Grey Ghost Gear started out as a clearing house for tactical gear, but quickly moved into producing its own line of nylon equipment. Recently they have expanded from a few assault packs into chest rigs, three day packs and pouches. However, as interesting as that may be, its not what this article is about. Six months ago, Grey Ghost Gear dropped a new assault pack into our laps with the caveat of needing to keep it quiet until they were ready for a release.
What makes the new Grey Ghost Gear LiteLok Pack stand out is the material. LiteLok is a material developed by Duro Industries and Glen Raven Technical Fabrics. The claim to fame for this material is it weighs 30% less than typical 500D nylon. Duro Industries states "LiteLok® exhibits excellent breaking strength and outstanding abrasion resistance performance." That certainly sounds good on paper, but how does it hold up in real life?
http://www.greyghostgear.com/packs/lightweight-assault-pack-2-1
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Lets start with the basics of the pack. It is a 1178 cubic inch pack, which falls under the typical assault pack category for most of us. That makes it large enough to hold most day trip gear unless you are really loading up heavy or going out in cold weather and need extra room. The GGG LiteLok pack is available only in Multicam currently, though when I asked about additional colors, I was told additional colors may become available depending on the demand level and that a tan/FDE/Coyote Brown offering would most likely be the next one if the need came about. Construction of this beast appears to be the same as our previously reviewed pack from Grey Ghost Gear ( http://blogs.militarytimes.com/gearscout/2011/05/12/grey-ghost-gear-light-weight-assault-pack/), with dimensions and build quality being the same. For those who have read the earlier review, you know we found it to be a solid pack. I've continued to use and loan out the packs and have found no damage, ripped seams or broken zippers since the initial review. This pack is made in the USA.
Pack features include a primary storage compartment which is top loading, along with a secondary side zipped compartment which is smaller. Inside the pack are two small elastic pockets on the sides for holding water bottles or something of a similar size. A three liter hydration bladder pocket is standard, though the bladder is not included. The shoulder straps are lightly padded, and suitable for the pack size, they stow away internally for times when you want to attach the pack to a plate carrier. The plate carrier attachment works well, and I leave one of mine locked into a set of armor most of the time. The outside of the pack completes itself with a sternum strap, drag handle, velcro and molle webbing on three sides. The section of the pack which mates up to your back in well padded.
Testing of this pack was primarily done to see how this fabric would hold up. I used it as a daily carry bag at a few trade shows, but in general all you do at a trade show is walk around, so there is nothing super exciting there. However, it doesn't change that a lot of guys/ gals will use this bag for books, waterbottle, and similar mundane gear. The pack was comfortable in this regard. Next were short day trips in the mountains, and there were no problems there hiking around. I take my niece and nephews out in the field, and on longer trips where I need to carry a larger amount of gear, this pack was perfect for them as a "full size" pack (think younger kids up to low teens). No point in letting kids get a free ride out in the field, they can square themselves away. This pack was comfortable for them, and had enough adjustment where it wasn't flopping all around. The guys at Grey Ghost Gear might cringe at me pointing out that it works perfect as a primary pack for kids as I know that is not its intended role, but I found it works as well for them as it did in its intended role. On the kids note, even them overloading it, yanking on zippers, and throwing it around, and their general use of it as a play toy, there was no damage. With the pack working well for its basic uses, I decided to load it full of loaded USGI magazines, PMAGs and cans of food, then throw it in the back of my cruiser. My thought was the corners of the magazines and increased weight getting thrown around in my daily duties as a city cop (working a high crime area) would do well to see if the LiteLok fabric would hold up, or if it would tear out. This portion of the testing was done for a little over 5 months, and it only stopped on my non-duty days when I was using the pack for the above projects.
This pack works well in its LiteLok adaptation, and being substantially lighter while still having good abrasion resistance and durability is a solid plus. There isn't much that could be done to improve the pack in my eyes. An outside pocket would be nice, but that would add weight, and the molle webbing allows for an admin pouch to be attached which fills that desire nicely. The second thing is a belt, but that would also add weight, and its something I don't most people would actually need or use. While I like the idea of a belt on all packs, there is no doubt I would look stupid with one around my ribs, so this idea is more for the kids or "little people". Lastly, and I understand that looks are subjective, this material looks great. The feel and movement is unlike other materials used in tactical nylon products. I think Grey Ghost Gear has a winner with this, and I'm interested to see what else they use LiteLok for. At a price of $79, the guys at Grey Ghost Gear aren't even raising the price of this over their other packs, which means a few friends of mine may be getting these as presents...
http://www.greyghostgear.com/packs/lightweight-assault-pack-2-1
MANUFACTURER SPECS SHOWN BELOW
Features a large main compartment as well as a side entry front pocket, modular webbing for attaching additional pouches and padded shoulder straps that stow away when not in use. Designed to attach directly to modular vests or larger packs. Heavy-duty zippers, sternum strap, grab handle, loop material for patches and a 3 litre hydration pocket, while being lighter and stronger than other comparable lightweight packs.
Main compartment: 17" L x 9.5" W x 5.5" D 888.25 cu in
Front pocket: 14" L x 8" W x 2.5" D 290 cu in
Total volume 1178.25 cu in
LiteLok® - 100% Nylon
In conjunction with Glen Raven Technical Fabrics LLC, we have created LiteLok® fabric. Weighing 30% less than traditional 500D nylon, Litelok® exhibits excellent breaking strength and outstanding abrasion resistance performance. The double layer design is key to abrasion performance, while creating an ideal material for a lightweight backpack or vest.
Specs:
Finished Width - 59 inches cuttable
Finished Weight - 5.4 oz/yd² approximately
Fiber Content - 100% nylon
Breaking Strength - 150/200 (warp/fill) (lbs, approximate)
Water Resistance - 127+ cm
Abrasion - may exceed 1300 cycles, H18 @500g
