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Gregory Compass 30 Specs
Cost: $99.95 (Sale $73)
Capacity: 30 liters
Dimensions: 21.5” x 13.25” x 7.4” (55 x 34 x 19 cm)
Style: Duffel
Weight: 1.65 lbs (0.75 kg)
Laptop: 15″
Materials: 420D High Density Nylon, 840D Ballistic Polyester, YKK Zips
Origin: Manufactured in the Philippines
Overall Impression
The carry style on the Gregory Compass 30 is a hybrid between a travel pack, and a backpacking backpack. Some of the features that make this more of a hiking backpack is the elongated frame, daisy chain slash points on the exterior, as well as a large brain access top pocket.
Materials and Hardware
Gregory went with a slightly thinner 420 denier nylon on the exterior of this pack. It’s a little thinner than you see in a lot of travel backpacks, but it’s perfectly good for most general uses.
The Compass 30 has solid #8 YKK zippers on all the exterior pockets. However none of them are locking. The zipper pulls are huge stitched nylon webbing pulls that kind of remind me of climbing webbing. They’re awesome and huge, great to grab onto, however they might be a little bit of overkill on this pack.
The rest of the hardware they went with off-brand Nifco plastic adjusters and buckles. They’re decent but a little smaller than I like to see on travel backpacks.
Dimensions
The lightweight420 fabric allows this pack to be very minimalist 0.75 kg or 1.65 lbs. This is about the smallest pack that I would consider to be a long-term travel backpack. I would consider this more of a weekend bag with a 30 liter capacity.
If you’re minimalist enough to make this work as your travel backpack, it has great under-seat carry on dimensions at 21.5” x 13.25” x 7.4” (55 x 34 x 19 cm).
External Components
The daisy chains I find are more of a feature on hiking backpacks. They’re great for attaching carabiners and water bottles. But I don’t find much of a use for them when I’m traveling. Gregory is a company known for outdoor packs, and this is their attempt at a travel backpack. However I don’t think they went full travel backpack, instead they created this hybrid pack.
Organizational Pockets
Top access slash pockets are nothing new for travel backpacks, but this is the only small item organization on this pack. It’s a large cavernous compartment with a little mesh pocket and a key leash. You can fit a ton of gear in this pocket, but it leaves me wanting more as far as an external document organizational compartment. It does however help give the outside of the Gregory Compass 30 a nice sleek, minimalist look.
Laptop Comartment
Other than the top brain pocket, the side access laptop compartment is the only other exterior organization on the Gregory Compass 30. It’s a large padded 15” laptop sleeve, and yes I’ve been hiking around with my laptop all day which might be a little weird. But I wanted to test the weight and make sure my laptop fit in here okay.
One weird thing that I noticed is the zipper tends to get in the way of the backpack strap. Which is something I’ll show you later that also happens with the main compartment. But other than that, this is a decent compartment. It has ok padding, the backing is a thinner hard foam as well as a thinner piece of foam padding on the inside. There’s not exactly a false bottom or a false top, but the sleeve is sewn right in the middle of the pack. So your laptop is not going to be touching the top or bottom of the bag.
Compression Straps
I really appreciate Gregory adding two compression straps to each side of the Compass 30. Because it doesn’t have a lot of structure, if you don’t have the bag completely packed full, you’re going to rely on these straps to squish the bag down and give it some shape. What I don’t like however is the position of the straps. Instead of being lined up with the center of the pack, they’re off to the sides. It does give the bag a weird shape when you cinch it down.
Carry Options
Shoulder Straps
The straps are moderately padded for a bag of this size. They’re decently wide, and while they’re thin, they do have mesh padding and air ventilation on the back. And while they don’t offer a hip belt with this pack, it does have nice adjustability, and a nice sternum strap.
Carry Comfort
I tested this pack on a long day hike, and while the straps are thin, it’s only a 30 liter pack. So it’s actually decently comfortable. The need for a hip belt with bags in this size range is more of a personal decision. I think you could go either way. You don’t really need one with a 30 liter pack, but some people like them on any sized pack.
As far as the general carry on the Gregory Compass 30. I think it looks a little weird on my back. I wish it has a little more structure, so it doesn’t sag down on my back. But that being said it’s actually decently comfortable.
Back Padding Comfort
The back padding is ok for a minimalist pack. It’s moderately padded, with a few air ventilation strips. However it is a little thin, and you are going to miss out on some of the padding comfort that you get on much heavier packs.
Interior Design and Organization
The interior organization is one thing that makes this bag a little weird, and different than most travel packs. Instead of being in the middle or front, the Gregory Compass 30 has a large duffel style opening on the back of the bag. It does open fully, giving you complete access to the main compartment. However, because it’s on the back, I do find the backpack straps get in the way of opening the lid.
Other than the weird opening, the pack has a standard large duffel style main compartment with a large main pocket. Inside the lid is a small mesh zippered pocket, as well as the laptop compartment behind the lid. One thing worth nothing is the lid can get heavy, which puts pressure on the back of the pack and can make collapse the main compartment when you’re trying to pack it. It’s not a completely free standing duffel opening.
Packing the Gregory Compass 30
As far as the capacity on the Gregory Compass 30. I find that two 14 x 10 compression cubes will fit almost perfectly inside the main compartment. Put these in the bottom to help give the bag structure, then pack the rest of your smaller gear on top. You have to be conscientious when you back this bag. Because it has a thin material, no internal frame sheet, the bag doesn’t have a lot of structure. How you pack the bag is going to have a large impact on how floppy the bag is on your back.
Gregory Compass 30 Summary
All in all, the Gregory Compass 30 is a great minimalist pack at a decent price. It’s usually about $100, but I picked it up on sale for about $75.
They do a great job with the features on this pack, like the carry on dimensions, laptop compartment, and large duffel style opening. However, Gregory doesn’t fully commit to a travel backpack style. They keep a lot of features you find on hiking backpacks. Like external daisy chains, elongated frame, and a top access brain pocket. Which can actually make this a decent hybrid pack, use as a hiking backpack as well as a weekend travel pack.
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