ULA Conduit or Golite Jam2?

I have the same question(s) before I go ahead with a Conduit order. Conduit or Jam2? I want to make one notation…I want to have as little pressure on my shoulders as possible due to a painful deteriorating ball/socket condition. I have my Ozone and Atmos 35 set up to carry all the weight on my hips, and need to do the same with the lighter pack. It's going to be used for a thru hike with no resupply for a couple of 6 to 7 day sections (using all freeze dried food). I'm carrying a Contrail, MB SS#7, Nightlite Torso, JB(OK, don't flame me on that), a change of nylon/poly based clothes, a GoLite windshirt, a rain jacket, 8 oz misc, and three Platypus bottles of different sizes. 8.5 lb base and 15 to 16 lb maxed out with food and water. I'm assuming that I'll have no trouble fitting that into the Conduit, right? It's difficult to judge when I'm trying to guess between a 2300CU and a 3800cu. capacities. BTW, my wife just gave me the cost of the Conduit for my birthday this Sunday.

i found myself in the same predicament but ended up going with the Conduit. the Jam pack has since improved. however i dont regret my decision at all. the Conduit provides ample room for any UL hiker. the only few differences between the two is that 1. it appears that the hipbelt on the Jam is not padded where as the one on the conduit does have padding, be it minimal; 2. i dont know how much space the Jam has in its main compartment, but the Conduit only has 2100 ci which works fine for me, but maybe not for everyone; 3. the Conduit has hipbelt pockets, which i find are really convenient; 4. you have the choice of adding options. there is also the fact that the Conduit has a very large exterior mesh pocket which is great if you need to dry/keep out of your pack a wet rain jacket or tarp. if you couple a pack cover with the Conduit the mesh pockets can be used for dry items as well even in the rain. overall, i'm happy with the pack. it fits great and after about half an hour i forget its even there. also, i know that the pack is hand constructed/stitched and that the quality of the construction is top notch, vs. the Jam pack that i'm guessing is manufactured. also service is probably going to be better through ULA if you have any problems. regarding the compression, the Conduit does have two compression straps at the top, but not at the bottom, but the pack is so slender that i think it would be fine for ascents (not my specialty, just guessing). hope it helps!

-Jon

I haven't used either pack but I have purchased gear from both ULA and Golite. I have had excellent customer service from both of them. So in the customer service category…I'd have to say it's a tie.

I was also looking at both of these packs and decided to go for the Jam2 simply for its Compressor system. It is great to have a pack that can be used to haul 25 lbs of gear but also converted to a small 1500 cu daypack. I will admit that the hip pockets on the ULA are real nice though. Either way, I am sure you will be happy as they are both really nice packs.

Since both are frameless packs you will be carrying some of the weight on your shoulders. An older post said that Brian designs his packs so that part of the weight will go to the shoulders. They were not designs to not have weight on the shoulders. I would email him and see what he thinks. ULA has great costumer service!

Thanks for the replies. I wrote Brian late yesterday with my concerns and am waiting for his reply. I can handle a small load on my shoulders, but a significant amount over a long period of time will be brutal. I may see if I can get all the gear into my Atmos 35 which has the needed hipbelt support (albeit with an extra 19oz), but I think that's going to be nearly impossible at 2300cu to load for a week. Once the Contrail arrives I'll check and make the decision.

Thanks for the replies. I really like the ULA P1 pack I bought a few years agowith the large mesh pocket and the great hipbelt pockets. I had an REI store credit and the 20% coupon to use by April 1st, so, I went ahead and ordered the Jam2 last week. I had REI check to see if ULA was on their list that they could special order from but, unfortunately they weren't. I think I will miss the hipbelt pockets and large mesh pocket, but I also like the compactor system of the Jam2 for summiting 14ers. I am going to try and rig something kind of hipbelt pocket up for the Jam2, any ideas? Thanks again for the input.

nm

http://zpacks.com/accessories/beltpouch.shtml

for my Jam2 I am going to ordered one of these for a waist pocket. Seems like it would do the trick.

