The Granite Gear Crown3 40 Eco is an affordable ultralight backpack with a modular design that can be easily configured for multiday backpacking or winter hiking. Its three-sided compression and gear attachment system and optional floating top lid pocket set this roll-top backpack apart from other ultralight-style packs. These features are particularly useful when carrying bulky gear, such as snowshoes or a bear canister, that are best carried externally. The most significant upgrade on this backpack over its predecessor, the Crown 2 38L, is the ability to use the top lid as a fanny pack or front chest pocket, saving the cost of buying these separately.
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- Gender: Unisex (Men’s) (Women’s model available)
- Volume: 40L (50L estimated total)
- Type: Internal frame
- Mfg Weight: 2.3 lbs (1040 g)
- Actual Weight: 2.8 lbs (1282 g)
- Actual Weight without top lid pocket: 2.6 lbs (1182 g)
- Pockets: 6 (3 closed, 3 open)
- Access: Top
- Load lifters: Yes
- Adjustable Hip Belt Length: Yes
- Roll top: Yes
- Floating Top Lid: Yes (optionally removable)
- Hydration compatible: Yes
- Bear Canister Compatibility: BV450 fits horizontally in the main compartment, BV475 and BV500 vertical only. The top lid is wide enough to fit over the BV475 when securing it to the top of the pack under the floating lid.
- Max recommended load: 25 lbs without framesheet, 35 lbs with framesheet
- Material: 100D and 210D Recycled Robic nylon, webbing, and foams
- Torso lengths: Unisex – 18″-21″; Women’s 18″-21″
- Hip belt lengths: Unisex – 26″- 42″; Women’s 24″-40″
- Pros: Affordable, modular to save weight, adjustable length hip belt, roll top with optional top lid
- Cons: Limited torso lengths for women, too much volume to use as a day pack, heavier than mfg specs
Backpack Storage and Organization
The Granite Gear Crown3 40 is a roll-top ultralight backpack with an optional floating top lid pocket. Having an optional top lid and a roll-top is a real value add and bucks the trend among ultralight pack manufacturers of removing functionality just to make weight (i.e., pay more, do less). While I remove the top lid pocket in warmer months and just use the pack as a roll-top, the top pocket is very useful in winter for keeping extra hats and gloves handy and in closed storage. You could argue that it’s essential.
The Crown3 40L has much more capacity than the 40 liters in its name implies. When computing pack volume, Granite Gear does not include open pockets or the extension collar (the extra volume above the top of the frame), so you’ll find that you can carry much more gear, food, and fuel than backpacks from smaller manufacturers that don’t adhere to this industry standard. My guess is that the total volume is closer to 50L since I can carry my standard multi-day load (typically 50L) in the Crown3 40L with room to spare. I’ve asked Granite Gear to give me a complete breakdown and will update the review when I receive that info.
The inside of the main compartment is a big open cylinder for you to organize and fill up. When packing, I like to stack all my stuff sacks against the frame sheet and then stuff loose items in front of them to maximize my space utilization and fill up the interior space. I also line the pack with a compactor trash bag for moisture protection. But, the main compartment does bow out if you overstuff it with non-compressible gear. I discovered this packing up a synthetic quilt for a trip that required much more volume than I’d expected.
Notably absent is a hydration pocket in the interior, which many lightweight pack manufacturers have started to drop from multi-day backpacks since people prefer to keep their water in bottles on the outside. But there is still a dowel to hang a reservoir inside and a central port to run a hose that opens between the shoulder straps.
The Crown3 40 has two side water bottle pockets made with solid fabric. The top has an elastic cord that you can tighten to prevent items from falling out. There’s also a compression strap that can be run over the pocket or through it, the latter so you can compress the main compartment while still using the side pocket. The pockets are large enough to hold two 32-oz Nalgenes or two SmartWater bottles, whatever your preference.
The pack also comes with a pair of elastic cords on each shoulder strap to which you can attach rigid plastic bottles. Each shoulder strap has daisy chains running its length, which makes it very easy to attach accessory pockets to them. I use them to attach a Hyperlite Shoulder Strap Pocket and a ‘biner with my Garmin inReach Mini2 satellite communicator.
The front mesh pocket is extra tall and made with durable mesh. It’s rather tight when the pack is full, so it’s best for storing a water filter, loose clothing layers, or smaller knickknacks like a tent stake bag, tent poles, or a trowel.
The top lid is floating, so it can be raised to fit over the extension collar when the pack is overloaded or when you want to carry a bear canister over the main compartment. The lid is connected to the back with four webbing straps, all removable if you remove the top lid, so you don’t have extra straps cluttering the pack. There are other places on the pack to remove straps or reattach them for other uses.
