View Full Version : ULA Conduit Questions
Chaco Taco
01-06-2010, 17:35
Im looking at the specs on this pack. Does it have any kind of frame? What about durability? Its a $100 pack for 09 and it looks good. Need feedback
Chaco Taco
01-06-2010, 17:38
Im looking at the specs on this pack. Does it have any kind of frame? What about durability? Its a $100 pack for 09 and it looks good. Need feedback
Ok I see it has a feature to add a backpad.
sarahgirl
01-06-2010, 17:54
Awesome pack. I tried one on at a hang this summer and loved the fit. I'm looking into ordering the circuit from the trail once I swap out my winter gear.
Chaco Taco
01-06-2010, 17:59
Im thinking about going with the Circuit but may look at the Conduit for my lady. This seems like the pack for her!!!
sarahgirl
01-06-2010, 18:23
Lucky girl!
skinewmexico
01-06-2010, 23:32
Nice pack, kind of like a more durable Jam2. The Jam seems a little taller though. I just cut a piece of blue, Walmart pad to fit in the back of mine. Love my Circuit.
I have an earlier-model Conduit. It's my go-to pack for three-season backpacking. Very sturdy. Frameless. You have the option to put a CCF pad inside to give it some body, but I rarely do that because I'd rather have the pad available as a situpon during the day.
daddytwosticks
01-07-2010, 08:31
I also have an older-model Conduit. Use a piece of foam pad or my Prolite 3 short as a frame. Works great for my warmer weather short trips. This pack is very durable and holds more than you think. :)
Love my Conduit. I cut a piece of Ridgerest to use as the frame. I have an older model that has a better hip belt. But I think with the weight this pack will carry that the new version hip belt should do just fine.
Serial 07
01-07-2010, 12:59
got one...love it...it carries nice even without any backing...i would buy a pack liner or use a garbage bag, back sweat will get everything wet on the inside if you don't...one hip pocket is big enough for my camera and a map...the trick is packing it with soft stuff up against your back..
Bought up a couple of the 2008 m/l torso versions I put in storage. Love it. Also, my 3 season go to pack. All mine have the interior mesh storage pocket making the total wt of the 3200 cube pack 22 0z. Decent shoulder harness and hipbelt in an UL pack for its volume and wt. IMO, one of the more durable UL packs around this volume and wt. IMO, and for my body, it carries 25lbs very comfortably. Have loaded it with up to 35 lbs on several occassions for up to 2 days. The pack and my body handle it for those short times but I wouldn't do this often, for much longer periods, or with much more wt. than that. It's a frameless potato sack deal so you have to give it a virtual framsheet(ridgidity). I do that with a tri-folded(four folded) Prolite 3 shortie or the NeoAir Shortie partially inflated that rests in the inside of the pack along my back. There are two diagonal bungee cords inside the pack that keep the sleeping pad from shifting around. Giving the Conduit ridgidity this way requires no additional backpad(the partially inflated sleeping pad does the job). In the 09 version ULA LOWERED the price but eliminated the fold down top closure(now a drawstring), integrated hipbelt pockets, and tweaked it a bit further to compartmentalize the hipbelt pockets, which are now an add on feature(gives the option of not having hipbelt pockets or replacing them if they get damaged, including the add on hipbelt pockets makes the total price for the pack about the same as my 08 version's ULA cost). Although, I HAVE NOT seen the 09 version in person several other mods have also been made that lower the wt of the pack further. Personally, IMO, the 08 version was just fine for my hikes!
I've had my Conduit since 2007 and its my normal goto pack for most trips not involving a bear can (I've carried one in it, but it wasn't that comfortable) or carrying more then 6days of food. It is framless where you sleeping pad is suppose to provide the support. And as such, it definitely carries better when it is full so if you have extra space and can't tighten the straps to remove it, then you need to let your sleeping bag loft to fill the volume up better. The only wear I've experienced on it is a slight tear in the rear mesh pocket (snagged while crawling under a blowdown), but I understand that the rear pocket has been redesigned since mine was made.
As long as your gear fits in it without bursting the seems and the total weight stays under 30 lbs. (keep it under 25 for long term comfort), it should work out for you. For regularly carrying heavier weight or carrying greater then a week of food, I'd go with a Circuit which I also own.
Chaco Taco
01-07-2010, 18:22
Looking closer at the Circuit and the SMD Traveller
Needs to be able to carry lots of water on the PCT
Blue Wolf
01-07-2010, 18:28
I have the Circuit and I can say you will love it. Way more space then you will ever need and compresses nicely carries like a dream plenty of adjustments.
The Circuit is a great pack. I use it as my winter pack. Carries like a dream. If you want one pack to do it all, this is it. I wish I would have got one years ago. It would have saved me a lot of money searching for the perfect pack. Used it on the Foothills trail and the Bartram trail this past year also. A made in the USA pack that is cheaper then a lot of foreign made packs.
Looking closer at the Circuit and the SMD Traveller
Needs to be able to carry lots of water on the PCT
I carried an '09 Circuit with the optional alumn stay on the trail this summer and had no issues carrying the water weight or with carrying 10days of food with a bearcan. However, we did have unusally cool weather this spring and as such I only had to carry 6L of water once (from the border). I normally ony carried upto 4.5L in SoCAL. After I dumped the bearcan in Lake Tahoe, I could have gotten away with one of my lighter/smaller packs but I decided to stay with what worked in case I needed to extra space. There are still a few long water carries (20-30mi) in NoCAL and Southern Oregon but that isn't the norm and you pace and daily mileage by then makes them not as big of a deal as in SoCAL.
SMD packs are also well made, but I think the Circuit carries heavier weights more comfortably longer term. However, some people have had success hiking the PCT with frameless packs. Though they kept their gear weight down and hiked big mile days which cut down on their food and water weight. Most hikers would probably prefer a pack with a frame.