G6 mods?

[Michael Demchak]

hello everyone,
Im thinking about getting the G6 with the sole purpose of modifying it. and im curious as to any areas that are especially prone to durability problems (abrasion or seam weaknesses). I’m also thinking about adding a light webbing belt and maybe a sternum strap. Im going to try and minimize the exposed weaker spinnaker fabric with the heavier mesh by adding mesh pockets to the side (for water bottles/accessories) and maybe another mesh pocket under the spinnaker pocket on the front, i think the durability will be greatly increased as well as boosting the volume some. maybe this could be my AT thru-hike pack?
thanks!
mike!

[Bill Fornshell]

Why don’t you look at the
“Essence”
It is almost light and seems to be getting good reviews. I has about everything you seem to want but in a stronger pack.

[Robert Miller]

Mike,

This isn’t a very good idea. I doubt anyone would recommend a pack made of spinnaker fabric for a thru hike. I was an early adopter of the G5, the first pack made of spinnaker fabric, and it went 300 miles before it literally came apart at the seams.

I replaced it with a silnylon G5 and it looks like new after two seasons of use. The difference in weight between the two was 1 oz.

Don’t take my word for it, email GVP and get his thoughts on the idea.

FWIW,
Robert

[EndoftheTrail]

After spending the time adding mesh front and side pockets, as well as sternum straps and hipbelts… it will probably weigh close to a G5 — so why not just get the more durable G5?

[Michael Demchak]

yeah… you guys are probably right, probably investing more time and money on something not suited for the job…i just love that G6 profile and weight. mmm. I’m pretty sure i could avoid the abrasion problems. but after rereading Carol’s review about seam problems… probably best to give it up. Benjamin, are you talking about the semi-custom G5? if so i dont think gossamer gear does semi-custom anymore ;)
thanks!
mike!

[Ryan Faulkner]

Mikey, We think the same.

for a thru hike I hoping to do in a few years, I am going to get a custom G6 made with 2.2oz fabric, mesh side pockets, hipbelt, sternum strap and an external pad pocket. I love the size of my G6, but for a thru hike, the fabric wont be strong enough and it just lacks features that I am willing to give up for a week or less, but for 90 or so days, I will want the convenience of pockets, duribility of silnylon, comfort of a pad frame, and load carrying comfort of a hipbelt

I thought this over and over again and decided, that with a shock cord compression system it is the perfect pack.

contact Gossamer gear, I did a while back, and I was told this was possible, but dident need the pack yet so dident buy one at that time.

good luck.

[Michael Demchak]

hah Ryan… yup same exact idea. i talked to Glen/Grant about the idea and they both pointed out that my ideas are very simular to the G5, and that they are thinking about doing a G5 ‘plus’ made out of heavier materials (2.2/silnylon) with some sort of compression system. This would work i sappose, I’ve never seen a G5 up close though, but it seems a little to large for my tastes…if you get the custom G6 pack, deffinitly let me know.
thanks!
mike!

[Benjamin Smith]

Ryan and Dennis

I’m actually working on something VERY similar to what you’re both describing. I too love the G6’s dimensions, and feel that with a hip belt, sturdier material, and clever cord compression it can be a winner for extended non-SUL-but-UL trips.

I built a plain silnylon G6 clone a couple of months ago, and it works very well up to about 15 pounds and weighs 5.5 oz (by my office’s postal scale) with about 3.5 feet of shock cord and a cord-lock threaded on the compression loops.

I’m now building a pack with the same 24x12x6 dimensions (height x width x depth), but with a full wraparound hipbelt (I’m trying the double-buckle McHale style “conical” belt – I think it’s a bloody brilliant idea), fabric side pockets, and an “arrow shaft” frame based on a sleeve design ala the SMD Comet (http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/six_moon_designs_comet_backpack_review.html).

I’m pretty jazzed about it so far, and will certainly post pics once it’s done. I think that frame and all it will be well under a pound – maybe as low as 10-12 oz with 2.2 oz fabric and liberal use of webbing. I’m intentionally overbuilding this pack – I need to see how this UL/SUL stuff works in the real world, all in keeping with my general philosophy that I go to the wilderness to engage with the wilderness, not to engage with my gear (i.e., if I have to baby it too much, it ain’t worth it).

