Quality. In Life.
Here’s a thorough video in which Carol Roberts, aka, the Hiking Lady, walks you through what’s in her pack for a backcountry outing. A good refresher on all the things you should have in your pack, even if not everything on her list is on yours, or vice versa. I find it’s always helpful once in a while to assess and reassess what’s in your pack.
Because you know you always forget something … at least I do.
The Hiking Lady’s pack of choice for her trip? A Gregory Deva, of course!
When Wayne first began designing packs in 1977 for his newly formed company, Gregory Mountain Products, he set out to design a product that, in his own words, “must maintain its comfort and stability while effectively transferring the weight of the pack onto the hips during any activity.” At the time, Wayne was frustrated with external frame packs because he felt they did not fit the wearer properly or transfer the weight correctly, two of Gregory’s criteria for building comfortable packs to this day. In fact, Wayne’s first company, Sunbird, which pre-dated Gregory by several years, had built external frame packs (along with some early soft, or frameless, packs).
So when he started Gregory, Wayne believed that internal-frame packs were the way forward in terms of more effectively (read: comfortably) carrying weight. Wayne points to a photo he saw of mountaineer Jim Whittaker climbing around that time. Whittaker was using an external-frame pack, but he’d completely unbuckled the waistbelt - the pack didn’t have the flexibility with its rigid frame to be comfortable with the high steps you take in mountaineering and off-trail travel so he let the weight rest completely on his shoulders.
At the time, there were a few examples of what were then called ’soft packs’, or packs without the external frame structure, but these were packs that also did not have a framesheet. Wayne felt these were a better solution to the problem at hand, but unless the pack was loaded up completely (which in the process created a frame of sorts), there was basically no frame to this design, and so as soon as you began using up food and water, they too began to sag and thus did not fit correctly or transfer the weight properly.
A few years after he started Gregory, Wayne designed the Cassin which was the answer to his quest for the ultimate fit and comfort in a pack. The Cassin not only had an internal frame, but also 2 bent aluminum stays, which added stability and helped to channel the load to the lumbar area of the pack and out around the waistbelt, taking the weight off of the shoulders. The stays also allowed for more comfort, as they were bent to mimic the shape of a wearer’s back, instead of being a rigid, flat frame. In addition, Wayne used an integrated, triangle-shaped piece of fabric on the pack to attach the pack to the waistbelt stabilizer strap, which helped further channel the weight in the pack onto the hips. That design, although evolved, is still a component on Gregory packs to this day.
In essence, internal frame packs are more flexible, and when built correctly, they channel the weight in them extremely effectively to the wearer’s body. That means that internal frame packs keep the load more centered on your back during situations where the walking isn’t perfect - like rocky trails, steeper terrain, off-trail travel, mountaineering or skiing with a pack on. With Wayne’s internal frame design, he also realized the importance of a lumbar pad as a place for the weight to be channeled to and as a transfer point to move that weight out across the larger surface area of the waistbelt and onto your hips.
Frame sizes were
introduced for Gregory packs at this time as well, and Wayne was the first to figure out that your pack frame size directly correlates to your torso length, a measurement from your C7 Vertebrae to the top of your iliac crest. This ensured that if you were measured correctly for a Gregory pack, all of these suspension elements (stays, lumbar pad, harnesses and waistbelt) would sit on your body in the correct location, transfer the load to your hips properly, and so be more comfortable for carrying heavier loads for extended periods of time.
External packs are still made by many manufacturers today, and it’s just like with anything else, some people do prefer them to internal frame packs. With external frame packs, the load is being carried higher up, on the shoulders, instead of down in the lumbar area. For different body types, like someone with a larger build, this is sometimes a more preferable carry. They are also good for carrying awkward loads, such as firewood. And hunters often seek out external frame packs and remove the bag, so that they can strap quarters of big game, like elk, to the frame for more easy transport out of the backcountry.
You say tomato, I say to-mah-toe - at least we all have options.
