granite gear vapor trail question ...

[fivefour]

ok, my vapor trail weighs in at 28 pounds fully loaded and ready for the trail. i wore it last night for a couple of hours and walked to work (1.1 miles) with it this morning. i am having an issue with my right shoulder. it feels as if the strap is slowing the circulation in my right arm. i adjusted it several ways and it feels better but it's still not totally comfortable. is comfort something you sacrifice for the weight loss ? maybe i am being overly analytical and trying to find fault in the pack. also my food bag was at the very top so that weight is actually extended slighty above the inside of the pack. i am going to try lowering it towards the center and putting lighter items on top of it. any other suggestions or ideas ?

[K-Man]

I just typed in a Google search for "vapor trail pounds carry" and most places said 30 lbs is the MAX. So you are at the upper limits of what that bag was designed to carry. If you can lighten your load in any way that would probably take away some of the problem.

[fivefour]

yep, 30 is the max. i am going to remove several smaller items but i doubt i can get it much lower than 25 for this trip. i do have a full 2 liters of water which will lighten as i hike. i am also comparing the comfort of this pack to my gregory palisade. the gregory is totally comfortable even above 60 pounds (except for hauling the weight), so maybe i am a little biased.

[Footslogger]

I bought my Vapor Trail when I got to Pearisburg on my thru in 2003. I had swapped out most of my heavier gear/clothing but I weighed the loaded Vapor Trail as I hiked out of town and it was right at the 28 pound level. I was really happy with the new pack (I had moved to the VT from a Gregory Reality - over 5 lbs empty) but it wasn't as comfortable as I was led to believe it would be.

Next town after Pearsiburg I got serious and offloaded all my cold weather clothing/gear and got the Vapor Trail down to around 22 lbs (with food and water). THAT was the comfort I was looking for !! I carried the Vapor Trail all the way to Katahdin and even when I got my heavier gear/clothing back in Glencliff and the pack weight rose to 25 - 26 lbs it was still comfortable.

Bottom line is that the top end for the Vapor Trail is 30lbs ...so at 28lbs you're right at the high end. If you can't lose any pack weight about the only suggestion I can make is that you elevate the belt on your hips and tighten that puppy down so that you're not shouldering any of the weight. At the 22 - 24 lb level that's easy to do.

'Slogger

[DrewNC2005]

ok, my vapor trail weighs in at 28 pounds fully loaded and ready for the trail. i wore it last night for a couple of hours and walked to work (1.1 miles) with it this morning. i am having an issue with my right shoulder. it feels as if the strap is slowing the circulation in my right arm. i adjusted it several ways and it feels better but it's still not totally comfortable. is comfort something you sacrifice for the weight loss ? maybe i am being overly analytical and trying to find fault in the pack. also my food bag was at the very top so that weight is actually extended slighty above the inside of the pack. i am going to try lowering it towards the center and putting lighter items on top of it. any other suggestions or ideas ?

To answer the question of compromise, I guess it's just a standard you have to decide for yourself. The standard I hold myself to is that I will not go lighter if I have to sacrifice a lot of comfort. For instance, I will not go a night without my InsulMat Max Thermo sleeping pad. True, it's close to half a pound heavier than a trimmed down closed cell foam pad, but not anywhere near as comfortable. I'll cut corners in other areas.

That said, I loaded my Vapor Trail up with close to the same amount of weight you did and had very similar issues. It was much lighter than the pack I was carrying previously but I was sacrificing my shoulders being slightly pinched (not unbearable, but not exactly comfortable) to carry it. Over a 20 minute span, it's not unbearable. But over 20 days, I imagine it would get that way.

What I did was just look around at other packs out there. Sometimes what most consider great packs don't fit everyone the same way. I actually decided to get the ULA Circuit and just give it a look. I was amazed at the difference in comfort and you could read other posts here to see what I said.

If trying other packs is not an option, you should try re-packing and putting the heavier food towards the middle of your back. I tried several packing strategies with the Vapor Trail and that one (putting heavy stuff in the middle) seemed to relieve most of the strain in the shoulder area.

