ohm/Circuit

No experience with the Ohm yet. I plan to use it this coming weekend, for a 3 day trip. I'll try and remember to report back here.

I do have the latest version of the Circuit, but have not used it yet either. I had intended on using it last Sept. on an 8 day trip, but I couldn't get all my gear and food into it. I guess, I'm not truly UL yet? (I did get carried away with the food)

I did have the 2006 or 2007 model Circuit, and carried 30lbs with it, on a 5 day trip. The carry and load comfort were excellent. The minor changes made to the 2008 model were enough that I sold my older model and bought the latest one.

I'm sure there are UL hikers here that could use the Ohm, for trips up to 7 days in length, but probably not me personally.
What I can say about the Ohm, is its a very nice pack. One of the few in its weight range that offer both shoulder strap and hip-belt load lifter straps, that actually function extremely well.
The hooped suspension transfers weight to hips very, very well.
The detachable hip-belt pockets are great, and the side compression lacing works well. They use regular cording, instead of bungee cording to increase the effectiveness of the compression.
I like bungee cords, and swapped-out the solid cords for the bungee cords.

If I could change anything to the Ohm, I think, I'd add mesh pad pockets to the back panel, and make the hip-belts interchangeable, like on some of Gossamer Gears packs ie…. (Mariposa,Mariposa plus, Gorilla etc.)

"I'm ready to hear a report/comparison from everyone who has tried both. Or did I miss it?

Alice,

I've been using the Circuit for 3 years now and just acquired an Ohm a few weeks back. Bottom line, you can get more in a Circuit(I've been out for 10 days with it and could probably go 12 now that I have trimmed down my gear a bit more), and it carries more comfortably than the Ohm with any load, for sure over 30#, due to a larger, better padded hip belt. The Ohm weighs ~ 1 pound less and I have found that I can carry 31# fairly comfortably in it. Space wise, I have loaded it up with my base gear and an Ursack, in which I can get 9 days of food, so I am confident that I can use it for up to 10 day trips at a weight of about 23#, plus a mximum of 4# of water on dry approaches, for a total weight of 27#. I think your choice will depend on the weight and volume of your gear and food. If you can get it down to the volume of the Ohm and keep the weight below 25#, I'd go with the Ohm and save a pound of dead weight. Otherwise, you won't be disappointed with the Circuit. They're both great packs, IMO/IME. One other variable is the hip belt. The Ohm's hip belt is not for everyone. I don't know how you are built, but that is one factor to consider. Maybe try it and, if not good, return it? Oh, I almost forgot: The Ohm does not have a mesh back panel and will run a little on "the hot side" in warm weather. I can live with this, but a couple of other posters have complained. Individual tolerance varies all over the map.

Hi Tom,

Just curious as to what you carry in the way of food, for a 10 day trip?
I'm just looking for some advice, as my food choices, or possibly the amount of it, usually take up a lot of my pack space.

Thanks,
Mike

Hi Mike,
I carry chocolate, a variety of nuts, a variety of sesame sticks, pita chips, potato chips, cheese crackers, olive oil, and a recovery drink which I take immediately after I stop hiking. I chop up all of the above, except the chocolate, olive oil, and recovery drink, and combine them in various ways for variety's sake and use them for breakfast and dinner. During the day I use Hammer Perpetuem exclusively while on the move-in combination with body fat and the calories from the previous evening's meal, it provides all the energy I need without tieing my digestive tract up during the day. I find I move a lot easier that way. This diet provides ~2800 calories, ~45% carbs, 45% fat, and 10% protein, in 20.5 oz. I supplement it with ~4# of body fat gained in the 6 weeks prior to a long trip to give me about 4000 calories/day for 10 days. I usually come out weighing about 5-6# less than when I went in, a couple pounds below my normal weight of 137#, but without feeling weak so it's probably mostly water loss. In any case it has worked very well for me. YMMV. As you have probably figured out this is a cold food menu, but I do heat water for coffee in the morning and tea in the evening. I've found it to be a lot less hassle, less likely to attract bears, and requires less fuel. Sort of spartan, I admit, but I'm not up there to dine at 4 star restaurants. Also, it is very easy to add 2-3 oz of dried soup if I want the luxury of a cup of hot soup on a trip and still come in at ~ 1.5#/day. I hope this helps.
Tom

Thanks for the info Tom. Your menu is very interesting to say the least?

