Womens backpack advice

imported
#1

help again. My wife needs a new pack. She has used an external frame back for several years.(she likes the pockets… but… she now has 2 bulging discs in her neck and her old back puts to much pressure on it. We like to go out 4 to 7 days at a time and need a good enternal frame pack that will work for her. She has been measured and is a small 17". We have looked at Gregory Triconi and Granite Gear Nimbus and a Womens kelty coyote. We need to keep the price down but also need to keep her hiking. So for all the gear heads and or people that work for outfitters. We need advise…

huff & Puff

#2

I would suggest making sure that you don’t just look at packs designed for women. In my experience, these aren’t always worth it. In some packs, the weight of the men’s pack is actually lighter than that of the women’s pack by several ounces, despite plenty of padding in the waste belt. Make sure you test both so that your wife can find a pack she loves.

Usual places that women seem to have fit issues include comfort of the waste belt and also the way the straps hit the shoulders/fit around the bust. My personal vote is for the Granite Gear Vapor Trail. I used it for my whole JMT hike, and it was super comfy. I’m 5’7" and short torsoed, and use a regular/medium length. I tried the small, and it was too short but might fit a woman smaller than me.

Sharon

#3

I sectioned several hundred AT miles this year with the GG Vapor Ki, the women’s version of the VT. Loved it. It has two nice top pockets the men’s version doesn’t have, and fit me a little better than the VT I tried out. I also have had great luck with Osprey, when I was carrying more weight. The suspensions are very similar.

Mary Ann

#4

I’m a fan of Granite gear for the gal hikers… Good suspension, simple, lightweight…easy on the back. I thruhiked the AT and the LT with the Ozone (plus gal specific hip belt etc)… I believe the Latitude KI has a comfy capacity if your coming from the external pack background… the gg vapor ki rocks… unless you put more then 30 ibs in it…
I have tested many gals packs… k.i.s.s. gg rates best weight/comfort ratio.

the Touk

#5

Hey all, I have been seriously eyeing the GG packs since I first met Dimples on the trail in 03 and saw hers. I just checked out the Vapor Ki Monday while in the 'Daks @ the outfitter there.

I currently carry an Osprey Luna 60, so this would be somewhat smaller capacity for me, I just couldn’t make the leap, but I keep hearing the praises sung for for GG packs, esp for women, so someone convince me I can do this! Right now my typical pack weight is in the mid-30s (which includes my 5 lb Osprey).

Is the Latitude Ki different than the Vapor Ki, Touk? btw, enjoyed your adventures with Cuppa this summer. You may see me on the CT next summer too, who knows? It’s been on the list far too long.

Bluebearee

#6

Hey Bluebearee. One difference is weight. The Vapor Ki weighs in at 2 lb 2 oz. The Lattitude Ki is 3 lbs 14 oz.

I used a Nimbus Ozone with women’s hipbelt on my PCT hike and it was great. My only problem resulted from the fact that the outfitter I bought it from convinced me to buy the wrong size. (I should have listened to the alarm bells ringing when Jeff and I weren’t put in the same size packs, as we have the same torso lengths.) Other than that issue, the pack was very comfortable, the women’s hip belt fit well on my hips, and I love its simplicity of design.

I’ve been checking out the rest of the Granite Gear line since my last hike. I looked at the Nimbus Lattitude Ki when it first came out, and my only thought was “How can they have made such a simple pack into such a complicated heavy beast?” The Nimbus Ozone, Vapor Trail, and Vapor Ki are simple top-loaders with only a couple pockets on the sides. The Nimbus Lattitude Ki, though, had all kinds of zippers, was front-loading, had an added “hidden” lid, and other stuff that just seemd like clunky extraneous weight. I just wasn’t impressed.

The Vapor Ki is just a women’s version of the good old Vapor Trail, my husband’s beloved pack, although they somehow added 2 oz to the women’s version in the conversion. The Nimbus Ozone is basically VT, but with a sturdier suspension, interchangeable components, and more back padding. The Ozone weighs in at 3 lbs.

Personally, I’d check into the Vapor Trail (since many women use it and like it), The Vapor Ki, or the Nimbus Ozone with women’s components.

Chipper

#7

Thanks Chipper (followed your journal on the PCT whatever year that was).

I have been shying away from the VT because I am a small woman with a back length of 14-15", though I don’t know this for sure, I assume any pack made for a man, will be not small enough for me, that’s why I was excited to see information about the Vapor Ki, which for some reason I have never heard of til recently. Thanks for explaining the diff betweeen that and the Latitude, I bet the dude @ EMS was thinking of the Latitude Ki, as he mentioned something about a zipper running down the middle to access the inside of the pack and the Vapor Ki I checked out certainly didn’t have that!

I think I need a different shelter if I am to fit my gear into this slightly smaller pack. I love my Zoid 1.0, but it’s time to trim some weight and pack size there too I know…

Bluebearee

#8

Thanks for reading our journal. It’s always nice to know. We did finish, by the way, but we never got around to writing journal entries for September '05 when we headed back to CA.

