GG Vapor Trail 1st impressions

Just want to put this on the ballot for the next election: Prop 2421; Designate two separate, and easily distinguishable acronyms for the companies officially known as "Gossamer Gear" and "Granite Gear".

GrG and GoG… Done!

yeah Javan, sorry about that and I certainly agree. It can be frustrating when I'm reading it and am unsure which the OP is talking about but somehow it's different when I'm typing it on the other end. lol

@Jeff As a Minnesotan, I’ve always seen Granite Gear as the One True GG. That said, I’m willing to make a show of good will and vote for the new GrG + GoG standard. :)

A few points in reply to the OP:

– I’ve never had problems with the pockets holding standard 1 Qt Gatorade or 1L Nalgene bottles. The stuff is very stretchy, and that’s how they’re supposed to be used. They are a pain to get stuff in and out of when you’re wearing the pack, but I’m personally still waiting for a pack with pockets I can access easily on trail. It always involves some contortion for me.

– Just FYI- they fixed the bottom compression straps for the 2009 model. There are two holes for routing the straps under. See this photo. Seems to work well. I’m still not quite sure why they didn’t do it this way in the first place, but the the basic design of the pockets has been that way for at least 5-10 years of GrG packs. It seems to be fixed now for all packs of that style, at least ones made past sometime in 2009.

It isn’t the lightest pack, but at least they put the weight into comfort rather than gimmicks and unneeded features.

hey Aaron,

When I got mine it had a tag on it that said "Backpacker Magazine Editor's choice award 2003" or something along that line on it, so mine might be an older model.

I just took another look and it indeed does have a hydration pocket on the inside of the body! With elastic compression cord too?!?!

Regarding the 1Qt bottles and the pack's water bottle pockets… can you easily access them and put them back while hiking? I had a hard time doing that with a 16oz water bottle, my arms are not very flexible to do it easily.

thx

I had an older version in the green and black and I find the newer version in the blue and black to be much more durable with better side pockets. There is still about 3-4oz or more you could trim from the pack but I do like it.

And even with the GG the Vapor Trail should have clued some people in a bit better.

@Evan:

I think they have that hang tag on the newest Vapor Trails- just part of making it look appealing to browsers. The Nimbus Meridian I bought brand new this year came with a Backpacker Magazine 2006 award tag, and I'm almost 100% I've seen 2009-10 route-under Vapor Trails in a shop with the 2003 BP Mag award tag. If you got your VT from The Clymb or anywhere else on closeout, it's likely from 2006-2008, from what I can tell.

Ah, ha! I didn't realize you were talking about the space between the backpanel and the pack bag! :)

I don't find them easy to access while I'm hiking- but like I said, I've never used a pack with pockets I've found easy to access while hiking. With a Vapor Trail or another one of GrG's packs or ULA Circuit I can access them… but it's a pain. One of the reasons I personally use a bladder- never found a bag with easily accessed side pockets.

Evan,

I use a GrG Virga … essentially the same pockets as the Vapor Trail.

NOBODY has ever accused me of being nimble or flexible but I can retrieve and replace recycled 1 liter soda bottles packed in those pockets (sometimes two in one pocket). It gets easier with practice. I don't use the bottom compression straps for compression (but I think I would if they were routed thru the packet).

Bottles with flat bottom are much harder to replace as are soft sided water containers such as platys

Thanks Jim, I think I'll try those out!

I use the stretchy side pockets for sharp things (poles, stakes, trowel, spoon, etc.). It is nice to be able to put pointy things outside, and not worry about them punching holes in other stuff. I use a platypus, which I put inside the sleeve. When I do carry water, it is one of the heaviest things I carry, so it is nice to have it next to my back (less torque). The pack is less than ideal for carrying a nalgene, or similar water bottle.

The big strength of the pack is the belt, in my opinion. It is really comfortable and supportive. Likewise, the frame is pretty good. As mentioned, most of the weight is with those things, so it is an efficient pack. Plus, most of the weight is in the areas that are easiest to carry; it is close to your center of gravity. This makes it a fine pack, in my opinion.

The biggest weakness is its load lifters, though. As mentioned in the pack review, they just aren't high enough.

Silly Kids, the Vapor Trail doesn't have a frame. You can fold the pack into thirds.

>> Silly Kids, the Vapor Trail doesn't have a frame. You can fold the pack into thirds.

It's flexible, but it is still an (internal) frame. This in contrast to, say, the Gossamer Gear G4, which doesn't have a frame (although you can use a closed cell pad for a frame).

Ross, a frame implies stiffness. I can get a ULA CDT to the same stiffness as the VT if I use a folded Gossamer Gear pad. For all intents and purposes, this is a frameless pack that uses a lot of thick foam and a plastic sheet that provides virtually no rigidity. This is why the torso length completely collapses at about 28lbs.

