The Granite Gear Crown3 Review: Ultralight backpack for hikers

Fellow hikers, this ultralight backpack is truly one for the books. Granite Gear has seemingly done the impossible with its bestselling Crown series: created a functional, durable, lightweight pack with ample storage space, hydration compatibility and pockets galore.

Designed with the ounce-counting thru-hiker or backpacking weekend warrior in mind, the brand’s Crown 3 launched in November of 2022 and tacks on some much-needed improvements to the beloved Crown 2, like a more-customizable hip belt, additional mesh pockets and an aluminum stay add-on (sold separately).

While it’s not the pack that I’d take on a winter expedition or a luxurious multi-day trek where I want to pack in extra creature comforts (for load-bearing comfort, get thee to the Gregory Deva), it is the first pack that I pull out of my quiver for lightweight, warm-weather thru-hikes and long weekend outdoor excursions in Yosemite. I’ve had my Crown 2 for four years, and I was thrilled to get to test out the all-new Crown 3 when it was released. Let’s get into what makes this pack so versatile and great.

The Granite Gear Crown 3 is an all-around excellent overnight pack for newbies and old-timers alike. Coming in at less than 2.5 pounds, it still manages to feature most amenities you’d expect from a beefier pack, like compression straps, hip belt pockets, a hydration sleeve and a removable lid that converts into a lumbar pack for short excursions. It’s not the most comfortable pack, but we think its feather-light weight and multitude of useful pockets more than make up for it.

Granite Gear’s Crown 3 60L backpack is a welcome update to a years-long fan favorite. It brings together a ton of things I adored about the previous model, the Crown 2, like large side pockets for stashing gear and Nalgenes, a hydration-compatible inner sleeve and zippered hip belt pockets, plus it tacks on awesome new features, like mesh pockets inside the lid, elastic bottle holders and the option to convert the lid to a lumbar pack.

Let’s be real, the main draw of a pack like this is the fact that, even in a larger unisex size, it weighs in at a measly 2.5 pounds (compared to the average 4 to 6 pounds for a regular 60-liter pack). Even with that enviable weight disparity, the Crown 3 manages to provide all the features most trekkers are looking for: a molded, breathable back panel; large, well-placed pockets; and an adjustable hip belt.

The Crown 3 boasts the same burly fabric as its predecessor, the Crown 2 (100 denier and 210 denier high-tenacity nylon). In my five years of testing this series of backpacks in the wilderness of Tasmania, along the rugged John Muir Trail and in the Rocky Mountains, I’ve only noticed one minor abrasion on the top lid. Pretty impressive.

One thing I learned really quickly on the John Muir Trail was that Smart Water bottles with a Sawyer Mini screwed on are way better than stopping to filter your water multiple times a day, in the hot sun. With that in mind, I was jazzed that my trusty Granite Gear had pretty enormous side pouches, suitable for liter-sized water vessels or breaking up a tent into its bare essentials and spreading out the weight. Bonus points for two sizeable hip pockets that can hold multiple energy bars each.

Both models of Granite Gear’s Crown backpack are equipped with a Re-Fit adjustable hip belt that’s “dual density” padded. The unisex version adjusts from 28 to 42 inches, while the female-specific fit has an adjustable 24- to 40-inch waistband. What that actually translates into on the trail is a chafe-free fit, regardless of how much you sweat or how wet the weather gets. I recently completed a six-day hut-to-hut trip with this bag in chilly Tasmanian downpours, and not once did my skin get raw around the middle.

In addition, two large, zippered hip pockets treated with a durable water-repellent finish (DWR) add to the belt’s functionality. A welcome addition to the Crown 3’s feature lineup is the top lid pouch that can be added to the hip belt to make a lumbar pack, in case you want to summit a quick off-trail peak or explore away from base camp with backpacking snacks and a GPS in tow.

There are a lot of well-thought-out features in this latest update of Granite Gear’s “crown jewel” hiking rucksack, but, as with most ultralight packs, there are a few areas of concern to be aware of, namely in the categories of load carry, comfort and weather-resistance.

Thirty-five pounds might sound like a lot at first glance, but if you’re multi-day trekking in a popular national park like Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon or Rocky Mountain, all of which require a bear canister to protect your food, the Crown 3 can quickly feel overloaded, lumpy, uncomfortable and, well, not worth the weight savings.

Sure, it offers a vapor current molded-foam back panel that’s intended to ventilate your back body while slogging up a steep incline on a warm hike, but, at the end of the day, my experience with this pack is that you will sweat. A lot. And with a maximum weight-carrying capacity of just 35 pounds, thru-hikers hoping to comfortably breeze through the JMT or the PCT will likely need to splurge on an entire, pricey ultralight setup to get their base weight low enough to add the necessary water and food and stay under the limit.

In a way, I’m glad that it rained nearly every day that I hiked Tasmania’s Overland Track, because before that, my naïve little SoCal mind couldn’t imagine what might happen to an ultralight pack without solid suspension in a multi-day downpour, even with a good rain cover on.

In a light afternoon shower or a day of intermittent sprinkles, sure, the Crown series of backpacks holds up just fine, and its DWR finish sheds light precipitation with relative ease. In a soggy rainforest-style environment, however, I found the pack’s foam and fabric buckling and bending and pulling at my shoulders in strange new ways with each consecutive day that it couldn’t fully dry out (and, yes, my load was far below the 35-pound recommended limit). Bottom line: this pack is awesome for summer overnights and dry weather thru-hikes, but if you live in, say, the Pacific Northwest, it might disappoint.

As far as ultralight packs go, Granite Gear’s Crown 3 60L is more affordable (and has way better pocket design) than its competitors. The 55-liter Hyperlite Mountain Gear 3400 Southwest Pack is a touch lighter, at just under 2.2 pounds, but it’s expensive ($379), doesn’t have a removable top lid pouch and, frankly, it’s ugly.

Gossamer Gear makes an excellent 60-liter pack, the Mariposa ($285), that’s another top seller in this category, and it’s lighter, too, at a mere 29 ounces with a small hip belt. The catch? It’s made with slightly thinner nylon and has a less-spacious top lid for storing small gear. Want an ultralight from a more industry-standard brand? Gregory’s women-specific Facet is well-priced at $250, boasts a 55-liter volume and sports a super-lightweight aluminum frame. It’s only a bit heavier than the Crown 3 (roughly 2.5 pounds) and has a recommended 35-pound carry limit.

Lastly, if you’re eyeballing the drool-worthy features of the Crown 3 and don’t mind an older model, Granite Gear’s Crown 2 is currently very on sale.

With a reasonable sticker price of $240, Granite Gear’s Crown 3 60L is surprisingly robust, roomy, pocket-rich and customizable, compared to its competitors. It’s made of high-quality, abrasion-resistant nylon, boasts loads of functional pockets and weighs in at less than 2.5 pounds.

• Granite Gear Crown 3 60L: Women’s | Men’s

We would have loved to see the new, removable aluminum stay included in the price for longer, heavier treks and hikers heading out in sopping-wet forest environments, and the 35-pound comfortable carry limit is a bummer on pretty much every ultralight pack out there. That being said, the Crown 3 still differentiates itself as a top-of-the-line ultralight pack with its feather-light weight, loads of customization options, ample pockets and a price point below others on the market.

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