Back in July 2008 Ryan Powell set off to hitch-hike across America with the goal of creating a documentary of the people he met along the way. And nearly two years later, he’s still at it. The term ‘hitch-hike‘ is relative in this situation as he has only allowed himself to accept rides when drivers voluntarily stop to ask if he needs one. So, in turn, Ryan has seen most of America on foot. How does this story relate to Gregory?
Well, when you’re carrying everything you own on your back across amber waves of grain and purple mountains majesties, you better have a comfortable, yet functional pack. Ryan chose the Gregory Palisade 80 to accompany him on his journey and, unfortunately, Ryan had some initial difficulties with the hip-belt. While we’re very proud of our quality control in general here at Gregory, it’s difficult to achieve a perfect track record, and Ryan’s problem stemmed from an isolated batch of defective plastic material from one of our suppliers that caused the waist belt frame to crack. This was a problem for a limited number of other Gregory customers who unfortunately also got a pack with one of these defective hip belt frames.
In our mind, the measure of a company is not whether you have the occasional problem, but how you deal with that problem to keep the trust of a loyal customer. We proactively communicated with our customers concerning this topic, and we also tried to help customers directly, rather than having them go through a retailer. In this case, John Sears from Gregory’s R&D contacted Ryan to explain the problem and offered to send him the newest Whitney 95.
After much use, Ryan was extremely pleased with the quality and functionality of the pack. So last month, while he was ‘on the road,’ Ryan 
stopped by the Gregory headquarters in Sacramento to meet the crew and thank them for their help. During his visit he met with John Sears, Director of R&D and Nick Kelso, Sample Maker who beefed up his pack by replacing worn out and dirty parts on his pack as well as reinforcing seams. Here’s what he had to say about his visit:
‘The people at Gregory are awesome. I was there for five hours, talking pretty extensively to almost everyone in the building. The also fed me, an act that always wins major points with me, But mostly it was just cool meeting them and seeing a little bit of their operation. It’s clear that they spend a lot of time working to make their products the best they can be, largely listening to feedback from people like me.’ -Ryan Powell via his blog
It’s people like Ryan who really get to know our packs and without people like him, we wouldn’t have the quite the same insight about our packs as we do. So, we sincerely appreciate their feedback and always enjoy hearing their stories.
Thanks, Ryan and good luck with Aimless.
As an 
So why vote for them? What will they do with the million dollars if they win? The ATC’s plan is to fund a youth program to connect with today’s youth to capture their imagination and enthusiasm, and seed a lifelong passion to protect our treasured resources for years to come. They want to get millions of kids back outdoors, improve their health, engage them through entertainment and education, and open the door to the value of volunteerism and the power and critical need for protection of Mother Nature for future generations.
As ski season gets underway and riders look for those big storms to lather their mountains in snow, avalanche danger once again becomes a humbling reality. The need to educate and create awareness about the dangers are increasingly important as more and more skiers/snowboarders access the backcountry.
The majority of the things we take for granted are the ones, that if taken away, we would miss the most. And for those who enjoy the outdoors, losing the ability to see would be one one of those things.
stretches from Mexico to Canada. Their attempt in 2010 will mark the first time a handicapped person will lead their team along the 2800 mile journey. Trevor will also be the first blind person to complete the journey beginning to end. To aid Trevor, Gregory will be sending him a 
Gregory Gives Back, our donation program, is always looking for ways to help out. Two months ago, three Seniors from the University of New Hampshire Jeff Brown, Brett Clark and Dave Shimmel approached Gregory with a proposal to raise money for Gregory’s charity of choice, the 
“Overall the pack was great. It was very lightweight which made it very easy to hike with. The adjustment straps on the Baltoro 70 allow the user to make the pack feel as if it is a part of them. At times you can hardly tell you are wearing a backpack. Without a doubt the unanimous best feature of the Gregory Baltoro 70 backpack is the amount of storage compartments which can be found all over the bag. The compartments and straps make the bag so user friendly that there was never a time on our trip where we had to unpack our gear in order to get to something. Every location in the pack is easily accessible, which is a great feature to have while hiking. 
Have you heard the song “
weekend (28th-29th) will feature, among others, drum roll please…Jason Mraz. Now, by this point you should be savvy enough to guess we’re not just updating you on the pop singer’s status (that’s what twitter’s for 
cluding ADD and obesity. While this concept has no medical backing, those who feel a contectedness to nature, and seek it out to relax or ‘recenter’, will understand Louv’s point.
visit the preserve can check out backpacks filled with tools “to aid in the exploration of nature,” according to preserve staff member Vanessa Torres. 
