I just got my Z1 pack. The first thing I did was to cut off the waist belt. I left 1″ of webbing in case I ever want to sew on a smaller, lighter, removable belt. With this modification, the pack weights 108 grams / 3.8 oz. That’s absolutely amazing for a 2600 ci pack made from Silnylon. It has, by far, the best weight to volume ratio of any pack out there.
The extension collar is a very generous 12″… which should allow me to carry extra food when needed… but still compress the pack down quite a bit… as I won’t always need the full 2600 ci.
The rear pocket is huge and stiched with gussets on the sides… near the bottom. The side pockets are also very roomy. More than big enough for 700mL soda bottles or 1L Platypus bottles. The side pockets also have gussets at the bottom. All of the pockets are bar tacked at all four corners.
The craftmanship is superb. Very neat, tight stiching, double stitching on every seam, and very robust bar tacking. The robust bar tacking combined with 1.9 silnylon backing for reinforcement points seems good to me. I’m not worried about those shoulder attachment points now that I see it in person.
The shoulder straps are two inches wide. I really like this width (about the same as the MLD packs). I find this width of strap settles in nicely on the inside of my collar bones. I find the straps on the Gossamer Gear packs to be too wide and creates hot points on my shoulders… on the collar bone points. The straps have a VERY soft cushy padding inside that’s about 1/4″ thick. One thing the straps lack is 3D mesh. They are just silnylon on both sides. I’m not sure if this really matters or not. Time will tell.
The way the pack closes and cinches down is pretty unique. The drawstring (a VERY fine spectra cord with a medium size toggle) exits the extension collar from the back and acts as both drawstring and “compression” strap. The way it works is… you tighten the drawstring and then pull the cord down and hook the toggle to a small loop at the bottom of the pack. This makes the extension collar kind of fold over on itself. Not sure how water tight this would be… but I always use a pack liner anyway. I may try using a double toggle on the cord… one to cinch the drawstring really tight… and the other to hook into the loop at the bottom of the pack.
Most of the pack is made from 1.1 Silnylon. The bottom, straps, side pockets and reinforcement are all made from 1.9 oz silnylon.
So what is the pack missing? Well… it has no lashing loops… just two small loops at the top of the back pocket for hooking things to. That means you can’t add a compression shock cord or strap a pad to the back. Personally… I never use compression cords anyway… and with a 2600 ci pack… there will be plenty of room for my pad inside the pack. One thing tho’… the main bag has just one seam… up the back. This is a plus I would say… fewer seams equals more strength and fewer places for water to get in. However… this design does not lend itself to adding lashing loops… which would normally be added in at a seam.
It also have no “ice axe” loop. Another feature which I have never used on any pack I’ve ever owned.
There is also no sternum strap. Again… something I never ever use. I like to keep my chest cavity open and unrestricted. I know others who always use a sternum strap tho’… even with light loads… so this may be an issue for some.
There is also no daisy chain or other loops on the shoulder straps to lash soda bottles to… like on the MLD packs… but with the side pockets… there is no longer a need to lash bottles to your straps. It’s going to be soooooo nice to go back to having a pack with water bottle pockets… on BOTH sides! That’s one thing I REALLY miss from my GG Mariposa days (my kit has gotten too small for the Mariposa).
Overall… I’ve VERY impressed. Find me another 1.1 Silnylon pack out there with 2600 ci for 3.8 oz. Imagine if it was made from Cuben! Yes… if offers none of the “bells and whistles” of some other packs… and some may question the reinforcement points… but in exhange for those bells and whistles (which I never use… or I use… but only because the pack lacks volume or pockets for my pad and water bottles)… you get more than enough volume and… best of all… 3 pockets! One huge back pocket… and two independent side pockets sized and placed specifically with water bottles in mind. Excellent :)
To top it all off… it’s also the least expensive pack in it’s class.
I’ll post some close up photos next… and I may actually get to try it out this weekend.
