Gear Junkie: The Z22 Backpack

Designed for daylong excursions like climbing, hiking and adventure racing, Gregory's Z22 backpack manages up to 25 pounds of cargo.

By Stephen Regenold, Special to the Star Tribune

Last update: September 4, 2007 - 4:50 PM

Designed for daylong excursions like climbing, hiking and adventure racing, Gregory's Z22 backpack manages up to 25 pounds of cargo. But what makes the $99 pack unique is its suspension system, which allows air to circulate between the pack body and your back, thus keeping you cooler. Or so the theory goes.

Gregory's (www.gregory packs.com) air-flow back panel area is designed to prop the pack off your back in a manner similar to what Deuter USA and other companies have been doing for years. But the Z22's system is different: The pack's harness is mounted on crisscrossing bars, not stitched in, allowing the system to dynamically adjust and stiffen as more weight is loaded. The tension bars do double duty to maintain the air pocket and provide ventilation.

In my tests, the panel did indeed promote some air flow, keeping me cooler to an extent, though it was no miracle innovation. I think of the system as a nice added feature, not a necessity. Otherwise, the pack's design is clean and unencumbered, with a small zip pocket on top, a hydration sleeve, hip-belt pockets and stretchy mesh outer pockets for random extras -- nothing more than you need, and nothing really less.

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