Gourdon Reviews

Just got a Gourdon 30 in black and it is amazing. Simple, clean and feels much more roomy than my old Hi-gear 35 litre daysack. Straps are comfortable and the weight sits low on your hips - I’m 6’2” and always struggle to find a bag that doesn’t sit too high, so this is perfect for me. Delivered 24 hours after I ordered, along with some top notch dry bags. Thanks Alpkit!

What a simple but effective solution. With a big Scottish Highlands C2C plus…mountain biking trip planned for end of May I was looking for waterproof solutions for lots of problems including carrying my kit. This looks perfect. I’ve used it in London for commuting and its v comfortable - holds loads - is v light - is deffo waterproof - last nights trip home proved that. So simple - I’ve always thought dangly bits and pockets add seams and problems - so by being so simple this pice of equipment delivers - it’s waterproof! And no need to mess with it for mouontain bikers - eg put your rear light in the bag glowing thru the window? Pls - no changes - that way it stays at a very reasonable price too. Thanks ALPKIT for tip top personal prompt service.

I’ve had a 30L Stealthy Gourdon for a couple of years and it has generally been great.  One of the shoulder straps came off at the bottom and I had to sew it back on. 

It would also be nice to have a loop for a key ring and a small pouch for a phone and wallet (or perhaps a means of fixing a pouch to the inside wall of the bag), so I can find them without emptying half the bag.

Had a Gourdon 20 drysac for a few months now for 25mile+/day cycle commuting in London; light and easier to use than a conventional rucsac. Recently took it to the Queensland rainforest for a week where it stood up to the heaviest of deluges; arguably one of the best bits of kit I’ve ever bought.

On the subject of keys/phone/etc.  a small ziploc plastic bag stuffed in one of the pockets works for me.

Bought a G20 in 2010 have used it everyday for commuting to work on the bike. Very versatile and can fit loads in.  Has this year started to let water in during strong recent April showers but plan to just buy another G20 to replace as far better value than anything else I have seen. I was hoping to try a drydock but look like sometime before they are available

Brilliant! Both the bag and the service given by ALPKIT.COM very nice of them to give a thankyou on paper when opening it up. Only thing i would say is…would it be possible to do a MTB specific bag? Needs a couple of pockets inside or out to store phone, keys, wallet etc. Other than that well chuffed!

I bought my Gourdon 20 for use as a daysack for cross country mountain biking.  It is dam near perfect for the job. It’s light, comfortable under load and the back pad dose a good job of keeping the drink in my water bladder cool. 

The adjustable chest strap and belt keep it firmly in place on the steeper downhill sections of a ride.

The roll bag concept with toggles is great, easy to use and it seems capable of holding everything I need for a day on the trails.

As Phill a previous reviewer said, if you just added a strap for a blinky back light and a bit of reflective tape it would easily beat the best cycling backpacks on the market both in price and usability.

I bought the Gourdon 30 (in Jaffa) a couple of weeks ago.  I use it daily for my walk to work (7 mile round trip) and for carrying a full climbing rack and clothing at the weekend.  It won’t fit a rope as well so my girlfriend gets to carry that!

For such a simple system it works brilliantly - very comfortable even full of hardware, duvet and lunch.  The comfort puts other expensive and more ‘technical’ bags to shame.

Heading home from work it swallows huge amounts of food shopping but remains nice to carry.

I work in an outdoor shop selling some excellent gear.  Today I had a customer in, heading to Asia for three months, who had their large travel rucksack, but wanted a smaller, 20 litre-ish, day sack.  I showed them my 30, told them about the 20 and 25, the fact that they will roll up into nothing once the pad is removed, the price, colours(?!), gave them the website and off they went to buy one.  (I believe in pointing customers in the right direction not just selling what we stock)

Working in this shop I get to buy any stocked sack at 50% discount including Berghaus, Lowe Alpine, Deuter and, I have to admit, TNF and Osprey.  The fact that, having tested many of the sacks offered by these companies,  I prefer to buy a Gourdon says it all!  I’m going to buy a Gourdon 20 shortly!

Just a thought or two:

How about a small, simple internal pocket for keys and wallet (passport, etc)?  It is a litle frustrating having to delve deep for them when the sack is full of climbing gear or shopping.  Not a fault but more an oversight.

Also, how about a biking version?  Make the ‘Alpkit’ logo in a reflective material (or replace the ‘window’ with a reflective strip).  Add a couple of stratigic cords for lights….. absolutely superb.  Well…..?

Keep up the good design work.

had wee gourdon for a couple of months now, use it out walking my dog, have stove some coffee and dry gloves, ideal,never going to climb the alps, but just the job for cutting around with, light, dry and pretty cool looking. Loving alpkit stuff, becoming an addict.

Hi I’ve had my Gourdon 20 for a few years, still going strong, 100% waterproof, super light, great price…I’ve used for ice climbing alas now I use mainly for 30mile round trip to work…

Re: the cycling you are THIS close to the ideal commuting pack

To an orange 20L Gourdon add:
Big reflective strip
Loop towards the bottom for a rear light
One external w/proof zip pocket for keys/staff pass
An internal pocket that ends about 2/3rd the way down for laptops e.g., to keep the weight towards the shoulders rather than at the base of the spine

Nice to have:
Maybe pull down flap with reflective material to prevent a wet bum in the rain.

Remove:
Remove the mesh pockets/elastic straps - keep it super simple.

Most cycling specific backpacks cost a fortune ( struggle to get a hiviz rain cover for the cost of a Gourdon), have millions of pockets that do nothing but add weight and let in water….you’d sell millions. Well at least one but you know what I mean…