As for my food items:
Daily:
Coffee
Drink mixes (Cliff shot etc)
Instant Oatmeal 3 packs daily (cold mornings)
1-2 bagels with peanut butter packs (1)
2 cheese sticks
2 Balance bars
Trail mix
Turkey jerkey (trader joes)
dried fruit
1 Mtn House Pro-pack dinner

I use esbit and a BPL wing stove and pot, which weigh very little and don't take up much space either?
I could probably eliminate one bagel, which for some trips, I'll only bring one per day.
It doesn't seem like my food would be much more bulkier than yours, does it?
Although 8 pro-pack dinners together are a fairly big package.

Hi Michael, you should try re-packaging the MH dinners in freezer bags. I don't usually use freezed-dried, but the freezer bags, combined with some kind of cozy, will work as well as the original packaging, while being much more compact.

To get this thread back to the OP…

Alice, I have a '08 Circuit, which I use for multi day trips, and it carries 9kg/ 20lbs just fine. My base weight (everything except food and water) is 5.5kg/ 12 pounds.
Mine is a medium, as the small wasn't available at the time of purchase, it is an option now for the Circuit.
My back length is 18" and the medium Circuit just fits with the hip belt moved to the highest position, for me.
I would like to try the OHM, but it only comes in medium and large, so the lack of an adjustable hip belt would mean it wouldn't carry so well for me, and I'm waiting on a small version, which, according to ULA, would fit me better, given the information on my back size and carry preferences.
The small isn't on the horizon, although ULA tell me the list of requests for one is getting long enough for them to start thinking about making a small version.

I don't know your size, Alice, but if you are on the petite side, then I'd go for the Circuit size small, as the OHM might not fit you in its current size offerings.

I hope this helps
fred

HI Michael,
With the exception of the bagels and MH meals, our food is about the same in volume, but those are 2 "biggies" over 10 days. Also, chopping up and then compressing the food in bags really reduces the volume. One question I would have for you: How many calories/day do you get from the food you listed?

Alice,
2 things I neglected to mention re Ohm sizing for me. I have a 17.5" spine measurement, and a 31" waist. For a woman's generally fuller waist/hips, the short hip belt wings may pose a problem. I don't know for sure, but it seems like this could be an issue, especially if you load the pack up near its max. Only way to know for sure is roll the dice and purchase one, then load it up and see. You can always return it.

HI Michael,
With the exception of the bagels and MH meals, our food is about the same in volume, but those are 2 "biggies" over 10 days. Also, chopping up and then compressing the food in bags really reduces the volume. One question I would have for you: How many calories/day do you get from the food you listed?

Tom,
I'm not really sure, but, I'm never usually hungry on my trips, although, my longest to date has been, 8 days.

Michael,
I used to take bagels for lunch just like you and then switched to tortillas to reduce volume. However, I didn't like the tortillas as much. I've found pita bread (pocket bread) to be a happy medium. Pitas have a low volume but have a bread-like texture & taste. You might look into pitas as a substitute for bagels.
Best,
EHC

Thanks Liz,

I've also seen others with square bagels too, which are a little less bulky, but not much. I'll have to try the pocket pitas for my trip.

OK no more food posts, back to the Ohm,Circuit topic!

"Tom,
I'm not really sure, but, I'm never usually hungry on my trips, although, my longest to date has been, 8 days"

Michael,
I'd say that if you can stay out 8 days and do well using your current approach, you're there. About all you have to do to stay 10 is reduce your volume by ~28%(2 day's worth of food) to make space for 2 extra days. Replace the bagels with something more compact and repack your MH dinners and you should be there.

Thanks Tom,Scott & Liz,

I'll repack the pro-pack dinners, and use Liz's suggestion for pocket pita's. I've got a 3 day weekend trip coming up, and these tips will come in handy for loading up the Ohm.

