The G4 is Back

An updated version of this iconic pack is now available in 70D & 100D (as in the Gorilla) DWR coated Robic Nylon in three sizes from 578 grams & US$153 (Nov 2019), the G4-20 Ultralight 42 Backpack Quite a good price and weight. This would be very suitable for a lightweight hiking/hunting pack.

Features include: ‘Extendable roll-top with dual closure options, Waterproof zippers, Removable molded cushy sitpad, Fixed hip belt with unique hip belt pocket design’.

The ‘new’ G4 is up approx 100 grams from the original which was mostly a much less durable 2 oz nylon) and down about 10 litres in size (from 60 to 50) NB There are approx 8 litres inside the extension collar – the spec. of 42 litres doesn’t include this (nor does it on any other of GG’s packs).

It has a roll-top closure which you might modify if you don’t like them (I don’t) – they do reduce the storage of the pack (compared with the simple draw string of the original) but their intention (along with the side compression) is to ensure that the contents exactly fill the volume of the pack so that you don’t need a frame. The contents of the pack are the frame. I would prefer to have 2-3 draw strings going down so that you could shrink the pack to achieve this ‘frame effect’ but without reducing its volume when full. This would also be (fractionally) lighter, but people obviously prefer all the bells and whistles that modern packs offer.

This is a mod I will be adding to the Amazon packs we used on the EBC. They lack an extension collar altogether. I will be able to increase their volume (eg up from 42 to 50 litres) by adding this small rectangle of material. A few minutes work at most. At about 1-1.5 Ft2 it will only add 5-10 grams to the pack (eg 5 in silnylon or closer to 10 eg in 3.5 oz/yd2 Dyneema) but make them more suitable for multi-day trips. 8 litres of dry food is quite a lot. The Polo I wrote about here will weigh less than 350 grams at approx 50 litres. The pad will add about another 100 grams to that.

If you like this type of wide hip belt, then you won’t be unhappy with it – but I would probably cut it off and add a 12 grams gross-grain strap and buckle as I did on the Amazon packs as I think that hip belts that are wide and start at the side really make load transfer more difficult and unnecessarily inhibit the natural movements of the wearer – however neat they may look.

You really only need to make the pack swing into the small of your back (with a waist belt). The pack weight actually sits on your bum, not on the strap. A too wide strap starting from the sides of the pack will never achieve this comfortably as it never does up around your torso properly – if you try to tighten it, it only cuts in. Bad design. But practically everyone does it! If you keep it make sure you don’t quite fill the pack across this point of attachment so that the belt can better pull in and conform to your waist. And make sure it is at your waist and not lower.

The mods I would make to the new G4 would take probably 100 grams off the pack. Then I would perhaps substitute an Air Flow Sit Light Pad from Gossamer Gear (as I did with the Amazon packs) for this 100 grams which will go a long way to ensuring you have a dry back. You really only need about a third of the weight of this pad though, so I might have attached the requisite pieces in the first place ensuring a dry back and reducing weight – so the pack could have weighed about 70 grams less than it now does. but including some dry padding along the back,

The straps and buckles on the lid (there are three where there only needs to be one – as on the original) are also about twice the weight they need to be. If there are going to be three, 1/2″ wide is adequate (and if the pack had a draw string closure) the three straps could be used to attach another item to the top (a compression bag, a pack raft or a bear canister perhaps). I do not see that these three straps achieve anything other than the effort of carrying them, though perhaps like many things in ‘pack design’ they ‘look nice’! (Just like the inappropriate and heavier than necessary hip belt folks are always attaching to packs nowadays.

I like the asymmetric sizing of the side pockets – one can carry your shelter, which is a good idea. I long ago modified all my packs for this purpose. Usually you only need to add a light strap less than 5 grams to achieve this. I run an ultralight carabiner through the draw string of the tent and this strap so you never lose your tent!

The waterproof zip compartment will probably attract a lot of people, but I would have put this compartment’s entry inside the pack (because I just don’t trust zippers at all; when they go where are you?) – and if you really want waterproof, go for Sea to Summit Ultrasil liner bags or Aloksaks.

My wife likes pockets. I would prefer a ring of small pockets heading downwards inside the pack from the extension collar join for quick access to small things on the trail if you can’t cope with having a drawstring ‘possibles’ bag at the top of your pack inside the liner bag (where nothing gets wet). Frankly this is a much better idea. You can build too many ‘gimmicks‘ into a pack. Keeping it simple is best.

