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Field Report - Ultimate Direction SpeeDemon Race Pack
April 6, 2005
Name: David Sowards-Emmerd
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 8'' (1.73 m)
Weight: 155 lb (70 kg)
Email Address: drunken_marmotATyahooDOTcom
Los Altos, California, USA
Date: April 6, 2005
Backpacking Background:
I began backpacking semi-frequently about four years ago, soon
after moving to California. I generally take weekend (1 night)
trips, and occasionally take 3-4 day trips. Most of my
backpacking is at moderate altitude, 6,000'-12,000'
(1,800-3,650 m), in conditions ranging from dry desert to hail/heavy
snow in the mountains. In winter and spring, I split time between
Southern California (SoCal) deserts and snowshoeing/skiing/snowcamping in
the Sierra/Cascades. Summer and fall I tend to stick to the high country.
I have reduced my packweight down to less than 50 lb (23 kg) over
the past year - including food/water and a bear barrel. I'm trying to
include more mountaineering, climbing and bouldering in my trips.
Manufacturer's Website:www.ultimatedirection.com
MSRP: not listed
Manufacturer's Description:
''The lightweight SpeeDemon is loaded with race-specific features including a 96 oz. reservoir, removable easy-access front bottle holsters, and a S-shaped shoulder harness for a comfortable fit. The patented adjustable Torso Link Suspension System adjusts to multiple torso lengths. Also includes a stow-it pocket sized for a helmet, reflective bungee, waterproof zippers and more.
Style #: 4330
Storage Capacity: 2300 cu. in./37.7 L
Fluid Capacity: 96 oz./2.8 L Reservoir w/Kicker Valve
Weight: 2 lbs. 7 oz./1.1 kg
Dimensions: 23''h x 11''w x 8''d / 58.4h x 27.9w x 20.3d cm
Fabric: 70D Nylon baby rip stop with hypalon coating, 210D Nylon, 3D AirMesh
# Features Internal reservoir pocket
# Removable front mount water bottle holsters
# Adjustable Torso Link Suspension System adjusts to different torso lengths
# 3D AirMesh back panel and shoulder straps for optimal ventilation
# Lightweight material with sturdy hard foam frame
# Waterproof, white hypalon coated interior for better visibility into pack
# Easy access wide mouth opening on main compartment
# Large bungee compressible mesh stow-it pocket
# Large top mounted easy access storage pocket
# Big mesh side pockets
# Waterproof zippers
# Adjustable sternum strap
# Load lifting shoulder straps for maximum comfort
# Shingled tube exit port
# Zig-zag Tube Run on shoulder straps
# Drain holes in bottom of main compartment
# Bottom mounted accessory straps
# Strap Secure webbing control on all straps
# Dual trekking pole/ice axe storage system
# Reflective logo''
Specifications (as measured by tester):
Weight (total) 2.2 lb / 1.0 kg
Weight (one removable hip pocket) 0.9 oz / 26 g
Weight (one front bottle holder): 0.6 oz / 18 g
Weight (hydration bladder w/ tube insulator) 6.7 oz / 191 g
The SpeeDemon arrived on February 2, 2005.
Product Description:
The SpeeDemon is a rather large, bright red, adventure racing pack. For a detailed description of the SpeeDemon and the included accessories, see my Initial Report.
Field Testing:
February 5-6, 2005
Henry Coe State Park, CA
Coit Lake loop
Packweight: 20-25 lb (9-11 kg)
Distance: ~18 mi (30 km)
This was a quick, local overnighter to try to get over a cold I was coming down with, and I felt better after the hike than before so it must have helped. I was just barely able to fit everything I needed for this cool overnighter in the SpeeDemon including a heavy Primaloft jacket that was desperately needed due to my cold. The hike out included a bit of crawling through dense brush and the pack came out unharmed, although I had quite a buildup of twigs under my shirt.
February 20, 2005
Topakah Falls, Sequoia National Park, CA
Packweight: 15-20 lb (7-9 kg)
Distance: 4 mi (6 km)
This was an easy half day backcountry ski trip in to a half frozen, half flowing waterfall. The trail was very winding with a lot of ups and downs, so it was a great chance to test the stability of this pack. Overall, performed very well, and never caused me to lose my balance, although my skis stuck several times on patches of wet snow leading to face plants.
March 12, 2005
Echo Lakes area, South Lake Tahoe, CA
Echo Lake SnoPark to Tamarack Lake
Packweight: ~15 lb (7 kg)
Distance: 9 mi (15 km)
This was a sunny backcountry ski daytrip, on about half perfectly flat terrain (frozen lake) and the other half up and down. My SnowClaw shovel fit nicely in the front panel/pocket of the SpeeDemon.
March 13, 2005
Carson Pass area, South Lake Tahoe, CA
Meiss SnoPark to the Elephants Back and Lake Winnemucca
Packweight: ~15 lb (5-7 kg)
Distance: 5-6 mi (8-10 km)
This was another nice sunny day where I was meeting some friends at the trailhead and decided to snowshoe since one of the party didn't have any luck renting skis. I tried to attach an ice axe to the pack, but unfortunately the upper attachment point is completely inadequate - absolutely useless unless the pack is overstuffed and then it pretty marginal. Thus the ice axe stayed in the car. I also tried to stuff my snowshoes (Atlas 1025) in the front pocket/panel for a short period of non-snow travel, but I was unable to secure them since the only upper strap was not long enough to pass through the bindings.
