Gregory  Facet 45 Pack - Women's

I brought my gf and young daughter into REI last year to get them fitted for packs. We were looking for something in the 40 liter range, as they are both petite, and I wanted to keep their maximum carrying weight at 20lbs or less. They both preferred the fit of Gregory packs and we settled on Jade 38s. After a few trips, they both loved the packs, especially the trampoline suspension system, but had 2 complaints. There were no bottom straps to hold their foam sit/sleep pads, and they couldn’t reach their water bottles while wearing the pack. Another slight issue was the XS Jade 38 was only a 35 liter pack. It wasn’t quite big enough for them to carry gear needed for trips that lasted longer than 3 days. I decided to look for another pack that resolved their complaints, and offered a little more space. I discovered the Facet 45 at REI’s online store. It offered the same suspension system, but it doesn’t have the velcro adjustment. They both have torsos between 15” and 16”, so I ordered 2 XS Facet 45 packs in hopes the packs would fit them as well as the Jade. We went to REI when they came in, and luckily, both of them loved the packs. The XS Facet 45 has a 42 liter capacity. They were both excited about the 7 liters of extra space. The Facet also came in a few ounces lighter than the smaller Jade. They even liked the gray and red color scheme. We made the exchange and have done a couple of hikes with them. My gf has put about 20 miles in with her pack and says it fits her more comfortably than the Jade did. She has not experienced bruising on her shoulder (she received bruises on her right clavicle while wearing the Jade). They are both able to reach their water bottles without help now and can strap their pads to the bottom. The only complaint is it’s a bit of a pain to fit the rolled up pads into the bottom straps. It would have been great if Gregory had put buckles on the straps like my Baltoro has. It’s only a minor inconvenience though. The only question that remains is the pack’s durability. The side is made of a thinner nylon than the Jade. I will provide an update in a year or so when we’ve put a few more trips into the woods with them and see how they hold up.

I want to start out this review by saying that I am really excited that the major backpack companies have started working on full featured "ultralight" bags. I have been looking for a lighter backpack for a while as I have replaced all my other backpacking gear with ultralight gear, and a lot of the smaller brands don't make women's specific bags or bags to fit short people. I also personally think that better organization and lumbar support is worth the 6-8 ounce weight penalty when compared to a lot of the smaller utralight gear company offerings. I like that this bag has legitimate lumbar support and a frame that keeps the bottom of the bag from rubbing against my lower back/upper butt. The dual pocket brain, while standard on heavier bags, is not often found on ultralight bags so that's also a big plus. Unfortunately, I don't think this bag distributes weight well. When packed with 23-25 pounds, it feels like the center of mass is too far away from my back, which feels as though I am being pulled backwards. I wonder if this is possibly a feature specific to the XS size. I did a side by side comparison of this bag with an XS Hyperlite Mountain Gear Southwest 2400, both totaling 23 pounds of weight, and the HMG bag had a far better weight distribution, to the point that it actually felt as though the HMG bag was at least a few pounds lighter than the Gregory. I think maybe if the bag were taller but less deep, or if there was less curvature in the frame that allows for back ventilation it might solve this problem. So while I like the features of the bag, unfortunately it doesn't work for me.