Thanks for the indepth reveiw, it was helpful and answered many questions I had about the Crown verse the Blaze.

I own a Blaze. Yes the weight is more then advertised, mine is 3lbs. I like that the blaze is adjustable, that is important to me because I'm a bigger guy-205lbs. I like the large mesh pockets and don't mind the roll closure.I have noticed some very minor wear on the mesh outter pockets of the blaze after only one season. I was contemplating the crown, but not enough of a difference for to justify a pack without the adjustable suspension and in reality just a few ounces less.

Edited by grinder on 03/10/2012 11:25:38 MST.

David, thanks for posting that link, I hadn't seen that review.

I still haven't been able to get my hands on one yet. I checked my local retailer yesterday and they still haven't received any yet. Reviews like this are very helpful. I've tried on the Blaze AC60 many times and like it, but I want to try the Crown VC60 before making my decision. Fit will be the ultimate deciding factor for me, followed by weight, but both these packs have the features I want in a pack. I particularly like the numerous compression straps since the only reason I need a larger pack is to accomodate larger food supplies on longer trips (can't see myself ever needing to carry 35 pounds since I'm usually only out for a week or less). As the trip progresses, it's nice to be able to shrink your pack size down as I eat my way through my food supply.

I contacted GG to get an idea of the torso size of the Large Crown. From the top of the hip belt to where the shoulder straps attach to the main bag is 17.25". The Regular is 14".

Useful information for those who may not be able to try on before ordering.

Any idea if REI will carry this pack? I have a gift card.

My personal experience with GG at REI is that they may offer it, but only as a special order. Even if it's listed online, you'll need to call your local store to confirm before heading over; it won't specify that it's available online only. That was what I had to do when I wanted the Escape.

So order it for in-store pick up, and try it out.

>> I contacted GG to get an idea of the torso size of the Large Crown. From the top of the hip belt to where the shoulder straps attach to the main bag is 17.25". The Regular is 14". <<

David - Good info, thanks for posting that.

Looks like I'm going to be in between sizes. The measurement points on my Vapor Trail were approx. 18 inches (maybe the same as the Large Crown with measuring variances) and my son's Vapor Flash (reg) is approx 15 inches from the top of the belt to where the shoulder straps attach. My Vapor Trail is too large for me and my son's Flash is a bit to short, so I'm betting I will need around 16-16.5 inches between your two measurement points. The adjustable frame sheet of the Blaze AC60 is starting to sould like the winning feature for me depending on how well it sizes up and down. I'll still test the Crown before deciding but it's nice to be armed with some info before heading into the store (although I'll probably buy both and return the one that I like the least after putting my gear into them).

One of the members here questioned my estimate of the size of my Crown compared to the GoLite Pinnacle (I had thought that the Pinnacle was much larger, and the Crown was comparable to the Jam), so I stuffed both packs with two of the same winter sleeping bags (being careful to apply the same pressure when stuffing). To my surprise the Crown with extension collar held the same amount of volume, plus there was fabric to spare in the extension collar to allow the roll top closure to be folded over three times and cinched down the sides for the proper closure. This effectively makes my Pinnacle obsolete. What is wonderful about the Crown is that my original estimate of it being about the same size as a Jam was perfectly right... just roll down the roll top closure, cinch it, and you've got a much smaller volume pack that doesn't flop around and collapse. Very versatile for when carrying lots of extra food and for long term international travel. I really, really like this pack. And I don't say that very often. In fact, of the few times I've written about a pack here on BPL, this is the first time I've said something positive! (shelters are a different story)

I'll use the Pinnacle, with hip belts and shoulder straps lopped off, as a sack for my Arctic 1000 harness. And I may sell my unused Blaze, though I'm not sure yet. It's nice to get my gear closet down to a really simple, manageable level.

Any idea if REI will carry this pack? I have a gift card.

Michael, I called REI HQ last week and they told me they had a handful in the system, something like 3 medium and 2 large. They will ship it to you if you like. I told them to order more because it would be a popular pack, but I'm not sure if they were taking me seriously.

Calling now, thanks!
------------------------

Edit:

Made contact with 'em. As of the posting of this message, their normal customer order system didn't even show the pack, but when he did some further research he found that the (seperate) system that takes orders shows they have 4. Mine should be shipping from the Maryland warehouse, with the other warehouse being in Washington --each showed as having two packs.

He could tell me the torso size, but it did not show waistbelt sizes. I'm guessing/hoping that a regular torso brings with it a medium (30-34") waistbelt.

So, they should have three in stock now!

Edited by air2mud82 on 03/11/2012 10:53:04 MDT.

Granite gear site states that all crowns are shipping with medium hipbelts until further notice.

Glad you were able to snag one, Michael. I'm still trying to decide. My ten-year-old Vapor Trail looks like hell but still carries great.

I'll say this...I just tried on a Crown 60 at REI and I'm kind of thinking about selling my Pinnacle. There is something about this pack.

@ Paul.

$29.99 and not a penny less.

Bump.

Dave,

I will go with $29.99. So $29.99 for the Pinnacle. Now shipping to Canada costs a little more than to somewhere here in Amurica. And you have to consider that this pack can be considered a "hazardous" material. How? We you will probably like it so much that you are going to quit your job and go do some Skurka like epic for the next 6 months and that could cause some problems at home. So....shipping to Canada, $35.00. Then you add the "hazardous" charge of another $35.00.

