At Gregory, our designers have just about seen it all in the world of backpacks. Or at least they thought they had.
Come to find out backpacks are being used in the flight against global warming. Methane from cows, it seems, contribute
s to global warming.
And not just a little. A lot.
So, in Argentina, where cow’s methane contributes to as much as 30 percent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, they got the idea to contain the gas in specially designed backpacks. Yes, cow packs.
All we can say is it’s a good thing methane is lighter than air, because, while they’re certainly doing some thinking about atmospheric science, it doesn’t look like they put a lot of thought into cow pack suspension.
That, and no smoking.
I wish.
But, if you can’t have a pack that instantly kills those pesky winged devils once they penetrate your personal space, then you might as well have a pack that’s ergonomically comfy and stays on your back when you’re swinging for the fences trying to escape from the torture of those worthless winged things. Since it covered my entire back, my Gregory Triconi 60 probably did save me from a few more dozen bites.
I should have known better though. Taking a four-day backpacking trip into Wyoming’s Wind River mountains in the beginning of July after a huge snow year is like going to your local blood drive - except you come away with 46 swelling bumps instead of feeling warm inside that you might have helped save someones life. The Winds in July equals Mosquitoville and my girlfriend, Genevieve, and I were held hostage.
Yes, our friends, sisters, brother-in-laws, crusty old retail gear shop guys and co-workers all told us the bugs were going to be bad. But really, how bad can it be, I thought? Bad enough that after every mosquito bite you got you wanted to name it after someone who told you not to go?
It was bad. Unbearable at times. And dousing yourself in DEET didn’t seem to do the trick. Continue reading >>
Gregory’s designers always love to get user feedback on experiences that people have had using their packs. Over the years, Gregory’s gotten some great feedback from customers on ways to improve things and what’s working great. Comments from the road count for a lot - it’s the real world, after all. What’s most rewarding, though, are those notes that tell you what you’re doing right. Here’s a recent one that came in via the web.
It was weird, your product came up somewhere over the net and I realized I still have the same pack that I bought in 1983 and it is still travelling the world. From Mammoth & Ski Mountaineering there to Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, Greece, to name just a few and it’s done a bit of peak bagging in its day. Just thought I’d let you know. I’ve been through 2 wives, 4-5 sleeping bags, a couple of tents, a dozen or 2 countries but only 1 backpack.
Gregory Mountain Products, the three-decade market leader in backpacks for the full range of outdoor activities, this month won an Editors’ Choice Award from Backpacker Magazine for two of it newest mid-size backpacks, the newly redesigned Baltoro 70 and the women’s specific Deva 60.
In addition, Gregory’s Z30 pack was named ‘Best All Around’ daypack in Backpacker’s annual Gear Guide, in the March issue. The magazine noted “their most finicky tester called the Z30 “darn close to the perfect daypack for general duty.”
The Editors’ Choice Awards are given for outstanding innovation in product design, materials and/or performance. Given annually since 1993, the awards honor the products that Backpacker editors have chosen as the best of the year based on months of trail testing by teams of highly experienced hikers and climbers. The award will be officially announced to the general public in the magazine’s April issue, on newsstands March 11.
Continue reading >>
