Reviews: Gregory Baltoro 65 Round the World Backpack

JB already had another bag bought at Decathlon for his hikes, but he was suffering when the weight was around 19kg, while the bag offers a large volume of 70L + 10L. Even if we don’t want to have to carry 19kg of luggage, the discomfort encountered simply shows that it’s time to change the bag.

So, it is with the following objectives that we went to get a new bag for this world tour

• Comfort & Lightness
• Enough room for JB’s shoes
• Bonus: Small integrated bag to put a computer in without being crushed by other things

Gregory Baltoro 65

We opted for the Gregory Baltoro 65, size L. Why only 65L? We thought that a bigger bag = more luggage. So by setting a limit, we will travel lighter

It is a bag for hikers, able to support very heavy loads (up to 23kg without suffering), for a long period of walking, following the shape of the body and following the movements, while allowing a transfer of load on the hips

In addition, we were able to benefit from a 20% discount (by the way, this is still valid until April 9, 2016 at the Vieux Campeur)

The plusses :

• Comfort & Lightness: The RESPONSE A3 Suspension back hugs the back perfectly. The padded waist belt allows a load transfer to the hips. For tall people like JB, it is important that the handles, also padded, are longer than usual. The difference in comfort vs. the Decathlon bag is just huge.
• Enough room for JB shoes: 3 zipped pockets, quite large, on the flap & on the front, allow to store dirty shoes & clothes.
• Convenient: Access to the contents of the bag via 3 openings: top, bottom, or U-shaped front opening. Very practical when you know exactly where to look for things. The front opening is appreciable, it looks like a suitcase 😀 The water bottle holder is very well done too (easy access, foldable water bottle holder if you don’t need it).

• A big bonus: a mini backpack, suspended at the top of the bag via attachments, allowing you to isolate either the water pocket or a computer. It’s a real backpack with hyper comfortable and breathable handles. For us, it’s the icing on the cake because JB wants, when we go from one city to another, to be able to slip his computer in his big backpack (it reduces the risks of theft because the more luggage we have, the more we lose control), without it being crushed by other things. This backpack has solved all his problems. Moreover, it is very practical for air travel: JB can go to the airport with his big backpack. At check-in, he detaches the mini backpack, ready to use, in which he has put all the necessary things, to take with him in the cabin.

• Security: We can put “lock” carabiners everywhere to prevent pickpockets from robbing us easily. Even if the central compartment has a top opening via a sliding link, as well as the backpack, this sliding link isn’t so easy to open for novices => if a pickpocket attacks the bag, we will know right away.

The – :

• The weight of the bag: 2.6kg (I know it’s marked 2.3kg on the site but I weighed it myself, it’s really 2.6kg the empty bag). This is due to the dorsal structure supported by a large metal rod. Fortunately, the other features largely compensate for this 600g extra weight vs. the bags of other brands.
• The rain cover is located in a zippered pocket in the front pocket. If the front pocket already contains a lot of objects, access to the raincover is very difficult. So we moved it directly to the main compartment, at the very bottom (normally reserved for raincovers in all other bags) and used the zipped pocket for other things.

• The separation of the main compartment is done via a small extended fabric, fixed by fasteners. This creates holes, and small objects can slide from one part to the other. A separation by zipped opening could have solved this problem (but hey, the zipped separation tends to reduce the total volume so this defect is excusable …)
• No thumb rest. However, they can be purchased as an option because there are places for them.

The price

254€ without discount (but we got it at -20% or 203€)

+ 12€ for thumb rest straps

Notice

After a month of traveling, we confirm its points and weaknesses. Only one remark

• the additional bag provided is a bit small, it’s enough for a walk in the city but when we have to take the plane and bring all our electronic equipment, it’s a bit too small

We also invite you to discover Gregory’s video about their wish to make bags that perfectly fit the body of the hiker, like shoes that adapt to the morphology of the feet

Gregory Fit Philosophy from Gregory Packs on Vimeo

For my part, I opted for an Osprey Mira AG 26