Go Lite Packs

[Collin]

Yea or nay?

GoLir Trek Pack

[thelawgoddess]

direct link

 

for what intended purpose are you curious?

[Blakej]

I agree what purpose. I have a gust that I love. With focus on keeping things as lite as you can I have managed to pack pretty much all the gear I need for basic mountaineering type trips. When you add in rope and pro I imaging you would start to regret not having suspension after a couple days but as for gear storage golite tends to be so basic that you can costomize easily without sacficing too much weight and you dont have to worry about straps, daisy chains and so on that provide weight you'll never need.

[Collin]

My curiousity is how good are they overall; "material, liteness, stability, packability, cost, ect". I guess I'm thinking of a 3-4 day apline climb. Any specific model you can suggest for that reason?

[rock-ice]

don't buy any of them at retail, you could get them for much less. just look around. use froogle.com to help.

 

great packs by the way...

[fenderfour]

I have a gust that I modified. I added compression straps on the sides, a wider hipblet (still just fabric) and a lightweight framesheet. It has carried 50+ pounds comfortably for a weekend.

 

The fabric is pretty damn tough. I did a little hauling with the pack and I didn't see any abrasion damage.

[cracked]

The packs that use the spectra reinforced ripstop are as tough as many mainstream packs like the Arc'teryx Khamsin series. Same fabric. I wouldn't worry about durability.

 

If you won't be carrying huge loads and are willing to take a bit less comfort for less weight, go for it.

[Dru]

i heard stories of go lite packs falling apart after less than one big route climbed

 

disclaimer: stories came from rival gear manufacturers

[Marko]

My curiousity is how good are they overall; "material, liteness, stability, packability, cost, ect". I guess I'm thinking of a 3-4 day apline climb. Any specific model you can suggest for that reason?

 

I've beaten the hell out of my 3 year old Gust, hauling even, and it is still in pretty good shape. Definitely a light, quality pack. And comparatively cheap.

[seatosky]

I have the Gust and it carries all of the basic mountaineering gear at less than 2lbs. pack weight. Carries comfortably for 2-3 days. I wouldn't put more than the recommended 30lbs. in it without modifying it like some of the others on this post. The pack material is dyneema and I haven't experienced any abrasion/wear issues. If carrying more than 30lbs. I would beef up the shoulder straps with some more foam, the hipbelt doesn't transfer weight terribly well to your hips.

I would imagine the smaller go-lite packs would be good summit packs for those that don't need all the straps, pockets and other bells and whistles.

[Alpinfox]

 

I also have the Gust and I like it. A lot of the newer GoLite packs have a lot more "features" but are also getting up over the 2lb mark. I like the lighter weight packs.

 

I've used the gust for everything from a two week-long PCT trip to two/three day mountaineering/alpine trips. I think it's a damn fine pack and I bought it from Jim at PMS.

 

It's not as comfortable as the Dana Designs Astralplane I had before, but it is about 1/5th the weight! So I don't mind. The stock foam "framesheet" is a piece of flimsy crap and is best replaced with a piece of thicker foam cut from a ridgerest or similar pad.

 

Weight

Function

Comfort

Durability

[Blakej]

Took my gust out and tested it at about its top end of probobly about 40 lbs or less. Its great in all aspect except you should definately add sternum strap and a little padding to the belt. It would be nice to have those shoulder lifter things but I dont thing it would work without a frame. However with the two mods above and some light compressing straps (3mm accessory cord) a three day basic alpine load should be very concievable and using a basic thermarest allows for it to make a nice summit pack.