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ULA was founded by Brian Frankle in 2001, after he 'discovered' UL gear (the story of the whole cottage industry?). In the early days all the pack-making was done by Brian as well - in his garage (of course). After a while he got some help, to reduce the well-known delays in delivery. Late in 2009 Brian sold the company to Chris McMaster, another UL enthusiast.

The packs featured here are quite distinctive, with a frame design somewhat different from most. There are two upright rods or tubes running down the very outer corners, and a cross bar at the top made from flexible Delrin plastic. The design ends up a bit squarer than most because of the frame tubes. However, there is only a thin layer of firm foam down the harness face, not hard plastic. A consequence of this soft back is that you can make the middle of the harness face bulge outwards in a most uncomfortable manner if you stuff (fill) the bag too hard. You need to keep the packing a bit soft on all these packs so the bag can adapt to your back. Overloading (jamming stuff in tightly) is not advised.

ARTICLE OUTLINE

  • ULA Circuit Pack
  • ULA Catalyst Pack
  • ULA Camino Pack

# WORDS: 1440
# PHOTOS: 3

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