Gourdon Reviews

Just took delivery of my new stealthy 20L gourdan.
I WISH I’D FOUND ALPKIT YEARS AGO!!!
The bag is just brilliant! The design is simple but very well thought out - love the tabs on the ends of the straps,the chest harness adjustment and the sit mat pad. The materials are very good quality, many of the bigger brands could take a few lessons from you especially in the customer care dept!. Love the packet of spare patches aswell nice touch!!
Delivery was prompt and the hand written thank you note from Dan although brief was another real nice touch and the price??? it’s unbelievable for the quality & features!!
I’ve bought the bag to slip into my cycle panniers and act as a dual pannier liner and day sac for cycling/walking Hadrians wall on my 40th this Saturday coming. If you improve anything I would offer a larger capacity version of the bag with all the same features etc… as I seem to carry most of the girl friends gear aswell and if not too cost prohibitive you could even add one of those combined chest harness safety whistles and reflective bungees, that would really knock the socks of the bigger brands. although I’m more than very happy with it as it stands.
I’m now going to order a Gamma torch as they sound pretty excellent aswell!
Many thanks,
Gary

BEWARE!

The slip out sit mat is great but I left mine near Sgurr a ‘Mhaidaih on the Cullin
ridge in early April…if found please enjoy…the Gourdon was indeed tough enough to stand up the the Cuillin gabbro though!

Been giving my Gourdon 20l hard use for over a year now and it is starting to wear quite badly. The body of the sack is tough as it comes and shows no sign of wearing out except at the stitching where the blue fabric meets the black back fabric. The stitching appears to be opening up slightly. The elastic mesh is failing quite badly and will be useless soon. The main problem is in the closure. The stiff strap that you roll over to form the seal has snapped and instead of forming a curve it is now two folds. Probably not a real problem just annoying.

Having said that the Gourdons are excellent and my best buy for ages. I am seeing more of them, especially along the long distance walkers and challenge walkers I see at events and meets. I will replace it with another one when it finally fails or more likely before then when the mesh pockets tear completely. One thing if you can re-design the pockets to make them easier to take bottles from and put back. Perhaps align them at a forward angle like some other light running packs. The shoulder straps are only just long enough and I am not a big guy in any way. There are probably other things that could be done to improve it but then you would end up with a heavier, more complex and more expensive sack. Not a Gourdon.

my gourdon goes everywhere with me. he is bright and shiny and never complains when i make him carry heavy things.

Gourdon has been with me to the summit of lots of big mountains and weve shared some very special moments together. He is uncomplicated, very good looking and when i get bored of outdoor life (on the rare occasion) he gets shoved in the cupboard and doesnt say a word.

i LOVE gourdon  

The Gourdon 20 is simply a very good bag.

1. It’s waterproof, like no other bag at that price.
2. It’s orange, if you want, and it still looks visible but good.
3. The price is literally amazing. Most other manufacturers would rip you off.
4. The various loops and bungees are cool for clipping torches and other bags to them.
5. The bag is just about sturdy enough for short trips with a laptop in a protective case.
6. If you stuff it, nothing pokes through the sides.
7. The back panel that detaches can be used as a mini mat.
8. I love it!

I would appreciate more visual materials, to make your blog more attractive, but your writing style really compensates it. But there is always place for improvement

Bagged a Gourdon 25 as the 20’s were out of stock. Surely a bag-o-legend. Does exactly what is say’s on the tin. Well made, robust, waterproof, lightweight and (in black) almost unbranded. Nice.

Gourdon 20 is a fantastic little rucksack. Bought 1 for my wife, she got fed up with me borrowing it so i had to buy 1 for myself. The wide shoulder straps are very comfy and the removable back pad makes a very handy sit mat at tea breaks. I dont bother using the hydration pouch because the mesh side pockets easily take a 1 litre Sigg bottle which can be accesed while wearing the bag. I recently used it for a days winter walking in the Mamores and strapped my crampons and ice axe on the outside using the bungee compression straps. Build quality is very good as are the materials it is made from. If you are after a small day bag you will not get better at this price. As you can tell i love this little rucksack.

I bought this backpack for commuting via bike in london. Recently my shoulders were playing up after using a courier bag.
The gourdon is amazing, i cant bgelieve how much i can fit in without it seeming overly heavy. The strapos are comfortable enough for a 7 mile each way commute. The pack looks great and is totally proofed from the elements.
Highly recommended, the price is quite literally amazing for the bags. Great work alpkit!

Just got my Gourdon 20 after a bit of a wait…but boy was it worth it! Absolutely delighted with all aspects of design, quality, value.  What a fantastic bit of kit Alpkit, well done!