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Golite description: The Quest is a fully featured, supremely comfortable all-season backpack. Made of durable Velocity fabric, it has a moldable framesheet with two adjustable aluminum stays for maximum support. The shaped back panel and compression-molded hip belt wings contour to the back and hips to keep you happy no matter what you�re hauling. The adjustable webbing hip belt has two easy access bellowed mesh pockets and two angled side stretch mesh pockets allow for convenient storage. The side compression straps release and join to opposite sides for carrying a snowboard or snowshoes, and the comPACKtor system lets you neatly tuck in extra pack space. Pack SpecsWeight: 1410g Volume: 72 litres Hydration: 3-Litre Hydration Compatible Super durable polyurethane-coated and DWR-treated for extreme water resistance |
For years and many backpacking trips, my bombproof Lowe Alpine Frontier has carried my load in supreme comfort (around 75% to 80% of the combined weight for the two of us), and it has been as faithful and indestructible piece of kit as anyone could wish for. It has suffered all manner of abuse including being wrenched through stiff spiky tree branches and emerged totally unscathed, and I'm sure it would survive the holocaust. It carrys extremely well and feels like a part of me now, but its single failing has become more and more onerous in recent times: its weight.
I've kept one eye on the development of lighter packs for quite a while now, but nearly all the ones I'd seen were based on the regime of the solo backpacker who had adopted a totally lightweight strategy. They were very basic single compartment packs with rudimentary support systems and were not available in the volume I need for our situation, and they would probably not have carried my load with any modicum of comfort. To make matters worse they were sourced from the USA and not commonly available (if at all) in retail shops to try.
When I saw the first pictures and specs of the Golite Quest I finally had reason to get excited. Golite had produced a pack aimed somewhere between the ultralight weight of their most basic packs and the traditional supportive but heavy load carriers. Its volume was quoted as 72l, roughly similar to the Lowe Alpine, but more than 1kg lighter and firmly in the realm of the lightweights. It was also available in a UK shop, essential for trying the back system for personal fit before any final decision to buy one.
In the shop the low weight of the empty Quest was striking compared to the Frontier. I loaded up the pack with some weight and volume and the fit seemed excellent. It felt different of course, as would any new pack, but very comfortable and all the strap adjustments were within range for me (one pack i tried on years ago was useless because the hip belt strap wouldn't go tight enough for my 31-inch waist). The shoulder straps were well padded and didn't cut in, and the sternum strap was easily adjustable, while the load was transferred well onto the hips - I just knew this was right. This was the last Quest in the shop and I took it.
What really caught my immediate attention was the large zipped pocket on the back: it would be an excellent solution for our tent strategy. After many trips and iterations to our methods, we decided a long time ago that there was only one way to guarantee keeping all our kit dry when pitching in rain:- that was to ensure that the tent was fully pitched with us inside it before the kit in the pack liner ever saw the light of day (and similarly in reverse when packing up in the morning). This meant keeping the tent outside the pack liner and immediately accessible on arrival at the pitch: the Lowe Alpine had a side entry zip near the bottom where we stored the tent below the liner. This worked very well but was a bit more awkward when packing up in rain because the liner full of kit had to be heaved and wiggled upwards in the pack to make the slot underneath. With the external pocket on the Quest it would be a breeze and the pack lid could remain closed for the whole operation.
The back-length of the Quest is not adjustable as on the Frontier but comes in medium and large sizes for different ranges of spine length, see the Golite Sizing Chart. We have a diagram showing the measurement of spine length on our Backpacking Packs page.
The pack body is made of Velocity fabric, which feels pretty tough and has a shiny satin feel. Unlike the Frontier, it has no side bellows pockets but is a sleeker and more pleasing shape, and this can be a practical advantage on rocky climbs and gullies and helps with stability.
The top of the pack body has an extension collar with a standard drawcord closure as pictured, which can be used for some extra space if required. The Quest has a feature new to me: an additional strap with a fastex buckle that comes over the top of the pack body from near the haul loop and passes under the lid to the clasp on the back (see picture above). This helps to cinch down the volume when less than full and keeps the closure neat and tight. The standard floating lid swings over the top and attaches with two fastex buckles as on most packs, and there are the standard side cinch straps.
The lid has a large zipped pocket as pictured which is very useful for keeping some items easily accessible and separate from the main pack body. The zip is claimed to be watertight but I still packed the items in polythene bags, and of course I used my Cascade Designs pack liner for the main pack body as usual. The lid is removable but I would never do that, it's far too useful.
