[pct-l] FW: Golite Raingear

[michaelgosnell@hotmail.com (Michael Gosnell)]

Hello, my name is Mike and this is my first post.  I'm section hiking the 
trail.  I have most of So Cal finished.  I like this bulletin board and I've 
learned a lot already, after only a couple weeks of reading emails.

Just another opinion on the Breeze Golite pack:

   I just finished about a week of section hiking in Southern Calif-the San 
Felipe Hills included- and here are just a few comments:

   I had a few stitches break at the top of the shoulder straps like others 
have said, although it didn't hinder its performance.
   I didn't mind the shoulder straps at all.  I was wondering how my 
shoulders would do since I've always used a waist belt before.  On the morn 
after my first day-around 18 miles-they were a bit sore, but the soreness 
faded that day and nver bothered me again.  After this exp., I don't see(or 
feel) the need for a waist belt.  I do find my self supporting the weight of 
the pack on my arms every now and then to give my shoulders a brief rest and 
that worked really well.  I would just put my hands together under the packs 
weight behind my back.
    Those are the things that stuck out while I was walking.  I didn't walk 
in rain, but I'll be watching out for what was said below. Overall, I 
thought the pack did very well and I doubt I'll go back to a 5, 6, 7(etc) lb 
pack again.  I would say that it is ideally suited for when the weight is 
less than 30-35 lbs.  I had to carry a lot water walking thru the San Felipe 
Hills, and it felt like it was pulling off or away from my back a bit, but 
it didn't bother me much.  It's so great that someone out there is trying to 
making an effort at super lightweight gear. I wish more were.


>
>Here is a great report on Golite that was sent to me off list
>Marge (the old gal)
>
>--
>Golite - I have their backpack, waterproof jacket,  pants, umbrella and
>numerous silnylon ditty bags, I'd make my own, but I'm sewing machine
>challenged !.
>I used all except the umbrella on last years section hike of Washington
>State and with the addition of the umbrella, I hope I'm set for this years
>section hike of Southern California - to Tuolomne Meadows beginning next
>Friday.
>At the time of buying the Golite rainjacket, I had not heard of, or seen
>'Frog Toggs', which I would now give serious consideration - I was
>introduced to them by Tim Umstead, one of the list members last year on' 
>the
>trail' and was impressed, especially by their longevity / lightness / cost.
>  Regarding the 'Newt' rain jacket - these are comments I sent to Golite's
>Coup Coupounas about this jacket and the backpack after last years 'hike'.
>If you feel it would be of interest to other members, feel free to post it
>to the PCT-l. I must say that these comments were intended as critical
>feedback to the manufacturer, in the hope of  improving  an already
>excellent product - they wouldn't get space in my backpack otherwise.
>
>Best wishes
>Ian D Pomfret
>
>
>The Breeze Pack
>
>	"It looks like 6 - 7 days food / fuel / 2 qts water (25lbs) is the maximum
>comfortable weight  for the Golite pack - what a great piece of gear , hard
>to imagine life on the trail without it ".
>						a comment from my journal, after 160 miles
>
>	On the first day on the trail - admittedly with 10 days supply for the
>first section to White pass I had some stitches pull on one of the shoulder
>straps where they first pass into the pack , distressing on a brand new 
>item
>of ultralite equipment. This was to happen on the other shoulder strap
>within a few days, easy to fix and no recurrence after using a stronger
>thread. Of the 4 other hikers I met with the Golite pack, all reported this
>same problem. Whilst referring to stitching I noticed that the stitching on
>the main strap going across the top of the pack and the 'haul loop' is
>beginning to break.
>	The shoulder straps - ugh, does Jardine have steel shoulders ?, These are
>almost 'retro', I have not used such painful straps in the last 30 years -
>when straps were 2" canvas webbing with a layer of felt !. Again this was 
>to
>be a recurring comment from the other users I met and would be particularly
>so for female users with lighter musculature. I cut small 4" sq. pads off 
>my
>closed cell foam pad to cushion my shoulders when I had more than 4 days
>supplies.
>	The narrow 3/4" webbing would not grip the adjustment buckle properly and
>would slip, this was made worst by their being insufficient tale on the 
>sewn
>end stop, which would settle inside the buckle requiring pack removal etc 
>to
>fish the end out and re-adjust it, I ended up knotting the webbing, which
>was  inconvenient when extra clothes required extra strap length.
>	Possibly the most  serious defect I came upon was during the only two days
>of rainfall I was to encounter in Washington !!!. That is the proofing on
>the back of the pack - the spectra reinforced material - started to peel 
>off
>when it got wet, sandwiched between my sleeping pad and waterproof jacket,
>I've never seen this happen on a proofed fabric before except loooong ago
>with the early polyurethane proofed nylon before the bugs had been solved.
>It wasn't a problem for me since I don't regard packs as waterproof and I
>had a garbage bag liner, however, it should  be  a quality control problem,
>and I would imagine it's eminently solvable.
>
>Wish list - That it had a waist strap - the most common reason I've  heard
>against buying the Breeze, more for stability / preferance, why not fit 
>one,
>or at least the attachment loops, if we don't need them we can all use a
>pair of scissors - whereas we're not all proficient with a sewing machine. 
>I
>actually retrofitted one  by passing thin line for the waist belt 
>attachment
>through the loops that the shoulder strap buckle attach to, although 
>ideally
>they should be lower.
>	That it had drawstring closure as well - the pack is as often 'less' than
>full as 'more' than full and a drawstring closure is then more efficient at
>passing on the packload to the shoulder straps.
>	I had intended to say that with a waist strap, without the mesh  and with 
>a
>drawstring closure ( necessary  IMO to provide a smooth shape for upward
>progress / hauling ) it would make a great alpine pack, but I see you've
>more or less already done it !
>
>
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