Oh, and the lightly-but-fully-padded hipbelt will be removable – with double buckles it weighs 3.1 oz – so I could sub in a simple strap if I only want stability and no real load support. The little lumbar pad should help with this some too…

When it’s done, I’ll post pics – I’d love to hear any suggestions everyone has, especially those of you who are looking for a beefed-up G6, as that is precisely what I had in mind for this pack.

Oh, and Vick – I’ll be attaching the shoulder straps with velcro this time :).

Ben

[paul johnson]

I have a G6 with over 450 miles on it now. I did not seam seal it or otherwise reinforce the seams in any fashion. I noticed a couple of weeks ago, at one location, the seam is starting to separate a bit for about 1.5″ in length. Though there is no hole or complete seam separation yet, it is something I’m going to have attend to so that it doesn’t progress.

Not sure of the “mileage” others are getting out of their G6. I “baby” my gear which may take the fun out of hiking for some folks – to each their own is my feeling and more power to you. I don’t overload mine, either as regards weight, or volume. Rarely above 15lb even at the start of day one, always below 15lb at the end of day one, and often start out with ~12lb fully loaded pack wt for a weekend (2-2.5d food). It’s a warmer weather pack for me, so less relatively bulky, insulating/cold weather gear.

I’m happy with with 450+ trail miles on the pack. Good Price per unit mile value. This is UL gear, and we know “going in” that it will need replacement more often than heavier, more robust gear. That said, 2.2 silnylon sounds like a good option for a Thru-hike version of the G6. Still, sans hip-belt, unless you’re very stoic, 15lb might be the upper carrying limit – so keep that in mind when considering resupplies.

Some Observations and Questions for the more experienced:
I’ve never done a Thru-hike, but I can’t help but think more volume and/or load carrying capacity might be in order to stretch out the number of days b/t resupplies??? Somehow I got it in my mind that 7-10 days b/t resupplies might be nice? 10d food might, alone, be 15lb – at 1.5lb/day. I’ve had 22lb in a G5 (once – never again; but, hey…that’s just me…i’m a wimp), with 15-18lb the usual comfortable starting fully loaded pack wt. A silnylon G5 might be nice. Now you’re getting into SMD Essence pack empty wt (~13oz or so GVP told me a year or so ago a 2.2 G5 would probably weigh), so you now have another option – though the Essence is ~600 cubes smaller than the G5. So, at this point, you could also for 3-4oz more go for an internal frame GG Mariposa pack. Others have used it for long distance hiking, I’ve read, and you can carry 25lb (extra food for longer resupply intervals if that is desirable.) If you really want to stretch resupply out, next step up might be the SMD Starlite pack and load in the food for 30-35lb pack wt (will it all fit???). Can an old man, like me, do 20mile days on the AT when carrying a 30-35lb pack at the start after each resupply? Or, will I have to make up the distance with 16hr hiking-days to get near 30mile days when the pack is lighter, nearing resupply time?

I’m just guessing here (yeah…I know…it shows), not having done a Thru-hike, so I’d really like to know what an experienced Thru-hiker thinks of going 10+ days without resupply. Is there any point in doing the entire AT with 10 or less resupplies? Is it even possible? What other factors am I missing/ignoring/forgetting in going longer without a resupply? Guess you can tell that I don’t have a clue!! If you are so inclinded, I would appreciate learning something from your experience. Thanks in advance for the replies.

[Ryan Faulkner]

As far a G6 volume, for me, it will be perfect for a thru hike.

I have written up a gearlist for a thru hike, so I have a good idea about how much volume I need. I loaded up the gear in my G6 excluding my pad and water bottles because they would go on outside pockets on a custom pack and even before the extension collar, it only filled up slightly over halfway.

so I am convinced that I dont need any more volume than the G6. and even though the pack is small, I will still need some shock cord to compress the load.

[Benjamin Smith]

Ryan,

I know my baseweight isn’t nearly as light as yours (you’re packing like 3.5 pounds, right? I’m more like 6-7 pounds depending on the trip), but I agree – even if I don’t even stuff my sleeping bag, but cram it into the bottom loose, I never get into the extension collar with less than 3 days of food.

Ben

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