Author Archive for Dave

New 2010 JetStream series packs first to achieve true ventilation across your back

Ventilated backpack suspensions are great, but in our mind, no one has yet come up with a truly ventilated suspension. By that, we mean having nothing at all - no mesh or anything else - sitting against the middle part of your back. That is, until now …

Gregory’s new 2010 JetStream LTS packs just hit the streets this week, and are available on a limited basis for the next month, until they’re more widely available in 2010. That’s the earliest we’ve ever got our new packs for the next season on the market and, yes, it is - for you astute shoppers out there - just in time for the holiday shopping season.

What’s new and notable here is that the seven new packs in the 2010 JetStream LTS series (four Z series packs for men, and three Jade series packs for women) are the first packs to achieve ventilation without using the ubiquitous mesh panel that you’ve found to date on backpacks that offer ventilation across your back.

So why is this important? Continue reading >>

Published
by
Dave
 on November 30, 2009
 in Backpack tech and Gregory world
. 0 Comments

Fan Gregory on Facebook, follow on Twitter

There are more and more ways to communicate directly with people who like what you do.

Check out Gregory on the two most named social media channels.

Find and fan us on Facebook.

And/or check us out on Twitter.

We’ll keep you in the loop on all things closely - or peripherally - connected to Gregory. Thanks for following!

Published
by
Dave
 on November 4, 2009
 in Gregory world and Media
. 0 Comments

How to: Using the ski/board attachment points on the Targhee and Drift packs

It’s about that time, as those of us who live in more northern climes are well aware, for the blower to turn on. People are already hiking for turns in the Wasatch and elsewhere, albeit with caution mode on (hopefully). Those rocks aren’t too deep yet …Are you riding your tails or just happy to see me?

Which makes it good timing for a little Gregory gear school, heading into ski season.  One of the beauties of Gregory’s award-winning Targhee and Drift ski and snowboard packs is that they carry skis and boards in a few different ways for different situations. However, because there’s a few options for attaching your snow toys, it’s also useful to have primer on the finer details.

Read on for some beta on how all this works. Continue reading >>

Published
by
Dave
 on November 3, 2009
 in Backpack tech and Hiking resources
. 0 Comments

Gregory launches monthly photo contest on ‘The Good Life’ social media page

As you may have noticed, Gregory redesigned its web site recently. OK, wait, don’t click on through just yet … this isn’t a post about our new web site … entirely. Now, it’s time to engage the folks out there who love their Gregory packs (YOU), and in exchange, you’ll have a chance each month to win a new Gregory pack.

Got your attention now?

Good. Here’s the deal. As part of the new web site, we incorporated a social media page called The Good Life. It’s basically an interactive room on our web site where customers can share experiences they’re having using their Gregory packs. We’ve already had a bunch of folks upload photos to the Good Life page, with short descriptions of what they were doing, along with a mapped location of where in the world they were with their Gregory.

Then, other visitors to The Good Life page can vote on which images they like best by giving a thumbs up, much like you do on Facebook.

Starting with November (and we’re actually kicking off November a little early … right this very moment that this post hits the blog), the person whose photo gets the most thumbs up during the month wins either a men’s Z25 or women’s Jade 25 backpack … color and frame size of your choice. You also get personal fame and fortune on the Gregory web site – your photo will be one three main marquee images that rotate across the Gregory home page during the following month.

Then, in December, the contest starts all over again. And then again … And then again …

Of course, over time, we’ll rotate what kind of pack you can win.

What qualifies for a photo for The Good Life? Anything you can do with your Gregory pack, be it backpacking, trail running, adventure travel, biking, climbing, commuting to the office – you name it.

Sweet. Start uploading!

Published
by
Dave
 on October 30, 2009
 in Gregory world and Share Your Story
. 2 Comments

This year’s theme: It Came From the Future

Ah, fall. The change of seasons, the air gets a little crisper, the light takes on that special quality, and things get a little … stranger. As if, somehow, it were the 1970s all over again. Unless you missed that decade. In which case it’s even weirder.

Testament to the fact that there’s not really a grooming manual over here at Gregory Mountain Products (so far, anyway), it’s once again time for the annual Gregory Facial Hair Contest. Growing commences tomorrow.

This year’s theme: It came from the Future.

Interpret that with your hair.

Here are the official rules of this year’s contest, from pack designer (and 2008 winner of the Grand Prize division) Mark Thibadeau (shown at left, failing to imitate Burt Reynolds. Remember him?).

Anyone can enter; judging is usually shifty and subjective. All entries must be based (however loosely) on the theme. Ladies, don’t be shy. This theme is carefully curated to be open to the fairer sex as well.  Creativity is welcome and encouraged!

