Gourdon Reviews

HI,  What about one that is a rope bag aswell?  The 30l is spot on you just need the flap out groundsheet bit?  Also a superlarge one for putting my climbing pack in and stuff for air trips?  Stick to your guns lads please don’t add mesh pockets and loops etc as we would have to change you name to Berghaus or something!!!

Recieved my Gourdon 25l next day and it’s had several outings on Dartmoor. Excellent, simple, brilliant design and suprisingly comfortable. Why did I spend so much time and money on “the perfact” back system when this works so well?! Yes the straps slipped but I’ve simply tied a knot in each one and the problem is solved. No problem finding my stuff inside, the window lets in plenty of light. Whilst my 25l takes all my walking leader gear, I’d definitely buy a smaller - say 10l - for my solo walks.

Just got to congratulate you on your outstanding service everytime. Ordered a Gourdon 25 on Wednesday night, got an email to say it was being processed on Thursday and it arrived Friday morning- brilliant, and all for £17-50! First impression- great liitle sack which my nephew will love as his birthday present. Nice one- keep it up.

I think i have a solution for all the “what about straps, or pockets” people. A few small tabs about the size of a quid made from the same coated PVC material with a ‘through loop’ about the width of a compression strap or compression cord.  These tabs could come with the pack, and along with a tube of glue, and you could just put them anywhere you wanted! like say three on each side for making a ‘webbed’ triangle to hold a couple water bottles, or aligned for compression straps.  What do you say,...is this CoLab worthy?

Awesome pack, this summer it’s been all over with me, deep water soloing all round the uk and a trip to mallorca where it survived the chuck it fully packed off a 20m sea cliff test.

This weekend used it on the OMM.  It was general really good and stayed dry in some very wet conditions.  My only real problem was with the straps which seem to slip quite a bit, especially whe your running with the bag.

Somehow I managed to nick the front clear panel on my Gourdon 25L, as a dry bag with a hole in it isn’t much use I contacted Alpkit to see if they could help.  Alpkit Jim did some “tests” as they hadn’t come across any repair requests for the clear panel before – which resulted in them contacting the manufacturer for further advice.  After a short wait for a new tool to facilitate the repair to be supplied, they contacted me on the 23 Oct to send my bag in.  I am glad to report that the “surgery” was a success and my Gourdon was returned today, fully fit and sporting a very fetching and neat black patch. I’ve been very impressed with the level of customer service I have received and can not recommend these guys highly enough.  Thank you Alpkit!

30L Gourdon purchased August 2007.

Used as a day sack in SW USA for a two week walking/camping holiday, only problem was the webbing for tensioning the shoulder straps works loose far too easily.  Kept the sand out, kept the rain out and comfortable on a 20 mile walk in the hills with an 8lb load.

Used in the OMM (Original Mountain Marathon) in October 2007.
Cons:
Chest strap failed.  It became unclipped from the shoulder strap piping.  I wasn’t waisting time getting it back on in the horizontal rain when the clock is ticking.  This component let me down when I least needed it too.
Once again the webbing to tension the shoulder straps worked loose far too easily.  Very bad when wet.  Constantly having to cinch up the shoulder straps is a real pain.
Pros:
Keeps everything dry, dry dry.
Lightweight.
Comfortable.  Despite the minimalist design the shoulder straps are brilliant and the back padding excellent for me.  No sore shoulders or back despite carrying a 14lb load in the wet for 8 hours.
Easily accessible.  Once familiar with the toggle fasteners getting in/out quick is not an issue.
Suggested design improvements:
Sort out that flippin webbing to the shoulder straps or use buckles with narrower slits to improve the friction lock.
Don’t bother with outside pockets.  Keep it simple please.
Find a robust method to fasten the chest straps on.

Would I use this on the OMM again.  Yes, but only when I have modified the webbing and fitted a more robust chest strap.
As a day pack it’s unbeatable but I’d probably plump for the 25L version if that’s the sole purpose of the bag.

Hi Ady, nice idea.. we do have a smaller Gourdon in the works but I think your idea is much more inventive than ours! Why not do some sketches and enter it in our coLAB comp?

Hi Angus, sorry about the confusion with the colours. When we first brought the Gourdon out it did indeed come in bright red (Tomato), but this has been replaced by the duller red (Sun Dried Tomato!). We thought it would be better to delete the brighter red from the options so as to avoid confusion, but of course if you had already seen the brighter red it may be more confusing :(

I have just read through the comments and decided to purchase a Gourdon. As I am purchasing the current version I have been taking note of previous comments thinking about after market upgrades so that I don’t have to buy another version in the near future.

I agree with the need to have pockets to keep some items readily available and would like to introduce “Wee Gourdy”. “Wee Gourdy” is the tiny off-spring of “Gourdon” and hitches a ride by attaching himself to the carry straps at the front, balancing the weight of his father and giving easy access to smaller items.

“Wee Gourdy” loves nothing more than coming with you on your adventures, looking after your chocolate, mobile phone and pocket knife keeping them safe whilst splashing in puddles or sliding in mud. He has small loops to hang smaller items from like emergency whistle, compass etc.