The sternum strap can easily be moved up and down to get the most comfortable position across the chest, and a really neat feature of the buckle is the tiny built-in whistle (pictured above) which I didn't even notice until I read about it later in the spec. If a serious accident should happen, the whistle is right there next to the mouth without fumbling in the pack for it.
The padded hip belt felt surprisingly supportive despite being smaller and a lot lighter than the Frontier, proving that it doesn't need to be heavy to carry a fairly large load in comfort. Both wings of the hip belt have zipped mesh pockets which are incredibly useful, I can't understand why packs were ever made without them. There is an angled mesh pocket on either side of the pack body for easy access of more small items - I carry the tent poles on one side seated in the pocket and held in place by the side cinch straps and a 500ml water bottle in the other (these side pockets would not be tall enough to hold a 1l bottle securely).
The Quest has a feature I've never seen before: a ComPACKtor system pictured left that allows the pack to be folded down to a 25l volume. Looking at the bottom of the pack, there are 2 loops at the base of the lumbar pad and 2 clips at the rear. The pack can be folded to a narrow profile and the loops hooked into the clips to hold it in place, and when combined with the side cinch straps makes a slim daypack. This is a great feature for a base camp situation where the full volume is used to carry the tent and establish the camp and day walks are made with a minimal load.
The first field trial was on a backpack in Lower Eskdale, 2 days of 10 miles each with easy walking and very little in the way of steep rocky ascent. After years with the Frontier I was expecting the Quest to feel really strange at first, but I settled into the slightly different feel very quickly. The lumbar region of the Quest is well padded and very comfortable, and the frame supported the load admirably through the cushioned hip belt. It was quite warm and humid in the valleys but the pack maintained a venting gap next to my back and I didn't feel unduly sweaty, certainly no more than with the Frontier. Overall the Quest felt a little tighter around the shoulders and upper chest, but it was just a 'different' feeling that I quickly adapted to with some adjustment of the straps.
On a 4-day traverse of the Arans / Dyfis / Cadair Idris ranges, the initial load was considerably heavier but still well within the comfort limits of the Quest, the pack supported it through the hips with no problem. The traverse of Bryn Brith involved clambering up and down some little rocky grooves and stability was excellent. The pack had no tendency to lurch about and felt very secure, more so than the Frontier in fact, and its slimmer profile with no bellows pockets was appreciated. We had a little light rain at the pitch and a heavy shower in the afternoon, and the water beaded off the shiny pack material very well - an academic point really since a pack liner is required anyway, but interesting.
The pack is compatible with hydration bladders but I can't comment on those - I don't use them. The frame system is said to be removable and adjustable but the pack feels comfortable as is and I didn't investigate this feature.
Several trips have now confirmed first impressions and I am thoroughly pleased with this pack so far. Initially I will be very conscious that the Quest will probably not stand the offensive treatment I meted out to the Frontier, at least not for as long, but it's my job now to take more care and look after it!.
A sad report: the Quest has suffered a major failure. Halfway through the last day of our Eastern Galloway backpack I put on the pack and tightened the hipbelt as usual, then... a sickening rip!. The webbing holding the main buckle at the waist had torn right out of the hipbelt material.
The webbing itself is the usual ultra-tough material commonly used on the main buckle straps of backpacks, but it is stitched onto the thin material enclosing the hip belt pads and that was the source of failure. Examination of the other intact side revealed that this too was showing the first signs of gradually coming apart.
Having been accustomed to the old indestructible Lowe Alpine for years, I was very conscious of the lightweight construction and I've taken the utmost care in handling the Quest and its strap adjustments, zips etc., but this mode of failure was one I never thought of. I do like my hipbelt to be tight and I pull the webbing quite hard (and carefully, never yanking it), but I don't know if it's any tighter than other backpackers have it. In any event this is a critical point of the construction that is constantly under stress: perhaps Golite can find a way of attaching the webbing to a more robust anchor point.
Our walk logs show the exact usage figures for the Quest up to the point of the material failure: 42 backpacking days and 344 miles.
The Quest has been a superb pack until this failure. I took it to the retailer with a covering letter and it should now be on its way back to Golite. I'll update this when I receive any news.
I received a new replacement pack from Golite Europe but they can't trace my original failed pack, so no feedback and hope of an in-depth report on the failure.