View Full Version : Lengthening a pack
taildragger
11-12-2007, 10:23
Is there anyway that I can lengthen my Gregory Whitney. I love this pack, but a Large will be WAY too much pack room for me. I love the way this pack rides with weights under 30lbs, but if I have to carry more than that its brutal on my shoulders. I'm starting to worry about using it next summer as 1300+ miles with this thing might take its toll on my shoulders.
I've contacted Gregory, but I doubt that they will be able to help, and seeing as I've had the pack for about 4 months (was recovering from surgery during most of that time) I didn't get out with it much and never noticed that an in or so on the length might be a godsend.
Thanks in advance
-Ramey
Is there anyway that I can lengthen my Gregory Whitney. I love this pack, but a Large will be WAY too much pack room for me. I love the way this pack rides with weights under 30lbs, but if I have to carry more than that its brutal on my shoulders.
I don't even see a lid that you can take off. Why don't you simply keep your load under 30 pounds? That solves your problem without having to mess with the structure of the pack.
Can't answer directly. I extend my pack up over my head, but try and pack it in such a way that the dense stuff is lower closer to the back. At 20 pounds the volume isn't so critical, which is why I wonder why they don't make some ultralight packs bigger. But at 30 pounds I think you are correct that volume starts to become an issue with comfort, and health, because of the way it effects the way the weight is carried. Also with lighter weights you can shift some weight to the front, but at 30 pounds this can be dangerous if it puts more weight on your shoulders and spine and causes dangerous twisting and grinding.
I suggest you see if you can divide your load into more dense and less dense, and pack you most dense stuff closer to the small of your back, and then your less dense stuff as close as you can to that, either on the top of the pack as you seem to be inclined to do, or under the pack, or behind the pack, or perhaps even in front.
I gotta tell you though.
7 pounds is too heavy a pack for a 30 pound load.
I don't care how well it rides on your hips.
taildragger
11-12-2007, 10:50
Every now and then its fun to take some friends out in the woods and suprise them by revealing the beer and feast that you've stashed in your pack.
For me, the weight of my big three (with that 7 lbs pack) is right at 10lbs, so I would only have a few stretches with weight in the 30s (that 12 day stretch in the Sierra's, and maybe in the desert depending on water). I've also thought about doing some winter base camp style camping, and hauling my 8lbs hammerhead 2 with my other gear might be a little bit of a pain with that much weight on my shoulders.
What I really think that I should have done was just wait and get a Lassen (same suspension and about 1000CI smaller) but I wanted to hit the trails, I thought that I needed this big of a pack, and I fell in love with the suspension. I even met a few thru hikers that lusted over it, but then again they didn't want the extra 1500 CI that came with that suspension...Then again, neither do I...
taildragger
11-12-2007, 10:54
I gotta tell you though.
7 pounds is too heavy a pack for a 30 pound load.
I don't care how well it rides on your hips.
I agree with that, I just haven't found another pack that fits me well. Usually the way the shoulder straps hit my neck will drive me insane and rub me raw about about 4 days. Thats my biggest problem with my exo, and its been the same way when I've tried on the lighter packs, especially something like a lightweight Osprey. I might be trying to hit the outfitter in Damascus that has the ULA catalyst and see how that fits, if its nice enough of a ride, I might hop on one of those.
stranger
11-12-2007, 21:58
No...you cannot lengthen a pack.
A medium Gregory has a stay length of 25 inches, the only vertical adjustment is on the shoulder harness which you should put in the top slot if you are concerned about weight on your shoulders. Very few people in this world are a size large in high end packs, you would need a 20 inch torso which is extremely rare for anyone outside the NBA.
Make sure you have the hipbelt in the right place, most of the few thousand people i've fit into packs place the hipbelt way too low, this means of course the pack rides lower and restricts your pelvis when walking - and puts more weight on your shoulders. An easy way of telling that you have the pack too low is to lift your knees up as high as you can, if they are restricted by the hipbelt, the pack is too low.
To be honest, nothing carries better than a Gregory full suspension pack in my opinion, and I've seen them all and carried most of them. For sheer weight transfer - Gregory are superior to anything I've ever seen. Meaning, this pack should carry weight well as long as you are fit properly, wearing the pack properly, adjusting the straps correctly, regardless of weight.
Try putting the pack about 1 inch higher than you are comfortable with and go for a walk - you might be surprised.