Using the Ohm Frameless?

dont have an ohm. But dont see any reason why you couldnt. The stay is not meant to replace a CCF pad inside, only to supplement it.

I do the same thing in my circuit, no stays, etc. It is good to about 25 lbs that way. You have to look out for and plan for what happens when your food is gone and you are wearing all your clothes, it must still pack tight and full to suppor the load well.

A lot of people prefer stays over ~15 lbs though, but it will greatly depend on the pack and how you pack it.

Yeah it works pretty good as a frameless pack. The load lifter strap area doesn't work as well in this configuration, but you normally don't get those on frameless packs anyways.

One thing to be careful of is re-installing the frame. It's a bit trickier than you might expect. ULA wraps a bit of grosgrain webbing over the ends of the suspension hoop to prevent the ends from cutting through the pack. When you put the suspension hoop back in, you need to be careful to get it back in the folds of grosgrain. The easiest way to do this is to use needle-nose pliers and remove the 2" or so piece of grosgrain from the hole in the hipbelt. Then wrap that over the end of the suspension hoop and carefully re-insert. It's a bit tricky making sure one side doesn't pop out while you get the other side in.

Thanks Dan. Yeah the load lifter dont seem to be in the right position, but it really doesnt matter as most frameless packs dont have them anyway. I appreciate the tips on getting the "frame" in and out of the pack. After a few removals it actual pretty easy to get in and out.

@Martin – I have a circuit too and love that pack. If I could get the Circuits hipbelt on the Ohm I probably would never take it off! Nice reminder about the food stores and how it will affect the shape of hte pack over time. I dont think this will be a prblem though as the Ohms compression system works very well.

Nathan,

You can send in your Ohm and size up on the hipbelt, this might give you a better wrap around, similar to the Circuit. Email Chris at ULA, they'll have it done quick.

@Eugene – thanks for the tip. I actually spoke to Chris about this when I purchased the Ohm a second time and have the largest hipbelt on i can use without overlapping. The newer hipbelts are a big upgrade from the original ones. As a side note when I spoke to Chris I tried to get him to do a stripped down circuit belt on it but he said he couldnt do it, oh well.

I have been using mine without the hoop, with a 3/4 ridgerest folded in forths. I think the hip belt contours better around my waist than with the hoop installed. All of my trips have been short with it like this so not sure about what the upper weight limit would be, and, like stated above the load lifters really don't work.

Great Pack

I have also been using mine mostly frameless… works great for me, and lets me use it in more situations. For example, the height of the frame makes it kind of unwieldy or at least goofy-looking for a "full day" or winter day pack, but frameless, size is much more flexible and you can play more with how volume is distributed. It also works better frameless with helmets or wide-brimmed hats.
I use 6 sections of z-rest against the back and find that this contours very nicely. Do be careful of the frame reinsertion at the hipbelt as mentioned above. It is tricky.