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Reviews > Packs > Internal and External Framed Backpacks > ULA Equipment CDT > Test Report by Edward Ripley-DugganULTRALIGHT ADVENTURE EQUIPMENT (ULA) CDT PACK INITIAL REPORT: July 18, 2010 FIELD REPORT: October 2, 2010 LONG TERM REPORT: November 27 2010 TESTER INFORMATION
I enjoy walking in all its forms, from
a simple stroll in the woods to multi-day backpack excursions. Though by no
means an extreme ultra-light enthusiast, from spring to fall my preference is to
carry a pack weight (before food and water) of 12 lb (5.5 kg), more or less. In
recent years, I've rapidly moved to a philosophy of "lighter is better," within
the constraints of budget and common sense.
PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS
Manufacturer: Ultralight Adventure Equipment The ULA CDT Pack INITIAL IMPRESSIONS The ULA CDT pack arrived in good condition. Included are detailed instructions for the pack printed on a two-sided typed sheet. There is also a hang-tag from Dyneema, describing the fabric (used in many lightweight packs, it is extremely strong, based on my previous experience). The CDT is typical of many such packs in being able to utilize a sleeping pad for rigidity and weight transfer. It comes with a thin sheet of closed-cell foam already in place, but this is not heavy enough for weight transfer. To enable the use of a pad in this way, there are two diagonal lengths of elastic at the top of the rear interior of the pack. The instructions suggest that putting these over the top corners prevent the pad from creeping upwards. The use of either full or three-quarters pads is suggested, and inflatable pads may be used if partially inflated. The pack comes with a thin internal closed-cell foam panel that lends it some stiffness even without a pad, but this is not intended to be the sole interior support.
The pack is perhaps slightly atypical in having a rather full set of features. It is by no means a minimalist example of a lightweight pack. The measured weight is a little higher than stated, though in part that may be because this is likely a larger size than that weighed by the manufacturer (the two available sizes are small/medium and medium/large, and the figure quoted is for a "medium" pack, which makes the website weight a little ambiguous). By setting aside the removable features, the weight of this pack can be made quite close to that stated by ULA for the medium pack. Design and materials
The Dyneema pack body is carefully sewn and constructed, although I encountered one loose thread or thread-end, which I cut away. The main rear pocket and side pockets are dense mesh. The upper pole loops are made from pairs of overlapping hook-and-loop fabric, the exterior of which bears the ULA logo. There are single compression straps on the sides of the pack and a top cinch strap that goes over the collar. Typically, lightweight loads should not need much compression, and this seems to be the philosophy that informs the design. Showing hipbelt and shoulder straps The pack has a strong haul loop between the shoulder straps. ULA's instructions recommend using this to put on and remove the pack, to prevent excessive stress to the shoulder straps. The suggestion is given that the pack be lifted to a raised knee with the loop, and my shoulder can then be turned into the strap. I was a little surprised by this instruction, as this is close to the method that's usually suggested for heavyweight loads, and the optimal load for this pack is around twenty pounds. It's not the way I usually put lightweight packs on. There doesn't seem to be anything frail about the attachment of the shoulder straps to the body and my reaction was, that although this method of putting a pack on is good form, with such a light weight this suggestion may be a little overcautious, but I will try to observe it. The water bottle holster on the shoulder strap I look forward to testing this pack. I have owned a number of similar packs; one model in particular has been my workhorse for two- to five-day hikes for years. That pack has a similar lightweight backpacking audience to this, but the CDT is a few ounces lighter, and potentially seems to me to be more versatile, given the variety of pockets. I have loaded and worn the CDT lightly laden to get the feel of it (not on a hike) and it fits well, and feels "right." I will be reporting on my preliminary experiences about two months from now. SUMMARY
The ULA CDT pack is well-made and appears to be carefully designed for a lightweight load. It has a fairly extensive range of features, and is not by any means minimalist, despite having a light base weight and a very reasonable weight to volume ratio. The base weight can be reduced by detaching some or all of the optional attachments. Thanks to ULA and BackpackGearTest for the opportunity to test this pack
FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS I have used the ULA CDT pack on two overnight trips over the Field Test period. The first trip was a simple on-trail overnighter on a local peak. The second was in large part a rigorous solo bushwhack off-trail, with an on-trail return. All pack use was in the Catskill Mountains of New York, to elevations of about 4000 ft (1220 m), on mountainous terrain. Daytime temperatures were at maximum 75 F (24 C) or more, and nighttime temperatures fell to a minimum of 45 F (7 C), with (on the first trip), strong, gusty winds. The weather on both trips was fine and dry, as has been much of our late summer.
PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD
How the CDT loads
As noted in the Initial Report, this pack is intended to carry a maximum weight of 25 pounds (11 kg). In addition, the ULA website indicates a recommended base weight (i.e. the weight of pack and equipment before food and water is included) of 12 pounds or less (5 kg). On the first trip, my base weight was below the recommended minimum, as I was carrying a tarp shelter, which helped keep the weight low, but as I was making a dry camp I carried about a gallon of water in two 2 L Platypuses. With food, that raised my starting weight to about 22 lb (10 kg). I used a standard canister stove, not an alcohol stove, The full pack, ash-tree bolete in the foreground That's my tarp and its folded pole in the left mesh pocket; one of my two water containers, a lightweight inflatable torso pad and a few other odds and end in the right mesh pocket; and a silnylon poncho to serve as a groundsheet and rain wear (together a windshirt and a lighweight jacket for evenings) in the rear mesh pocket. Munchies and a GPS unit are in the two small pockets on the waistbelt. Everything was cinched in carefully with the pack side straps (I wouldn't recommend carrying water in this fashion for an off-trail hike; though I didn't have problems, I felt it was held in place a little precariously).
