Gregory’s new Palisade 80 pack wins OutDoor Industry Award

TEMECULA, Calif. – Gregory Packs’ new Palisade 80 this month won a bronze OutDoor Industry Award, a distinction bestowed on the most noteworthy new products at the OutDoor 2007 summer trade show in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

The award, announced on day one of the four-day trade show, was one of 30 given to products with “particularly innovative designs and above-average product quality.” An international jury whittled the winners from a field of 204 entries from 21 countries.

Products in different competition categories were evaluated for innovation, design quality, workmanship, choice of materials, environmental compatibility, functionality, utility, safety, trendsetting character and brand value/branding.

The Palisade 80, a new pack that shares the name of its predecessor, is one of six new 2008 packs in its backpacking line that Gregory unveiled at the OutDoor show in Friedrichshafen. The pack line will debut in North America at the Outdoor Retailer Show Aug. 9-12 in Salt Lake City.

The Palisade 80 features a reengineered and updated version of Gregory’s award-winning Response suspension system, first unveiled in 2006. The new version, called Response Custom Fit Suspension (CFS) and tailored for packs intended to carry heavier loads, employs an innovative new ratchet system that quickly and easily adjusts the pack’s hip angle to fit its wearer. In addition, it features a thermo-molded back panel that employs newly developed co-molding technology, a new anti-barreling cross stay between the two main stays, clean tone-on-tone design and a variety of other new technology. It is also nearly a quarter pound lighter than its predecessor. As well, all PVC has been eliminated from the Palisade, along with all other packs in the Gregory backpacking line. The same features are found in the new Whitney 95 and women’s specific Deva 85 packs.

Gregory has also released reengineered, lighter-weight versions of its Baltoro 70, Triconi 60 and women’s specific Deva 60 packs for 2008. Those packs employ Response Auto Fit Suspension, a lighter version of Gregory’s Response Suspension more tailored for weekend to five-day trips.

For more information about Gregory packs, visit www.gregorypacks.com.

About Gregory Packs

Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2007, Gregory Packs has been the longtime international leader in expedition, backpacking and day packs. Gregory is world-renowned for setting standards for durability, comfort and performance in backpacks. In the last three years, Gregory won awards for its pack designs from such diverse media outlets as Backpacker Magazine, Popular Science, National Geographic Adventure, Consumers Digest and Alpinist Magazine. Responsible for many industry firsts in backpacking fit and design, the Gregory research and design team, including company founder Wayne Gregory, continues to lead the way in innovative backpack technology and performance. The company in recent years has expanded into lightweight packs, sport-specific packs, and travel, commuter and lifestyle products.

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