The shoulder straps on Gossamer Gear’s new (Robic) line of packs all seem to be about ¾” narrower than on the old G4s, Mariposas etc though they are softer and lined with a wicking material. In general though I think narrower is a backwards step even though they are now better shaped than they once were. The greater the ‘bearing’ surface area, the easier it will be to carry the pack. I would extend this bearing area rather than reduce it.

I would have made the straps wider even though the pack is only intended for relatively light loads (well under 15 kg). If the straps are wider and the pack only carries under 10 kg, then I think you can dispense with the chest and waist/hip straps altogether as they only impede walking anyway – and add weight.

I would have aimed for a pack under the weight of the old G4 (460 grams) rather than over it but made with the improved materials. Robic is about 50% stronger than an equivalent weight standard nylon. Reducing the pack to nearer 50 litres than 60 is not such a bad move either, but maybe a compromise would have been to have reduced the dimensions of the pack (which they have done) but gone for a slightly longer extension collar (say nearer 12 litres – or a 54 litre pack), but with the aim being sub 400 grams. I know this is possible because I own such a 52 litre 390 gram by 4.8 oz/yd2 Dyneema pack – and am about to make it a little lighter still in one direction and a little heavier (and bigger) in another. Always tinkering…

Incidentally they have eliminated the distinctive bulge at the bottom of the old G4 pack. I found this quite an attractive feature. It also possessed a certain utility. It was intended that you could allow your sleeping bag to spread out there and form a cushion or shock absorber for other contents in the pack – though some folks think you should load the heaviest items at the bottom. Strictly the most important loading decision you make with a frameless pack is putting everything soft towards the front of the pack so you don’t have hard objects jabbing into your back.

I have a Medium Gorilla which is exactly 18” from bottom of the shoulder strap attachment points to the bottom of the hip belt) which I removed and replaced. 18” is just about right for me (though 17” would be better) but is much too long for Della who is better under 17″.

The Specs for this pack say that the length of the Small is 19 ¼” to the extension collar seam (which I am assuming is about 2” above the shoulder strap attachment point – as on my Gorilla) making the pack approx 17 ¼” long. Gosssamer Gear needs to provide more precise detail on sizing to fit different hikers. I would probably want a ‘Small’ which (if the above is true) would be far be too long for Della (who is only 5′ tall). As I say, more precise buying information necessary. I know there are lots of bigger people than us! The pack comes in three sizes but it would be good if one of these was for ‘little’ people and children.

I do not like the stretchy material in the back pocket (though it is a lot more robust than that used by most hiking pack manufacturers). I would prefer a solid material here. I know the intention is to dry socks in the pocket (which does not work well under compression anyway). You are much better to add a clothesline to the pack and peg your washing to that.

The stretchy material tears (especially) in blackberry patches and you then have to worry about losing the pocket’s contents (or attempting a trail repair). I own several packs with torn stretchy material pockets awaiting ‘repair’. The difficulty is that the material is almost always caught up in the seam so that a very elaborate unpicking and resewing is necessary. Might as well just about make a new pack.

I note that th 100 Denier Robic fabric Ripstopbythe Roll sells is 3.7 oz/yd2 but ought theoretically to be the equivalent of 4.8oz/yd2 Dyneema. Therefore the 70 Denier material ought to be the equivalent of 3.6 oz/yd2 Dyneema. My old pack I mentioned earlier is in the 4.8 oz/yd2 Dyneema and has suffered many vicissitudes without complaint of around ten years now. I have managed to poke a couple of easily repaired small holes through it in that time. Therefore I think this pack will probably last you too. If you want a more robust (and larger pack, I suggest you go for the Mariposa which is in 100 and 200 Denier Robic.

I note that the Silverback uses some 70 and some 200 Denier Robic material (eg presumably in the bit closest to your back). It would clearly be a bit tougher pack than this one – or the Gorilla -if you are intending to carry heavier weights etc, but as I said at the start, this would make a very good lightweight hunting or hiking pack – and is reasonably priced. You have to compare it to the alternatives. Just about everyone else seems to have lost the plot as far as lightweight packs are concerned. They are mostly heading above a kilogram once more. If this continues everyone will be back to carrying 20+ kg again too.

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