Seek Outside Flight Pack [was Upcoming light packs from SO]

Wonderful feedback from actual users.  I have a Seek Outside pack that I really like and was going to pull the pin on the Flight but think I will wait for V2.0 with a taller frame option and perhaps an options for an angled side pocket.  I have always been impressed with SO quality so I will have to be patient(!).

An angled side pocket would be great so you can easily retrieve a water bottle.  I understand the taller side pocket has its merits for some but their angled pocket is the best I’ve ever had on any backpack.

Some Flight time on Elbow Mountain.

Very nice…..do you use a drone for these overhead shots?

So in recap:

Taller frame(load lifters at an angle to do their job)

Smaller Hipbelt (for those of us with sub 32″ waists)

Angled (accessible) bottle pockets.

That seem right?

Indeed, it seems a 2.0 is needed.

No drone shots. All the remote shots are just on a mini tripod.

I’d like to see the outside pockets have adjustable shock cords. The current ones are not adjustable and are very tight.

So in recap:

Taller frame(load lifters at an angle to do their job)

Smaller Hipbelt (for those of us with sub 32″ waists)

Angled (accessible) bottle pockets.

26″ frame available; I think the 22 & 24″ will work for a lot of folks as is

definitely a smaller waist belt option

angled, but not too sharply or stuff starts falling out

shock cord added would help as well

Well thanks to Phillip sending me two sections of tent pole- thanks!  and Dave C who has the machine and know-how on sewing (thanks Dave!), I now have a 26″ frame :)

Dave also sewed the two halves of the belt together that I can cinch the belt fully down and still have some adjustment leftover; Phillip did this as well.

I’ve got a fastpack of the Wonderland Trail in two weeks, so will report back on the modifications.

Mike,

So nice to get a little help from friends! Thanks for sharing your progress toward a taller and “better hipped” Flight pack.

Did Dave C handle the interior securement of the upper frame in the same way that Philip came up with, or did he have a different approach? And, if you don’t mind, an interior pic  would be of great help (if possible) if he handled it differently.

I hope the revisions work out great for you on your upcoming trek! Thanks again.

looks like he did the same way, moving it up 2″ as well

Awesome! That’s good to know… Thank you for the information and the pic – very helpful.

Review of the Flight on r/ultralight complains about one of the features that is the best, IMHO, namely the pivoting hip belt. I’ve never experienced the fatigue due to hip belt sway claimed by the reviewer. Oh well, diff’rent strokes n all… Other interesting disagreements: the shoulder straps are said to be too narrow but I love them (and I have broad shoulders and a long torso for my modest height); and the volume is said to be similar to a 36L Mariposa, whereas I can easily fit 12 days of three season gear and food into a Flight One.

^ yeah I’d disagree with all those opinions as well- shoulder straps are near perfect; no fatigue with the hip belt and the pack is very roomy and that’s not counting the large front pocket, two large side pockets and the very roomy hip belt pockets

I hope that Seek Outside can get back to doing some custom work. I’m quite happy for them that they have so much business that it’s not possible right now. Of course, even when they can they might not want to do my specific customization, which I’m quite fine with, it’s their business and I’ll continue to steer people their way who I think can benefit from their great packs.

Has anyone experimented with a small ULA hipbelt with the Flight? Wondering if the velcro would match up at all.

If you can find the correct sort of poles (ends of old tent poles) this is a very simple mod.  Pulling open the seam with the load lifters etc is  veryeasy, and sewing them back on 2″ (or whatever) higher while capturing the frame sleeve is easy, and the flap provides a second layer of fabric to reinforce bartacks.  Maybe 20 minutes start to finish?

On Mike’s pack there is a LOT of slack in the lumbar pad.  Like close to an inch.  When I threw 40 pounds in it that slack hinges out horizontally, and that combined with downward sag from the unpadded portion of the belt knocked at least 1.5″ off the torso, something that would likely grow worse with more weight and/or a long day.  The photo Mike posted a few pages back shows 2″ plus of torso collapse.  The lumbar issue is a patterning/production one.  The belt design and how it attaches to the lumbar pad seem like they’ll be a limiting factor well before the frame will be, though given the intended use that’s a largely hypothetical concern.

Yes, the ULA hip belt swaps across perfectly, Velcro and all. It’s a bit taller where it passes behind the lumbar pad and has a little more structure, so it may actually alleviate some of what David C is referencing.

thanks again Phillip and Dave! :)

interesting on the ULA

I will mention that the dimensions of the ULA belt where it passes through the lumbar pad are only slightly larger than the stock SO belt.

I have 2 medium ULA belts; an older one and a newer one. The older one has a narrower gap in the middle (which goes behind the lumbar pad) between the thicker hip pads in the wings. Here is the newer one:

I had added small gear loops to the lower shoulder strap tabs to get a straighter pull on the gatekeeper straps when I put my pack on the bow of my packraft. Serendipitously it also offered an anchor for the ULA belt’s stabilizer strap which I also attached via gatekeepers. Snug up for a more integrated belt feel, loosen (or dis-attach) for a freer, pivoting feel.

your thoughts on the ULA belt vs the SO?

is the ULA belt padded all the way around (behind the lumbar pad)?

Yes, it has a solid layer of closed-cell foam along the whole length of the belt, plus extra layers of open and closed cell foam in the wings behind the spacer mesh.

I have not hiked with this setup yet.

let us know what you think when you’ve taken it for a spin :)

My backcountry overnight season is winding down, so I don’t know how soon I will be able to offer feedback. If I get a lovely, calm weekend I might get out, but soon we will be using those days to go halibut fishing, etc.

no worries; whenever the chance presents itself

filling freezer > backpacking

:)

Mike, I havent hiked with a ULA belt on the Flight but I think the belts are pretty similar. Flight’s is more thickly padded and a bit bigger pockets, but both are excellent.