ULA Arctic 1000 Packs

I'm on the original list as well, but have since let my BPL membership lapse. I hope that won't preclude me from buying?

The main problems with the prototype design we took to the Arctic that will be fixed in the version we’ll ship this spring were:

1. Harness (shoulder/hip) strap angles are being adjusted to better distribute load at stress points.

2. The materials are being changed to be less abrasive on the body. The old packs used a very abrasive and heavy mesh that absorbed little water, but was pretty uncomfortable and abusive to clothing over the long haul. The new pack will will not change overall weight much, but undergo some materials changes to make it more comfortable while retaining excellent resistance to water absorbency.

3. The back pocket design is completely revamped. The old pocket snagged on brush, it was baggy. Water bottles, in spite of best intentions otherwise, couldn’t be accessed. Because this is at heart, a “water” pack, the need for it to carry a lot of water and have that water accessible is limited. The idea is to have a place to carry your water bottle (empty) outside the pack so it remains accessible. On the Arctic trek, we just looped our Nalgene Cantene bottle caps around a strap. The new pack has a flat, zippered back pocket that’s big enough for stuffing storm clothes (specifically, wind shirt, rain jacket, wind pants, hat/gloves), a thin water bladder (like a platy), and extra food. The bulk of your food will go in the huge hip belt pockets :), which are fine as well for camera, etc. Anyway, the new backpanel distributes the load so much better than the old one, and does so with one less compression strap (the new pack has 2, the old had 3 sets).

So…

I’m really excited about the new design. I love this pack, and have been using it on “regular” trips since the Arctic trek, just because the dry bag concept makes life soooo easy on the trail and in camp. Gone gone gone are the days of dealing with pack liners, pack covers, waterproof stuff sacks, etc. I do still use some nano stuff sacks inside, but only for organization of small items (cook kit, essentials, etc.) and in dry(er) weather, I’ve been skipping them altogether for sleep and clothing gear, and my wet tarp just gets stored outside the dry bag, underneath the back panel.

Brian will send me his list of interested names, and those folks will be notified by email when the packs ship from Brian to us, so they can keep an eye out for the stock alerts.

If you want to be “on the list” when the pack comes into stock, sign up here for a STOCK ALERT, as this page will be the landing page for the new pack:

Arctic Dry Pack @ BPL

Best,
Ryan

Thanks, Ryan. Design changes make sense. I hope the new pack material is similar to the tighter mesh used on the old ULA P1 and P2 pack—it was comfortable and still pretty good in the water absorption dept.

it does sound like packs will be sold first come–first served—-AKA the 3rd World airport ticket counter scenario—-oh, the horror. :-)

Looks great!

Thanks for posting Ryan. Now we are all counting down until April 7th to get more information.

Ryan, does the pack still use the 65L POE Pneumo LTW Dry Sack or will the 50L also work? Will the pack come with the dry sack or will it need to be purchased separately? If separately then will BPL carry them or should I buy from REI now, so I can start experimenting? Can you gives us a hint at the weight? Sorry for the rapid fire questions.

Eric, the plan right now is to ship the packs with both 50L and 65L dry bags from POE. It's easy for us to pass some cost savings on to the customer rather than making you buy them at retail, and we can provide two of these for an added cost of the pack equivalent to the price of one at retail.

Thanks Ryan, that's great news. The 65L should be good for cold weather use, and the 50L for warm.

Please put me on the list as well.

John

We’ve posted a few photos, along with features and specs, of the final production prototype of the Arctic Dry Pack here:

Arctic Dry Pack Product Page.

We are expecting these to start shipping June 1. The packs will ship with both 50L and 65L Pacific Outdoor Equipment Pneumo LTW dry bags.

There will likely be a prepurchase period of about 4-5 weeks, so stay tuned for more info starting around April 20.

you guys went swimming with these on & they kept everything dry, right?

Ryan,
Thanks for posting pics, they look great! Are the dry bags that come with the pack going to be the Solar Orange color?

Is there any worry of the connection to the shoulder straps on the dry bag failing over time?

Cary: yes, so long as (a) the valve is closed (!) and (b) the roll top gets three full turns, and (c) if you swim in it, you should blow the bag up to induce positive air pressure in it.

I settled on these dry bags based on our experience on the Arctic 1000, packrafting, and some test results performed by Carol Crooker, published here.

