View Full Version : Backpack Bottom Access
trailfinder
05-28-2005, 20:01
I want to get the Granite Vapor backpack, but I don't like a pack with top access only. I was thinking of getting my wife to sew in a zipper towards the bottom so that I would have top and bottom access. Does anyone think that I would compromise the backpack by doing this?
Thanks!:-?
Stoker53
05-29-2005, 14:16
How it turns out depends on how good a seamstress your wife is, the quality of the zipper , the threads per inch of the stitching and the design of the modification. Suggest you, and the wife, check out many other packs with bottom zipppers so you can get some design ideas. Turn the packs inside out so you can see how they did it.
All that being said modifying the pack MAY void it's warranity. To be sure contact Granite Gear. This may not be an issue for you.
If the wife is not confident she can do it you might contact some of the companies that repair / modify backpacking gear to see if they can do it for you. I don't have any names of companies but someone else on WB might.
Good luck.
dougmeredith
05-29-2005, 15:25
This is ironic. My pack has the side zipper to give bottom access, and I NEVER use it. I wish it wasn't there.
Doug
BlackCloud
05-30-2005, 10:41
You could buy another pack w/ the desired zipper in place?!?
I know external packs aren't "cool", but today's externals are lighter, cheaper, and almost as comfortable (read more comfortable in the summer on the AT)....
I want to get the Granite Vapor backpack, but I don't like a pack with top access only. I was thinking of getting my wife to sew in a zipper towards the bottom so that I would have top and bottom access. Does anyone think that I would compromise the backpack by doing this?
Yes, it probably will. A pack has to be designed around any openings placed in it. Side zips can only take so much strain, so forces have to be routed around them, and the zippers themselves must be extra large & strong. (The side zips on my old Ospery Xenith are large YKK metal!) No zippers means fewer reinforcements, fewer load straps, lighter fabrics, and lower overall weight.
What you need is better packing dicipline. Anticipate what you're going to need during the day and place it so it's more available.
One tip that can help is to stack gear and a little more vertically and use the side compression straps to tighten things up. Then, If you need something down along the either side or the back, lay the pack on its side, loosen the compression, and slide your hand down to get the item. Reverse the process when done. (This is how I get at the water filter at rest stops.) I don't remember if your Vapor has proper compression straps though.... :confused:
Doug Frost
Footslogger
06-01-2005, 13:26
I want to get the Granite Vapor backpack, but I don't like a pack with top access only. I was thinking of getting my wife to sew in a zipper towards the bottom so that I would have top and bottom access. Does anyone think that I would compromise the backpack by doing this?
Thanks!:-?================================
I own the Vapor Trail (and so does my wife for what it's worth). The pack is not that deep and getting to the bottom of the pack has never been an issue.
Consider using a white plastic trash compactor bag as a liner. Keeps everything dry and makes it easier to see things inside the otherwise dark abyss of the pack.
Also, I arrange pretty much everything into 3 silnylon stuff sacks that lie horizonally across the pack. Sleeping bag on the bottom, then clothes bag and finally the food bag. Smaller miscellaneous items on top. Not much of a hassle getting to the things I need and packing in this order pretty much negates my needed to get to the bottom of the pack prior to setting up camp for the night.
'Slogger
AT 2003
trailfinder
06-01-2005, 13:27
Thanks for the advice!
Texas Dreamer
06-01-2005, 14:12
After cutting the opening, there would not be enough fabric around the edges for proper seam allowances--can't be done
coming to you from Damascus, on this drizzly day
The Solemates
06-01-2005, 14:14
This is ironic. My pack has the side zipper to give bottom access, and I NEVER use it. I wish it wasn't there.
Doug
same here. Gregory Zpack.
What about the new GG Latitude Vapor? The entire back panel unzips on it for access. Given it is heavier than the Vapor Trail, but its also larger in volume. And you are going to add weight with the zipper anyway. http://www.granitegear.com/products/backpacks/ultralight/latitude_vapor/index.html
trailfinder
06-09-2005, 12:15
Thanks again gentlemen for your advice! It is appreciated!
Happy Feet
06-09-2005, 12:41
Being a convert from external packs to internal, the only thing that I didn't like about the internals were the top loading feature.
Luckily I found a summer pack (Vortex-2100 cubic inches) and a winter (Mountainsmith Seraph - 2600 cubic inches) and both of these packs are zippered panel loading.
I have the comfort of an internal with the accesibility of an external. The best of both worlds!