So yes, $29.99 for the pack plus $70 shipping. I'll message you my paypal info. =)

Bump da Bump

I like your offer. Any chance you can include Travis' HMG Tarp. If so, I am in.

Family Guy wrote:

>> I contacted GG to get an idea of the torso size of the Large Crown. From the top of the hip belt to where the shoulder straps attach to the main bag is 17.25". The Regular is 14" <<

I finally got my hands on the Crown VC 60 and really liked what I saw however, it's a no go for me because neither size will fit me.

The measurements above are different than what I measured on the Crown VC60. From the top of the shoulder strap attachment to the top of the belt measured 15" for the regular Torso (same as my son's Vapor Flash) and the large measures almost 19 inches which is even bigger than my Large size Vapor Trail! The Large is way to tall for me and the Regular Torso was close but I ran out of shoulder strap adjustment length which is too bad. I guess GG has shortened the shoulder strap belt length as much as possible to save weight but that was a mistake in my mind as it doesn't allow me to ride the pack back a bit. The VC60 just can't work for me. Too bad because I really liked what I saw.

The Blace AC60 fits me perfectly when adjusted to 16 inches (using the same measurement points from strap attachment point to top of belt). It has one more inch of adjustment, so it could go as long as 17 inches but no where near as long as the Crown VC 60 in size large.

I haven't bought the Blaze yet because I noticed that the shoulder straps had "Trim Reg" written on them. The sales dude didn't know what that meant, so I headed home to do research. Appears you can get a wider "expedition" width shoulder strap as an option and this will improve the carrying comfort for heavy loads. The trim is the standard according to Granite Gear's info so I will go with that when I finally pick up the pack. I've never heard about the wider straps so it is all good info.

Edited by skopeo on 03/17/2012 14:30:17 MDT.

Thanks Mike - I almost ordered a large and am glad I didn't.

This is the e-mail response I received from Granite Gear:

"Hey David: Sorry you haven’t gotten a response from the Customer Service email. We had 2 snow days last week where we were closed for business. We’re now trying to play catch-up. I had sent an email earlier to our warehouse to get measurements and finally ended up grabbing the packs myself.

Regular Torso – from top of hipbelt to the base of the shoulder straps = 14”

Long Torso - from top of hipbelt to the base of the shoulder straps = 17 ¼”

Hope this helps make your decision easier. We do have plenty of stock in both sizes and we finally have different belts sizes. Let me know if you need anything else.

Thanks again for choosing Granite Gear products. Dana"

Perhaps someone in the warehouse was a bit confused?

David -

I could understand a half inch variance in measurements just because the "top of the waist belt" is not a precise line however I think the Granite Gear guy missed it by a long shot on the large. Since my measurements for the Regular are exactly the same as my son's Vapor Flash, I suspect I'm measuring fairly accurately.

I actually like your measuring system and wish we could get the pack manufacturers to adopt this measuring system. I have recently measured my MLD Burn (my favourite pack) and it's exactly 16 inches which seems to be my magic number. I measured my Exodus and it's 16.5 so no wonder these packs work so well for me. Now that I know that I need 16 inches between your measurement points I can tell almost instantly whether a pack will fit me or not.

The Large Crown VC60 me was just silly on me. The shoulder strap attachment point was actually higher than my shoulders! Granite gear pack straps are meant to wrap around your shoulders (and use the load levelers to pull it up tight) and it's what I've always liked about their packs. The size large was so big that tightening up the load levelers actually caused the shoulder strap to bunch up!

I probably could have used the regular size Crown VC60 except that I have fairly thick shoulders (which I'm sure you do too). This means the shoulder straps have to be a bit longer to make it all the way around our shoulders and unfortunately, they made the straps a bit short (trimmed down to save weight) and the straps don't make it around my shoulders before running out of length. This puts all the weight on my shoulders which is no good. Since you are a solid guy, you might want to think about this as well. I think the pack was designed for super slim thru-hikers.

The Blaze didn't have any of these issues. The adjustable torso length and the long straps allow it to fit me perfectly. Too bad, the Crown would have been perfect for me. I do prefer the large pocket on the Blaze. It's a lot larger than the pocket on the Crown and will meet my needs better anyway. Too bad about the extra 12 oz of weight.

Edited by skopeo on 03/17/2012 15:32:30 MDT.

Mike - I like this measurement 'type' as well. My sweet spot is right at 17" so I was quite excited about the 17.25" measurement. Finally I might be able to wear a Granite Gear without an adjustable torso suspension. You have confirmed that this is not the case and I am not surprised. The large Vapor Trail was much too tall for me and the regular was too short.

Thanks for posting the 'corrected' measurments.

On a side note, I found that the adjustable torso 'slots' of the Ozone were a bit optimistic. I always wore it at the 20" mark (it went to 22" and as low as 18") but I am actually closer to a 19" torso measurement by normal measurement standards. Regardless, measuring from the top of the belt to where the shoulder harness attaches to the main bag is now my new standard means of measuring. This assumes that the shoulder straps are sufficiently apart where they attach to the main bag.

>> This assumes that the shoulder straps are sufficiently apart where they attach to the main bag <<

Interesting you mentioned this. On the Blaze AC60, I noticed that the adjustments are all in a line (same width apart) except for the last set of adjustment holes. The last set of holes are set an inch or so farther appart than the rest of the adjustment notches. I assume this is to accommodate larger people and separates the straps a bit when you adjust to the largest torso length.