New Seek Outside Divide 2.0

[Murali C]

In my inbox today – Seek Outside Divide 2.0 in Ultragrid. Ultra X divide is now a closeout item.

https://seekoutside.com/divide-4800-2-0/

Looks like Seek Outside is moving away from Ultra X fabric and into Ultragrid (nylon). Looks really good with the Coyote color.

I thought Ultra X was doing better with delamination….surprised they are moving to Ultragrid!

[Charlie Brenneman]

Also the Flight 3 looks good but got a little heavier and lost the hip belt pockets. https://seekoutside.com/flight-3/

[Murali C]

Though I don’t know why it costs so much. Ultra X and Ultragrid cannot be same price….their new fanny packs or lumbar packs are also ridiculously expensive….

[Philip Tschersich]

Most packs use very little fabric, but require a ridiculous amount of sewing. I don’t think switching fabrics is going to affect price the way it would on, say, a pyramid shelter.

For me, color = ick.

[bradmacmt]

For me, color = ick.

Yeah, pretty heavily saturated colors… I’m not sure what’s wrong with the very nice neutral gray’s they use on other packs.

[Sam E]

I also wonder about their choices.  I like the full length back pocket (but I typically don’t strap things outside my pack horizontally), but I don’t like the 2 oz. weight gain (over ultra X and the xpack in my divide) and (perhaps) lower abrasion resistence of the new body and side pocket materials.  I haven’t seen the details on the change to a single strap hip belt, but I like the adjustability of the dual straps on my older model.
Likewise, I was a bit disappointed in the Flight 3.  I tried a Flight 1, had hip belt collapse, and ended up buying a Gila bag.  I had high hopes for the impending redesign (Flight 3), but it weighs about the same as my Gila and i don’t see any real advantage over the Gila except cost.

I’m not a fan of the Coyote Brown or Avocado green colors either…

[George H]

Colors be what they may, I personally see the UltraGrid as an upgrade over Ultra. But fear not, someone heard Ultra will become an option again.

I used a Divide for bear canisters due to low, horizontal carry capacity until lighter options were available. Highly recommended.

Tried the Flight 1. The hipbelt to frame interface was so under-developed it just didn’t transfer weight at all

[Nicholas P]

I have a Flight 2 that I rarely ever use anymore (  just for weight heavy training hikes and some winter trips), the hip belt design is definitely it’s main weakness aside from it being on the heavier side but  after swapping out the hip belt it carries much much better. First I put an ULA hip belt on it  and that pretty much took care of  the slippage then more recently I ended up throwing an Atoms Packs Moe hip belt on it because my partner mistakenly ordered the wrong size belt for her pack which  happened to be in my size . Now it carries weight really quite well and I find the Moe belt to be very comfortable more so  than the ULA belt which was an improvement in carry but not so much in comfort for me around  my hips.
Anyway I think this new iteration is a down grade and was a real missed opportunity to improve upon the original concept.
I think if they had just used a more robust  hip belt with a floating attachment system  like on their other packs , then looked at shedding some excess weight off the frame system while sticking with the basic design concept , then cutting additional weight through the use of 200x and/or 100x fabrics I think they could have had a pretty compelling product. What they came up with instead seems to be moving in a completely different direction through the use of less durable materials and unnecessary features it seams like they are not only removing their dipped toes from the lightweight backpacking market but they are also kind of moving slightly away from their niche in durable yet relatively lightweight packs oriented toward hunting and expeditions.Are they are trying to move more main stream? maybe trying to compete more with Osprey and less so with The likes of SWD and Durston (not that they were their main competitors). I really don’t get the use of mesh on the pockets and the move to single adjustment on the belt, also I don’t think the back padding was necessary and I don’t see how it would improve ventilation as they claim over their old design which I think struck a pretty good trade off between having a slight air gap for ventilation while still keeping the load and center of gravity close to the body.

[bradmacmt]

The only reason I didn’t buy my wife the original Divide was its puny and useless back pocket. We like to be able to stuff a tent vertically in the rear pocket and stuff other items (like rain gear and clothing) around the sides. I bought her a Unaweep 4800 instead with a taller mesh pocket , and she loves it. However, had the Divide 2.0 been available I would have gotten it for her. The back pocket is sized for the real world. Heck, after I spent a season with a stock factory SWD Wendigo, I had them build a new one (now called the “Wolverine”) with a 3″ longer back pock that now accommodates nicely any tent I own. I would have preferred a stretch fabric for the pocket, but they wouldn’t do that alas. Also, I like the single pull of the new Divide belt – I’d just like to see more “neutral” color choices and a lighter fabric offering.

I think the overall design is a real improvement… but the colors are grotesque enough I doubt I could pull the trigger on one.

[bradmacmt]

I emailed SO about the current uber-saturated colors they’re offering the Divide 2.0 in… they wrote back:

“We are planning on releasing it in less saturated colors in the near future!”

Good move on their part.

[Chris L]

I have a pack in coyote brown Ultragrid (same as Divide 2.0). While it’s not my favorite of all the Ultragrid colors, it’s not as saturated as in their photos – it’s more subdued. Can’t speak to the avocado/green color. I also have a pack made from castlerock Ultragrid which I like a lot. It’s a subtle bluish gray color.

[Jeff McWilliams]

Nicholas – I’m curious how you go about swapping different hip belts from different companies onto your Seek Outside pack.  I have a Mountain Hardwear AMG-75 that I use for mountaineering and by necessity it needs to carry heavy loads.  But honestly, I think the hip belt on it sucks and I’m not super satisfied with its load carrying capabilities over-all.

Your talk of switching out hip belts has me wondering if I could find a more comfortable hipbelt for the MH AMG-75.  The 4″ wide hipbelt for the Atom Prospector looks interesting.

 

 

[Nicholas P]

Jeff , regarding swapping out hip belts. The SO pack that I have is the flight 2 which uses a simple Velcro attachment system unlike their other external frame packs that utilize a more secure hanging system. The Velcro system is a common system, but is often less effective for heavier loads , however some of these belts transfer loads better than others because they have stiffer material and resist collapsing. I am not familiar with your packs belt system but if it attaches with Velcro and the atom packs prospector ( formerly The Moe) belt fits nicely enough in the sleeve than it should work. The Atom packs belts are pretty comfy and fairly robust,  I think they would work well up to about 50 pounds .

[Greg Pehrson]

Hi Jeff,

It looks like your mountaineering pack has a modified U-shaped aluminum tubular stay where the bottom of the U shape sits in a large pocket on the back of the current hip belt. Short of sewing a pocket onto a new hip belt (and maybe still not being satisfied with the load transfer), an alternative option could be to find all metal, heavy duty tubing clamps like these

in the diameter of the backpack stay, and then bolt on a Seek Outside or McHale style belt with grommets (I’ve seen used Seek Outside belts a number of times for about $40 on Gear Swap and the Seek Outside Adventures page; I bought my SO belt used to attach to a MYOG pack). Or for a cheaper option, if you have an old external frame pack of any brand or can find one at a thrift store, their hipbelts usually have grommets where the cotter pins attached, but you could bolt them on to the frame just the same. Just an idea I had that I hope makes sense. Good luck!

[Nicholas P]

Yeah I guess the Atom packs belt is out unless you want to do some sewing. I think one of SWD’s hanging belts could be easily made to work, maybe tie a prusik knot around the bottom of the frame to attach the webbing for the belt.

[baja bob]

I think the AMG belt is intended to be narrow to accommodate wearing a harness. I tried an AMG at the store and felt the same as Jeff that it was a weak point as far as carrying a heavy load.

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