[DrewNC2005]

If you can't lose any pack weight about the only suggestion I can make is that you elevate the belt on your hips and tighten that puppy down so that you're not shouldering any of the weight.
'Slogger

Another good suggestion...

[fivefour]

i don't think i will be in pain from hiking with 28 pounds and the vapor trail. i am probably just accustomed to the comfort level of the gregory (6 pounds empty) and will adjust. after walking this morning i was a little concerned that i may have bought a pack that i was going to be totally unhappy with. i will move my food and drop what weight i can and give it a try. i am sitting here at work now, at my desk, in my comfy chair and my shoulder still hurts. so maybe it's my shoulder and not the pack. thanks for the help as always. you guys are an endless source of wisdom and knowledge.

[hammock engineer]

I loaded up my VT last night. I finally got the last couple stuff sacks and wanted to see how everything fit. I had 26lbs in it. It felt pretty good. I loaded it pretty top heavy, and could feel that. I am going to try to put the hammock on the outside in snake skins, that should clear up a lot of room and lower the weight.

I agree with 30lbs being the upper limit. I do not think I will want to go any heavier, although I might have to starting SOBO with food. Try as someone else suggested packing the bulk of the weight in the middle, that should help.

[Kerosene]

My pack is also in the 24-28 pound range for spring/fall section hikes with 3-4 days of food. I ended up going with the VT's bigger sibling, the Nimbus Ozone, which has a sturdier frame sheet. I did this because I wanted to be able to haul up to a week's worth of food if necessary, and the Ozone's upper limit is in the 35-40 pound range. For this flexibility and increased comfort I end up lugging an extra pound of pack weight.

While your back may have been okay with 60 pounds in the Gregory, your feet will thank you at the end of the day for cutting that weight in half. I used to carry 45-55 pounds in a Kelty Tioga and then a Dana Designs Terraplane. The Dana was especially comfortable on my back, but I was carrying an extra 5-6 pounds of weight in the pack and suspension alone.

[Footslogger]

[quote=hammock engineer]I loaded up my VT last night. I finally got the last couple stuff sacks and wanted to see how everything fit. I had 26lbs in it. It felt pretty good. I loaded it pretty top heavy, and could feel that.
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I'll betcha if you will transfer some of the heavier items to the middle and front of the pack you'll notice a difference. By far my heaviest single item is the food bag (at least right after re-supply) and I put that right in the middle, horizontally in the pack. Makes all the difference in the world. I do put a few things on the outside, but not many. Main visible item is the Z-rest section I use as a seat and a portion of my ground mat at night and my piece of Tyvek. I carry a 23 oz tent and it goes well inside. I do use a lightweight pair of rubber sandals (same material as the Waldies/Crocks but lighter) and they go on each side of the pack under the load straps.

'Slogger

[Alligator]

Two initial thoughts on the Vapor Trail, but note I haven't had mine out yet either.

1. My pack size is 21", which is on the cusp between M & L. I originally bought a medium. When I loaded mine up, I also felt that the shoulder straps pulled a little. I returned it and got the large and it seems to fit much better.

2. Another WB member pointed out that this pack utilizes a fixed back support. It has the vertical split. It was said that this type is good for some people. Other packs have a more flexible system, with a horizontal split. This may be good for other people. If you happen to have two packs of both types one may be more comfortable than the other based on this difference. I know this isn't the best description, but if you look carefully at packs, you should see the difference. This was a new concept for me. The Gregory Reality looks to be of the horizontal type.

[fivefour]

i am totally repacking when i get home. i have decided on a few things to leave behind. right now i have my sleeping pad at the very bottom with my sleeping back, hammock and clothes sack sitting vertically on top of it. i try to keep everything on the inside of the pack. right now all i have in the outside pockets are my map, marmot precip jacket, pack cover, camera (disposable) and a .5 liter nalgene. i could move my knock-off crocs to the outside too i guess. right now the food is on top of those which is definitely putting that weight higher than it needs to be. that will easily lower the food bag a little.