Amongst outdoor aficionados, it’s one of the oldest questions in the book. How do you pack your pack for the most comfortable carrying experience in the out-of-doors? Right up there with having a pack that offers the best possible load transfer to your body of weight in your pack (read: good suspension), packing your pack properly is one of the most important things you can do.
We get this question all the time here at Gregory. Now that spring is upon us, we’re seeing it more.
And our man at the helm of the customer service phone lines, George has done a couple of ‘Ask George’ blog posts on how best to pack your backpack, and also how to pack your pack when you’re hauling a bear-proof food canister into the backcountry. Worth a read, even as a refresher.
In that vein, it was cool to see that Wired Magazine did a how-to wiki on how best to pack your backpack, so that people can contribute their tidbits of knowledge to the piece. At first glance it may seem a little funny that a tech outlet did something on backpacking, but in many ways it makes perfect sense. Seems like a lot of the same folks who like to plug in are the very same folks who realize the need to unplug from time to time in favor of clearing the slate, so to speak.
And the fact that their information as the starting point for the wiki is right on target indicates that somebody at Wired gets out there and gets after it.
Kids, there’s nothing worse than putting your boat in the water and finding out halfway across the lake you’ve got a hole.
In that vein, you don’t want to get 20 or 30 miles out into the backcountry, only to find you’ve got some major problem with your backpack. Every spring, we hear from folks via the Gregory phone lines who want to know what they should do in preparation for hik
ing and backpacking season to make sure their pack is ready to go. So here’s a little primer.
Obviously it’s extremely unlikely that things on a well-built backpack are going to spontaneously break, but if your pack has been sitting around for, say, four, five, six months in some dark place with a bunch of other stuff, you never know what may have happened. Mice move in, moisture trickles down, heavy items get thrown on top of backpacks … all are potential sources of problems.
While we suggest cleaning and storing your pack properly (and for a little refresher on what we recommend, click here), reality sometimes begets storing packs happen in something other than perfect-world conditions. So damage can and does happen.
OK, assuming your bag was cleaned and stored properly (and best, by the way, to hang it out of the way of other things by using its grab loop), here’s a short checklist to run through. 
With the Alaska climbing season coming down the pipeline, we’re seeing some interest at present in one of our more specialty but emblematic Gregory packs, the Denali Pro, because it’s a huge load hauler that people often use when attempting either the West Buttress or other routes on North America’s tallest peak, Denali. 
Of course, when it comes to expedition load-hauling between camps, sometimes you’re also hauling a sled, because as comfortable as we make packs for hauling huge loads, sometimes it just plain makes more sense to pull rather than carry when you’re dealing with glacier travel.
Toward that end, for anyone heading north this spring, we found this useful primer from the good folks over at the American Alpine Institute on how to attach your sled pulls to your pack. We were also psyched to see that the Denali Pro was the example de jou, given that this is one of the more popular packs used on Denali. Yeah, thus the name.
While oriented toward climbers and skiers, AAI’s blog, a collection of posts from their guides’ considerable pool of knowledge, has lots of posts with useful info for outdoor folk of all types. Check it out, definitely worth a read or a bookmark.
You burn about 300-500 calories an hour backpacking, 400-600 skiing, and 450-1,000 running (according to Livestrong’s fitness & exercise directory), depending on weight and intensity. So in order to increase your fitness potential, replacing energy lost after exercise is key.
While most understand pre-workout nutrition, many who participate in moderate to strenuous exercise tend to refrain from refueling until hunger strikes. This, however, is damaging to your body’s recovery process. Here’s why:
Phot via Runner’s World
During exercise, your body depletes your store of a carbohydrate called Glycogen found in your muscles and liver. After exercise, your body will begin to restore glycogen levels, but without consuming carbs, your body will enter a catabolic state and break down the protein in your muscle tissue instead. Some might think your body will break down fat after a workout; however, your body will only turn to your fat stores when protein reserves are low.