Bear Canister Compatibility
The main compartment is large enough to fit a BV450 vertically or horizontally. Larger canisters must be packed vertically. The top lid is wide enough that the ends fit over a BV475, providing a secure carry if you put it under the floating lid.
Backpack Frame and Suspension
The Crown3 40 has a plastic framesheet tightly packed into the zippered pocket behind the shoulder straps in the main compartment. You can remove it to save weight, but it will reduce the comfortable weight-carrying capacity of the pack from 35 pounds to 25 pounds, so I just leave it in all the time.
Granite Gear advertises an optional frame stay that can slotted into the plastic framesheet to increase the load that can be comfortably carried. Unfortunately, it’s unclear if it’s the same stay that was marketed for the Crown3 60 and how the sizing works since that frame stay and the Crown 3 60 are available in three sizes and the Crown 3 40 is only available in one. It would be helpful if Granite Gear could make this more transparent on their website. I’ve brought this to their attention.
Pack Sizing
The Crown3 40 is only available in one torso size, 18″-21″ (46-53 cm), for the unisex (men’s) and women’s models. That’s too bad, especially for women, since they tend to have much shorter torsos than men. For example, the Crown3 60 is available in a women’s short torso of 15″-18″, the sweet spot for women’s backpack sizing.
The Crown3 40 does, however, have an adjustable length hip belt on both the unisex and women’s models, so you can dial in a perfect custom fit and still reach the hip belt pockets. Pull the hip belt out of the pack and fold the two halves together at the indicated measurement, which is closed with velcro to adjust the hip belt length. Getting a good hip belt fit, where the belt rides on your hip bones, is hard for people and very difficult without an adjustable-length hip belt like this. The hip belt on the women’s model differs from the unisex model’s, with a more conical shape to fit female hips.
Shoulder Straps
The shoulder straps on the unisex model are basically J-shaped, while the shoulder straps on the women’s model are strongly S-shaped to fit over female breasts without pinching. Both models come with dual sternum straps, similar to some fastpacks, even though the shoulder straps are not vest-shaped. You don’t have to use both buckles unless that’s your preference. The sternum straps are attached to the daisy chains that run the length of the shoulder straps. When you receive the pack, they’ll probably be higher than you want, so be sure to adjust them before you take the pack out the first time.
Compression and External Attachment System
One of the things that makes Granite Gear Packs unique is their three-sided compression and attachment system. This system makes it very easy to strap or attach bulky gear to the outside of the backpack, including snowshoes, foam pads, and other winter traction aids. (I used the predecessor of this backpack, the Crown2 38L, for many years as my winter peak bagging pack in the White Mountains of NH). If you want a backpack that you can use all year round and for multiple sports, the Granite Gear Blaze 60, Crown3 60L, and Crown3 40 have no equal.
For example, the front and both sides of the pack have two tiers of compression straps, making it easy to strap snowshoes to the outside. I use this every winter, which lasts for close to six months in New England. The compression straps, made with actual webbing, not string, close with buckles, which are far easier to use for attaching bulky gear to the side of a pack and won’t freeze up in winter.
Fanny Pack Configuration
There are also some valuable cost-saving features on the Crown3 that you have to pay extra for when purchasing other backpacks. In addition to its two large hip belt pockets, you can combine the top lid with the hip belt to make a very nice fanny pack, and one that has the added benefit of hip belt pockets.
You just have to pull out the hip belt, unclip the top lid, and secure the top lid buckles around the hip belt. I didn’t mention it above, but the top lid pocket has internal dividers in the Crown3, making it easier to keep things separate when stored inside. That really helps when the top lid is used as a fanny pack pocket. And having large hip belt pockets on a fanny pack is just priceless. Pickpockets are crying.
Chest Pocket Configuration
You can also redeploy the top lid as a chest pocket by attaching its front webbing straps to the gear loop alongside each shoulder strap. This turns out to be quite useful and easy to disengage or re-engage when you want to take off or put the pack back on. A front pocket like this is very convenient for carrying maps and navigational aid, gloves, hats, and food, particularly in winter. You can also spend big bucks on pockets like this, but having one included with the Crown3 40 is another big value add.
Recommendation
Backpacking gear has gotten really expensive, arguably too expensive, but the Granite Gear Crown3 40 is very competitively priced for an ultralight backpack ($230), especially when you factor in the added storage (hip belt pockets, fanny pack, and chest pocket) that other manufacturers charge an arm and a leg for. If you’re looking for a lightweight backpack that can be used year-round and is easily customized for a wide range of trips, the Crown3 40 is really hard to beat.
Disclosure: Granite Gear donated a backpack for this review. SectionHiker is reader-supported. We only make money if you purchase a product through our affiliate links. Help us continue to test and write unsponsored and independent gear reviews, beginner FAQs, and free hiking guides.
