Top-Selling Gregory Hiking Backpacks

From 1977, Gregory Mountain Products has been designing packs with fit in mind. Known from the start for innovation in backpack design, Gregory has made a habit of talking with their customers to find out what works and what doesn't. They were the first to produce backpacks in different sizes, and they developed a hipbelt that adjusts to better fit different hips. When you buy a Gregory backpack, you can be confident that you are buying comfort and quality.

This backpack won a Backpacker Magazine Editors' Choice award in 2008, and is Gregory's top-selling women's pack. With 3,600 cubic inches of gear-toting capacity, the Deva 60 women's backpack holds everything you need. And you can carry that load in comfort, thanks to Gregory's attention to design.

The trademarked Response Active Fit Suspension system has a pivoting hipbelt that automatically adjusts to the angle of your hips, plus the foam-cushioned hipbelt and harness are curved to fit a woman's body so the load rides comfortably without pinching or chafing. The Deva 60 backpack's ventilated back panel is narrow to fit a woman's smaller body, and the pack is sized to fit torsos 16 - 17.5 inches.

Six pockets on the Gregory Deva 60 give you plenty of options for organizing your smaller gear, and zip-through access points in the front panel and near the bottom let you grab gear from the main compartment quickly and easily. The reservoir sleeve will handle a 3-liter bladder, and an exit port provides a path for the drinking tube. Need to carry just a few things for a side trip? The top lid detaches so you can carry the essentials as a fanny pack.

No need to handle the Deva 60 gently. It's built tough with durable fabrics and secure stitching. Especially nice is the heavy duty elastomer covering the bottom; it protects from scuffs and keeps the bottom of the pack dry.

Here's an award-winning backpack for men. The Gregory Z55 backpack was awarded "Best of Adventure" by National Geographic Magazine, and it's easy to see why. It's a versatile pack, and its 3,400 cubic-inch capacity will comfortably carry 40 pounds of gear. But the pack itself, weighing in at just over three pounds, won't add to the burden.

One hollow aluminum stay and a perforated HDPE framesheet contribute to the lightness of the Z55 backpack while providing support and body. It's not a lightweight when it comes to durability, though. The 210-denier ripstop nylon pack body is abrasion and tear resistant, and the construction is Gregory tough.

The Gregory Z55 backpacking backpack fits torsos 18-20 inches, with an adjustable hipbelt and Gregory's trademarked Jet Stream LTS suspension. This suspension design transfers weight where you can carry it best and allows excellent ventilation and moisture-wicking action to keep you cool and comfortable.

This hiking pack is top-loading with side access; and look at all the options for gear organization: a removable top lid pocket, an expandable front bucket pocket, a zippered pocket on top of the bucket pocket, two side pockets, mesh hipbelt pockets (I really like that), a huge hydration pocket (big enough for a four-liter reservoir), and dual ice axe attachment points for lashing on more gear. There's a place for everything with the Gregory Z55 backpack!

All the important features for comfort and organization come together in a lightweight package with the Gregory Jade 50 women's backpack. To stay just under three pounds with a capacity of 2,700 cubic inches, this pack has thinner padding and is more pliable than others, but it will handle up to 30 pounds with ease.

As a woman's backpack, the Jade 50 is sized and shaped especially for the contours of a woman's body. The back panel and suspension are narrower to fit, and the Auto-Fit shoulder straps match shoulder slope and angle. All are covered with breathable mesh for ventilation. This backpack fits torsos 16 -18 inches, but it's not adjustable. Also, the shoulder straps and hipbelt are sewn in, so be very sure the pack fits you well before buying.

The Jade 50 backpack is a hydration-compatible top-loader with side access for easy on-trail access to your gear. An expandable front bucket pocket accepts bulky gear, while mesh hipbelt pockets handle the small stuff. And if you over-fill the main compartment, the removable lid pocket floats up to still cover the top.

This is a big backpack at 4,900 cubic inches and a weight of six pounds. The Gregory Palisade 80 backpack has a suspension that adjusts to fit torsos 18-20 inches and pivots to your individual hip angle. Dual-density foam on the hipbelt and shoulder harness cushions the pressure, and the back panel is ventilated for cooling airflow. Two aluminum stays and an HDPE framesheet provide support for the load.

The Palisade 80 backpack fits comfortably, is easily adjusted, and has lots of well-placed pockets. The main compartment is top-loading with front and bottom access. There's a sleeping bag compartment and a hydration sleeve, along with dual hydration ports so you can choose which side to have your drinking tube on. A front pocket and two hipbelt pockets handle your smaller gear, and the top pocket is removable to use as a fanny pack.

Even though the Gregory Palisade 80 backpack makes the top-seller list, some hikers have had problems with the plastic on the hipbelt breaking, which allows the weight of the pack to fall on the shoulders. Gregory is addressing this issue so newer models should not have the problem.

More top-selling backpacks for hiking from Gregory and other makers