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Thumper 2006
01-25-2006, 21:54
Alright guys and gals which pack should I go with. The Granite Gear Vapor Trail, or the Gregory z pack. I like the Vapor trail, its light but it does not have the toughness. I also like the Gregory z pack, little bit heavier but able to withstand the abuse of a thru hike. What do you think?

wyclif
01-25-2006, 22:04
I like the weight of the Vapor Trail...3600ci is enough for me. I've never heard anyone complain about a VT getting holes or ripping.

It's a matter of personal preference. Some people say the VT doesn't have enough pockets. I think both packs are great.

TwoForty
01-25-2006, 22:41
Can you try them out? Make sure you stuff the Vapor Trail and look at the mesh pockets. I couldn't stand them, too hard to fit a water bottle back in there.
Can you keep you load around 25lbs? Not base weight, but with food, fuel, water, etc.

Footslogger
01-26-2006, 01:20
[quote=the wonderer]Alright guys and gals which pack should I go with. The Granite Gear Vapor Trail, or the Gregory z pack. I like the Vapor trail, its light but it does not have the toughness.
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Not sure where you got the info about the Vapor Trail being light and lacking toughness. My experience is totally the opposite. I carried the Vapor Trail from Pearisburg, VA to Katahdin on my thru in 2003. I didn't baby the pack by any means but I didn't go out of my way to beat it up either. I used a plastic trash compactor bag as a liner.

With the exception of some hiker stank the pack was still in great shape when I got home. I soaked it in the bathtup with a mild Lysol solution and it lost most of its odor. I have since added the "Lid" option and am still carrying the pack to this day.

I'm not really familiar with the Gregory Z-pack but I would give the Vapor Trail very serious consideration provided it will hold all your stuff. I carried it with about 26lbs of stuff and it supported the weight well and was very comfortable. Not a frilly pack by any means but it has everything you need and nothing you don't need.

'Slogger

hammock engineer
01-26-2006, 01:41
I got the Vapor Trail in the mail this week. It is the pack that I intent to use on my thru hike this year. It feels pretty comfortable to me, with just loading it and walking around my place.

My long VT weighs 38.2 ozs empty. Much lighter than my old 5 lbs pack. It doesn't have all the zippers or frills, but it also doesn't have the weight. It feels pretty good with 20-25 lbs. My base weight is in the 15-16 lbs range. So should work good.

My only complanit is the closure. The dry bag style top will take a while to get used to.

Hammock Hanger
01-26-2006, 09:11
[quote=the wonderer]Alright guys and gals which pack should I go with. The Granite Gear Vapor Trail, or the Gregory z pack. I like the Vapor trail, its light but it does not have the toughness.
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Not sure where you got the info about the Vapor Trail being light and lacking toughness. My experience is totally the opposite. I carried the Vapor Trail from Pearisburg, VA to Katahdin on my thru in 2003. I didn't baby the pack by any means but I didn't go out of my way to beat it up either. I used a plastic trash compactor bag as a liner.

With the exception of some hiker stank the pack was still in great shape when I got home. I soaked it in the bathtup with a mild Lysol solution and it lost most of its odor. I have since added the "Lid" option and am still carrying the pack to this day.

'Slogger

The Vapor Trail I saw the other day at the outfitters did NOT have a belt. Thus it was removed from the pick for my friend. -- The car wash with it's power nozzle works great on cleaning packs.
I'm not really familiar with the Gregory Z-pack but I would give the Vapor Trail very serious consideration provided it will hold all your stuff. I carried it with about 26lbs of stuff and it supported the weight well and was very comfortable. Not a frilly pack by any means but it has everything you need and nothing you don't need.

vipahman
01-26-2006, 11:54
Vapor Trail is tough as rocks. It's downsides are the lack of external pockets and the inconvenent to useless water bottle pockets.

Z-pack is too heavy at 3 lbs 3 oz for medium and there would be definitely be other options in the capacity like the Nimbus Ozone which is tougher than the Vapor Trail at 3 lbs.

You should tell us about your big-4 and loaded pack weight.

Footslogger
01-26-2006, 12:03
[quote=vipahman]Vapor Trail is tough as rocks. It's downsides are the lack of external pockets and the inconvenent to useless water bottle pockets.
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True that the stretch pockets on the sides of the Vapor Trail are pretty tight and low volume. I dealt with that by rigging some shock cord on the shoulder strap and carrying a 20 oz gatorade bottle where I could reach it. I also carried a 1.8 Liter Platy laying horizontally across the top of the pack, wrapped in the storm collar, with the hose dangling over my right shoulder.

That system worked well for me and I never even tried to use the side pockets for water containers.

'Slogger

gravityman
01-26-2006, 12:19
Alright guys and gals which pack should I go with. The Granite Gear Vapor Trail, or the Gregory z pack. I like the Vapor trail, its light but it does not have the toughness. I also like the Gregory z pack, little bit heavier but able to withstand the abuse of a thru hike. What do you think?