David: Yes, they will be that color. I think this fall, we'll also stock replacement bags for the packs, after all, they will wear out with use. Those replacement bags will be custom colored, and we'll certainly do one that is more muted.

The dry bag corners seem to be holding up great. You don't really put a lot of stress there, most of the load is carried on the hips. BUT in the event of failure, we do have a workaround built in, where the shoulder straps are connected and slide under a loop on the bottom panel of the pack. It's slick, and gives a fully dynamic shoulder strap system. Some folks may actually prefer it, it gives you a fix in the field of the dry bag corner fails, and allows you to use the pack with non-POE branded dry bags that don't have these slots.

Ryan,
Thank you for the reply. That answers several of my questions. I look forward to seeing the designs in person.

Ryan, could I use this pack with a 50L dry bag for the bulk of my gear and also store separately, that it not in the dry bag, my Alpacka packraft and have them both on the harness? Could I squeeze a broken down 4-piece carbon fiber paddle in their too?

I'm thinking of trips where I might have a lot of hiking and a moderate amount of paddling. Rahter like the Isle Royale trip I did last year (and I've another one planned for this year) – yes, still need to do a true packrafting river trip but not sure where and don't want to go alone (odd, I'm willing to paddle short open water stretches on the Great Lakes solo, but not do a river with rapids solo).

Man, that is so weird seeing the pack for real now. The design is so similar to the one I'm working on it's uncanny. I guess the demands of the design lead you to the same typological conclusions. But I must say the use of the drybag's lower slots to secure the shoulder straps is ingenious. I never even looked at the holes for their possible usefulness in the design. Wonderful! Just curious how do you keep the tendency of the drybag from rounding out against your back? Is there a foam frame? I want to buy this pack, so I'm curious about that. Thanks!

These packs look nice.
Do I understand it correctly this is a one of a kind offer? So once the stock is sold, that's it?
I hope some more pictures of the pack will be added to get an exact idea of how the pack looks and works in all directions.

Miguel-

There is a dense 1/8" foam framesheet that is in the backpanel of the pack that is non-removeable. In additional, there is a piece of 3/8" foam against your back. Additional rigidity and support come from the twin aluminum stays that are removeable as well.

Glad you like the pack and thanks for the kudos about the shoulder strap anchoring. Not only was it a good idea, BUT it also works really well! Always nice when that happens…

Brian

KEN: Yes, that's exactly what I do. My packraft does not get stowed inside the dry bag. So, the dry bag gets stowed in the bottom part of the harness, and the raft gets rolled and either stowed sideways in the top of the harness, under the roll top strap. I use a 4-piece paddle too, but unless I'm bushwhacking, I keep it at 2 pieces and stow the paddles down inside the beavertail, paddles down. The four pieces of the paddles will also fit into the 65L dry bag.

TOM: I'll be adding many more detailed photos next week. I'm taking this final prototype on a hike in the Red Desert and packrafting in the Wind Rivers next week. After that trip, I'll give Brian the green light on remaining minor issues, and this first batch will be wrapped up. This batch (Spring 2007) is a one time deal, but if customer feedback is good and it sells out, then we'll do more!

I'm just wondering how those who use hydration bladders while hiking are going to manage with this pack. I realize you can place a bladder in the exterior pocket, but this would place a tremendous amount of torque on the back. Placing a bladder inside would obviously compromise water proofing values in order to run the tube (somehow) out through the dry bag closure. For me, and the fact that I absolutely despise hiking with bottles would make the pack a non-starter.

I guess I'm a strange one, but I would much prefer to stick with my ULA Catalyst, and continue waterproofing it with a compactor bag and/or pack cover, and have a pack that I can drain easily should any interior liquid leak.

Piece of cake – in fact – quite a lot easier to deal with than conventional packs.

The bladder goes in the EXACT same spot as a regular pack with a hydration sleeve, but OUTSIDE the packbag (between the pack bag and framesheet), so access is easy!

And, if you want the bladder to ride higher, you can use cord through the grommet loops on the bladder and affix it to the top of the framesheet.

when will you determine the price?

George: It's in progress. It will be a few weeks, still.

Is there a way to resize the pictures so that they do not overlap the specs for the pack?

Thanks,

JA

I'm so getting one of these!! Sign me up!