Topic

ULA Circuit with cuben hydrid fabric.


Forum Posting

A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!

Home Forums Gear Forums Gear (General) ULA Circuit with cuben hydrid fabric.

  • This topic is empty.
Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 (of 45 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #1296057
    Kyle Meyer
    BPL Member

    @kylemeyer

    Locale: Portland, OR

    Just had this backpack shipped by the fine gentlemen at ULA and I'm pretty damn excited. The pack body fabric is the same Zpacks uses for their Exo backpack—1.43 oz/sqyd cuben fiber with a protective layer of 50D polyester on the outside. This is lighter than the fabric used in HMG backpacks, but not by much (2.92 oz/sqyd vs 3.3 oz/sqyd). I'm planning to tape the inner seams with cuben tape to complete the rainproofing.

    ULA1

    ula2

    #1928358
    Kevin Hall
    Member

    @classicmagger

    I want one. I just ordered an Arc Blast an hour ago though. Looks very cool. What's the weight of that bad boy?

    #1928360
    Jason G
    BPL Member

    @jasong

    Locale: iceberg lake

    whoa.. is that custom or coming soon from them?

    #1928362
    Kyle Meyer
    BPL Member

    @kylemeyer

    Locale: Portland, OR

    @Kevin: it's 4.5 ounces lighter than a typical Circuit. In size large, it's 36oz with every option. I'll be removing everything except the aluminum stay and one water bottle shoulder strap, so it should be right around two pounds.


    @Jason
    : Custom. I also had them add a second side compression strap because I'll be carrying Altai Hok skis on the pack through the winter.

    #1928364
    Mark Hurd
    BPL Member

    @markhurd

    Locale: Willamette Valley

    Kevin,
    I just got my Arc Blast a couple of weeks ago. Sweet pack. Very comfy. I think you'll like it.
    -Mark

    #1928476
    Alex Eriksson
    Spectator

    @aeriksson

    Locale: Austin, TX

    Did anyone else initially think the pack has a bit of the Holy Glow like something you witness for the first time and can't help but hearing a church choir in the background going "ooooooOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH!!!"? I honestly thought it was photoshopped for a whole second to reinforce the cuben fiber arc of the covenant angle, for a whole second. Made me laugh.

    #1928529
    Ron Berry
    Member

    @squishware

    Locale: Southwest Florida

    That is a sexy pack.

    #1931400
    Kyle Meyer
    BPL Member

    @kylemeyer

    Locale: Portland, OR

    Well, I got it and it's a beautiful beast. I ordered some 1" cuben tape from Zpacks to tape the interior seams. It's never going to be as waterproof as an HMG bag just by virtue of the features and how it's constructed, but it'll be waterproof enough to eliminate a pack cover here in Oregon.

    seam sealed cuben circuit

    seam sealed cuben circuit 2

    Now to wait for the rain to switch to snow in the higher elevations so I can do some snowcamping!

    #1931486
    Dan @ Durston Gear
    BPL Member

    @dandydan

    Locale: Canadian Rockies

    That's a really awesome pack. I've been very impressed with ULA packs and this water proof fabric was all that's missing. I hope they're doing this on a regular basis.

    #1932224
    Michael S
    BPL Member

    @cascadebackpacker

    Locale: Pacific NW

    That is one sweet lookin pack. I want to get one but I'm concerned about the white color used on these. I can't imagine that stays white very long.

    Anyone have experience with these White cuben bags from Zpacks, Hyperlight Mountain Gear, etc….Does the white fade over time to tan, brown…?

    Can't find any pics from a somewhat worn bag in this material.

    Thanks

    #1932247
    MFR
    Spectator

    @bigriverangler

    Locale: West

    Scroll down a bit here, and you can see what Luc Mehl's HMG Porter looked like after the AMWC this summer.

    #1932261
    David Ure
    Member

    @familyguy

    Nice HMG Windrider.

    J/K

    #1932284
    David Ure
    Member

    @familyguy

    Michael, the white picks up dirt but a little Oxy and the dirt stains are gone.

    #1932330
    Kyle Meyer
    BPL Member

    @kylemeyer

    Locale: Portland, OR

    @David Ure: Windrider with a better frame, a better hip belt, better side pockets, and load lifters?

