Ula circuit
Any advice on the best way to pack these what on top what on bottom and what strapped outside
I used this pack on my thru. Some generic info:
http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advi...-backpack.html
I kept my pack cover (when not in use), Crocs, tent poles, foam sit pad, water bottles, fuel bottle, & olive oil bottle in the outside pockets (side or front). Just about everything else went inside the pack.
Great thanks !just curious how was the condition of your pack after the thru?ive heard one time around gets them because they aren't made quite as durable as heavier packs
Sleeping bag and clothes bag on bottom. Tent goes longitudinally in the middle with food bag on one side and ditty bag and cook kit stacked on the other side. On the back mesh pouch I have my rain gear, camp flip flops, AT Guide, and fuel bottle. On the side pockets are water bottles and sawyer squeeze. In my hip belt pockets I have my headlamp, snack bars, phone, and pocket knife. That's how I pack my circuit.Originally Posted by Sunshine82
I was amazed at how well my OHM 2.0 held up after 1000 miles on the AT plus one complete backpack season out her in the west, a total of maybe 70 nights on the trail. No wear whatsoever. I believe the fabric on the OHM is the same as the Circuit.
My ULA circuit was in excellent shape after my PCT thru. The mesh netting of the main pocket is the area to watch out for as it will likely pick up a few small holes from branches overgrowing the trail and from trying to walk the edge of the trail when having to climb down boulders.. It should easily last for a full triple-crown.
As for the best way to pack it, it depends on what gear you are using and how big it is. I put my sleeping bag on the bottom in a large plastic bag and allow it to loft to fill up the volume. My food bag(s) goes in next with small misc. stuff sacks and stove above that. Any jackets get stuffed into the gaps along the sides and front and I use the compression straps to ensure that the pack isn't full of empty spaces. Notice I'm trying to pack it so there isn't alot of empty space. TP (in a ziplock or plastic sack) goes in the very top or in the outside pocket for quick access.. The only thing I put outside in the main pocket is my ground cloth, ground cloth, water treatment or filter + bag of chips. My rain jacket gets lashed to the top if I think I'll need it later. I don't have a lot outside, because the pack is bigger than I needed. At the same time, if you have a tone of stuff hanging on the outside, for a less than 5 day trip, then I would suggest you need larger pack like a ULA Catalyst.
Not a Circuit, but it should pack similar. From this thread last year:
Ohm 2.0 here. How I pack (in order):
In main compartment (in pack liner):
Sleeping Bag (no stuff sack)
Clothes bag (in stuff sack, but loose)
Sleeping pad (neo air, rolled)
On top of pack liner:
Food bag/mess kit.
Tent (no stuff sack)
Back Mesh Pocket:
Ditty bag (IFAK, TP, car keys, etc.)
Rain Jacket
Left pack pocket (as I wear it):
Fuel container(s)
Rolled up/unused water bladders (collapsible)
Bourbon (!!!)
Right pack pocket (as I wear it):
Drinking water (collapsible)
Left hip pocket:
Bear bag cord
Head Lamp
Tent Stakes
iPhone (used as camera)
Guidebook Pages
Right hip pocket:
Hand Sanitizer
Aqua Mira
Lighter
Knife
Snacks for the day
Packing like this keeps the things I need during the day/in a hurry easily accessible, and the gear I won't need except in camp dry/out of the way. I can get to camp, put on my rain jacket if its a little chilly/wet, set up my tent, and then unpack everything else under cover/out of the rain. I used to use a lot of stuff sacks for all the different pieces of gear, but the pack doesn't pack near as nicely with all of the hardish shapes. With one bag for food, one bag for clothes (bonus: pillow), and one bag for small items, I still know where everything is when I need it, but the pack is much more uniform in shape. It takes a little time to find a system that works for you, but once you find it, it's smooth sailing... er... hiking.
Very similar to Firefighter (we're brothers so we often pack together) but I'm a Circuit. Note this was done this weekend and survived constant rain on Sunday and fall in the creek up to my waist (Creekfall!) on Saturday:
In contractor trash bag in bottom of pack and twisted to keep water tight:
sleeping bag (loose)
down jacket (loose)
camp clothes (in stuff sack)
On top of plastic bag (can get wet):
sleeping pad (either in sack (All season) or sstacked on left side (3/4 ridgerest)
Pot - with stove, spoon, and bbottom of water bottle to dip for water
Fuel (8 oz canister)
Long sleeve if needed during breaks
Food bag
Left pocket
Shelter (tarp or TT contrail)
Right poclet
2 1 Ltr platypus usually filled
Front Mesh
Diddy bag (Fak, TP, Advil, tums, etc)
Rain pants, Rain jacket
2 Ltr platypus (rolled up)
Booze
right hip
Aqua Mira, bear bag cord, knife
left hip
Camera (in ziplock), Lighter, Inhaler
It really depends on your gear. If you have traditional gear like a synthetic 20-F sleeping bag and a conventional 2-person double wall tent, it might not fit in a Circuit. But the Circuit will easily hold a modern lightweight kit.
