Cuben ULA CDT–How do you like it?

[Steve Meier]

I recently went with a ULA pack for the first time, the Circuit, and absolutely love the suspension. The S harness fits me better than any suspension I have tried before and I have tried lots of pack brands. Part of it because I have very broad shoulders and its one of the first times a pack isn't digging into my neck. I want something lighter, like the CDT in cuben, but before I pull the trigger I wanted to hear from folks that already have that same pack. So…how do you like it? Worth the extra expense in cuben? I plan on using it for hammock backpacking and have my base weight to about 12 lbs for three season hiking.

[Don Selesky]

While I don't have the Circuit pack, I do have the Catalyst pack in the original fabric. Nice pack. However, if you're going to Cuben fabric I'd suggest you at least think about Hyperlight Mountain Gear. I have their Porter 4400, and for me it carries at least as well as the ULA pack. It's also much lighter than the eqvuivalent ULA pack in Cuben (according to the ULA website, Cuben drops the weight by 4 oz; the HMG pack is under 2 pounds total). They also have a nice range of pack styles and sizes.

[David Ure]

I had a CDT for a couple of years and really liked it. I would think that if using the hybrid cuben and enjoying a weight drop of 5 oz or so, that would make a really nice sub pound pack (stripped). Having said that, the Robic dyneema gridstop ULA uses is absolutely bomber and is different from other dyneema gridstop I have seen and used, even on my Mchale. It uses thicker ripstop cross threads and more dyneema.

[Derrick White]

Can't recommend HMG Porter enough. Just back from 12 day off-trail trip carrying ~60lbs. Both comfort and durability were perfect. No sign of strains on seams or threads. Amazing at only 2 lbs.

Derrick

[Ryan Smith]

Steve,

I've owned a cuben hybrid CDT for a few months now. It's a great little pack before the cuben and even better after. Not having to worry about rain water logging your pack fabric is a big plus for me, plus the stiffness of the fabric is nice to have when loading/unloading the contents. The only real negative for me is the white color means I have to be careful about stains.

I am going to put mine on Gear Swap soon though as I have too many packs now days. If you decide you want to give one a try, shoot me a PM.

Ryan

[M B]

The cdt (and ohm) make extended use of light nylon on the sides , rear, and half the top on the CDT. Id speculate that making those packs out of 2.92 cuben hybrid isnt going to save as much weight as on a circuit or catalyst. 5oz sounds high

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