GearDetails: Revival of the G-Hook

G-Hook Galore

Dear gear enthusiasts, it’s that time of the year again for zooming in on micro-level. Last summer at Outdoor 2015, where hundreds of outdoor brands presented their spring/summer collections for 2016, G-Hooks were all over the place.

Now, the G-Hook is certainly not new, and in military dump shops and hunting specialty stores, they were never gone. We’re not sure why all of a sudden they’re back, but we think they may be here to stay. So, coincidence or not, many brands were using these sturdy metal G-Hooks instead of plastic side release buckles on backpacks. It’s a clever design so why reinvent the wheel?

I assume the main reason for this comeback may well be the strength of metal compared to plastic. Who hasn’t had their plastic buckle crushed by an airport conveyor belt or cracked by a granite wall or just crumble after 20 years of UV-radiation?

So, the metal is hard and unbreakable according to some brands, but besides that, G-Hooks should provide easier handling especially while wearing gloves. They seem ‘open’ and they don’t click-to-close, but they shouldn’t easily come undone spontaneously.

Let us know what you think and send us your detailed photos of plastic buckle trouble.

Below you’ll find a couple of photos of backpacks I like, that come with G-Hooks:

Photo above: On the left the award winning Haglöfs – Roc Helios 25. On the right the Lowe Alpine – Alpine Attack 45:55. G-Hooks inside blue rectangles.

Photo above: Two Mountain Hardwear backpacks, on the left the Hueco 35, on the right the Scrambler 30 OutDry. G-Hooks inside yellow rectangles.

Photo above: The front and back of the Heimplanet Monolith Daypack 22L. G-Hooks inside blue rectangles. Heimplanet uses the G-Hook extensively on the Monolith pack: on the shoulder straps on the back as well as the additional single shoulder strap, and for the webbings on the front which are used for fixing extra gear to the outside of your pack, and on the hip belt which is not in the photos. The Monolith is a pack for everyday use. It has an ingenious, elegant design, and comes with a lot of features you can see in this video.

Photo above: Last but not least, the front of the Thule Stir 35L Men’s Hiking Pack, and a blurry detail pic of the G-Hook at it’s top. Also available in a women’s version and two smaller sizes: 20L and 15L. More info about this technical pack in another post.