I line the pack with a Zpacks cuben roll-top pack liner, which is seam taped and functionally waterproof. I fold my Thermarest in 6ths and slide it down inside the liner against the suspension side. Then I stuff my sleeping bag or quilt down inside the bottom of the pack. On top of that I put my clothing in a stuff sack, then my little ditty bag with my personal stuff, then any kitchen gear. Then I stuff my insulation layer down inside the liner, flat against the front of the pack, where it is protected but available. It also takes up zero space this way. Then I roll the liner closed, and put my food bag on top of the liner. (In summer I put my hammock inside with the food bag, and use a 3/4-length closed cell foam pad which rides on top. In winter my big down bag goes in a compression stuff sack first.)
In the big outside pocket goes my little tent, my rain gear, and any personal gear I might need during the day -- map and guidebook, hat and gloves, rain cover, TP, etc. In the left hip belt pocket go all of my snacks for the day. In the right hip belt pocket I have useful things like hand sanitizer, Gold Bond powder, a film can with some sunscreen, etc. A 1-liter Gatorade bottle fits in each side pocket (they are shorter than other 1-L bottles so fit better), and I can reach the one on the right side without taking off the pack. I can fit a second bottle in each side pocket -- they are huge -- if need be. Or a water filter, if I owned one, or something else in that general size.
The Circuit is my favorite pack -- I'm on my second one (my hiking partner swiped my first one.) Sure, it's probably not built to the same level of bulletproofness as a heavier pack, but then I'd rather be careful with the pack and not carry the extra weight.
Good luck with it. Hope you end up liking it as much as I do, but of course packs are a very personal choice.
Thru hiked this past season with a circuit, the only appreciable damage was a hole in the outer mesh pocket caused by a mouse when I left my snack bag in it one night, (my bad). I packed it like such from bottom to top…
Trash compactor liner
Sleeping bag loose in the bottom
Cloths bag (zpacks cuben), down jacket loose, misc bag (meds, phone charger, head lamp etc) also zpacks cuben
Liner was rolled down pressing out as much air as possible.
Food bag(zpacks blast) with spectra cord bear line and REI long handle soup spoon inside, evernew .6L Ti pot containing cat stove, lighter and wind screen, Neoair xlite pad
Lightheart solo tent in cuben, cross ways on top
Lid was then rolled down and compressed
On some cold days I might hike with my jacket on the outside top held down by the compression strap
In the mesh pocket on back I carried a packa rain jacket, my food for the day, crocs, fuel bottle and sometimes “blister fixins”. When it warmed up and I sent some cloths home/switched sleeping bags, I wrapped my crocs in a plastic grocery sack and put them in the main compartment to increase volume for fear I was stressing the cross hoop of the frame by having the top rolled down too far. I would often throw my pair of dirty socks in there to await the first stream crossing of the day when I would rinse them out and hang them on the back to dry via the outer shock cord.
Two gatoraid bottles, one in each side pocket. I found carrying them upside down helped me find the pocket and place the bottle back in on the go.
In the belt pockets I carried snacks, aquamira, a section of guide book, small multi tool, ear buds, sometimes headlamp, more snacks
With the upper shock cords on the pack straps, I carried my cell phone/camera/music. Other side held a bandanna. Also had a small dispenser of hand sanitizer hanging from a spot on the lower left side of the belt/strap.
My only complaint about the circuit is the lack of air circulation between my back and the pack. I’m a sweater and after a week or so my circuit would smell like 3 day old taco meat. But it is very easy to wash in a hotel bath tub with laundry detergent and hang dry overnight.
Anybody know how a Bearvault BV500 does with a Circuit?
It does vertical only.
Circuit is about 38" circumference, horizontal circumference on the BV500 is about 39"
Not sure about MW's specifications, but my BV500 easily fits into my OHM 2.0 with plenty of room to spare width-wise, gobs of room. And I think the Circuit is a tad larger than the OHM 2.0. The REI specs for the BV quotes 8.7" width/diameter. PI*8.7 (circumference) is 27.3".
Ah, I see what MW was saying now, sorry, early here, the BV only fits vertically, yes. But these packs (OHM/Circuit) are really tall. Load the bottom 2/3rds with gear, sit the BV on top of everything, and stuff things (jacket, other soft items) around the BV. HAving owned both the Circuit and OHM 2.0 though, the OHM 2.0 closure system works better with the BV because the BV could actually stick out of the top and the pack top closed around it (draw string closure), harder to do with the Circuit (roll top closure).
ULA's website steers people to the Catalyst or Circuit if they plan on using canisters and both work well. I had a Catalyst briefly and then switched to the Circuit for the JMT and it worked great with a custom 12 inch bearikade packed vertically. The BV has a slightly smaller diameter so I'm sure it would work equally well.
HST/JMT August 2016
TMB/Alps Sept 2015
PCT Mile 0-857 - Apr/May 2015
Foothills Trail Feb 2015
Colorado Trail Aug 2014
AT: Rockfish Gap to Boiling Springs 2014
John Muir Trail Aug/Sept 2013
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