The Gregory Zulu 55 is a ventilated, adjustable body backpack designed for carrying massive hundreds with or with out a bear canister. Weighing 4 lbs 2 oz, this new model (2023) is a couple of half pound heavier than its predecessor on account of elevated hipbelt padding enabling the pack to hold as much as 50 lbs, or 10 extra kilos than its predecessor. The brand new Zulu 55 can also be made with heavier-duty, PFC-free recycled polyester to enhance its sturdiness and scale back its carbon footprint. Nevertheless, this newest mannequin doesn’t embody a rain cowl, a characteristic that was as soon as commonplace on Gregory’s multi-day packs however has been discontinued on some fashions to scale back waste, since in line with Gregory, many individuals don’t require one.
Specs at Look
- Weight: 4 lbs 2 oz
- Quantity (liters): 55L (65L, 45L, 30L additionally accessible)
- Gender: Male, the corresponding ladies’s mannequin is the Jade 53.
- Body sort: Inside
- Body Sort: Alloy Metal Body
- Adjustable Torso Size: Sure
- Ventilated: Sure
- Pack Entry: High/Entrance Panel/Sleeping Bag
- Exterior Pockets: 6
- Rain Cowl: Not included
- Load lifters: Sure
- Hipbelt pockets: Sure
- Hydration-compatible: Sure
- Bear Canister Compatibility: Whereas a BV500 can match horizontally in the principle compartment, it makes the facet pockets troublesome to make use of and I’d advocate utilizing a BV475 dimension as a substitute. A BV500 additionally matches below the floating lid when stacked over the principle compartment.
- Torso Sizes: (M/L: 18″ – 22″ / 45.7 – 55.9 cm), (S/M: 15″ – 19″ / 38.1 – 48.3 cm)
- Hip belt sizes: (M/L: 27″ – 53″ / 68.5 – 134.2 cm), (S/M: 25″ – 48″ / 63.5 – 121.9 cm)
- Pack Physique: 40% Recycled 400D Polyester Ripstop with PFC-Free DWR; Pack-Backside: 420D Nylon with PFC-Free DWR
Backpack Body and Suspension
The Zulu 55 is an inner body backpack with a ventilated, adjustable-length torso. It’s designed to hold heavy hundreds, as much as 50 lbs, together with bear canisters if required, so it has a a lot beefier hipbelt and suspension system than you’ll discover on packs designed to hold considerably lighter hundreds within the 30 lb vary. Along with its metal perimeter body, it comes with an anti-barrelling keep which is a horizontal bar within the body that forestalls a bear canister from poking you within the again if you must carry one.
The Zulu body has an adjustable-length torso, so you possibly can dial in a customized match, which is sort of useful on larger-capacity backpacks as a result of protecting the burden off your shoulders and in your hips is much more necessary. The size of the torso is simple to regulate by releasing the velcro yoke that connects the shoulder straps to the body. Sizing is marked on the yoke so you possibly can maintain monitor of your most popular torso size and alter it accordingly. The velcro holds firmly when reattached and gained’t slip below load.
The shoulder straps are related to the body by load lifter straps and are lined by breathable mesh. The shoulder pads are S-shaped, in order that they’ll be comfy no matter your higher physique physique, together with males or ladies. The shoulder straps have exterior sunglass holders and hydration loops, whereas a sliding sternum strap makes it simple to regulate the strap top relying in your desire and chest dimension.
The Zulu 55 can also be ventilated with a mesh backing that flows seamlessly over the pre-curved hip belt and gently wraps round your waist. Whereas the realm behind the mesh is curved to allow airflow, it doesn’t intrude noticeably into the pack’s foremost compartment or intrude with packing. The Zulu hip belt has a single middle buckle and closes with pull-forward straps for mechanical benefit.
The Zulu’s body is a 360-degree loop that terminates within the hipbelt behind your hips for glorious load switch. It flexes naturally whenever you stroll and scramble, offering glorious torsional flex and stability. The underside lumbar space on the base of the body is roofed with free-floating padding that adapts naturally to your physique form and doesn’t trigger any undesirable strain on this delicate space. When the pack is loaded, the ventilated mesh wraps gently round your mid again and shoulders, so the pack is aligned along with your torso and never pulling you backward as some ventilated backpacks can. The hipbelt wings are additionally designed to adapt to modifications in your hip angle, for instance as you scramble, to supply a body-fitting hug that maintain the load higher aligned along with your core muscle mass.
