Reviews > Packs > Internal and External Framed Backpacks > ULA Equipment Fusion > Steve Nelson > Field Report

Field Report: ULA Fusion Backpack
August 31, 2004

Reviewer's Information

Name: Steve Nelson
Age: 44
Gender: Male
Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight: 158 lb (72 kg)
Torso: 20.5 in (52 cm) per ULA instructions
Hip Circumference: 35 in (89 cm) per ULA instructions
Email address: nazdarovye at y..oo dot com
City, State, Country: San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.

Backpacking Background:

As an interface design and usability consultant by trade, I'm always excited by analyzing and improving designs and processes; backpacking provides a fertile and fun arena for that. I have been backpacking since I was a kid growing up in upstate New York: we backpacked and canoe-camped in all seasons, throughout the Adirondacks and nearby areas, ranging as far as La Verendrye Wildlife Reserve, Quebec. As an adult, I've backpacked and hiked extensively in California, but also have taken trips throughout the West, from New Mexico to British Columbia, and return often to the Adirondacks.

Backpacking Style:

In the last year I began educating myself about lightweight and ultralight backpacking, and have been applying more and more of this philosophy to my outdoor jaunts and gear upgrades. I like moving fast, and lightening the load facilitates that. I also enjoy urban strolls, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, kayaking, and aviation in addition to hiking and backpacking, so my gear gets exposed to a wide variety of uses and conditions.

Product information

Manufacturer: ULA
Product Name: Fusion Backpack
Manufacturer's URL: www.ula-equipment.com
Year of manufacture: 2004
Size: Pack comes in one size only, stated as adjustable from 18-23 in (46-58 cm), even though the ULA site's purchase page gives a choice between M and L—more on that below.
Hip Belt: Size M (out of XS, S, M, L, XL)
Stated Weights: 32 oz (907 g) for pack, 1.4 oz (40 g) for optional hydration sleeve, 1.1 oz (31 g) for optional stash pocket
Verified Weights: 35.5 oz ( 1006 g) for pack, 1.55 oz (44 g) for sleeve, 1.1 oz (31 g) for stash pocket on a digital scale of .05 oz (1 g) resolution.
Stated Volume:
Collar: 650 ci (11 L)
Mesh Pockets: 450 ci (7 L)
Pack Bag: 2,300 ci (38 L)
Hipbelt Pockets: 100 ci (<2 L)
Total: 3,500 ci (57 L)
Measured Dimensions (all approximate, given as height x width x depth):
Collar: 8 x 12 x 6 in (20 x 30 x 15 cm)
Pack Bag: 24 x 12 x 6 in (61 x 30 x 15 cm)
Pad Sleeve: 20 x 12 x 4 in (51 x 30 x 10 cm) maximum
Hipbelt Pockets: 4 x 6.5 x 1.5 in (10 x 17 x 4 cm) each
MSRP as Tested: $165 (plus $5 each for hydration sleeve and stash pocket)

Overview

My Fusion at Forester Pass on the John Muir/Pacific Crest Trail

The ULA Fusion is a lightweight backpack with an innovative design that incorporates a sleeping pad into a folding panel that comprises the pack's suspension. This report covers my first two months of field experience with the pack; you may wish to take a look at my Initial Report for more background on the pack and its features. I am, however, repeating the following diagram from that report to help explain certain features I reference later in this report:

Field Conditions

I have used the Fusion now for 9 backpacking days over three trips: a mountaineering class day trip on Mt. Shasta, California (probably no more than 5 mi (8 km); a fast and light overnight in Yosemite (23 mi (37 km) on day 1, 8 mi (13 km) on day two); and a six-day traverse across approximately 90 mi (145 km) of the High Sierra and John Muir trails.

Elevations ranged from 5,500-13,200 ft (1,700-4,000 m). Weather ranged from near freezing to the 80s F (28+ C), with snow and slush on the ground on the first trip and intermittent light precipitation (rain, graupel) on two days during the third trip.

Summary of Findings

Features and Overall Usability

So far, I like many features of the Fusion:

I particularly enjoy the mesh pockets on the main pack body. Initially I thought I would prefer a center pocket and side pockets over this design, but I've found that I don't really miss that arrangement. First, the two pockets hold a lot; second, they're particularly well-designed and easy to reach into without removing the pack. I simply reach back while on the move and can grab my snacks, poncho, or other items I've placed toward the outside of either pocket. In my travels so far, I've never had anything fall out of these pockets while I was on the move (though I did lose something once when it must have slipped out when I removed another item and wasn't paying attention; fortunately a fellow hiker found it on the trail and brought it to me at our next stop.) Finally, they also work well when an ice axe is attached to the pack, since the center strip between the pockets separates the axe from the mesh and contents of the pockets.

