I will be returning my Granite Gear Nimbus Meridian to REI this week. I recently experienced the second failure of the water resistant zippers GG chose for this pack.
These zippers are composed of relatively soft rubber/plastic teeth which are quite fragile.
The Lid and panel access zipper are both of this type.
The lid zipper failed on the first day of use on a previous trip. Failure mode was several broken teeth on one side of the zipper. I returned it at my expense, and received a replacement, again with shipping at my expense.
On my second trip with the pack, the panel zipper failed in the same mode on day 2 of a 5 day trip. Luckily for me the failure was near the top, so I was able to re-join the two halves below the failure point and just cease using the panel access feature.
I am not at all rough with my gear. For example, I have never experienced a failure of a zipper on any of a dozen other packs, nor on any other quality gear I own. And certainly not with a YKK brand.
Other than the critical design choice failure of GG using these zippers, this was a GREAT pack. Like the other 3 GGs I have bought, it is extremely comfortable.
If GG changes the zippers to a quality brand such as YKK, I would re-buy the pack in a heartbeat. As it is; I have reversed my initial impressions and I absolutely do not recommend this pack. I do still recommend the top-access packs by GG.
Granite gear; are you listening?