March 26, 2005
Almaden Quicksilver County Park, CA
Packweight: 10-15 lb (5-7 kg)
I carried the Speedemon for about 4 hours of geocaching in the morning with my wife. During this hike I ran out of webbing to tighten the waistbelt (waist too small). I was still able to put almost all of the weight on my hips though, so that the shoulder straps and pack body were just hovering above my back and shoulders - nice for ventilation. Since this was primarily a geocaching trip, it involved a lot of off-trail bushwacking.
April 2, 2005
Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, CA
Distance: 6 mi (10 km)
This was a morning of geocaching on a nice steep trail with a bit of bushwacking.
Additionally, I used the SpeeDemon many times biking in to work on my daily commute, 6 mi (10 km) one-way, including several times during a downpour. Finally, I've used the SpeeDemon for many local trips around town for carrying groceries home.
Accessories:
Hydration Bladder:
So far, I have not had any problem with leaks from the hydration bladder, including changing elevation by 8,000-10,000' (2,400-3,000 m). Of course, the changing pressure is not much of a test if all the air is removed from the bladder (remember, water is incompressible and doesn't expand noticeably when air pressure changes, air is very compressible...). The kicker valve very rarely drips when closed. I make a habit of sucking the last bit of water out of the nipple after closing the valve. Just recently, I've noticed that near the roll-up opening of the bladder, where there is a double layer of material (intended to help seal the roll down closure of the bladder), the thinner, inner layer is peeling away. I didn't have any problems with water in the insulated tube freezing on my snow trips, but the temperatures were above freezing most of the time.
Waistbelt Pockets:
Overall, I love these pockets! They're perfect for snacks, a compass, monocular, etc., that I want to have handy on the trail. In addition to using them most of the time on the pack, I've also attached them to the shoulder straps of another pack I'm testing oriented vertically, since there wasn't a convenient place to attach them to the waistbelt. The only downside to these is that when riding a bike, I tend to bump the contents of the pocket with my thigh, but this just reminds me that I didn't forget my keys.
Shoulder strap bottle holders:
So far, I have not found a good use for these yet. I tried using one to hold my GPS, but this didn't work since the top bungee was too high to attach to the GPS (see photo). However, the top bungee worked very well for stabilizing my Nikon Coolpix 995 (the neoprene carry case was clipped in to the shoulder strap daisy chain above with a biner and would otherwise bounce around).
Misc.:
- So far the bungee tighteners seem to be adequate for securing gear, from my initial impressions this was a concern.
- Weatherproofing: contents stayed dry for the most part on my work commute during some heavy downpours.
- The load lifter straps are a little odd and I'm still trying to form an opinion on them. I will say there are very difficult to reach for adjusting when wearing the pack.
- The side pockets are easily accessible as far as reach goes, but loosening the compression straps to get to the contents is tricky if the loose end is 'shortened'.
Things I Like:
- I've used it to carry up to a 25 lb (11 kg) load comfortably.
- The kicker valve is easy to operate and the water flow rate is very high. I've only noticed a few stray drops of water after closing the valve (when I remember to close it!)
- The removable waistbelt pockets are very handy, and I've even used them attached to the shoulder straps (vertical position) of my larger packs.
- The elastic loops at the ends of the webbing straps are great for eliminating webbing tails that usually drive me nuts, especially in strong winds. However, one obvious caveat is that when the excess webbing is rolled up, loosening the straps is not instant since the webbing must be unrolled first.
- Compression straps on the bottom half of the pack are excellent. Tightening the two under the bottom of the pack instantly shrinks the useable space in the pack and shifts up the center of mass of the load and the side straps help compress and stabilize the load. A similar straps further up the pack would be a welcome addition.
- Torso adjustment is quick and easy with hook-and-loop fasteners.
Things I don't like:
- The pass-through feature on the shoulder strap makes putting on the pack a little annoying, especially now with a shoulder injury that I'm trying not to aggravate.
- The ice axe/trekking pole upper attachments should be attached to the pack instead of the flap/panel. The current configuration is useless for either an ice axe or trekking pole in my opinion.
Suggestions for Improvements:
- The pass-through ('one piece') shoulder strap means that when I have a pack that is unevenly packed (e.g., a water bottle in one side pocket), it is somewhat difficult to balance the pack because when I tighten one side, this effectively tightens both sides. A possible solution to this problem, while maintaining the 'flexibility' would be keeping the shoulder straps independent and connecting them to the pack (bottom) with bungee (webbing) attachments with a backup webbing strap so that the play in the system could be adjusted (similar to the typical sternum straps on packs).
- Remove the extra flap on the front bungee panel (see photo) or move the buckle on it up to the top of the flap. For me this isn't really useful, and it always folds over inward (towards the pack).
Nitpicks:
- The elastic loops that allow the straps to be 'shortened' have a tendency to slip off the webbing, releasing the rolled up webbing.
- The thin webbing tends to slip through the buckles more frequently than I am used to with thicker webbing.
- A key-keeper in the upper pocket would be a welcome addition.
- The hydration bladder pocket is considerably larger than needed for the included hydration bladder.
- The insulating cover on the hose was placed midway between the bladder and the Kicker valve. It was very difficult/annoying moving this along the tube, but I shifted it so it's covers from the bite valve down the tube, and the uninsulated hose is the part that would be inside the pack anyways.
Future Testing:
Over the next four months, I'm planning more lightweight overnighters and daytrips where I'll carry the SpeeDemon, and I will probably use it as carry-on luggage also.
Read more reviews of Ultimate Direction gear
Read more gear reviews by David Sowards-Emmerd
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