Gregory Deva Review

Testing the Deva

Over the summer last year, I took the Deva with me on a girls’ week-long hiking trip through Yosemite National Park, where we decided to bring blow-up inner tubes to float the alpine lakes and rivers. The tubes were not light, and definitely not a normal shape to pack – but the Deva managed them well. The many compartments of the pack meant I could pack away my valuables to keep dry, and still strap the inner tubes easily to the pack for easy weight distribution.

I also took the Deva on a trip to the Aletsch Arena recently, where we hiked the Panoramaweg. It’s short, only 31 kilometers, but can actually be split into three days with the huts along the way. We decided to take the long route and allowed ourselves to pack some luxuries since they were such short days. For that, the Deva was perfect! I could carry a little extra and still didn’t really feel the difference because of the fantastic ergonomics of the bag.

About the Deva

The Gregory Deva is almost 25 years old and was actually created three years before the men’s equivalent, the Baltoro pack. It was such a success that they knew they needed to expand the line! As one of the leading backpack brands for women’s packs, Gregory created the Deva to fit women’s bodies without compromising space or performance. The pack is outfitted with Gregory’s FreeFloat rotating hipbelts and AirCushion mesh back panels for comfort, no matter the conditions.

The pack comes in 60-liter and 70-liter options, plus it has a range of adjustable sizes to fit your height and weight. There are also many pockets and compartments throughout the bag to keep you organized. This has come in handy many times when I’m trying to find my headlamp, separate clean and dirty clothes, and even just keep stuff dry. It comes with front zippered pockets, shoulder-strap pockets, hipbelt pockets, water-bottle side pockets, two pockets on the top compartment, and also with U-zip access to the main compartment of the pack. You will be at no loss for organizational potential!

Conclusion

All in all, I think the Gregory Deva is a great pack. It holds its own and is perfect for long trips in the backcountry. If you need to be self-sufficient for days on end, this pack will be a comfortable way to bring everything you need. Compared to its lighter-weight competition, the Gregory has the capability to actually distribute weight more evenly across your shoulders and hips, which means that you don’t feel the added weight, and in addition get a lot of great compartments and features that others don’t have.