OA trail Crew.

[Jace Mullen]

Hey all! I am (hopefully, I find out in march) going to be on OA trail crew next year. I am deciding between the ULA Ohm and the Circuit. For the last 5 years (ever since my first trip, when I was 10) I have been using a 2,150 cube pack, and have gone on 4 day trips with it, no problem. So i'm finally going to upgrade. Do you think that the Ohm would be big enough, or should I just go with the Circuit? Im leaning towards the Circuit because it has a frame, wich I believe I would need, but i'm still not convinced. Any advise is very much appreciated!

-CS

[Joe Clement]

I vote for the Circuit, with th added stay. Doing trail work, you're going to be carrying some heavy tools, not just camping gear, I would think.

[Laurence Beck]

What is OA Trail Crew?

[Jace Mullen]

Its 1 week of trail work at philmont, and one week of a trek(you get to plan your own trek, not take a pre-planned itinerary). The Catch being that you have to be in the Order of the Arrow to go. Order of the Arrow is scoutings honor society so to speak, so I'm really excited to go.

-CS

[Laurence Beck]

I was hoping that was what is was. I was in the Boy Scouts and I was also in the Order of the Arrow. Except for backpacking, the Order of the Arrow was the coolest part of my whole experience in the Boy Scouts. I also earned my Eagle.

Congratulations!

[Justin McMinn]

The Ohm and Circuit both have the same hoop suspension system. The main differences between the two is the capacity, weight, compression, and the back and hip belt padding. The Circuit's got more padding so that it's a little more comfortable with heavier loads which may be better since there are certain gear requirements for Philmont treks that add a few extra pounds to your load. I would guess that you are going to have even more weight (beyond standard trek requirements) with the trail crew equipment. The Ohm has better compression, so as you drop volume (new gear purchases or consumables on the trail) you can keep what's in your pack from shifting around.

Have you read this article?

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/philmont.html

[Joe Clement]

I just know I have the Circuit with the optional stay, and I feel certain it would be better for carrying all my gear, and the tools for trail work, than my Conduit. YMMV. Might be better to have something that wouldn't be good for the trail work week, but exactly what you need long term though.

Might be easiest just to email ULA; Casey is answering emails sporadically.

[Jace Mullen]

I might call once they open their doors again. I may be 15 but I still would rather call then email!

-CS

[James Arriola]

Jace,

When you are doing your OA Trail Crew work during the first week you will be base camping and day hiking to your work site. You won't have to backpack with any of the trail building equipment.

The great part about the second week on OATC is that your crew gets to decide where they want to go to at Philmont. Nobody else gets that sort of flexibility.

My brother in law has worked as a Foreman for the OATC at Philmont the last 2 summers and he enjoyed every minute of it. Let me know if you any questions about the OATC at Philmont. Thanks.

James
1989 OA Vigil Honor

[Jace Mullen]

Ok, thanks for the details, that really helps a lot!

-Jace

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