TL;DR - I really liked the ULA Ultra Circuit backpack and I'd buy it again, even though it needs a little more padding in a couple of places.
Easily carried everything I needed in a compact manner.
Overall, I was very pleased with the ULA Ultra Circuit backpack. Not only would I recommend it to others, but I'd buy it again for myself.
I was lucky to get this pack, since usually there's a ~2-week lead time on manufacturing, plus another few days for shipping, and I called ULA to place my order exactly 10 days before our departure. I didn't even realize this when I placed the order, only seeing a note to this effect on the email receipt. (To be fair to ULA, there was a big red banner on their website as well, and I just missed it.)
Anyway, I called them up as soon as I saw the timeframe, and offered to pay a bit more to move to the front of the queue, but that's not something they do (and though it wasn't good for my particular case at the time, I think it's the right way to do business, so kudos to them). They understood my predicament, but ultimately there wasn't much they could offer, and I ended up cancelling the order and resolving myself to using the men's version of the REI Flash 55 that my companions had settled on (and ultimately liked as well). Then, the next morning, I got a call from ULA. Every ULA Ultra Circuit is custom configured, but somehow - pure backpacking gods luck - they'd found one that was the perfect match for what I'd ordered, and they could ship it out immediately.
Dang, calling me back after I'd cancelled my order, because they knew I was in a time crunch? That's some great customer service, and a nice way to start the relationship.
Pros
- Weight (36.8oz) - this pack is so light. Picking it up and comparing it to the REI packs that the ladies carried was weird for all of us.
- Size - As a light pack, it would make sense if the pack was smaller than others. However, it could carry 20% more gear (68L) than the heavier REI packs. Not only that, but it did so in a much smaller "envelope." It almost looked like I was wearing a normal day pack most of the time, even though I had more gear and equipment, and even though none of it was strapped to the outside of my pack. Plus, the compactness made it much less unwieldy as we navigated uneven terrain or clawed our way through willow thickets.
- Organization - I loved the fact that the main pack was one big pocket. That contributed to the weight (less material) and size (no dividers, etc. taking up space) being so great. The side pockets for water were significantly larger than on the REI packs, making it easy to stow a 2L on each side. The stretchy back material seemed to swallow anything I wanted easy access to. And the hip belt pockets were the perfect size for all my camera batteries, phone, Lithium battery packs, and flashlight. Bottom straps made a perfect place to suspend my tripod when it wasn't in use.
- The back panel - was extremely comfortable and provided plenty of support.
- The way the hip belt tightened - by using two tightening straps (per side) rather than one, it made the hip belt much easier to cinch tight and really assisted in keeping most of the weight on my hips. That was a huge win for me, given that I hate carrying weight on my shoulders.
- Color - this is unimportant as far as how the pack worked, but I really liked the gray/black coloring instead of the crazy colors that every REI pack seems to be made in to differentiate them from the previous year models.
Cons (That Mostly Aren't)
Of my cons, the padding in the straps was the only one that really mattered to me.
- Cost - this pack wasn't cheap, but then, I complain about the cost of a candy bar these days. I didn't love this, but I think the price was inline with other packs of the same quality.
- Padding of the straps. None of the straps had enough padding for me, and after five days, my shoulders and hips were chaffing. This was especially true of the shoulder straps, and I ended up putting socks under the straps to give me more padding, which solved the problem. The hip straps gave me sore spots, but seamed easier to "move around a bit" or "reset" in order to give myself a few more hours.
- Doesn't stand up by itself when set on the ground. I don't think I'd have really noticed or expected this out of a pack except for the fact that the REI packs had this feature and it seemed nice.
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