Happy birthday John. I have no experience with the Conduit but purchased the Jam2 based on my experience with the bigger GoLite Trek which I use for my winter pack. The Trek, for me, carries loads of 20-25 pounds very comfortably. The Jam2 has what appears to be a more substantial hip suspension than the Trek and since you desire to put as much weight on the hips as possible, you might take a look at it. Since you intend to carry less than 20 pounds, and the Jam2 seems significantly superior to the Trek designed for larger loads, you most likely would be very satisfied with the Jam2. I have a size large which specs out at 3200 ci and am wondering if I will actually be able to fill it up for my summer hiking.

Go with what fits you better, don't get too seduced by the features. ULA has a return policy if you feel the pack doesn't work out for you( since their packs are not available in retail outlets). As for GoLite's rather clever Compactor system, I use a 3oz. spinnaker nylon daypack for summiting that also doubles as a compressor stuffsack when using my own ULA P-1 (still a great pack) for longer trips. I will give up hipbelt bags over my dead body :-), they are just too useful. One could probably surgically retrofit such onto the Jam2.

But ultimately, I like the ULA packs because you can order them over a larger size range( in the larger volume models) than w/ GoLites packs. The Jam and Jam2(and their larger siblings) are too short for any effective weight transfer to my hips

I'd go with the Conduit. I own this pack. Having tried the Jam2, I find the Conduit better in almost every way. The compression features of the Conduit are well designed and, as the main packbag volume is just over 2000 c.i., its basically an oversized daypack anyway, in terms of fit and bulk. Load stability is excellent even with lighter, lower volume loads. 25+ lbs are comfortable with the Conduit. I can't see any reson to pick the Jam2 over the Conduit, outside of individual fit/feel or brand loyalty.

I have a simliar gear list to you, and have no problem fitting my gear and 5 days food (with a 20 degree WM Ultralight sleeping bag) into the Conduit.

Thanks Russell for the confirmation. I've heard from Brian and am certain to go for ULA. I'm just mulling over going for the lightly framed and slightly heavier Circuit before placing the order. Brian offered to send them both and let me choose. How great is that? BTW, I also have a WM 20F bag as well…the Alpinlite Super.

I doubt you'll be dissapointed. I'm confident your gear will fit, even carrying the Alpinlight. When you're carrying the Montbell #7 bag, you'll have lots of space.

I've a friend who owns the Circuit. We actually ordered our packs about the same time and I debated on the Conduit or Circuit as well. Its a really sweet pack too but in the end, I just didn't need the extra volume. I did mull over the Circuit's ability to carry a bear canister, but this is so infrequent for me as to be a non-factor. If I thru the JMT anytime soon, I'll just have a good excuse to by another ULA pack!

Oh, and I don't know if its been mentioned, but Brian grows his packs locally, with local labor. That's always a plus in my book.

I mulled this over for way too long. The Conduit order was placed! The last piece of the gear puzzle is now complete.

Good for you! Enjoy it!!!

I used the Jam1 a few years ago and then moved to the Conduit and am very happy about that decision.
First, I did not like the pad sleeve or lack there of on the Jam1, the little foam piece that it comes with was worthless and when removed leaves no real sleeve for a pad. I don't use a bladder so the bladder sleeve is extra weight to me.
The front pocket on the Jam1 was useless once the main part was filled. I had read that that problem was addressed, but it cannot beat the huge outer mesh pocket on the Conduit. Looking at a Jam2 today, the problem was not really addressed and still looks useless when main pack is full. The Bellowed Front Pocket is perfect.
As others have mentioned the Conduit's hip belt and pockets on the Conduit are far more useful and comfortable than the side wings that Golite uses.

Thought I'd post an update to my experiences using the ULA Conduit with the Gossamer Gear Nightlight torso pad. I know some people have had an issue fitting the pad in the Conduit's pad sleeve. I had fairly good success inserting the pad in the sleeve if I first rolled the folded pad in a semi-circular manner, inserted it in the sleeve, and spread it out into its usual flat, folded shape. Once in, it fits fine. Not as easy to fit it in as a 3/4 legth self inflater, but certainly workable in the field.

nm