Granite Gear Ultralight Packs

Well designed lightweight packs

Reviewed by Louis and Louie Dawson 

Granite Gear Vapor Trail is light weight and has plenty of room, an excellent compression system takes it down small for climbing Colorado Fourteeners.

A seemingly endless issue here at the Dawson compound is backpacks. We're always trying to balance comfort, weight, durability and price. More, we need everything from day-to-day school book packs to luggage for 10-day adventure packing.

Granite Gear, a savvy company that specializes in state-of-art packs, has answered our prayers with their Ultralight Packer line.

We're currently using all three models of Granite Gear Ultralight Packers. Here is the beta.

Granite Gear Virga backpack. Click image to enlarge. Shop for this pack

Consisting of little more than thin fabric and a few straps, the 3,300 cubic inch Virga model has all the mass of a string bikini, but carries small (under 20 pound) loads with superb comfort. Careful packing is the trick with frameless packs like the Vapor Trail. For lightweight overnights, we stiffen it with a rolled up sleeping pad. Getting it riding nicely for day trips was harder. For summer, we cut down a budget sleeping pad and used it for an internal frame (remove for a handy picnic seat). In winter, we stiffened this 21 ounce wonder by carefully packing vertical items such as shovel handles and elongated stuff sacks crammed with our extra clothing layers. Even so, we found the Vapor was a bit marginal once loaded with a heavy ski setup -- but it worked well with lightweight randonne gear such as our Dynafit rigs. As with the other packs in this lineup, the Vapor has stretch side pouches that may be handy, but can easily be razor-bladed if you find them superfluous.

Granite Gear Vapor Trail backpack. Click image to enlarge. Shop for this pack

Vapor Trail is the most versatile of the line. Designed for loads up to thirty pounds, and stiffened with a plastic backboard that carries skis well, this 32 ounce pack will easily support a lightweight overnight ski bivvy or hut trip -- and works well as a larger day pack for folks who like a reasonable selection of gear without the sacrifices required for ultra light sacks such as the Virga.

Vapor Trail has sewed-in shoulder straps, but the belt can be removed and swapped between several different flavors. At 3,600 cubes this is a roomy sack (almost too roomy), but the compression system easily takes it down to size. If you could only own one pack, this could be the choice.

Granite Gear Nimbus Ozone backpack. Click image to enlarge. Shop for this pack

For our backpacking trips and multi-day ski traverses we like the Nimbus Ozone. While the roll top and lightweight fabric require more thoughful use than ironclad bags with multitudinous zippers, the Nimbus suspension system is a full-on comfortable no compromise combination of an excellent composite backboard and padded fabric. The lack of zippers is worth the results: at 3,800 cubic inches, the 48 ounce Nimbus is almost half the weight of common backpacking sacks with comparable volume and suspension. With such weight savings, the Nimbus allows you to carry an extra day of food or a nicer backcountry fishing rig with no weight penalty. Combine this pack with a sil-nylon tarp for shelter (yep, Granite gear makes those too), and a lightweight sleeping system, and you'll backpack with a luxury/weight ratio you never thought possible!

All the Granite Gear Ultralight Packers have a roll top, meaning the pack opens with a fabric tube you close by rolling and buckling. This eliminates the zippers, straps and junk that conventional top-flaps add to a pack, but it does reduce storage options and may take some getting used to. When I first saw roll top packs, I laughed a luddite chuckle and ignored them, but using a few roll-tops over the past several years has made me a believer. They open and close fast, are totally water and snow proof, and can be made to expand big and tall for emergency loads such as that box wine you get stuck with schlepping to the hut.

At the summit of Wind River Peak, Wyoming. Lightweight gear got us here, and with Granite Gear packs, we'll visit again!

These Granite Gear packs are available in different torso lengths, allowing a tuned fit without the weight of ever more straps and buckles for body size adjustment (Ozone also has a moderate amount of vertical size adjustment). All have a compression system that's essential, since these packs have quite a bit of room and can be too "floppy" unless packed carefully and compressed. The compression system also doubles as a ski carrier via the side straps. Beware that these packs are not marketed as "ski packs," and carrying skis on a pack with fabric this light may result in unacceptable wear -- prevent such by careful loading and judicious use of duct tape -- or sew a few protective patches where necessary.

In all, three worthy packs that any serious backcountry traveler should check out!