Kit Review: Gregory Maya 10l Rucksack

Tuesday 17th February

Run #48

5k Local Loops, 2.5kg Weighted

Today my new backpack arrived and I was super excited to take it for a test run. So this post is more a kit review of the pretty awesome Gregory Maya 10l Rucksack. Being a pack designed for women this review will come from an unashamedly female perspective. Sorry chaps.

With my only experience of backpack running being the neck-pain inducing pendular momentum of runs #7 & #8 I did a lot of online research prior to this purchase and the Gregory Maya sung out to me on account of being designed specifically with a female physique in mind, in particular the contoured back panel 'for ideal fit and weight distribution' and the adjustable sternum strap. The little video on the Run And Become website I also found very handy.

The websites make it look like this: 

And the reality is not far off:

Once my inner colour obsessive got over the fact it's actually a greeny 'Mountain Warehouse' kind of grey, more reminiscent of camping in Wales than commuting through London, and shelved the 'should I have got the pink after all?' thoughts I was very impressed with the level of thought that has gone into the design.

I chose the 10litre, mainly because I thought I'd be able to fit a pair of runners and a change of kit in it, but still run without feeling too turtle-like. It does just about fit all the things I had planned to put in it, but, if I bought it again I might go up one to the 16l. There always seems to be just a few more things I'm trying to cram in. That said, the pack sits best on your back when it's full, so it's not a problem and certainly not too small.

It has a great range of pockets that have obviously been well thought through. On the front is a generous pocket with a bungee closure that happily holds a top or light jacket. Stuffing this one doesn't impact on the capacity of the main pocket and vice versa.

The main pocket has a full zip across the top for easy access and is deeper than it looks. I could just get my runners side by side in the bottom but that was the max width (worth bearing in mind I tried this out with my super-clompy Brooks Ariel pronation-support trainers, quite a bit bulkier than the average trainer). Once at the bottom of the pocket there was plenty of room on top for a couple of tops, gloves, socks.

Behind the main pocket at the top is a smaller stash pocket for all the 'handbag' stuff. There is a very useful zippered mesh inner pocket with a key lanyard, which is a nice touch, and plenty of room in the pocket for phone, wallet etc, even when the main pocket is stuffed.

Between the main bag and your back is also a smart pocket for a water reservoir. Now I've never used one of these so I can't comment on this feature. However, I did make the mistake of thinking "big flat pocket - I could put my kindle in there" Because this pocket is against the shaped back panel it isn't actually flat. And while the back panel has some flex, it's pretty rigid. So jamming my kindle in there wasn't the best plan and I think it was the pressure of the back panel against the keys in the pocket on the other side of the reservoir pocket that put a crack in my kindle screen. Not a biggie but I won't be using that pocket for anything other than intended in future.

Either side of the main bag are 2 bottle pockets with bungee elastic that happily hold a 500ml bottle. I was dubious as they didn't look very deep and I wasn't sure a bottle wouldn't work its way out, but the bungee closure did a fine job and there wasn't even any movement of the bottle I ran with. The straps also have a hip pocket on each side. I took one look at these and thought: "waste of time- too small for anything useful". How wrong I was. These tardis pockets took an iPhone 5 and oyster card and would have fitted more. This was ideal as I like to have my phone accessible on run commutes but hate it jiggling in a pocket on a top and have NO patience for running with it in my hand.

 

 

Fit-wise, it's a super-cute compactness that snugs right into the curve of my back. I have a deep lumbar lordosis (duck bum) and often find backpacks sit too low, feeling like the full weight is sat on my pelvis and making my lower back ache. Not so the Maya. The contoured back panel is firm and you can feel when the shoulder straps are the right tightness because it just sort of slots in to the curve of your spine. However, far from making me sweaty, the breathable mesh bit really did seem to do its job and it wasn't until after the run and taking the pack off that I even noticed my back was hot.

The straps are also ventilated and padded in all the right places to be super comfy. It is also super-easy to adjust the ride height on the run. All the straps have a little elastic belt loop for tucking in the trailing strap webbing. But I didn't find this held for long and I did feel a bit of a Mardi Gras effect with all my trailing streamers as I ran. I suspect I'll find myself working out the optimum lengths for me and chopping off the excess.

It took a bit of fiddling to get the sternum strap to sit right but one of the genius bits of design is that this strap is on a slider that means you can shift it higher or lower depending on the width of your shoulder, size of your boobs and personal preference. I tweaked this a fair bit on my run: too high and the main straps put pressure on the front of your shoulders and clavicles. Too low and I found the pendular effect increased. So, like Goldilocks I kept on until I found the 'just right' height. Having never run with a sternum strap I was expecting it to make breathing really hard and feel like something heavy was sitting on my cheat. But I found I adjusted pretty much straight away. In honesty I think the heavier breathing on this easy run was more down to the added weight than my ribcage being restricted

I think I was probably running with my pack quit high - it's where I felt it fitted best on my back. But this did mean the hip pockets were more at the bottom of my ribs than on my waist. Next run out I'm going to try the whole thing a little lower and take up more of the weight on the waist strap and a little less on the sternum strap. There was a slight pendular effect when I ran, but it was so slight compared to the Adidas back pack I ran before that I was happy to take it. But I do wonder if a lower run position might reduce this even further.

I ran this run at easy pace, with about 2.5kg in the pack: trainers, light jacket, 3 tops, sports bra, socks, gloves, full 500ml water bottle, iPhone, wallet, keys kindle(!). I didn't feel weighted down at all - the weight felt like it all but disappeared once I had the pack on. I did notice the run felt harder! But as I am totally new to running with a pack I'm guessing that just comes with the territory. The next day aches were subtly different too. But as these were all in my legs and none in my back I consider that a win.