So, in order to protect your muscles and help your body recover from used energy, most experts generally agree that it’s best to eat within 45 minutes of completing your workout. Martica Heaner at MSN Health and Fitness calls the 45 minute period the ‘metabolic window’ when ‘enzymes that replenish 
muscle carbs are at their highest levels,’ and ‘insulin, which rebuild protein stores, is at peak levels.’ Calories consumed during this window will go to rebuilding rather than fat storage.
Within the 45 minute window, look to ingest both carbs and lean proteins, but stay away from fat as it will slow digestion of the needed proteins and carbs. One quick option for recovery is skim milk. Milk, or even low-fat chocolate milk, will replenish glycogen stores with its rich mix of carbohydrates and help repair muscles with protein. Plus, your body can digest it quickly giving you nutrients faster.
Milk also provides a great alternative to eating if you’re one of those people who can’t bear to look at food after strenuous activity. Whey protein is another option for those food adverse when recovering and is easy for your body to break down as well.
Below is a list of refuel foods to pack in your Gregory pack when your on the go:
We like to think we are experts at pack fitting. We also like to toot our own horns, pat our own backs, and spice our own
chili. That said, we get a number of people (usually purchasing online vs. one of our retailer stores) inquiring about component exchanges.
We pioneered the exchanging of components (waist belts and shoulder harnesses in sizes, and also shoulder harnesses in women’s vs. men’s fits) to be able to ‘fit’ most all body types into a pack. (Sidenote: because the hip angles on our backpacking series packs adjust their angle to fit different hip angles, that addresses women’s fit in waist belts.)
For instance, I and a co-worker have the same torso length (just over 18”), but I’m 5’10” he’s 6’2” (not uncommon!). His ‘body’s volume,’ however, differs quite a bit from mine. He is in need of a large waist belt and a large shoulder harness to properly ‘fit’ a pack. A medium waistbelt would not transfer the load as expected, and a medium harness would cause some serious discomfort hauling a heavy load.
When it comes to how you put on a 40+ lbs pack, most people believe it’s best to buckle your waistbelt first. Wrong. Luckily, we have George here to set us straight. You know, it must be really hard being George, the all-knowing backpack tech master, AND a rippin’ skier. Real tough.
How do you put your pack on?
We’re not talking lighter day packs, we’re talking 40 + lbs. I bet it’s awkward. I bet you try to buckle your waistbelt first. I bet it’s not ‘fun.’ Here are a couple pointers:
First, forget the old adage to ‘buckle your waistbelt first’ … that’s right “FORGETABOUTIT!”. Here’s why:
We’ve all seen it, if not been ‘that guy’ (yes, me too). Lifting your all too heavy pack – which is always awkward in itself (keep reading)- and attempting to ‘place’ the waistbelt where you want it to sit, and then trying to buckle the waistbelt. But you are never able to do it unassisted, so you ask a friend, use the hood of your vehicle, lean up against a tree or boulder. Pretty much anything you can do to get the pack ‘supported’ while you buckle your waistbelt. Here’s how we recommend to do it:
First to pick up the pack, stand it up (on the ground) with the backpanel facing you. Place one foot in front of you, and one slightly behind, with your knees bent. Now you can lift the pack using the grab loop, and one of the shoulder straps if necessary onto the knee in front of you. That wasn’t so bad. In this position, you can now ‘slide’ your body into the pack, without having to strain yourself to lift 40 (or more) pounds any higher. Here’s the important part. DON’T TRY TO BUCKLE THE WAISTBELT (do you see an ongoing theme yet?). Instead, give a quick yet firm tug to both shoulder straps simultaneously. Whoa! You will note now that your pack is all but in the spot where it needs to be to buckle your waistbelt. If need be, you can simply shrug you shoulders to ‘lift’ your pack the extra inch or so needed to get your waistbelt to surround your iliac crest. With a proper fitting pack, you should be able to lift your leg up until you femur is parallel with the ground without the waistbelt padding interfering.
We recommend tightening the load lifter straps to ‘finger tight’ (to start). Simply grasp the strap between your thumb and forefinger and tighten until your fingers slip off, that is your starting point.