1. The growing period starts on Wednesday, October  28th, and continues into the colder months.
 Continue reading >>

Published
by
Dave
 on October 27, 2009
 in Gregory world
. 4 Comments

The how-to department, for that year when you have the year off

As backpackers, arguably one of the most committed things you can do is a thru-hike of one of the biggies - the Appalachian, Pacific Crest or Continental Divide. So how do you plan for months on the trail?

Trailspace, an online forum of backpackers and other outdoor users that specializes in user reviews of gear, outdoor news and other outdoor-related info, just posted the first of four articles on how to think about taking on a thru-hike. 

Anyway, if the first installment is any indication - lots of practical info from experienced through-hikers - the series should be a useful primer on how to pull off such an endeavor.

Lots of interesting tidbits too. For instance, more than a thousand people attempt the AT each year; one in four make it. On the opposite coast, only 300 or so a year attempt the PCT, but nearly two-thirds finish. The CDT is apparently upping the ante enough that statistics are even hard to come by.

Keep an eye peeled over at Trailspace for the next installment.

Published
by
Dave
 on October 26, 2009
 in Hiking and backpacking and Hiking resources
. 0 Comments

What’s in your pack for the next two years?

If you’ve ever wondered how you’d pack if you were going to live out of a carry-on sized backpack for the two years, the couple in this video - in the midst of a 24-month adventurous trip around the world - has a tip or two.

It’s a different kind of packing (to state the obvious) than you do when hitting the trail, but of course some of the same principals apply, like loading weighter items in bottom and midsection of the pack, closer to your back, getting down to the basics, etc.

Anyway, really useful info on packing for un-weighted-down, adventure-oriented travel. And, of course, that’s the best way to travel.

Our customer service guru George, who’s got a tip or two of his own for travel, shared this video, and of course we like that these folks happen to have chosen Gregory packs (a classic Z pack and a newer Jade 50) for their two-year tour around the world. Regardless of that little bias on our part (how could we not have that bias, really?), this is good beta no matter what brand of pack you’re packing.

Beyond packing up your backpack, their site contains an amazing array of info on what to take for and how to think strategically about a long-term adventure travel trip.  I mean, just check out the their tip list and the detail they went into for budget planning.

Time to buy a plane ticket?

Published
by
Dave
 on October 22, 2009
 in Uncategorized
. 4 Comments

Putting Active Trail through the paces

From adventure racing Team nuun-FeedTheMachine’s blog, some thoughts from Team Captain Cyril Jay-Rayon (in action in photo) after using Gregory’s new Active Trail line of backpacks this season: 

Five years ago, I was looking for a backpack sponsor for our team. After a lot of research and testing, we concluded that Gregory not only made superb packs but also was committed to innovating in the lightweight and fast moving pack category.  Luckily for us, Gregory agreed to support us through our good friend David Egan, owner of Egan & Associates LLC , who distributes Gregory products in the Northwest and Alaska (David also distributes product from 3 other amazing sponsors: Teko, Ibex, and Atlas). Sponsoring a team like ours should only be undertaking by the most confident of companies because we don’t treat our gear well when we take it through extreme conditions for days on end, So their commitment to innovation is expressed not only through their sponsorship of a team like ours (where we provide a constant feedback loop), but also through the actions they take every year when coming out with new designs. Some offer improvements on existing proven designs while others are quantum leaps in innovation. 2009 is one of those quantum leap year with the introduction of the Active Trail line. Continue reading >>

Published
by
Dave
 on October 20, 2009
 in Athletes and Backpack tech
. 0 Comments

Watch out for … uh … bears

Just a little Monday morning reminder that, as cool as iPhone apps are, do remember to keep an eye down the trail as you’re hiking along.

Thanks to ModernHiker down in SoCal for this humorous (as it turned out, anyway) little story.

Apparently even bears are enamored by the bling of the iPhone. Good thing, too, that they probably don’t taste very good.

Published
by
Dave
 on October 19, 2009
 in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Across the world but close to home

Typhoons aren’t out of the ordinary in the Philippines, but the ones that hit the country in late September and early October were well beyond the ordinary. One reportedly brought more rain in a day than parts of the country had seen in four decades, and winds topped 100 mph. Hundreds have died, uncountable numbers are homeless.

What does this have to do with Gregory? Along with manufacturing facilities located in California and in China, some of Gregory’s packs are made at a facility we’ve been working with for several years the Philippines. So our friends are among those who need our help. In a globalized world, things can get personal fast.

The Red Cross has been hard at work trying to assist typhoon victims. Yesterday, Gregory made a donation to assist the Red Cross’ efforts. If you feel so inclined and are in a position to do, please consider making one yourself. There’s a link on the Red Cross’ home page.

Published
by
Dave
 on October 9, 2009
 in Gregory world
. 1 Comment