Anyway, just so you know, the Vapor Trail also comes in size small/short. Did you try it yet? I saw women using this pack on the PCT, and they thought highly of it, even if it was a men’s pack design. I don’t know how important women’s components are to you, since fitting all depends on the good 'ol curve factor. If you’re curvier, the the women’s version might be better, and if you are less so, then the men’s version might work. If you’re luckier than I am, you might have an outfiter around that has both in stock in your size, so you can compare the two. EMS has a pretty poor selection here in Syracuse, and no GG packs at all.

As for trimming the gear size, try using a compression sack for your sleeping bag. (Granite Gear Air Compressors are nice) I know some folks consider compressing a down bag heresy, but it works well, and doesn’t seem to adversly effect the bag, as long as you are setting it free daily. I don’t think I could have managed with such a small pack without compressing my bag down to cantaloupe size.

Chipper

#9

Good to know you finished the PCT - I always feel the heartache when trips are interrupted or shortened.

My sleeping bag isn’t the problem, I bought a Sub Kilo this spring which came with a sil nylon compression sack, and I do use that, which freed up some space.

The tent is the issue, having just shared and carried half of the Quarter Dome on my Northville Placid hike earlier this month I would love to have a solo shelter of that size in my pack, big difference in space.

I think my local EMS does have a Vapor Trail, but the minute I hear “mens” pack I usually discount it for the above reasons-I’m just usually too small. I’ll have to go back and see what size they had in stock to at least try it. If you mean curvier in the bust, not an issue. :lol

Bluebearee

#10

HA! I don’t have that particular curve problem, either! :oh

No, I meant curvier in the hips - that’s where men’s packs fail me miserably! If a pack doesn’t have women’s components available, then it will never work for me.

Jeff carries our Stephenson’s 3 person tent without any trouble in our GG packs. He carries the tent body inside his pack and the poles go into a Thermarest bag and then under the side compression straps. I’m not familiar with your tent, though. Do you separate the tent poles from your tent? It can help you utilize space more efficiently sometimes.

When we first bought our packs, we were surprised at how much they can fit. We went from super monster Dana Terraplanes (sans lids, and not filled with lots of heavy crap) to these packs with no problem at all, and the only gear change we made was to buy a somewhat lighter sleeping bag, and compress the heck out of it. We took all our gear (mid PCT hike) to an outfitter, and managed to get it all in just fine, with a little practice and flexibility. It was fun! You might be able to do the same.

Did you finish your Northville-Placid Trail journal? I was just reading it a few days ago, and the last entry was the day all hell broke loose - mud, broken poles, etc.!! I hope it improved for you. New York hasn’t been having the best weather this fall.

chipper

#11

I do carry my poles separate from the tent, on the outside. Interesting, as my friend who I hiked the NPT with has a Terraplane that he has gotten disgusted with and is selling, never fit him. But he looked at this little Vapor Ki and just said “can you get all your gear in there?” Don’t know til I try. I gotta stop talking about this and go do it!

I am up to Day 8 or 9 I think. Past the meltdown day, not a good time. Lots of tears. My poles did the same thing this weekend on a dayhike, I have to take them back to LLB and have them show me how to prevent that or fix in the field!

Bluebearee

#12

Too bad about the trail experience. Jeff and I had been thinking of hiking the NPT at some point, since it’s relatively close by. Was it the trail itself that was crummy, or was it the weather and equipment? I’ve heard about the mud being an issie.

Our terraplanes always fit great and they are awesome when we were carrying 7 liters of water in southern CA. I shrank out of mine on the PCT, but mostly they were just too darn big. We got sick of everyone looking at us like we were clueless newbies. Folks assumed that because our packs looked big, that they were filled with 60 lbs of useless, poorly-chosen gear, when we actually tended to carry in the 30-35 lb, range, including food and water. Carrying 39 lbs. out of Kennedy Meadows almost killed me! Anyway, all the attention and comments just got OLD! “How can you pass us with all the weight you’re carrying?” etc., etc… From day hikers, no less! By the time we got out of the Sierra, we were just sick of it.

On the PCT, you either have to have a small pack (even if it’s loaded with bricks you’ll be OK), or you’ve gotta have thick skin. Having neither, we caved in to peer pressure just to be more anonymous. Such WIMPS. :tongue

Chipper

#13

I realize I wasn’t clear - I just had the one bad day on the trail, what I meant was I had posted days “past it” at this point. The tears the poles that was all in one day, and everything looked up after that. My original sentence read incorrectly.

I loved the trail, despite the mud and conditions! So yes, I would recommend it. It’s not about the views though, across ponds yes, but not of mountains. It’s mostly a woods walk.

I can definitely see how that would happen with your packs, unfair though.

Bluebearee