinder was on hand to give 2 clinics on redpointing - you can check out some pictures from those clinics on his blog. There was a huge dinner on Saturday night for everyone who was attending, and the line was super long, but everyone got fed and hung around for the Access Fund auction and music provided by a solar paneled dj booth. And for your viewing pleasure, here are a few more outtakes from the event - hope to see you there next year.
slacklining clinic
joe!
dyno comp
sunset
some nightime hooping fun
In response to some of the posts we’ve been doing on pack fit and repair, we got the following question from Denise, in relation to going backpacking with her son.
What about kids? How heavy should their backpack be for a weekend camp-out? My son is 11 years and big for his age … 5′3″ and weighs about 137. Is there a certain percentage of weight he should have in his pack?
We thought we’d have company founder Wayne Gregory answer this question, since he’s got almost 40 years of experience building backpacks and also has been very involved with Boy Scout outings and events over the years. Here’s what he had to say:
The general rule of thumb for anyone is that you don’t want to exceed a quarter of your body weight in your pack. Weights beyond that are really a bear to carry. So for your son, that’s about 34 pounds. But remember, that’s also the upper end of the weight you’d want anyone to carry. So probably 20 percent of body weight is a more realistic number for kids. In this case, that’s about 27 pounds. 
We love this social media stuff. It gives us great feedback about who’s using our packs, where they’re using them, and how they’re using them. Even when it does
n’t give us specific feedback, it’s great to see people who’ve bought Gregory packs out there doing what we designed them for.
In that vein, Gregory now has a Flickr page, same name as our blog: GregoryGoesThere.
If you’re already on Flickr to post and share your photos with friends, share ‘em with us too. Like this photo that GregoryGoesThere Flickr page member TilNextYear shared with us.
And be sure to do the coolest step (at least we think so): Tell us where in the world it was taken by putting it on the Gregory map. After you’ve added a photo to the group, hit the ‘add to map’ link under tags and drop it on in. We know Gregory packs are well traveled. You can help us understand just how well traveled.
In our final installment (at least for now, we’ll probably think of something else) in our Q&A on backpack field repairs with George, Gregory’s customer service and warranty jack-of-all-trades, we take on holes, seams and … popular culture.
George, what can you do about a hole or a split seam out in the backcountry?
Again, as in the situation with repairing a zipper, dental floss or strand from some parachute cord can get you out of pinch by using them to sew up a hole, a tear or hole a seam closed until you get out of the backcountry. Another thing to consider is carrying a patch kit that you could use to repair a hole. Many people carry a patch kit for their inflatable mattress, and that can serve double duty and be used to repair smaller holes in your pack as well. Seam Grip and duct tape are other things I’ve seen used to make field repairs. Seam Grip can actually work for longer-term repairs on smaller holes.
In a test of 17 backpacks suited to one-day pursuits, France’s Trek Magazine recently named the Gregory Z35 o
ne of two of its test winners, beating out of some of the most well-known and well-established European brands.
Gregory’s chief customer service and warranty man-with-a-plan George not only knows a ton about b
ackpack field repairs and backpack maintenance, he also has an impressive collection of eyewear.
Continuing our series on the most common backpack field repairs and how to be prepared to deal with them, we asked George about addressing a blown-out zipper:
So George, zippers …
Yeah, along with buckles, they’re another moving part that tends to wear more quickly than other parts of a backpack. They’re number two on the list of things we get repair inquiries about.
What goes wrong with a zipper and what can you do about it out in the field?
There’s a couple things that can go wrong, and either way, having some lightweight parachute cord and/or some dental floss in your pack is a good idea. They don’t weigh much and can help you address several scenarios. Again, the vast majority of people never have a problem, but it’s always good to be ready for one when you’re out three. You can use dental floss or a strand from some P-cord to sew a zipper shut, using either a needle, a knife or a multi-tool (which are other good things to either have in a first-aid kit and/or to carry in your pack) to create the holes to run the strand through.
Because Gregory is based in California, sometimes we get a little North American-centric here on the blog in terms of where our packs are getting recognition. But that’s not to say we’re not getting noticed elsewhere.
Hugo Youngman, our man in the UK who oversees Gregory’s European distribution network and who also started our Facebook page, sent a recent review from TGO magazine (The Great Outdoors) in which the Miwok and Maya packs earn five-star reviews. TGO goes about 10,000 subscribers in the UK and has a very core hiking-oriented readership. One of their contributors is Chris Townsend, who folks in North America might know from his work for BackpackingLight, and another is Cameron McNeish, known for his outdoor-oriented broadcasting work with the BBC, among other projects.
Once again, the new Bio-Sync suspension turns heads, earning Gregory plenty of compliments (”comfortable, stable and effective, holding the pack steady while bearing weight, walking and running”) and “nothing” under the dislikes category.
We love hearing what our customers are doing with our packs, whether it’s hiking their favorite hometown trail or hoofing it up to the earth’s highest point. In the latter category, we got this note from Carol Masheter, who considers herself an ‘ordinary’ 61-year-old, and who summited of Everest this past May, but not without a few trials on the way down. Here’s her story. Thanks for sharing, Ca
rol.
Time stood still. After eleven hours of climbing from Camp 4 at the South Col, I stood on the summit of Mount Everest, May 24, 2008, about 7 a.m. local time. Unlike the documentaries I had seen, no cast of thousands crowded the summit. Two Sherpas, Tendi and Nima with Adventure Consultants, and I had the summit to ourselves. What an unexpected gift! I thought I would burst with joy. I threw back my head and howled my summit howl, “AAAHHHOOOO!!!” The Sherpas howled back. We collapsed into a three-way hug, a comical, bumbling mess with our huge puffy parkas, pants, oxygen masks and packs. I, an ordinary woman, age 61.5 years, was standing on the Top of the World!
Tendi Sherpa led me to a natural bench of snow at the highest point, and said, “Carol Didi (older sister), sit here. Don’t lean back or you fall into Tibet.” Most of the world’s highest mountains poked through a sea of fluffy clouds in a stunning panorama. They all looked so much lower than where I was sitting. The world truly was at my feet.
What do you do when something goes wrong with your backpack in the field? Get creative, of course. While it’s unlikely you’ll ever have
a problem, it’s good to think about how you’d handle it if you ever did. And there are a few things you can do to stack the deck in your favor.
Why are we talking about things going wrong? Aren’t Gregory packs the best? We humbly say absolutely, but if you build enough of something, there will always be issues from wear and tear, accidents, and the plain-old unexpected. The unexpected is one of the reasons we get out there in the first place, right? Plus, it’s always good to be prepared to deal with things that might go wrong with one of your most critical pieces of gear when you’re in the middle of nowhere.
Enter George. As our warranty and customer service guru, when someone has a problem, he’s our man on the scene. So it’s fair to say he’s an authority on the most common things that happen to packs in the backcountry, and how to address them.
We’re going to do a little ongoing Q&A with the man behind the shades, to get his insight on how to address a problem with a pack in the field, so check in periodically for the wisdom of George. And if you’ve got a question you’d like to see him address, post it in the comments section, and, after he’s had his coffee, we’ll get him on the case.
George, what are the most common problems people have with backpacks out in the field?
Buckles, zippers and holes/tears/seams, in that order. Buckles are made of plastic. People do things like accidentally step on them, and, as a moving part on a more exposed part of the pack, they experience a lot of other wear and tear that can cause them to break over time.
