dhickey from United States, WA Public Profile

I grabbed this to use with a 20 deg down sleeping bag and while it compressed the bag down, it wasn't as much as I would have expected. I guess the factory stuff sack does a good job. The 4 straps do work well and are much stronger than the other compression sack I tried (Klymit). I think this would be better suited for stuffing clothes or jackets. It's well made and definitely works well just not as well as I had hoped.

This is just a first impression since I haven't had a chance to take it out loaded.

Fit: I was torn between this and the Osprey Mutant 52. I went with the Gregory because of the torso sizing. The Mutant has a S/M and M/L. I have a 18-19 inch torso so I fit both sizes which also means I don't fit either size well. The Gregory on the other hand has 3 sizes (S, M, L) and the medium is perfect. With 25 lbs in the pack the hip belt sat perfectly on my hips and the lumbar tucked neatly into the small of my back. The shoulder straps (once adjusted) wrapped around my shoulder perfectly. So while I haven't had this on the trail loaded, I am confident it will feel great.

Features: It has exactly what I was looking for and nothing I wasn't.
expandable opening - check
secure key clip - check
aluminum stays with frame sheet - check
50 lb load rating - check
Ice axe, ice tool attachment - check
side zipper - check
under 4lbs - check!

If I have to nit pick one thing its probably the hipbelt adjustment at the pack side. It works but takes a bit of work to get it dialed in. Maybe i'm just used to how its done on Osprey and Granite Gear packs since this is my first Gregory pack.

The big plus for this pack over the Mutant besides better sizing imo is the crampon pouch. That thing is awesome. It fit my Petzl Vasak 12 point crampons just fine, I have no idea why this is not standard on all Alpine packs. The only other pack in this price range and weight that I found with a crampon po

For the money these are the best soft shell pant around. I'm 5'10" 170 lbs, regular 32 inseam and these in a 34 fit me perfectly. American Alpine Institute was the only other place I founds this pant (same price) but I had a coupon at Campsaver to use. If AAI gets behind a product its because they have personally used them. I've spoken to AAI about this company and they've been selling more and more of their stuff for 6 years. Mountain Equipment is a solid UK climbing apparel company slowly making it was into NA. I cant wait to buy more Mountain Equipment goods.