Pack advice – blank check- GO!

Kevin should be able to tell you for sure, but I would think very soon.

The prototype had a X-Pac X-21 body so it was waterproof and the water bottle pockets and front stuff pocket was an interesting (and new) Spectra grid fabric.  I know they were testing some other exciting fabrics too so I’m interested to see what they decided to use on the production version.

I was pretty impressed with the pack though.  I got the pack late, so I didn’t get a chance to use it before my Sierra trip.  I am normally hesitant to take a piece of untested gear on a week long trek, but I did anyways after having great experiences using Seek Outside packs on three different trips of more than a week.   As you can see it had a tapered bottom and was fairly narrow making it nimble and good for off trail travel.

Maybe I missed this but what kind of bear can did you carry in the pack?

Should be order able around Valentines day or possibly before. I know we are taking pre-orders at the Hunt Expo in SLC ( I know this is the wrong crowd).  We are using the Spectra Grid Brad mentioned combined with XPAC. The XGrid has just done really well in all of our testing.  In comparison to Brads tester we added a little volume , slightly bigger / taller water bottle pockets, and improved carry on the taller size that Brad used on his trip.

Kevin

That’s great to hear. Thanks for letting us know. I’m curious to hear more about what differentiates this pack from the Gila.

Matthew,

Not sure this was intended for me but I used the BV500 bear can when I was on the JMT.  The thing is huge and takes up a ton of room.

I also echo your thoughts about the differences between the Flight and the Gila.

Ah. I was unclear. I was asking Brad what can he carried in the Flight. I think he carried a WI Weekender.

Yes, I carried a Bearikade Weekender.  It’s similarly bulky and has sharp(ish) edges that you have to be careful of when packing.   It carries vertically in the Flight rather well in the top half of the pack.  The Flight’s frame has a crossbar in the middle and the bear can  protruded a bit there and sort of sat on the cross frame – this worried me because it looked like it would protrude into my back, but it didn’t.  The Flight’s frame is shaped and there was an air gap there (sort of reminiscent of the Osprey Atmos but not as pronounced) so I never felt it on my back.

I think the Flight will be a serious contender in the 45-50L pack market.

I haven’t used a Gila, but it uses the same suspension as my Unaweep 4800, so take this with a grain of salt:  The Flight is about a pound lighter than the Gila and probably slightly smaller in volume.  The Gila frame and suspension is built for heavy loads – Its the same that’s on the 6300ci Unaweep for example and it was designed for massive loads like elk quarters.   The frame and suspension is probably the most comfortable I’ve ever used and is great for expedition style trips where you’re carrying two weeks of food, or for packrafting trips where you have the extra weight of packrafting equipment.  It’s also great for the more traditional or semi lightweight backpacker that might carry 30-35lbs for  a week long trip, but <span style=”display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;”>It’s completely overkill for loads under 30lbs, and for me that means for a trip like a week in the Sierra, where my load is probably 25-26lb even with a bear can and microspikes, something like the Flight makes more sense.  </span>

The Gila itself to me is an unusual pack, in that it’s capable of carrying heavy loads, but it’s not that large of volume.  I know for myself at least, if I need to carry 30+ pounds, I need larger volume pack than the Gila.  The Divide, which is a 1000ci larger makes more since to me on that frame.  The frame itself is wider and though it is actually quite nimble for what it is, it’s not as nimble as the Flight.

The Flight has a tapered bottom so it works well for moving over, scooting across, etc talus and other moves you might encounter in Class 2 and Class 3 off trail travel.  Those same moves would probably scrape the bottom of the frame on a Gila (my Unaweep has some scratches from this) and not that this hurts anything, it’s probably stretching it’s use a bit.

My take is (and I tend to be very conservative compared to most people) the Flight would be good to the low to mid 30lb range.  The frame, which seemed very robust could probably handle more, but I think the hipbelt would start to sag by then.  The Gila (and Divide/Unaweep) could easily go 50-60lbs or more. The suspension is quite capable.  I think they rate it to around 100lbs, and I have no doubt the frame would do it.  I’m not what weight the hipbelt would begin to sag at, but honestly probably more weight than the rest of my body could carry, and at significantly more weight than anyone on here would ever carry (except for Tipi on one of his 24 day trips).

they should consider a 4500-ish bag on the Flight frame- this would serve both longer trips (but still under the 30-ish lb mark) and winter trips- where volume is needed, but weight isn’t a lot either (almost always under 30 lbs)

50 liters is short on volume for me for a week long trip or winter trip, obviously the Divide would work, but do I really need a frame capable of hauling 100 lbs?  Well I do actually, but that’s a different pack :)

The Flight sounds great.

