The Z30 sounds like a secret weapon from outer space, but it’s actually a sweet little pack from Gregory, the guys who do only packs. The Z30 is available in small 1,650ci, medium 1,800ci and large 1,920ci models weighing in at a very nice 2lb 10oz, 2lb 12oz and 2lb 14oz respectively.
The Z30 is literally cool, with a burly curved frame and mesh back panel that allows airflow across the back. Gregory claims the Z30’s frame will increase support as you add weight. In what must be a first in the marketing world, this seemingly impossible claim proved out. The catalog lists the comfort rating at 30lb while the tag indicates 25lb, but we’re here to tell you you can stuff this thing like a Christmas turkey. Our testing showed 40lb+ were not a problem with careful packing.
The design is a bit unconventional: there’s the usual hydration sleeve, dual mesh side pockets and handy dual zippered belt pockets. Then you have four storage areas including the main compartment. The lid zippers waaaay open, gaping like high school students watching Porky’s for the first time. This is nice because you can get to a lot more than you can with a normal top loader. On the back of the lid there’s a medium-sized top pouch, and below this is an open bucket pocket – great for stuffing jackets – with a smaller vertically zippered pouch on its front. The bottom line is a lot of organization options, each sized appropriately to its location on the pack.
The shoulder and waist suspension is comfy and up to the demands of kitchen sink rated loads. A note on sizing: the Z30 seems to run a tad small for its rated size, so try it on if you can. On the flip side this is a great men’s pack that is SheFlogger approved, so don’t let She Who Must Be Obeyed try it on or you may never see it again.
3 responses to “Gregory Z30 pack”
Hi– do you think a bear can would fit in it?
I don’t have it in front of me, but I think even a small bear canister would be a tight fit inside the pack or shovel pocket on the 35 and would render a lot of the inside space unusable by compression. You can always rig it on the outside, but you probably should just move to a floating top lid like there is starting on the next size up, the Z35.
I just completed a week on the JMT and used a Bearicade Expedition carbon fiber canister (9″ x 14″)” I could just barely get that into my Z55 pack. Because I travel light I was able to get everything else in there…but no way you get that sized canister into a Z30 or Z35.