If you haven’t seen our fit video or fit guide, do check them out as they will go into more detail for ‘fitting’ you pack.
*Spread the word*
It’s what we do. One of the most frustrating things for me to see is someone who has an ill-fitting pack. It seems to be a far too common occurrence, but a few minor things can help to find all-day pack comfort. And believe you me, I too, was once a skeptic.
I once thought shoulder/back pain, blisters, and sore hips were all a part of the natural progression that is backpacking. Then I came to Gregory where Wayne ‘fit’ me for a pack, and 40lbs later, I was an instant believer. I immediately recalled thousands of miles of pain and discomfort and I asked myself, ‘Why?’ It seems so easy, and yet so many get it wrong (myself once included). We always recommend seeing a retailer for a proper fit and recommendations, but sometimes it just isn’t feasible. Either way, finding the length of your torso is key. Every brand seems to do it just a little differently, eventhough we would like to standardize this process across all pack brands … it would help everyone.
If you have yet to see our fit video with the man himself, do be sure to check it out.
We measure ‘torso’ from the C7 vertebrate to the iliac crest. The C7 vertebrate is the largest vertebrate at the base of your neck. The iliac crest is the very top of you hip bones and not the boney ‘side’ of the hip as many assume. An inch or more can be all the difference in getting a pack that ‘fits’. We see this all too often. “I have a 24” torso, but you only make packs up to 22”, what am I to do?” Well, my answer to that is measure your torso again, and I’m right 100% of the time (that’s right). I’ve personally only seen one torso longer the 21” (not to say there aren’t more than one of you out there, and said gentleman, was definitely at least 7’ 4”), and only a handful that are near 21”. Contrary to popular belief, and one of the hardest things that we try to pass to our consumers is ** Torso length DOES NOT directly correlate to your height **. My best example is I’m 5’10” and my boss is 6’2”, both of our torsos are just over 18” (making us both a medium torso). Combined with his hearty waistline, and barrel chest, he too would have thought a large size pack would fit him better.
We often get pretty focused on, for lack of a better description, trail-focused (or perhaps off trail) backpacking, since that’s arguably the most demanding use our backpacks will be asked to perform. But adventure travel (think Europe, South America or South East Asia kind of backpacking) puts a whole different set of demands on both backpack and backpacker.
Some people use backpacks as a m
eans to carry their stuff via bus, train, boat, hitch-hiking whatever …
Some folks travel with their belongings in a pack so they can get outdoors and backpack when they get where they’re going …
And in some cases, it’s a combo of those things.
Of course our packs are up for either, but a key component of traveling with a pack is the thing you put in it. Or, more to the point, the things you don’t but wish you did.
What are some key things you don’t want to find yourself without, when you’re halfway around the globe?
Here’s our take on that list. No doubt we’ve forgotten a thing or two. Submit a comment and tell use what we’ve left off the list.
Ear plugs. Don’t leave home without them. Whether your travel companions snores or there are things going on on the other side of paper-thin walls that you don’t want to hear, these are arguably the first thing that should go in the pack. Multiple pairs.
A travel towel- quick drying and bacteria resistant, key for staying in inexpensive places where linen service may not be part of the deal.
Water purification. Key to wanting to keep traveling in remote places. Steripen and Aquamira (no bad taste) are two good, low-bulk options in different price categories.
Pack cover or pack-sized duffel - Both of these can do double duty: protect your pack from getting soaked during a monsoon, or help prevent damage to your pack when it’s tossed atop a bus or crammed underneath your seat. If you’re concerned about your pack while checking it underneath a plane, consider the duffel, because a rain cover will do little in that instance, but then you’re left with the problem of what to do with a duffel when you arrive. Here’s a few other tips from a past post on airline friendly traveling with your pack.
Inflatable neck pillow and eye shades. Key to be able to sleep when you need to. Inflatable is key, so as not to eat up too much space in your pack.
A bowl and utensils - you never know where you’ll be eating! The squishable ones from Guyot are very cool and very packable.