I think what sold me on the Flight was the people.  I called in at Brads recommendation and they were overly kind and patient with all my questions.  The woman I spoke with was very knowledgeable and really customer first.  I am an Fixed Operations Director for a large company and will use her as an example of how to treat a potential client.  I have not even seen the pack but if the pack is half as good as what everyone says, and after talking with the people behind the product make it a sure winner for me. Now I just have to keep my eyes open online so I can get it ordered, and hopefully get it here before April.

The GIla mostly has been used as a UL day hunting pack or for folks that want a smaller pack to swap to BUT own a large pack. However, I mostly agree with Brads points.

Regarding Flight. My guess is all said and done with pocketing it will be a true / real / legit 3300 -3500 CI .

As I mentioned we made a couple tweaks that seem to improve the load carriage of the tall version. I personally have carried 45 fine. I suspect I’d give it a load rating of 50 maybe a bit more, where it still handles the load well. However , that being said, in most cases I think our regular pack line starts to carry better in 35 -40 range because you can customize the fit more and stuff and at 40 lbs a few ounces is less noticeable. However,  if I didn’t own a Divide, I’d feel fine with the flight at 45 -50 especially if that is mostly water or food and NOT an everyday weight.

The flight  is lighter than Gila /Divide and has a more backpack centric feature set (built in hip belt pockets, adjustable belt sizing)

The flight is also simpler. Some folks struggle with the learning curve and how different the standard pack line is (although we are working making it easier). The flight is much more load gear in it and walk …without much of a learning curve.

Hi Kevin, when will the Flight be available for purchase?

Thanks,

Hi Kevin, when will the Flight be available for purchase?

See the third post on this page.

Thanks – noted.

Brad do you carry ice axes and shovels with your unaweep? I want a bigger winter pack and im curious about pokey things and skis. I bet skis are easy but i wonder about other hardware that needs to be carried safely, or at least  well. I know how the talon works but are there ax loops and stuff?  I guess i’m asking does it have ax loops. I didnt see it on the website.

Jeff, honestly I don’t remember.  I don’t carry a talon and cut all the excess straps off.   I don’t carry an ax or shovel but have carried microspikes a couple of times with it.   My Unaweep is x21 and it’s reasonably durable.  I think 210d Dyneema Grid is slightly more durable but the x21 is durable enough.  My Unaweep has done  two different 2 week trips in Alaska and the Wind River High Route.

The Flight did have an Ice ax loop (a nice loop in the middle that also doubled as a grab loop (difficult to explain but pretty cool).

Thank you sir

Hey Jeff, my Unaweep has two ice axe loops. It’s a couple of years old, don’t know if that matters.

Some updates and off course I will re-validate these before release but from the specs I was given, and what we have

Main bag 3200 CI / Rear pocket 530 CI 3730 not included Belt pockets and side pockets

2 lb 6 for tall or large version / 1.8 ounces less for Med / Small — Not including compression straps which are removable .. most people will likely add an ounce or two for compression

Combination of X21 XPAC and Spectra Grid fabric we have been working on. The Spectra is all suspension, bottle pockets, rear pocket, and bottom for added durability. Obviously we will have to give the Spectra fabric a cool name at some point … its different than most of the UHMWPE .. it’s blended with Nylon 6.6 and has a very fine spectra pattern.

Weight rating , I would say 50 is pretty reasonable as stated earlier.

Any other questions ?

Will the frame be as adjustable as the Gila/Divide? I’ve not used any of your packs but I have to say the adjustability is intriguing.

No , it’s just two sizes around 22 and around 24

FWIW I have a 20 inch torso and they both carry well, BUT I have a higher load rating on the 24. However the 22 is fine for 35 ish for me I can still get shoulder lift. The 24 I get lift to around 50 .

Kevin

Ok, I said “frame” and that wasn’t a good choice of words. Let me try my question again. Will the shoulder harness and waist belt be adjustable like the pack in this video?

It’s different. The belt size can be adjusted on the fly. The harness is static and based on the different pack sizes. When we get it online you will see. It’s not trying to match our big packs feature for feature , as that is where a fair amount of weight is. It’s trying to carry vary similar to our big packs up to a certain point with a much more simple and lighter configuration that requires far less pack geeking out

Aaron – did you get the Flight? If you did, please provide an update….