View Full Version : Reviews for Katahdin Ultralite Pack?
Hello Ladies and Gents,
So I am considering this pack (Katahdin Ultralite Pack UBG122) for my upcoming thru-hike and would like to know if anyone has experience with this particular pack. It seems reasonably priced and of decent quality, the operative word being seems. Does anyone have any reviews on it?
http://www.equinoxltd.com/the-gear/backpacks-and-pack-covers/katahdin-ultralite-pack.cfm
I used the smaller version of the Katahdin which is called the Pamola for several years. I really liked it. I used either a rolled up sleeping pad or a folded Z-rest as structure. The material is a fairly lightweight ripstop nylon so you have to be careful to not snag it. I found that the volume of the Pamola was sufficient to carry all my gear and food for several days. The limiting factor in my opinion was that the overall pack structure limited the load to weights in the 25 lb. range in my opinion. I never ran out of space with this pack. In the 20 to 22 lb. range I found the pack to be comfortable. I used a trash bag liner rather than a pack cover. The side pockets carried 1 liter nalgenes very well. The two small zipper pockets were definitely very small but I found them useful to carry small bottles of alchohol fuel in an upright position. I also found that I could use the pack without the waist belt much of the time. (saving another couple ounces)
You need to be comfortable with using a frameless ultralight pack to have a good experience with the Katahdin/Pamola packs. The main reason I no longer use this pack is due to back sweating and I moved to a ventilated back Osprey to deal with this issue. The only other significant issue I recall was that when using the waist belt the pack had a tendency to sag down on the waist belt when heavily loaded. Lighter loads and/or not using the waist belt was how I dealt with this. If you decide to go with one of these I would suggest trying both pack sizes to choose the one that fits your body and your gear the best.
Overall I feel the Pamola was one of the best pack deals for the price I have had. I paid less than $100.00 new for mine.
Here a couple links to internet reviews:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uATJ_TOT_XA
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/equinox_katahdin_review.html#.VcywdflH5Yo
(http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/equinox_katahdin_review.html#.VcywdflH5Yo)
http://www.trailspace.com/gear/equinox/katahdin/
http://www.amazon.com/Equinox-Katahdin-Hiking-Pack-Blue/product-reviews/B001OPGTL4