    #1932631
    David Ure
    Member

    @familyguy

    Better frame? How so?

    For me, load lifters wouldn't make up for the 10 oz weight differential. I would want something lighter than 36 oz that was cuben otherwise what is the benefit?

    #1932639
    Kyle Meyer
    BPL Member

    @kylemeyer

    Locale: Portland, OR

    The bag is 34oz with the features I don't use removed. That's less than 6 ounces heavier than a Windrider. I say it has a better frame because of the hip belt, the carbon hoop and stay, and the load lifters. At the minimum, everyone would agree load lifters are better than not at the loads these packs are designed for.

    Edit: not to mention the torso length adjustment of plus or minus 1.5 inches that ULA packs afford.

    #1932641
    Warren Greer
    Spectator

    @warrengreer

    Locale: SoCal

    Nice looking pack and based on the photo of yourself, it fits pretty well. You got just what you wanted and the few negative posts must be cuben-hybrid pack envy for sure.

    #1932643
    David Ure
    Member

    @familyguy

    The hip belt on the Windrider is 4" wide and just as long ( padded portion) as the Circuit. The Large belt is longer than the Medium, etc. you can have HMG swap out a larger or smaller size for you.

    Not adjustable torso; just 4 different torso sizes.

    #1932644
    David Ure
    Member

    @familyguy

    "You got just what you wanted and the few negative posts must be cuben-hybrid pack envy for sure."

    Dam funny

    #1932652
    Aaron
    BPL Member

    @aaronufl

    Looks like an awesome pack, Kyle! I've always enjoyed the fit of the ULA packs, so this looks pretty great. You'll have to report back and let us know how it fares on the trail!

    #1956417
    Alex Wallace
    BPL Member

    @feetfirst

    Locale: Sierra Nevada North

    Nice looking pack, Kyle.

    Your side profile picture with the pack on is one of the very few I've seen where the Circuit looks like it's actually fitted and riding correctly. Most of the photos online, and what I've seen on the trail, the pack appears to be slumped below the user's shoulders with the load "lifter" straps angled straight across or even downward from the shoulders. This is actually what has put me off of trying one.

    Have you had a chance to put some miles on it yet?

    #1956424
    Kyle Meyer
    BPL Member

    @kylemeyer

    Locale: Portland, OR

    It's been out on two overnight snow camping trips so far—only about 15 trail miles all told. That said, I was carrying quite a bit more weight than I typically do and it carried really well.

    Here's a photo I took of myself on the first trip with about 30 pounds on my back. It's hard to see but the load lifters are still being used properly:

    #1956543
    Alex Wallace
    BPL Member

    @feetfirst

    Locale: Sierra Nevada North

    Thanks for the feedback. The pack looks good and more importantly, it looks like you're having a good time.

    One more question if you don't mind: how do you like the hipbelt? Specifically, it looks pretty dang wide. Much wider than any other hipbelt I've ever used, including traditional non-lightweight packs (e.g. Osprey Aether). Does it cause any binding or restriction of movement like high leg lifts while scrambling?

    Everything about the Circuit seems great, but I'd really like to try one on before I buy, which is why I have so many questions. I may just have to accept the return shipping costs and order one to try it out.

    Thanks again.

    #1956548
    Stephen Barber
    BPL Member

    @grampa

    Locale: SoCal

    Using the same belt on the Ohm and Catalyst, I find it to be very comfortable. Definitely not restrictive or binding. The best thing about it is that the buckle has straps leading to both the bottom and top of the belt. This seems to make the belt cradle the hip bones comfortably and securely. Best hipbelt I've used in 40 years of backpacking!

    #1956572
    Kyle Meyer
    BPL Member

    @kylemeyer

    Locale: Portland, OR

    Agreed. ULA's belts are amazing. I don't have a single issue with them, and the hip belt pockets are amazing.

Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 (of 45 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Forum Posting

A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!

Get the Newsletter

Get our free Handbook and Receive our weekly newsletter to see what's new at Backpacking Light!

Gear Research & Discovery Tools


Loading...