Anyone try the Grivel Manu?

[foraker]

Nice pack idea for multipitch trad climbs but I'm wondering how the gear sling placements worked out for you.

[treknclime]

NOLSe loves his...he's got a couple. It seemed to work great for him gearsling wise. Planning to get one as well. Haven't heard any complaints...

 

NOLSe?

[hemp22]

I have one of these and I really like it - but I think it's best suited for following multipitch trad, or for carrying stuff on a long easy climb. I find that the shoulder strap gear slings on the Manu don't work really well for keep things well-organized and easily accessible. Whatever gear you have racked on the upper sling ends up just sitting on top of the stuff on the lower sling on each side, so some of the stuff is harder to get to. so when leading near our limit, I like to have the leader use a normal over-the-shoulder gear sling, and have the follower wearing the Manu with the shoes, food, etc in it. The location of the gear slings on the shoulder straps is definitely nice and convenient for cleaning, and it's just the right size to carry some water, food, and approach shoes.

[John Frieh]

I'm wondering how the gear sling placements worked out for you.

 

On the newer models (you will find some of the older designed ones floating around out there which lack the adjustability feature) the sizing is adjustable so one can custom fit the gear sling to you. Is that what you are asking?

 

Plan on a health dose of seam grip for the oversized grivel logo on the back (hit the daisy chain points too) if you plan to take the thing out in the rain.

 

Sweet pack for 50 bucks! Plenty of space to rack all the neutrino biners you find on only the hardest routes in the NW

[foraker]

Well, I was looking at one yesterday and it just seemed to me that while it's an interesting idea, having gear on the thing might be a bit unwieldy in terms of access. For example, the top two gear slings on the shoulder harness are almost directly above one another so my take is that if you had gear on one, it would be sitting on top of gear from the sling below it. That doesn't sound good. Also, those two slings are kind of vertically oriented so I would expect all your gear to just clump up down at one end of the sling. I've been thinking about how you would organize your gear on the thing for the least amount of trouble (accessing, swapping leads). I have one of those nice Metolius gear slings but I still find it annoying at times.

[John Frieh]

The two top mini slings on the gear sling are for stashing items you know you will need quickly... i.e. the # 3 camalot on the second pitch of the gendarme on stuie... stuff like that. I don't normally carry anything there expect maybe my camera case.

 

I rack everything on the two slings running under my arm pits... how you rack is your business... everyone has a different opinion on where stuff goes. As far as avoiding the dreaded "all the shit is on the back part and out of reach" either adjust the sling (the metal buckle) so that the front of the gear sling is lower than the back... this tends to keep everything up front except on over hangs. In situations like that a biner duct taped in place will keep everything in front.

 

Also I would venture a guess you won't be leading at your extreme red point limit with a pack on so chances are you won't need to find that piece of gear right away so a little gear migration every once and awhile won't hurt.

 

And as far as swapping leads the pack seperates from the harness so you can take it off and wear just the gear sling when leading and give the pack to your partner. Grivel also sells just the gear sling so you could rotate packs.

 

Does this help?

[foraker]

Yeah, it does, thanks.

[Dr_Crash]

Looks like a sweet pack. I have a similar pack from BCA but with gear slings just on the left side and not detachable. It was (it is discontinued I believe) a great little pack with an integrated insulated 100 oz hydrtion pouch.

 

Does the Grivel pack have decent support for an hydration bladder? I mean a pouch inside w/ something (velcro?) to hold the top, that can hold it pretty well?

 

drC

[tomtom]

Yup.

[slothrop]

I've got one and mostly have used it as a day pack for hiking, biking, and going to the gym, all without the gear sling. You can clip the top and bottom straps together to make straps that are comfortable enough for the weight you can carry in it.