Inside the pack is more water, the rest of my gear, and my food. I even had gloves and a hat packed in there, just in case (total overkill, but I've needed them in summer before now). The bottom line is that fully loaded, with a spare night of food and loads of water, the pack easily carries all one could reasonably require. How the CDT carries I put my headlamp in the supplied mesh wallet for easy access, along with my ID and some cash for the trip home, as I expected to set up camp after dark (I did so on both trips). The wallet, which is at the top of the pack, below the collar, is a very nice addition to this pack's features. It is easily detachable. I didn't use the hydration sleeve on either trip, but I will at least once for the long-term report (I am not a big fan of hydration tubes, as a general rule). At the trailhead I loosened all the straps, put the pack on, and cinched in the waistbelt and adjusted everything just so, starting with the waistband and then the shoulder straps. I then hit the trail. No fuss, no muss, all very straightforwardI especially like the way that the waist adjusts, with the pull straps situated away from the main buckle. I was interested to find (and I noted that this was consistently the case) that I didn't really need the sternum strap. I have slightly narrow shoulders, and find this strap almost essential with many packs, so this was a pleasing discovery. The only time I really felt it essential to have it fastened was during a brief third-class climb during the second trip, as I wanted the pack to hug my back without any possible side-to-side slop while I climbed steeply a couple of hundred feet or so on some narrow and rather exposed ledge systems. A minor disaster The tear A large hole had been opened in the rear mesh pocket, probably by a protruding branch. The tear seemed to have run from the point of the initial puncture. Fortunately, no gear had escaped, nor was any damaged. While I have had small snags to mesh pockets on packs when bushwhacking, this is the only time in many years of thrashing through the woods that I have had a major tear to a pack; the damage is usually to myself or my clothing. The body of the pack was entirely unaffected, but the rather soft, stretchy mesh of the pocket had suffered badly.
I called ULA the following week, arranged for a repair, and shipped the pack off. The response from ULA was exemplary. I have just received the pack back (about two weeks later) flawlessly repaired. Initially I thought it had been entirely replaced, but a careful examination (a spruce needle tucked away in some waistband padding) indicates that this is one and the same. The craftsmanship of the repair seems impeccable. I am very impressed, both by the turnaround time and the quality of the work. Despite this misadventure, I am very taken with ULA's CDT pack. It carries well, and is perfect to my needs for three-season backpacking, though perhaps not off-trail. The body of the pack is made of strong stuff (I have had Dyneema packs before), but the pockets are a bit more vulnerable. In future, I will need to exercise greater care. FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS For the past two months I have used the ULA CDT pack on three backpack trips in the Western and Southern Catskills, at elevations to 3,000 ft (914 m). Nighttime temperatures have ranged from 35 F (2 C) down to about 20 F (-7 C).PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD The ULA CDT pack has continued to show its versatility, although with the colder conditions that will hold sway from now until spring, I will need to set it aside for a pack with a slightly larger capacity, to carry additional gear that will give me a margin of safety. The Catskills in winter are not to be taken on too lightly, literally and metaphorically. Not to be morbid, but we have already had our first exposure-related death of the season, something that rubs this home. The CDT is, for my part of the world, a three-season pack.I have no real complaints as to its performance. It has continued to be very comfortable in use, even close to maximum load, and it carries a very respectable volume in a stable fashion. The one significant limitation is that I do like to spend time off trail, which in most of this region means that encounters with heavy brush and summit growth are a strong possibility. Given my experience during the Field Report I would not want to risk ripping the pocket mesh a second time. Beyond the fact that I don't like to damage gear, the tear to the pocket was sufficiently large that I could potentially have lost items from the pocket. In consequence, I now use the pack solely on trips where I will be predominantly on trail. I have taken out the detachable hydration sleeve and the bottle loops, as these are optional accessories. They don't add significant weight, but they have no utility for me at present; both are good features, but they are not really in line with my style of backpacking. The mesh pocket I like a great deal. The hand loops are a curiosity about which I remain somewhat undecided even now, but on the whole I like having them, and will leave them in place. The pack shows no deterioration from wear and tear (as previously noted, the repair to the pocket was essentially invisible). Given that it is so comfortable, and has a very reasonable weight to volume ratio, I expect to continue to use it as a backpack with frequency once winter is over, and because of its stability may use it as a winter daypack. I have other packs of much the same volume, but none carries as well as this. SUMMARY
This is a sturdy, comfortable pack for travel primarily on trail (or at least where the pockets will not be snagged by branches), for those whose gear is lightweight. For those regions not experiencing serious winter conditions, it will be a good four-season option, but here in the Northeastern US it will be a three-season backpack, or a winter daypack.
If there is any single feature I would change it would be the pockets. I'd love to see them in the same Dyneema fabric as the body, or at any rate made from a much sturdier mesh. Other than this, there's really nothing that I would alter. My thanks to ULA and BackpackGearTest for the opportunity to test the CDT Pack. This report was created with the BackpackGearTest.org Report Writer Version 1.5. Copyright 2008. All rights reserved. Read more gear reviews by Edward Ripley-Duggan Reviews > Packs > Internal and External Framed Backpacks > ULA Equipment CDT > Test Report by Edward Ripley-Duggan |