"virtually no rigidity" is not the same as "no rigidity". I can hold the pack from the bottom (by the belt) and the top sticks up. Again, I can't do that with a G4, unless I add something. You can say its frame is weak, or its frame is poor, or its frame will collapse at 28 pounds (which is quite a bit of weight, in my opinion) but you can't say it doesn't exist. Actually, you can say whatever you want, but it doesn't make it true — the pack has a frame, I've felt it.

No, you won't. Not without that piece of plastic backing it and the other pieces of the suspension that it is sewn into creating a somewhat 'frame'. I gave up on frameless packs like the CDT because using the pad doesn't give you enough support or weight transferral. And who is hauling around 28#s in this pack anyways? The CDT with your pad in it will collapse under the same packing parallel that you would use for the Vapor Trail. The pad does not give that much support.

If I can fold the empty pack into thirds, it does not HAVE A FRAME.

I was being generous in my comments. It's like calling a tarp a tent.

Brett – yes I will because my pad will be 3" thick. Even without the thin piece of plastic on the VT, which without the 1.5" of dense foam could be rolled up tight, like a burrito.

28lbs? Is that a lot to you? Strangely, even with base weights of uner 8lbs, some of us trek for a week and a half at a time. The extra weight comes from…..food.

I thought you just day hiked anyway.

Actually if you take a 3/4" pad and put it into thirds it is more like 2.25" but hey, it still doesn't have the support or weight transference that something like the VT has. You only get that stiffness right where the pad hits the pack. Trust me I have my VT right in front of me and a Rayway style pack that is very similar to your CDT and there is a huge difference in support.

And yes, it can somewhat be rolled up like a burrito but you would have to tie it off or put your foot down to keep it that way.

And if I am hiking with 20#s of food I would not be taking either pack period as they are really not made for it. I would go for a pack that weighs and extra pound or two that has a stiff frame and better weight distribution. You could hike with 30#s in either pack but it is not going to feel comfortable.

But then again I don't do these 10 day unsupported trips. I mostly just bum around and go from place to place only a few days apart without going up mountains. Taking 10 days of food with you just to go in an out of a remote area seems more like a spirit quest than being sustainable and foraging along the way with a little bit of food and stopping at towns.

Not trying to get into a fight but I think you are wrong trying to compare these packs. The VT would be more comparable to an Exos and the CDT to other frameless packs.

It's the balance that the VT frame strikes between flexibility and support that makes it so comfortable. In my experience, frameless rucksacks don't give the load the same level of support, even with a folded or rolled-up cc pad inside. And packs with rigid frames,like my MS Ghost, feel, well…rigid against my back. The VT is just rigid enough to provide support and flexible enough to move with my back, making it my favorite and, by far, most used pack since 2003.

Frameless, framed, whatever….
It's a good pack, nowadays used for winter or trips with my kids when I'm carrying bulkier gear. The only thing I feel it's lacking is a zippered pocket somewhere for small stuff. Otherwise, no complaints whatsoever. I think mine is ~5-6 years old and still holding up great.

Nope, not a bad pack. Just not truly framed.

So it is really not a load hauler and yet, not light enough to be considered UL. There are framed packs that are lighter and packs that weigh the same that carry better.

Any wonder why these packs get blown out on pricing?

1/2 way through 2011 they will be adopting the Excape suspension.

My dad has the older model and I was always under the assumption that it had some sort of frame. According to GrG's website,

"The Vapor Trail uses a high-density polyethylene frame that helps distribute the load evenly over your back and onto your hips."

I carry the slightly smaller Granite Gear Virga and I think he'll be transitioning to that as it'll save about 1lb. For hikes where you wont be needing to dry camp or long distance food requirements is just as comfortable in my opinion.

+1 Craig.

It's great for winter. The lack of a zippered pocket was my main complaint as well. I've since sold this pack. That being said, I have a women's vapor ki in the mail. This one has 2 zippered pockets above the stretch side pocket. I was able to confirm with GrG that their harnesses are the same for both genders…only the hipbelt is different. I plan on exchanging the stock belt with a men's belt when the pack arrives.

Sorry David, It's got a frame in my book, regardless of your ability to fold it. There's a reason why people call the plastic sheeting a HDPE framesheet. If it were just foam, or a foam holster, I would agree with you. In the most basic terms, a frame stiffens a pack so that it transfers weight. A plastic frame sheet, while mediocre at best, does in fact do that, if and when you compare it to the foam padding found in most frameless packs.

That's fine. I will stand as one on my little island with a big sign that says – "That Sucka doesn't have an internal frame."

Sorry if I got anyone's shorts in a knot.