I also appreciate the hip belt pockets—they're a handy place for my camera, GPS, sunblock, headlamp, and other items I wish to keep right at hand. I wish more packs offered this feature, and I applaud it. The only downside is that they get in the way of my arm swing if they're fully loaded, and they're not waterproof (I keep sensitive items such as my GPS and camera in plastic bags).

I like the overall shape of the pack—the narrow body works well for my fast walking style. The pack is easy to load, and the drawstrings and toggles at the top give a bit of latitude in how to close the top off with different loads. I did note that when I used the extension collar (carrying a bear canister), the top opening never quite closed completely. I placed my folded sit pad on top of the pack and held it in place with the top compression/closure strap, and that kept precipitation and dirt out of the opening.

The internal hydration sleeve works fine (though it doesn't hold my largest Ultimate Direction SportTank bladder), and the hydration ports are large enough to allow even the largest valve I own to fit (though they're also tight enough when the pack is loaded that they sometimes pinch the hydration bladder's hose—I have to keep an eye on that).

A few things I don't like: while not having a lid helps save weight, and the hip pockets provide some storage for smaller items, I do miss having a moderately-sized zippered pocket on the top or outside of the pack that can hold maps, a first aid kit, a toiletries kit, and other items I'd like to keep at hand. The optional stash pocket I purchased with the pack will hold a small wallet and keys, but is awkward to get at when the pack is full (also, on my last trip during this period, I discovered that my car key's batteries had gone dead when stored in this pocket—I have a feeling its buttons were activated by the pressure from items in the pack (especially the bear canister), so I'll need to be more careful about how I pack such items in the future).

The compression straps converge at a single point on each side, and when tightened, tend to force the pack and its contents into an hourglass shape, rather than really compressing the load overall. Other designs can be more effective at snugging the pack around varying loads (as was my need on my recent six-day trip).

Finally, the pack is not ideal for trips that require a bear canister. My BearVault fit vertically into the top part of the pack (when using the extension collar), but it didn't leave much room for a full hydration bladder or anything else along the vertical voids the cylinder left. It was a struggle to get the bladder and canister in at the same time, though I did manage ultimately to make it work.

Loading

My three trips involved three significantly different loads.

For trip one, I carried mountaineering equipment including a climbing helmet, ice axe, and two sets of crampons. I also packed a heavy-duty GoreTex shell and shell pants, insulating vest, fleece hat, shell gloves and liners, a small survival kit, first aid kit, and a light headlamp. In addition, I carried a 100 oz (3 L) hydration bladder (filled), snacks for the day, and a camera. I brought a Therm-a-Rest ProLite 3 short pad to use as both a sit pad and as a "frame" for the Fusion. Total weight for the day, including consumables and the Fusion, was 19 lb (8.6 kg).

I found that the Fusion gave me some flexibility in loading: the helmet could be stashed either in one of the external mesh pockets or inside the pack. Crampons (in protective rolls) also worked in either location—the mesh is sturdy enough that the covered crampons presented no problem. The tool loop and keeper are well-designed and were perfect for my lightweight ice axe. For this trip I carried the bladder inside the pack, but not in the hydration bladder sleeve. The Fusion was fine on snow, ice, slush and rock—I felt completely comfortable setting it down on all surfaces.

For trip two I carried a lightweight overnight load, including 18 oz (500 g) sleeping bag, silk liner and tarptent; an alcohol stove with 4 oz (110 g) of fuel and titanium pot with cozy; a lightweight down vest, gloves, fleece hat, one extra pair of socks, and my usual survival and first aid kits. I also used a 4 qt (4 L) Ultimate Direction SportTank water bladder, silnylon bucket and purification tablets. (During the very long first day I consumed over 7 qt (7 L) of water.) We planned in advance that we would meet up with a slower group approaching from a different trailhead, and were sharing their bear canisters, so we didn't carry our own during the day. I also carried a camera, GPS, toiletries and a small headlamp and Victorinox "Classic." I used a trash bag to line the pack and protect the contents from moisture.

