Archive for the 'Backpack tech' Category

‘The carry is the important thing’

Thought we’d share a good review we got on a respected UK-based outdoor blog.

After logging many miles, the tester’s conclusion: ‘The carry is the important thing, and here it’s right on the money.’ We couldn’t have said it any better.

The Gregory philosophy has been and continues to be that a couple of extra ounces in the right spot (the suspension) for the right reason (better load-transfer, which means better carrying, which means more comfort at the end of the day) can make your bag carry that much better over the span of long days on the trail. And that will go a lot farther toward energy savings and feeling better at the end of each day than saving weight at all costs.

Continue reading >>

Published
by
Dave
 on August 28, 2008
 in Backpack tech and Media
. 0 Comments

Gregory launches new suspension that mimics body movements

At its core, Gregory has always been about creating backpacks - and more precisely, backpack suspension - that lets you concentrate on what it is you’re doing outside rather than the weight that’s on your back.

Now, Gregory’s getting ready to raise the bar a couple of notches in lighter trail packs.

Usually retailers get first crack at seeing all the new technology at the Outdoor Retailer show, where the gear for the next season is debuted each summer and winter. This time, we thought we’d let the Gregory community have the first look as we head into the OR show here in a few days.

The suspension’s called Bio-sync, and what’s unique about it is that Gregory’s designers looked to bio-mimicry to design it, essentially studying the way human tendons work during activities like running, hiking and cycling to create a system that ebbs and flows more with the body’s movements.

So how’s it work? First off, it’s worth noting that this is a suspension designed specifically for smaller, lighter packs that are used in more active endeavors like trail running, day hiking, mountain biking, ultras, etc. Given that it’s for packs with smaller loads, this suspension is much more about having the pack mimic and move with your body than achieving load transfer through the spine and hips, as you want with bigger packs. Continue reading >>

Published
by
Dave
 on August 5, 2008
 in Backpack tech
. 3 Comments

Ask George: What’s the best way to pack a backpack?

At Gregory, since we’re a backpack company, we get a lot of questions about backpacks. Good ones.

One of the more common is, ‘what’s the best way to pack a backpack,’ or various variations thereof. That’s a great question, because there are a lot of opinions and theories on the matter. More often than not, Gregory customer service/jack of all trades guru George McCloskey (that’s him getting the faceshot) is the guy to take the phone call, e-mail or Facebook message.

So, in the vein of being of service, we thought we’d put George on the spot find out what he tells folks. Turns out, George just answered the question again recently, so here’s what he said (clearly he’s done a little thinking on the matter):

When it comes to packing your backpack, everyone seems to have their own way, and therefore we only ‘publish’ general guidelines.  That said, here are my own personal guidelines (and please feel free to ‘build’ your own):

I typically start with my sleeping bag in the bottom (sometimes with, sometimes without a stuff sack, but I don’t necessarily recommend if for the first timer, because not using one allows you to stuff out the corners really well, which can be tougher when in a stuff sack). And a key point here is that packing your backpack well, ie: using all the space effectively without having dead spots with nothing in them, is essential to achieving positive load transfer, which means transferring the weight effectively to your body, and that’s what you want if you want your pack to carry well. Continue reading >>

Published
by
Dave
 on July 17, 2008
 in Ask George and Backpack tech
. 6 Comments

What’s load transfer got to do with it?

How does wearing a pack affect your body? At Gregory, that’s always been a key question, because the driving principle has always been ‘if you’re not comfortable, you’re not going to have fun.’

In that vein, longtime outdoor industry writer and observer Clyde Soles blogged about a recent study by the American Physiological Society that concluded backpack straps can cut off blood flow to your arms, resulting in decreased motor control and more fatigue.

We thought it would be interesting to get some perspective from Gregory’s guru of suspension, company founder Wayne Gregory. Wayne’s been living and breathing backpack suspension for about 40 years. If you want to know how passionate he is about the subject, just get him started … and budget some time. Wayne’s first question on this recent study: “Well, how were they carrying the weight? And were they in the right frame size?”

A pack for carrying bigger loads, according to Wayne, is like a finely-built automobile. You start with the appropriate chassis, and then the various components from there have to make sense with the rest of the car. Only then do you achieve appropriate load transfer so that they load is evenly - and comfortably - distributed to the various points on the body where it should go. But you also have to be able to change the way you carry that weight on the fly. Continue reading >>

Published
by
Dave
 on June 20, 2008
 in Backpack tech
. 0 Comments