Backpack Storage and Group Setup
The Zulu 55 is a standard alpine-style backpack with a floating prime lid. The highest lid has two zippered pockets, one on prime and one on the underside of the lid with a key fob. The floating lid is connected to the pack with 4 webbing straps and could be raised 4 inches if you could overstuff the pack and use the additional extension collar on the prime of the principle compartment. You may also use the lid to carry over-size gadgets between the lid and the highest of the principle compartment together with a BV500 bear canister, because the lid is large sufficient to cowl it lengthwise: doing this does compromise the packability of the highest lid pockets nevertheless.
The primary compartment could be accessed in one in all 3 ways: from the highest by way of a drawstring closure below the highest lid, by way of a entrance panel that zips closed across the entrance mesh pocket, and thru a sleeping bag hatch. Panel entry could be very handy for journey as a result of you possibly can entry deeply buried gear with out having to unpack the pack’s contents. There’s additionally a separate sleeping bag hatch on the base of the pack with an non-compulsory shelf within the inside to wall off a sleeping bag compartment in order for you one.
The pack has two facet mesh pockets that can be utilized to carry gear or water bottles. The mesh protecting these pockets is sort of sturdy and tear-resistant. The entrance of those pockets has a holster-style opening so you possibly can attain again and pull a bottle out one-handed or exchange it whereas carrying the pack. This characteristic works finest with 1L Nalgene bottles: longer soda and water bottles tend to come out of the pockets whenever you bend over or set the pack down on the bottom. You may nonetheless carry taller water bottles, however you must place them vertically towards the rear of the facet pockets to take action.
The entrance stretch mesh pocket is pretty slender and finest used for stuffing coats and different layers into. Nevertheless it’s not large or massive sufficient to retailer a pair of crocs in, as an example. It too is roofed with the identical heavy-duty mesh discovered on the facet pockets, with a small weave that gained’t catch on overhanging shrubs and vegetation.
Lastly, the hip belt has two outsized zippered pockets. Each are hard-faced for higher sturdiness and water resistance. They simply match a Smartphone, point-and-shoot digital camera, or a days-worth of snack bars. They are surely big.
Backpack Compression and Exterior Attachment System
The Zulu 55 has two tiers of facet compression straps that each shut with easy-to-use and glove-friendly squeeze buckles. This makes it rather a lot simpler to safe gear, together with snowshoes, to the edges of the pack if you could carry heavy or cumbersome objects that gained’t match within the pack bag. You may also carry gadgets between the highest of the principle compartment and the floating lid equivalent to sleeping pads, tent our bodies, or rope coils.
The Zulu 55 additionally comes with a pair of sleeping pad straps that originate on the base of the pack and hook up with buckles simply above the sleep bag hatch pocket. These should not detachable straps, but it surely’s nonetheless a pleasant characteristic that helps lengthen the vary of this 55L backpack.
The pack has a single ice axe loop on the entrance with an elastic shaft holder that can be used to hold trekking poles on the entrance of the pack. There are nevertheless no daisy chains on the outside of the pack as a result of they’d intrude with the panel entry zipper. The one exception to that is two gear loops on the highest lid that may very well be used to hold a photo voltaic panel to the highest of the pack.
Comparable Ventilated and Adjustable-Size Backpacks
The variety of ventilated and adjustable-length backpacks accessible right now is sort of small, as you possibly can see under.
Suggestion
Weighing simply over 4.1 lbs, the Gregory Zulu 55 is a good pack for multi-day journeys or abroad journey, with quite a lot of group choices and entry strategies that make it simple to pack and extract gear. It has a snug and full of life backpacking pack with a back-hugging ventilated and adjustable body. Whereas its built-in mesh again panel and hip belt are akin to Osprey’s AntiGravity (AG) suspension system, the Zulu is considerably lighter weight than the AG packs and has a much less intrusive air flow cavity that doesn’t pull you backward or intrude with packing the principle compartment. However the factor in regards to the Zulu 55 that basically stands out for me is how pure it feels whenever you strap it on, particularly the hipbelt. It doesn’t slip, at-all, and doesn’t create a whole lot of strain on the hips, even whenever you pack actually heavy. The brand new Zulu 55 is a keeper. Extremely advisable!
