Flying with a ULA Ohm 2.0

[Type38]

So this summer some friends and I will be flying out to Colorado (from Indianapolis) for a week on the Colorado Trail. Most of my friends have more traditional packs and aren't so concerned with them being damaged en route. I on the other hand have a ULA Ohm with the carbon fiber frame and I'm just concerned about it breaking as checked baggage. Anyone have ay experience with this?

[Traveler]

I fly a lot and have had minor damage on packs that I have checked, but I have to say nothing more serious than a small tear or broken strap adjuster. When I take the good pack now, I will usually ship it ahead to the hotel I will be staying at, and shipping it home as opposed to exposing it to the hazards of the cargo hold.

You can have the airline put a Fragile tag on it, but I'm not sure if those work or just advertise its something to toss around

[CarlZ993]

I've flown several times w/ my ULA Circuit. Each time, I put it in a duffel bag designed to carry packs. No problems with damage. I mailed the duffel bag back when I got to my location.

[u.w.]

Is the carbon "hoop", or frame, not multi-piece & removable? Wouldn't it pack down smaller with the frame taken out, if you were planning to put it in another bag.

u.w.

[Coffee]

The carbon hoop on the Ohm 2.0 is, I believe, the same as the hoop in the Circuit. The Circuit has a stay in addition. To reduce the pack size, I did remove the hoop and also removed the stay (in case it showed up on x-ray as something suspicious). I sent both of those ahead via USPS.

Beware that although the hoop is easy to remove, at least on the Circuit it is a pain to reinstall. It took a while for me to do that and it wasn't any fun wanting to get on the trail and being delayed. Practice at home first...

[swjohnsey]

I had no problem flying with my Ohm 2.0. If can survive the trail it can survive airline baggage handlers. A word of caution, if you remove the brace/frame/whatever be very careful to get the ends into the pockets designed to hold them. I met a guy on the trail who was very unhappy with his Circuit because he failed at that and the ends wore through the pack material.

When I fly I take apart my poles, put them inside the pack along with anything else in outside pockets, pull the shoulder straps tight, snug all other straps down and then tie all the lose ends together.

[Dogwood]

As a note, if you are planning to take backpacks onto commercial airliners, be sure you know the dimensions of carry ons. USAirways and American have changed (slightly) their dimensions and I understand some other airlines have as well but can't attest to it. The new dimensions are a little smaller than the old ones and are being enforced. If your pack is longer than the tallest dimension they may have you gate check the pack to your final destination...

Yup, some of the more popular airlines just reduced the size of the widest measurement for carry-ons to 14".

Personally, whenever possible I much prefer to carry my backpacks onto public transportation rather than checking baggage. I hike and travel light and with a severely reduced bulk with an UL ULA CDT backpack probably 85% of the time in the USA. It's convenient for me. Doing so sometimes means having to mail stuff ahead though. I actually prefer it to reduce the wt and bulk a I travel with on public transportation even less. I have no issue with the USPS. They have served me extremely well!

QHShowoman, I'm very surprised you got to carry on a ULA Catalyst 4600 cubic in/75 L especially as many times as you say. Even for Alaska Airliners/Frontier, American, Jet Blue(on their largest airplanes!), Southwest Air, US Airways, and Virgin all of whom I've flown several times each with a loaded ULA CDT backpack as a carry-on, and have some of the largest dimensions allowed for carry-ons, a fully loaded Catalyst isn't within the allowed volume size limit especially if the outside pockets(volume) are used.

A simple volume calculation for what's individually allowed on each airline taking into consideration any individual and accumulated sizes/individual dimension(length, width, height) and a bathroom scale at home one can know whether it's of acceptable carry-on size and wt before heading to the AP. It literally pays to understand this when booking flights as a few airlines ask at booking time if you're checking luggage. If you state "NO" and upon reaching the AP find your intended carry-on is oversized/over weighted for carry-on allowance they make you check it with exorbitant at the gate spontaneous checked baggage fees. BEWARE! A fully heavily loaded Catalyst could even be over the max wt limit too which is typically 35 lbs AND LESS for a carry-on on domestic flights. US citizens tend to travel heavy. Airlines know this and are addressing it sometimes by making you pay. My guess is that your flight was on a larger airplane like an Airbus 320 or larger Embraer jet and/or the flight wasn't full(airlines sometimes make exceptions under these circumstances like if you can quickly reduce you backpack size, easy enough to do by just holding something that was in or on your backpack in your hands), and/or your Catalyst was not fully loaded and you were flying on an airline with one the largest allowable carry-on size limits to begin with.

http://travel-made-simple.com/carry-on-size-chart/

To the OP, an Ohm 2.0 63 L about 4000 cubic inches when not having gear/stuff jammed on the outside creating bulges and not over weighted typically qualifies as a carry-on on most domestic U.S. flights. You WILL have to fit it into the overhead compartment on all flights so take that into consideration. I haven't flown with trekking poles in yrs so can't address those concerns. Unless hitting the CT ASAP I would just buy some fuel once in CO especially if you're flying into Denver/Colorado Springs or Durango.

3. I know that fuel and stoves will need to be shipped for sure (I don’t want to risk not cleaning my stove properly and having it confiscated at the airport), but what about food? Should food be shipped ahead as well? I don’t see any reason why it can’t be put on a plane, but I’m concerned that security will throw a fit about pasta sides and tuna packets.

Never had TSA take issue with packaged unopened food in and on my carry-on backpack including on domestic flights fresh fruit/cheese/Justins nut butter packets, EVOO packets , etc. I find it's the liquids they take the most issue. However, I do hike and travel light so currently I usually don't want to lug anything but the essentials on domestic flights. I usually mail my trail food, maps, and maybe some gear ahead. I find the USPS to be extremely reliable in this regard despite the naysayers. It helps to understand the context of mailed arrivals based on various USPS mailing options, originations, and destinations.

4. When shipping gear and possibly food, what is the best way to do that? Ship it to the hostel we’re staying at? A local post office?

That depends on your agenda once reaching CO and the scheduling of your flight. If I was taking a Sat flight landing in the afternoon with the expectation to hit the CT ASAP on Sun then mailing to a USPO isn't going to work. Most aren't open on Sun to get your mailed box. I would mail to a hostel, hotel, outfitter, friend, shuttler, trail angel, etc. OR use a mail service that delivers on Sun. I mail 90% of my resupply boxes mostly containing food, supplements, and maps via USPS PRIORITY FLAT RATE MAIL in FLAT RATE BOXES. They have set postage rates and affords some conveniences such as shipping ahead with no dditional cost if unopened, $50 insurance as has been stated and arrives in almost all places in the USA when mailed domestically in 2-3 days. There are some exceptions though - the Sierras, HI, etc. Mailing USPS Priority receives some special attention at the PO's too. I had and Aunt and Uncle retire from the USPS after decades of service. This is coming from them as insiders. It seems to be true. After having domestically mailed USPS Priority Flat Rate resupply boxes perhaps 300 times within the Lower 48 I've only had one box mailed like this delayed. One of the other conveniences of mailing with known set rates is that I can apply all my postage ahead of time possibly reducing the burden on the back at home folks so all they have to do is drop my boxes off at the PO.

There need to be any special labeling for the stove and fuel?

Special labeling for things like stove fuel have been discussed here on WB many times.

[Dogwood]

MODS, perhaps we can merge both of Type38's two like threads on this subject?