On this trip I also used the ProLite 3 short pad as a pack frame. My base pack weight (including the Fusion) was 12 lb (5.4 kg), and my starting consumables added just under 10 lb (4.5 kg) or so (about a pound of food in addition to the full hydration bladder and the small amount of fuel).

I found the pack moderately comfortable, but not as comfortable as I'd hoped. It was on this first long hike that I noticed that the pack felt as if it were hanging off of me, rather than a part of me. More on that in a minute. I also sweated profusely on my back and shoulders while wearing the pack, and I got salt stains all around the shoulder straps and back pad (obviously my problem, not the pack's—just noting that it doesn't ventilate more than average).

For this trip I tried the SportTank bladder in two locations: sandwiched with the pad outside of the main pack body; and placed directly inside the pack. I found that, when I placed the blatter in the "pad sleeve," I could use the sleeve's buckle to lock into the loop on the top of the SportTank, which held it in place and prevented it from slipping as I consumed water. With the bladder inside the pack, the pack seemed to hold its fit better (since reduction in water volume didn't affect the pad sleeve's tightness), but the water was moved further out from my center of gravity.

On trip three I carried an extended consumables load due to the length of the trip (six days, 90 mi/145 km), carrying 7 lb (3.2 kg) of food in a BearVault canister. I carried basically the same items as on the Yosemite trip, with the following substitutions: I brought a SnowPeak cartridge stove and 8 oz (225 g) cartridge instead of the alcohol stove; an ultralight bivy sack and poncho tarp instead of the tarptent; and I added a torso-sized piece of closed-cell blue foam and a sit pad of the same material in addition to the ProLite 3 short pad. My base pack weight for this trip was approximately 14 lb (6.35 kg) including the bear canister and Fusion, and my consumables were 15.5 lb (7 kg) the first day.

While I was satisfied with the overall performance of the Fusion on this quite strenuous trip, several issues with the fit and comfort of the pack became clear to me. Also, a possible design issue (drooping of the main pack body) was so obvious that others even pointed it out to me. I'll now elaborate on this.

Problems With Fit

I've come to believe that the design of the Fusion may have some flaws—ones that should be correctable, but also ones serious enough to cause real problems with comfort and load-carrying capacity for the pack.

Of most note: the main body of the pack tends to sag down well below the hip belt. This appears to me to be directly due to the dynamics of the pack, since the hip belt is attached to a separate panel from the main body (the panel that folds up to enclose a sleeping pad) by a single flap of fabric (shown as the pad sleeve "base" in the annotated diagram above).

Basically, the primary thing preventing gravity from pulling the main body of the pack down in relation to the pad sleeve with the hip belt is friction from the pad, with only minor additional friction offered by the compression straps. In fact, because of the angle at which they pull, the compression straps do nothing to hold the pack body up in relation to the pad sleeve cover, and the only thing attaching the hip belt to the main body of the pack is the flap of fabric at the base of the pad sleeve cover (with only minor assistance from hip snugger straps, which also offer little or no resistance to vertical shear between the two major pack components). As a result, the weight of the main pack body tends to hang down off of this base flap. These dynamics also tend to compress and buckle the sleeping pad inside the sleeve.

Here's a picture from my Yosemite trip showing these phenomena:

And, just so it's clear this buckling and slippage is not unique to a specific load or pad, here's a picture from a completely different trip, showing the Fusion with a larger load and a closed-cell foam pad as its support:

Now, the shoulder straps theoretically should help boost up the pack...but this kind of negates the usual way of distributing a load when wearing a pack equipped with both a belt and shoulder straps, which is that the hip belt carries the majority of the weight. In this case, if I let the hip belt carry the weight, the rear of the pack droops and hangs off of the pad sleeve base; if I hitch up the pack as much as possible on the shoulder straps, I can reduce the droop (though not eliminate it), but the weight is transferred substantially to my shoulders. Neither condition is as comfortable as I'd like.

Finally, I'll note that on my trips I tried numerous combinations of ways to load my items, placements of the hydration bladder, and types and placements of my sleeping pads. These included: ProLite 3 folded black side out or orange side out and used in pad sleeve deflated; same used partially inflated after loading; same used with and without a hydration bladder sandwiched in with it (instead of inside the pack); blue closed-cell foam pad folded as frame support (better structure than the ProLite but much less comfortable); same with and without hydration bladder; no pad at all (both with and without hydration bladder).

