Tag Archive for ‘Wayne Gregory’ at Gregory Goes There

Tag Archive for 'Wayne Gregory'

Wayne Gregory, now a fixture in Torrey Pines State Beach Park

This week, Gregory’s founder, Wayne Gregory, got a little belated Christmas gift of sorts. In honor of the fact that Wayne is still full speed ahead at the company that bears his name some 32 years after it was founded, a group of employees got together (unbeknownst to him) to get him a fitting gift that would signify his commitment to Gregory the company and to building the best packs on the market (yeah this is our blog, but we believe that to be true). The gift also had to have some significance to Wayne, of course, and also be something that would mean something to others, especially outdoors folk.

So, behold the Wayne Gregory memorial picnic bench that will reside at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve just north of San Deigo starting this spring. The bench has arrived on site this week and will be moved into its permanent location in the next couple of months.

The cool thing about this gift is that really does reflect to many degrees who Wayne is. First off, Gregory was founded in San Diego, where Wayne is originally from, and this beach remains one of Wayne’s favorite places (though it took a lot of cajoling to get that info out of him). He still visits there with his kids and grandkids when he’s down south.

Published

Steph

on December 30, 2009

in Gregory Company News and Wayne Gregory

. 0 Comments

And We Have A Winner…

Last month we started a photo contest on the Good Life page of our site. Each month, we promised to give away a pack to the person whose uploaded photo received the most ‘likes’ (in this case, thumbs ups).

Well we have our first winner - Congratulations to Stephen who’s picture, Eyes on the Prize – Mt. Rainier Summit captured the most votes in November. This photo shows him wearing a Gregory Denali Pro and heading up to Camp Muir on Mt. Rainier with perfect summit weather. We’ll be sending him a Z 25 and featuring this winning photo for the entire month of December on our homepage – instant celebrity!

We’ve decided to make things a bit more interesting. For December’s contest, the prize will be a Day and a Half pack from our Classic Series. Not sure what this is? Well that’s because it’s one of our products offered exclusively in Japan. These packs use bomber materials, some of Wayne Gregory’s original patterning and designs and are favorites overseas. Now’s your chance to own one and make all your friends jealous that they can’t easily get one (unless you’re friends live in Tokyo and can visit the Gregory store).

So head on over to the Good Life page and upload your photos today.

GOOD LUCK!

Published

Steph

on December 9, 2009

in Contests and Gregory Community

. 1 Comment

Shuji Morohashi visits ‘Mr. Wayne’

We knew our founder Wayne Gregory was something special. But when Shuji Morohashi from Tokyo, Japan flew halfway around the world just to see our founder, we were blown away.

While planning his first trip to the United States, Shuji decided that a part of his adventure would be to visit Gregory headquarters in Sacramento after having met Wayne in Japan. When they met, Shuji told “Mr. Wayne,” as he called him, about his plans to visit to the U.S. to which Wayne offered, “if you’re coming to the West Coast, please come visit our office.”

A short time later, Shuji Morohashi landed on our doorstep. Well, sort of …

To properly understand why someone would travel halfway around the world and make a visit a backpack company part of the trip (albeit, we humbly submit, the best backpack company), you have to understand a little about Gregory and its reputation in Japan. Early in the company’s history, Gregory built a strong reputation among Japanese consumers, who are notoriously selective about buying products of the highest quality.

Over the years, that’s given Gregory the ability to not only to become known as the premier backpack company, but also to build a variety of other more lifestyle oriented products for a more mass-transit oriented culture. The line in Asia, while it shares many common products, is pretty different from the line in North America or Europe. This reputation has also propelled Wayne into something of a legend among Japanese and other Asian market consumers. When Gregory flagship stores opened in Tokyo and Seoul in the last year, Wayne was asked for more than few autographs.

Back to Shuji … so when Wayne heard that one of the brand’s fans wanted to visit Gregory HQ, he not only extended the invite, he picked up Shuji at the airport and took him to lunch.

Shuji then got a personal tour of the Gregory headquarters and said he “fell in love with the working environment which was full of life. Everybody was kind, making jokes, and having fun.”

He regards his time spent at Gregory as a fantastic adventure and noted “I was sure that products that make people happy are born here.”

We sure like to think so.

Published

Lauren

on July 1, 2009

in Gregory Community

. 0 Comments

Headin’ down south

This weekend is Appalachian Trail Days, and few of the Gregory crew, including founder Wayne Gregory and George McCloskey of ‘Ask George’ fame, will be on hand representing Gregory. And having a good time, of course.

If you’re not in the know on Trail Days, it’s an annual hiking/backpacking festival in Damascus, VA, which is roughly the mid-point on a thru-hike in of the Appalachian Trail. Basically, thru-hikers past and present, as well as a variety of outdoor and backpacking fans in general, gather for a weekend celebration of all thing AT, backpacking and outdoors. Pretty much everybody gets into the spirit.

It kicks off this Friday, May 15, and runs through Sunday.

Gregory has gone each year for many years, and helps hikers and backpackers on the scene repair and fit packs. And, it’s just nice to be a part of a celebration that’s so much a part of what we’re all about. Wayne Gregory, George and prototype/sample sewer Nick Kelso will be hauling down an industrial sewing machine to make any trailside repairs, swap out waist belts and harness on packs (you know, if you, say, lose 20 pounds on the trail), fix broken buckles and zippers, etc. Yeah, we build the most durable packs around, but months on the trail will take its toll on anything.

Along with being a meeting place for people thru-hiking the AT each year, Trail Days is also a reunion of sorts for people who’ve hiked the route in the past, and there’s also tons of events. For a complete listing, check out Trail Days online.

Published

Dave

on May 12, 2009

in Uncategorized

. 0 Comments

How to with Wayne Gregory: How much weight should kids carry in their packs?

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.

Published

Dave

on March 26, 2009

in How to ..., Technology and Wayne Gregory

. 1 Comment

Fitting a backpack with Gregory founder Wayne Gregory

Wayne Gregory has arguably more experience than just about anyone designing backpacks. He’s be doing it for 40 years, and for 31 at Gregory Mountain Products, the company that bears his name. So who better to offer up some advice on how to fit a pack?
Among other things, Wayne (and Gregory) was the first to design packs in frame sizes that mimic their wearer’s torso length. That’s a big deal because if you don’t have a pack that’s the right torso length, you won’t be comfortable carrying it. Period.

Here’s a little video clip where Wayne explains how to properly fit a backpack, and some of the ideas that make Gregory packs carry so comfortably.