[hammock engineer]

I'll betcha if you will transfer some of the heavier items to the middle and front of the pack you'll notice a difference. By far my heaviest single item is the food bag (at least right after re-supply) and I put that right in the middle, horizontally in the pack. Makes all the difference in the world. I do put a few things on the outside, but not many. Main visible item is the Z-rest section I use as a seat and a portion of my ground mat at night and my piece of Tyvek. I carry a 23 oz tent and it goes well inside. I do use a lightweight pair of rubber sandals (same material as the Waldies/Crocks but lighter) and they go on each side of the pack under the load straps.

'Slogger

Thanks for the advice. I'll have to try that. I need to play around with things a little more. I think putting the hammock and underquilt on the outside should give me enough room to do this more effectively. I am going to use sil-nylon for the skins and have a good pack cover, so mosture shouldn't be an issue.

[Footslogger]

[quote=fivefour]i am totally repacking when i get home. i have decided on a few things to leave behind. right now i have my sleeping pad at the very bottom with my sleeping back, hammock and clothes sack sitting vertically on top of it.
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Experiment with that but I'm guessing that you'll end up with at least the sleeping bag back on the bottom. It's the last thing you need when you get to camp and the first thing (or almost) that's ready to shove in your pack in the morning. Sleeping bags that are placed horizontally at the bottom of the pack tend to get nicely compressed (even more than they are in the stuff sacks) and take up very little room.

In response to Alligator's comment ...my torso length is about 19 and 1/2" and I toyed with the idea of going with the Large Vapor Trail ...but in the end I went with the Medium. Main reason at that time was that although the outfitter had both sizes, a fellow thru-hiker (who was much taller than I) really needed/bought the Large. In retrospect I may have been smarter to get the large size, plus the bag iself is a bit roomier. Of course the slighty larger pack bag temps you to stick a few more things inside the pack which may put you closer to the 30 pound maximum rating than you'd like to be. Guess sometimes you're damned if you do ...damned if you don't.

Been carrying the Vapor Trail (Medium) ever since my thru though and still liking it.

'Slogger

[Footslogger]

I am going to use sil-nylon for the skins and have a good pack cover, so mosture shouldn't be an issue.

.
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I hardly ever use a pack cover ...just for the record. I put a plastic trash compactor bag inside my pack as a liner. Only in a horrific downpour do I pull out the little silnylon packcover (Equinox).

'Slogger

[hammock engineer]

I have a 21 inch torso and have the large VT. I do not think the MED would be big enough.

I will have to play around with things. I am a little concerned about putting my down underquilt on the outside, enough though it will be in a sil-nylon cover under my pack cover. After a few days/weeks of packing and unpacking, I should have it figured out.

[Footslogger]

[quote=hammock engineer] I am a little concerned about putting my down underquilt on the outside, enough though it will be in a sil-nylon cover under my pack cover.
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I would be too ...

Again, I'll bet you could locate it at the bottom of your pack and it would ride fine and get a little extra compression from the other pack contents.

'Slogger

[Alligator]

I have a 21 inch torso and have the large VT. I do not think the MED would be big enough.
...

I was trying to be a gram weenie . I do this frequently. I'm tall, 6'2", but not TALL. Sometimes I get away with Large, but Large Tall does fit a lot better.

[Footslogger]

[quote=Alligator]I'm tall, 6'2", but not TALL.
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It's funny ...when I read that second "TALL" (quietly to myself) I sensed the pitch elevate in my head. See there, the use of emphatic text significantly alters how it is read !! But hey ...my wife is the English professor. Guess I should be sharing that with her.

'Slogger

[verber]

Like others, I have found that the Vapor Trail is super comfortable under around 25lbs. Somewhere between 25-30lbs I find that the framesheet doesn't provides enough rigidity unless it gets a bit of help... which puts pressure on the shoulders. This is where careful packing comes in. You can strengthen the over suspension by tight packing the pack body the same way people use frameless packs). Properly packed I can comfortably use the Vapor Trail up to around 35lbs.

--Mark