ULA Ohm

I am just starting using the ULA Ohm. A couple of test hikes and a long weekend trip. So far I like it a lot. For the next six months I plan to make the Ohm my default pack and see if at the end of the time it will displaxce the granite gear vapor trail as my default pack.

How did it perform? 25lbs carried very well. The load was under control and the weight transferred well to the hip belt. I was surprised how comfortable the hip belt was because normally I prefer thicker wrap-around belts. The pack is well designed, well made, with good attention to detail.

This pack reminds me a great deal of the original Osprey Aether 60. Why? The pack is tall and narrow, with two side pockets and a mesh pocket on the back of the pack. The pack uses an Internal Suspension Hoop with wing waist belt.

Only one small nit. For me would be perfect if the main compartment was maybe 10-15% shorter so the top of the pack won't a hat with a full brim and perfectly fit my somewhat compact load .

–Mark

ill be buying this soon and i am so excited

Mark,

Thanks for the initial thoughts! I love my Conduit but sometimes wish it had a bit more volume when I have to carry that pesky bear canister.

Questions for you-=
1. The height of the pack- is that fully loaded? Or does it always ride that high?
2. How does the torso length compare to other ULA packs (if you have a frame of reference)
3. Is it possible to post some pics of it loaded, on your back? I'm sort of waiting until I see this before I commit to buying.

Thanks?

I am at work right now and the pack is at home. My memory is that the pack is something like 25 inches from bottom to the top of the frame. That wasn't using the extension collar.

I can't compare it to other ULA packs because I don't have others in my house at this time.

I will try to get around to taking some picture… but this weekend is the earliest it might happen. I am very busy right now.

–Mark

I loaded up my Ohm by starting with a Montbell UL90 pad placed in circular fashion around the inside perimeter. Loaded up my 3 season gear, plus a few extras, food for at least 3 days, and some water.

Before loading up my first impression was that the frame would contact my back, but it certainly doesn't, not even close. I tightened the compression a bit and gave a mild tug on the load lifters. The pack sits much better on my hips in contrast to the Conduit and the load carries better.

Russell… I managed to get my wife to take a couple of photos when I got back from my bushwhack up a 1000' elevation change mountain behind my house. The photos will probably answer most of your questions, but I should mention that the torso length on the Ohm seems a bit longer that the Conduit. This probably due to the frame and full extension of the pack length.

Bear in mind that I have a fairly lightweight gear system and that the pack just barely reached the normal height before the extension.

Mark, another question if you don't mind…ULA now has some hi-res pics up on the site and I can get a better look at the pack. It appears that the suspension loop is at least partly external. What do you think of this? I know SUL gear is almost by definition less durable than traditional gear but does this design element look like a potential durability issue to you? It looks like sharp contact with the rod might snap it. It is under tension, right?

Russell… The framed is totally external except where it fits into the upper and lower sections of the pack fabric. In my estimation it would be very, very difficult to damage the frame, even in a fall. I know my body would be in the way a direct hit from the front or side, and the pack protects it from the back. You can see the frame in the side photo above and how close it is to my back.

Awesome John! Thanks for the pics, just what I needed. Same question to you- does the suspension hoop look particularly vulnerable?

Edit-
Ooops, you beat me to it! Thanks.

Russell… I'd say IF it were possible to take a very hard fall and somehow strike the frame on the edge of a sharp boulder, then yes it could crack or break. As I said, the frame seems, at least to me, to be in a location that would make it very difficult for it to take such a hit.

Mark, do you think that you could fit a Bearikade canister in the Ohm? Maybe putting it in vertically? That's the only way I can get it into my Vapor Trail and it seems to work ok. Do you think you could use it for an extended trip, replacing the Vapor Trail? It seems that the actual main compartment of the pack is a lot smaller than the Vapor trail. Thanks for any comments you have.

John, can you post some pics showing the hip belt wrapping around your hips. Thanks.

Ray

Ray… I just unpacked the pack to get the Nunatak quilt out of the bottom to stop the unnecessary compression. The next time I pack it up, I'll get that photo. The wings of the hip belt sit right on/against the iliac crest where they should be. I just pulled out the Conduit to check the differences in the hip belts. The wings on the Ohm are a full inch narrower than on the Conduit, but until I just checked this I would have thought that they were the same since they felt as good, or maybe even better. The hip belt pockets are almost four inches futher back on the Ohm than the Conduit, which makes them a little more difficult to access. Even with the differences working against it, or so it would seem, the Ohm feels more comfortable to me.

