Here at Gregory we were psyched to get notice of the Baltoro pack being included on the UK-based Outdoor: Talk’s “A list kit” for backpacks, not so much simply because of the great accolade (though we’re always honored when folks recognize the detail we put into our packs), but because they really nailed what we believe regarding suspension and how comfortable your backpack is when you do what you do with a backpack - load it up and carry it.
As they point out, if you pick up the Baltoro and it’s not the lightest weight pack measured against many on the market. But the measure of a great pack, and especially one made for many consecutive days of trekking, is how well it carries the weight on your back. As we’ve said many times, and we’ll say again now, it’s worth a little bit of extra weight put into the right part of the pack (the suspension) in order for the load to be dispersed equally and transferred in the most effective way possible to your body.
Said more simply, it’s actually comfortable with weight in it. And that’s something you’re most likely to be aware of after you’ve carried some packs that don’t distribute the load so well.
As they write, “The development and weight have gone into areas that somehow spread the load in such a way that it doesn’t seem to concentrate in any one place. … There are undeniably lighter heavy load bags on the market, and some very good ones, but when you’re on a long trail what really matters is comfort and that’s more than just a matter of grams carried and you’d be hard pressed to find anything more comfortable than this arm chair of load haulers.”