Michael,
I noticed on the Gorilla/Ohm thread that you also have a 19.5 inch torso (I'm 5'10…pretty tall and have a long torso for a woman). You indicated that you'll probably stay w/ the large size for the Ohm.

What torso size worked for you for the Circuit?

Anyone else have a 19-19.5 inch torso and have experience with the sizing on the Circuit?

I just ordered a medium Circuit yesterday and am wondering whether I should have ordered a large.
Thanks guys,
EHC

EHC,

You may find that the medium Circuit will fit you, my large is borderline, being too big for me.
But, I had ordered a medium first, and I felt it is was too small, so I kept the medium, ordered a large, then compared the 2 packs at home. Turned-out, the large felt better then the medium, which I then returned.

I think you would have to also consider a person's build as well, thin? broad? etc. A very thin person with a 19.5" torso, might find a medium fits them better than a very broad person would?

Good Luck!

Thanks for you imput michael! Your posts on packs (Ohm, circuit, and gorilla) over the past few days have been very helpful…

Elizabeth

Your welcome, and I hope its helps you, but many times the only way to know for sure with fit, is to order the 2 different size packs, right from the start.

I have had an ohm and a circuit for about 2 weeks now. I have worn them around the house and taken them for a few trail hikes as I tried to determine which of them I would keep.

As for the basics. I have a 23.5-24" torso, I am 6'1" and weigh more than I should (260). I ordered a large Circuit with a large hipbelt and a large conduit with both hipbelt pockets.

Here are my observations. Obviously, your results may vary. Please note that this is the same feedback that I have sent to Casey at ULA. She was very helpful in getting me information and allowing me the freedom to order both and pick which one to keep.

Reasons I chose the Ohm:
-The compression on the Ohm seems to work VERY well, keeping the load from shifting internally. The compression on the Circuit is partially done through the rear bungie over the back mesh pocket. The Ohm compression is much simpler and doesn't get in the way of me accessing the rear pocket.
-The rear mesh stretch pocket on the Ohm works very well and keeps things from shifting around.
-I like the solid fabric side pockets on the Ohm. They seem to hold my water bottles in place better and would have less chance of catching on vegetation. I noticed on the Circuit that unless I cinched down hard on the bungie on the side pockets, the water bottles slipped out when I was bending over to tie shoes.
-I really like the simplicity of the draw string packbag closure on the Ohm. I have a homemade drybag style pack currently and I have gotten tired of the hassle. I certainly found the Circuit closure better than my homemade pack, but I still found myself far more excited about the simplicity of the Ohm. The drybag closure certainly helps stabilize the top load in the pack, but I found that the over the top strap on the Ohm helps greatly in keeping the load from shifting up there.
-The extra weight on the Circuit was well spent on the suspension. I put the same 30 pound load in both of them and was impressed with how well the Circuit handled the load. I had one issue with the Circuit hipbelt though, the stiffer foam backing on the hipbelt was bugging my hips. I figure that this would get better over time, but I was still concerned about it.
– The hipbelt pockets on the Circuit work very well and are far easier to access than the Ohms. Since the Ohm's hipbelt pockets are not stitched onto the hipbelt and are placed farther back, it seems to take two hands to unzip the pocket, unlike the one handed operation on the Circuit. I may end up only using the right hand side hipbelt pocket on the Ohm since I found it easier to get into for me than the left pocket.
-I definitely found the Ohm's hipbelt and load transfer to be less comfortable than the Circuit. But I also found the Ohm's hipbelt to be comfortable enough and adequate, even though the Circuit is far superior in this arena. The spartan hipbelt on the Ohm transfers less weight to the hips and more to the shoulders, but I figure that will be OK with me as I already go out for week long trips with less than 30 pounds. I continue to push and expect my week long 3-season starting weight to drop to 25 pounds this season.

If ULA made a slightly beefier hipbelt on the Ohm, I would not have pondered this decision so long, but in the end, the simplicity of the Ohm was far more important to me than the extra comfort I would get from the Circuit's suspension. Hopefully I will still feel this way after I put some miles on the pack.

I hope this helps anyone who is still pondering the two.