转自：http://www.verber.com/mark/ 作者： Mark Verber

Name: Mark Verber Age: 42 Gender: Male Height/Weight/Tors 5'10" (1.8 m) / 180 lb (82 kg) / 19.5" (50 cm) Email: Region: San Francisco Bay Area, CA Date: Sep 1, 2004

Item Review Item: Granite Gear Vapor Trail (2002 edition) Size: Medium Volume Listed: 3600 cu with extension collar Listed weight: 32oz Weight as delivered: 34oz MSRP: US$145

Description The Vapor Trail is a simple, slender pack. There is one large section to the bag which is top loading without any addition access points. There is no lid. Accord to folks at BGT, the volume of the Vapor Trail is 2571 cu/in (42 l) for the main body and another 1307 cu/in (21 l) for the oversize extension collar. The extension collar pulls shut with typical string pull rather than a more typical drybag style opening found on lidless packs. When fully filled the extension collar results in the pack towering over my head and is rather awkward. The straps which secure the extension collar are well designed. This pack has a well designed hip belt and shoulder straps. The padding is outstanding, especially when you consider how light this pack is. Suspension system is a semi-ridged plastic sheet with soft foam covered with a wicking material facing the back. The space between the pack and the suspension system can be used for hydration system or a sitting pad. There are two side pockets made from a stretching material which are not well designed. In the second half of 2004 a hydration sleeve was added to the inside of the Vapor Trail's pack body.

Conditions Hiking around the California Coastal Ranges, and Sierras. Weather from 20s-80s. Carry weight from 17lb-34lb. Elevation sea level to 14k ft.

Performance From a weight / carry comfort perspective, this is the best pack I have ever used for <25 lbs loads, and the second most comfortable pack I have ever used for 25-35lbs (after the Osprey Aether 60). This is pretty amazing when you realize that this pack weights just over 2 lbs. I can't image going back to my sub-1lb ultra-light pack after using the Vapor Trail for a season. It almost seems like this pack was custom designed for me! Padding is just the right amount. The "S" shape shoulder straps are very comfortable in a variety of positions. I actually find 20 lbs comfortable without using the hip strap! The hip strap is great. It is thick and stiff enough that I don't have to crank it down for it to sits on-top of my hips. Most hip belts require me to tight the belt so much that it hurts after several hours, or that it feels so loose that it feels unstable. The pack hugs my body and is very stable even when I am jumping between rocks. I have repeatedly forgotten that I had this pack on when carrying light loads (<22 lbs). I have found the material over the framesheet and the inside of the straps to be reasonably effective at wicking. My back doesn't feel as sweat soaked as when I have used backpacks made from sil-nylon.

So what's there not to like about this pack? It is not the most convenient pack I have used. Lets start with the Vapor Trail enormous extension collar. When the collar is fully extended the pack become unwieldy (the collar extended several inches above the head) and is only stability by the tightness of your packing and two strap which cross-cross over the top. I can't imagine using the pack with the extension collar fully extended... I would switch to a higher volume pack. As a result I believe a significant portion of the Vapor Trail's extension collar is useless fabric. Not only is this a waste of material and extra weight, but it also hinders access to the main pack bag. I repeatedly find myself fighting to the collar when I try to insert and remove items, especially larger items like my Bearicade Weekender bear canister. It is possible to jam the weekender in horizontally at the bottom of the pack, but I prefer to carry a canister vertically. I would suggest that while the Vapor Trail is able to hold more than 3600cu/in... that the pack is actually useful for loads between 2200-3100cu/in. The compression system of the main body is adequate for smaller loads.

Second, there are the side pockets. The pockets are made of a very stretchy material which fits snuggly against the pack wif the main body of the pack is full. It is possible to place a 1qt water bottle in the pocket, but it takes significant work. I have found it difficult to retrieve items from the side pockets while wearing the Vapor Trail, and almost impossible to return items without taking the pack off. I am not talking large items. I typically have a 1qt ziplock bag which holds a zone bar, some dried fruit and less than 1oz of jerky. More than half the time when I try to pull the ziplock bag from the side pocket I end up putting a hole in the bag because it won't slide out of the pocket. Furthermore, the pocket's opening it strait up, rather than angled which would simplify retrieval of items while wearing this pack. Finally, the bottom compression strap runs over the pockets.

The Vapor Trail has a funny space between the frame sheet and the pack body. I typically use this space for a hydration system. I have found that 1-3L platypus fit nicely in this space. The hydration tube comes out through the open space at the top of the pack and can be clicked to the shoulder strap. Two things I would note. First, the water in this space isn't as well insulated as it would be inside the pack itself. During the summer I find that the water tends to be hotter when I carry it in this space when compared to inside the pack bag. The second issue is that if you really stuff the pack bag tight, a hydration system makes the back pad jut out in an awkward fashion, though this doesn't seem to effect carry comfort.

Durability I tend to baby my gear. For the first year the Vapor Trail had no sign of wear. Then I leaned the back of the pack against a granite boulder. When I picked up the pack the rip-stop black material was scraped between my hard bear canister and the granite boulder. The result was a serious tear. The tear was easily repaired with some black rip-stop tape (duct tape would have worked fine). If you lean this pack against something, always set the pack with the padding / straps facing whatever you are leaning it against. The black material isn't up to rubbing against granite. On the other hand, it handles encounters with softer stone and tree branches with atone.

Summary For me, carry comfort trumps all other factors. For light weight, moderate volume loads I haven't found a pack which beats the Vapor Trail. As a result, the Vapor Trail is the pack I use 90% of the time. This is saying something. In the last four years I have used fifteen different packs looking for the one pack which really suited me. The only times I am not using the Vapor Trail is when I need to take extra volume (>3100cu/in... like carrying gear for my daughter or in the winter). This pack would be perfect with a slightly smaller extension collar, more usable side pockets, and a better material was used on the pack body such as Dyneema or Spectra... but these are really small improvements when put in the perspective of a 2lb pack which carries like a dream. Don't just take my word for it. The Vapor Trail has won awards from Backpacker Magazine and seems to have the most commonly used (and praised) pack among people who completed the PCT and AT in the last couple of years. Everyone I know who has tried a Vapor Trail has become a convert. If you are looking for a pack which is between 2200-3200ci to carry 30lbs or less, you must try the Vapor Trail. REI carries them, so order one are try it out. If it isn't as good as I say, return it to REI and send me a nasty note.

Backpacking Background I did a lot of backpacking from 1972 until the mid '80s. During this time I hiked sections of the AT (approximately 1/3 completed), spent a significant amount of time backpacking in the Rockies (Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, Tetons, Glacier National Parks), and frequented Red River Gorge and various destinations in Canada. In the '90s my outdoor activities slowed down to make room for other aspects of life. Nearly all my backpacking was heavy-weight style. In 2001 I started seriously backpacking again... mostly in the Sierras. Over the next three years I switch from a heavyweight to ultralight to lightweight style. My three season base weight is now 8-13 lb (3.5-5 kg). Full carry weight including food and water is typically 15-30 lb (7-13 kg) depending on the length of the trip. Winter trips are more like 18 lb (8 kg) base weight.