Yes… the bearicade weekender fits in fine vertically. You have to be more careful compared to the Vapor Trail because you don't have the foam and plastic sheet frame. I place my air mattress (with the slightest amount of air still in it) against the back using the pad strap and it seems to work fine. The main compartments of the Omh (size L) seems slightly larger the core part of the Vapor Trail (size M)… at least the way my gear goes in. Of course the VT collar extension is significantly larger.. but I never use it. Hense my wish for the Ohm to be 10-15% smaller for my load.

I believe the Ohm would be fine on an extended trip… but only time will tell.

John, Thanks for details. I greatly appreciate it.

Ray

John, thanks for the photos and I also join in with the request for good pictures of the hip belt wings with the pack on your back. I will be ordering a large and have a 36” waist. The thing I want to avoid is a pack with little dinky hip belt wings that barely wrap to the front of the hips, especially with this narrow little belt strap. The photos you have posted look somewhat promising on this factor.

Can anyone compare through actual hands-on experience the volume of the Ohm with the Jam2, the pack that this would replace? I am particularly interested in a comparison of the main compartment of the two packs. Thanks.

hahaha
man id hate to be the first one with a new pack.

John,

With regards to volume questions people are posting…you own both the Conduit and the Ohm. The main pack bags are listed at the same volume but the Ohm is being described as taller. So, essentially the same capacity but the Ohm is taller/narrower? How does it differ from the Conduit?

The specs don't make the volume of the Ohm to be much more than the Conduit. The larger extension collar provides a little more capacity but nothing major. Not sure if I should buy the Ohm or get a new Conduit and call it a day (mine has suffered tearing where the top strap meets the mesh- looks like this has been addressed on the 09's). Or is the difference really all about how the pack carries at 20+ pounds?

OK, OK, I'll try to load a few things in the pack later this morning and get a photo or two of the hip belt. In the meantime…
John… The hip belt wings on my large Ohm extend 10" from the pack to the front webbing. On my 36" (real measurement, not belt size) waist the wings wraps around enough to just reach the front part of the iliac crest. At that point the tapering wing is down to 1.5" where it joins the belt webbing.
Russell… By my measurement the Ohm is approximately one inch longer than the Conduit measuring from the bottom of the pack to the spot where the extension collar meets. Visually it appears that the Ohm is much longer because of the higher portion where the frame mount is located. There appears to be a small difference in circumference, but the Ohm, visually, looks much narrower at first glance because the mesh fits snugly against the pack… not like the loose, stiff mesh of the 2008 Conduit.

I've got to get out into the forest with my dog for an hour or so and will get those photos up later today.

I measured the hip belt and padding. It's 5.5" wide where it joins the pack and 1.75" where it joins the webbing. The gridstop that's visible in the center photo is what attache the pocket to the pack, not part of the hip belt itself. The last photo (recently added) is the back side of wing showing the padding. I hope these photos answer the questions, but if not fire away:

Great photos John! I also wanted to let everyone know that ULA now has the fully rotatable zoomable image of the pack on their website. You can rotate the pack and view it from different angles in a separate browser window. Then when you get to an angle that you want to view in more detail you can zoom way in and get detailed closeups. They don't have the hip-belt pockets on it, so you get a really good view of the hip belt. Hope that helps.

Thanks John! This looks like it will work.

Can any Ohm owners so far compare its main compartment volume to the Jam2.

John – thanks for the pics.

@both John and Mark Verber, if you have already answered this I apologize for the repeat but what size did you each get and what is your torso length in inches? My Relay is a m/l but I find it a little short. I am 19.5"

Curious, thanks.

David… My Ohm is a large and the distance between where the shoulder straps are sewn and the bottom of the hip belt attachment is 21.5" (M/L Conduit is 20.75"). My torso length is 20.75". The large is not in any way big on me and fits much better than the Conduit in a M/L.

BTW, I've found the measurement from the inside sewn portion of the shoulder straps to the bottom of the hip belt to be the best way to fit most packs for length. For me, that number is between 21.5" and 21.75".

Thanks John.

I just received my size large Ohm and wanted to throw in my initial observations. Packed it up with about 15-20 lbs. of gear and carried it around the house for an hour or so. For reference, I'm 5'11", 177 lbs., and 20.5" torso. I like the large torso length, plenty of volume for my setup, and it carries comfortably.

My only issue thus far is with the hipbelt sizing. I like to really cinch the waist tight on my packs. I have a 33" waist and with this pack I can max out the belt. This leaves about 12-14" of hipbelt webbing hanging down. I could see this being and issue should i ever drop a few pounds or carry it on an extended hike where I might lose some weight.

Since the hipbelt is not size specific or otherwise adjustable on this pack, I thought this would be worthwhile info for any tall/skinny folks out there looking at the Ohm.