an all around great pack, very comfortable after it is broken in, which takes a about 70 miles or so. the front zipperd obening is great when unbacking pack, water bottle pockets are well places and easy to take bottles in and out of. a little pricy but is worth the investment if you have the means. an all around great pack though

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Wonderful pack!
I bought this for a backpacking trip in the Appalachians after an extended hiatus from heavy hiking/backpacking. Well, the upshot was that my legs near died at about the 10 mile mark (and several thousand feet of up & down), but my back & shoulders were great. (Since I was going with a group of Boy Scouts I had heavily overpacked. This was a real surprise, I really expected to suffer more)

It took quite a while and several repackings the night before the first trip before I properly configured the pack & arranged the contents to my satisfaction. However, It is easy to repack ever since then... No more fiddling with adjustments.

Once packed & cinched the pack sticks like glue. Superb balance maintenance and I never suffered from lack of ventilation to my back (Mid-September, warm day)! Balance was so good that I hopped streams with the youngsters without fear.

Three gripes (fairly minor):
The pack is really heavy. empty 7+ Lbs.

The Packs internal construction requires that one completely unpacks and repacks every night (sleeping bag in bottom of the one large compartment)...

The buckles and belt in the top section are unecessary! One of these days I'm going to steel myself and cut them off to save weight (I hate to purposely damage the pack, but one day I will). I don't really understand the belt & buckles... The top section doesn't rate as a decent waist pack. If I plan to backpack places where I will do small day hikes (or hill climbs) I'll pack along a suitable pack for that purpose.

Customer Service

Never needed to contact Customer Service. Pack still looks new (1 year old and many Camping trips)

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Been a long time since I owned a backpack. I tried on many packs & read many reviews before I settled on Gregory and on their Wind River model. There were many packs that I disliked the way the top of the pack hits my head (and sometimes my hat)... The Gregory does neither and I comfortably wore a Stetson type hat with a wide brim while hiking.

This pack is great, I have had no problems with it. It has traveled many places, and the only problem I had was that a bolt at the bottom of the pack (holding one of the aluminum stays) came out and was stripped. Gregory sent me a replacement quickly, at no charge. It handles lots of weight well, I had 58 pounds in it at one point. The waist belt is extremely adjustable, it fits me well. The true test of a pack is to go to your store and try packs on to see which one fits you best. The only packs I would recommend, for most people, above Gregory are the Dana packs, but those are really expensive. This pack is not expensive because you can get it cheap mail-order. Enjoy your trips. peace and chill time for all, aaron

Customer Service

Gregory has helped me, see above

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a have hiked with several kelty external frame packs, and had a short period of hiking with a dana