LuxuryLite or ULA Catalyst

I don’t have any experience with either of them, but these two, are on my finalist list for a new pack. (Was thinking about a McHale, except the wait time has me discouraged).

Check the LL website – Bruce has an excellent sale right now on a NeoTrekk package, front pack, pole, umbrella, cot, etc. etc etc.

No personal experiences, but this thread on whiteblaze.net has some good commentary.
-Mark

My dear Vern: My advice would be to buy the LL pack before they go out of business. Since McHale has been around for so long they’ll more than likely be there if you really want one later.

just received mine in the mail. wow. this thing is light! the box weights more. everybody here at work wants me to load it up and bring it in. guess i’m walking to work tomorrow. lol. i’ll post some pictures and post some comments on it in a couple of days.

Please do – I would hate to see them go out of business. They have some cool ideas there like that telescoping shoulder adjustment. I think that would be better if you could lock it down though so it can stay in one place if you want.

What’s this talk about Bruce going out of business? Is he? Or is that purely an “if” thing?

I think it’s purely an “if” thing. he has some new products on his site. i’ve only seen his site grow in the last year, so i’d be very surprised if he’s going out of business. i think Robert is looking for excuses to buy one ;) come on, i know you want one. i dropped by rei, on my way home yesterday. spent 2 hours there showin the pack. (it was a rei employee that told me about LL) it was kind of funny, at first he was’nt really sure what to make of it. i went for a walk around the store, when i got back he had a huge smile on his face and said “the longer i wear it the more i like it”
everybody is a critic at first, “what is that thing?”, “looks too fragile”, “there’s no way that thing will carry any kind of weight”, “looks really uncomfortable” ect…

p.s. I did not purchase the front pack

Does REI sell either of these? I didn’t see either at the local store.

MIkeB

Paulo – How do you plan on carrying water without the front pack? I guess one way is to put a bladder in your top cylinder, and run the drinking tube out of that.

Did you get the “regular” LL, or the NeoTrekk?

MikeB – You won’t find either one at REI. http://www.luxurylite.com or www. ula-equipment.com.

Does REI sell either of these? I didn’t see either at the local store.

MIkeB

Paulo – How do you plan on carrying water without the front pack? I guess one way is to put a bladder in your top cylinder, and run the drinking tube out of that.

Did you get the “regular” LL, or the NeoTrekk?

I got the “regular” LL. I’m still tossing ideas around about carrying water. i’m not a huge fan of the whole bladder idea, i don’t know. i like to mix powdered drinks (energy packs, ect) while i’m hiking. if i used a bladder, i would still need a cup or something to mix and drink with (unless i dump it all in the bladder). i normally use a thin nalgene bottle attach to my waist belt, but that does’nt work with these packs, same problem with having a camera handy. i tried a fanny pack and that worked ok. not sure yet. still experimenting.

Does REI sell either of these? I didn’t see either at the local store.

MIkeB

MikeB –
See my comment above. No, REI does not carry either one of the packs. You can order them over the internet.
http://www.luxurylite.com
http://www.ula-equipment.com

Paulo… try the adventure racing style option… two 500-700 mL plastic drink bottles attached to your shoulder straps with short bits of shock cord… one on each strap. Balances the load beautifully, keeps your water very handy, plastic drink bottles (Propel bottles work well) are cheap and light, and you don’t have to suck fluids out of a tube… which I’ve never been a huge fan of.

ohhh, i’m liking that idea. thank you! do they stay in place once full? now that i think about it, that’s kind of a stupid question. i guessing if they’re used for adventure racing, they should stay in place ;) I’ll look into that, thanks again
paulo

Adventure racing with an LL – now that would be a funny sight!

I ended up buying the Catalyst, should have it in about 10 days.

I ended up buying the LL – got it on Friday and am really impressed by it.

Verndal-
Did you get the front pack with it?

Paulo –

Yes, got the front pack AND the umbrella also. Hope to try everything out this weekend. I was planning on going on an overnight trip this past weekend, then woke up to snow on the ground Saturday.

Verndal,

Have you tried it out yet? Any further thoughts?

Carol,

I went for a very short 2.5 mile hike with the LL pack, loaded with my base weight of 17 pounds, to get a feel for the pack. This is what Bruce Warren recommends. The pack felt GREAT – the weight was all on my hips, none on my shoulders. Unlike other packs, Bruce suggests placing the heavy stuff in the bottom cylinder – so that’s where the tent, raingear, and stove went. I put my down bag and spare clothes in the top cylinder, and used the middle cylinder for food and misc.

There is a review of the LL pack posted by Henry Martinat on March 18th. He did the AT trail in 2005 using one. Like him, I have 2 large and 1 medium cylinders.

Next hike, I plan to use the front pack. It’s dorky looking, but is supposed to add some counterbalance weight to the LL pack – not that much is needed.

Hope this helps you.