My vapor trail has thruhiked the LT, the AT, and about 200 miles on the CT plus countless dayhikes. Plus, I take it glissading. If anything is super tough on a pack, its glissading. The only issue is a small tear in the corner of a pocket.

Oh, it's tough enough!

Gravity

The Solemates
01-26-2006, 12:55
i have a Zpack with over 3500 miles on it and still going strong. but then again the vapor trail is nice too. you wont go wrong with either pack. but try them on to see which one is most comfortable to you.

Tree-girl
01-26-2006, 13:02
That's funny, when I was pack-shopping I had it narrowed down to the gregory and the granite gear Nimbus Ozone. I'd definately go with the Vapor trail. If you haven't tried the two paks on with weights in them, do so if you can, the difference I found between the two was amazing. My ozone is pretty much identical to the vapor (the vapor is smaller, that's all) and it is TOUGH. The poor thing has been through quite a lot and looks brand new (if I wipe the mud off, lol). The seams and the fabric have held up through briars and rocks. I was worried about the toughness too, and when I got it I made the concious effort not to baby it: if it was gonna break, I wanted it break before I was on the AT. Also, I don't notice where granite gear mentions it, but the vapor trail is practically water proof, especially in comparison to the gregory. (don't ask how I know this.) :-) Happy pack hunting!

Rawhide
01-27-2006, 11:05
If you go with the Vapor Trail pack, keep in mind that the 30 lbs weight limit is just that. Where some companies the weight limit they list is really the comfort zone limit (its most comfortable with 30 lbs or less, but can carry more) Granite Gears packs the weight limit means, dont carry more then this says. I know several people that used Granite Gear packs and were happy with them. However if you get to close to that weight limit (or go over it) a few to many times, then the seams start to stress or tear. Just something to keep in mind when picking between these 2 packs. If your total weight (including food, fuel, water) is under 30 lbs, then you wont have a problem.

Footslogger
01-27-2006, 11:44
[quote=Rawhide]If you go with the Vapor Trail pack, keep in mind that the 30 lbs weight limit is just that. Where some companies the weight limit they list is really the comfort zone limit (its most comfortable with 30 lbs or less, but can carry more) Granite Gears packs the weight limit means, dont carry more then this says.
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This is a valid point. I bought my Vapor Trail during my thru in Pearisburg, VA. I was in the process of dumping my heavier weight clothing gear but still wasn't ready to make some of the tougher "swap-out" decisions. I came out of Pearsiburg carrying a bit over 30lbs (with food and water) and I was shouldering a lot of the weight, even with the hip belt as snug as it would go. Basically what happens is that the pack frame (which is HDPU) buckles under the weight and curves out at the middle. Once I dumped another 4 lbs or so of stuff the pack carried like a dream. For short distances this "shouldering" of the weight may not be a big deal but it gets old after a few days.

'Slogger

hammock engineer
01-27-2006, 12:27
I always had one question concerning pack max weights. Does that include the weight of the pack itself?

This usually won't make a difference of me. I just got the Vapor trail and have my weight (not including pack) at about 15-16lbs. The only time that this is going to mater for me is when I start my SOBO hike with about 10 days of food and a couple liters of water. That is going to put me at 30-35lbs (not including pack).

Footslogger
01-27-2006, 12:33
[quote=hammock engineer]I always had one question concerning pack max weights. Does that include the weight of the pack itself?
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Can't give you the manufacturer's answer but I always considered that to be "in addition to" the base weight of the pack. If the pack is rated at 30 lbs to me that means 30 lbs of stuff inside/attached to the pack.

In my earlier post I listed 30lbs as my starting weight with the Vapor Trail. That was 30lbs "overall" (base pack weight included) as measured by the Post Office scale in Pearisburg. I was mailing back all my heavy stuff and on a lark I asked the clerk if he would throw my pack up on the scale. He did and that was how I knew my starting weight.

'Slogger

vipahman
01-27-2006, 14:12
I always had one question concerning pack max weights. Does that include the weight of the pack itself?
It most likely includes the weight of the pack. You must be an engineer to ask a question like that! :clap

hammock engineer
01-27-2006, 15:02
You must be an engineer to ask a question like that! :clap

Yeah what can I say. A little too much time to analyze my speadsheet of gear and weights.

SavageLlama
01-28-2006, 11:39
Granite Gear's website makes this claim, which seems very exaggerated...

"our AT thru-hiker pack testers suggest that by the end of last season roughly 40% of AT thru-hikers were carrying the Vapor Trail"
http://www.granitegear.com/products/backpacks/ultralight/vapor_trail/index.html

Footslogger
01-28-2006, 13:56
Granite Gear's website makes this claim, which seems very exaggerated...
"our AT thru-hiker pack testers suggest that by the end of last season roughly 40% of AT thru-hikers were carrying the Vapor Trail"

http://www.granitegear.com/products/backpacks/ultralight/vapor_trail/index.html===============================
My guess is that this is 40% of the hikers they saw or polled, which could be a small number.

That said ...there were a slew of hikers on the trail in 2003 carrying the Vapor Trail (but I never counted them up or tried to calculate a %)

'Slogger