The most comfortable was definitely the partially-inflated ProLite, with the hydration bladder on its own not feeling too bad either. The closed-cell foam pad was too hard and I didn't find it comfortable, and the pack without any pad at all didn't seem to work well (too hard, and I could feel lumps through the back of the pack). I'll also note that the slippage occurred with each of the above arrangements, and regardless of how carefully I tightened hip snuggers, load lifters, compression straps and other straps.

While it is quite possible that I am doing something wrong—and I look forward to discussing this with ULA—I do believe that the pack might work better with a revised arrangement of straps attachment points, possibly even moving the hip belt attachment to the main body and anchoring it on the internal carbon fiber frame.

One other fit issue: I ordered the pack with a size M hip belt, but now believe that a size S belt would be a better choice. I can't tighten the hip belt enough to get it truly snug on my hips, and thus the belt tends to drift down lower than I'd like (this is in addition to, but not the same as, the "saggy butt syndrome" described above).

Durability and Wear

Overall the Fusion has fared well so far—the fabric has held up well to abrasion, and all buckles, zippers and toggles are in perfect working order.

However, I have noted one area of concern: the bottom of the carbon fiber frame has abraded through its fabric covering on one side and is now visible, as shown here:

This appears to be a spot that rubs against the webbing (held in my thumb in the left-hand picture) when the pack is in use and all straps are tightened. I've never dragged the pack across rock, and there is absolutely no abrasion anywhere else, so I believe this is a result of stresses in the design. I plan to keep an eye on this and provide further information in my long-term report.

One other issue to note from these pictures: the frame is attached .5 in (1 cm) lower on the left side of the pack than on the right—note the relationship between the webbing and the bottom of the frame sleeve in each picture. (And on a separate note, the threads in the right-hand picture appear to be ones that just weren't trimmed during construction, rather than anything coming loose.)

Two other testers, and a third person on a discussion group online, have reported the Fusion's frame cracking when they over-tightened the pack's straps (and one time, when kneeling on the frame). I've not seen any evidence of cracking in my Fusion, though I'll note that the top of the frame deflects significantly when I tighten the load lifters. Still, this is a specialized pack and deserves some care in its use.

Long-Term Test Plan

For my long term tests I plan to try several things to remedy the issues I'm having with the fit and dynamics of the Fusion.

First, I will order a size S hip belt from ULA and make sure that I have exactly the right fit.

Second, I will experiment with other pad types to see if they are able to provide better purchase for the suspension. My hunch is that it won't make a significant difference, but I would love to be proven wrong. Since the ULA site shows the Fusion with a Z-Rest style pad, I will at least attempt to obtain one of those and test it with the pack.

Finally, I will continue to expand my usage of the Fusion for different types of trips and conditions—I have a wide-ranging schedule coming up and look forward to exposing the Fusion to winter, canoeing, and other types of trips beyond those I've already taken it on.

Locations

I live in California but have a business and family schedule that often brings me to the east coast. Trips planned during the long-term test period for the Fusion include:

• Confirmed weekend backpacking trips in the Santa Cruz mountains and Ventana Wilderness
• Confirmed extended trip on the Northville-Lake Placid trail
• Proposed weekend backpacking and canoeing trips in the Adirondacks and the Sangre de Cristo range in Southern Colorado, a possible summit attempt at Mt. Shasta, and several other overnights in California
• At least two early winter trips at Yosemite and Lake Tahoe

Altitudes on these trips will range from sea level to over 10,000 ft (3,050 m). Weather will range from hot and dry California summer conditions to afternoon Sierra thunderstorms to wet and soggy east coast hiking and paddling to Sierra Nevada early winter snow. Temperatures will likely range from below freezing to as high as 100° F (38° C). Most of the hikes will be on trails, but one Sierra Nevada trip and both Adirondack trips will involve bushwhacking and/or extensive scrambling around blowdown and overgrowth.

Test issues

As noted in my initial report and reported on above, I will continue to examine:

• Overall comfort of the Fusion and its suspension, especially now that I have discovered issues with how it works for me
• Effect of the shape and other design elements on walking (I love to move fast, I hike with poles, and I like narrow pack designs that don't get in the way while staying well-attached to my torso)
• Suspension adjustability on the trail (load lifters, sternum strap, hip belt placement, load balancing, etc.)
• The effect of various weights, volumes, and weight distributions on the comfort and stability of the pack
• The effect (and effectiveness) of the carbon fiber hoop frame
• Comfort and load carrying ability with and without the removable hip belt (depending on load)
• Ventilation (does the suspension get hot; does it promote or soak up excessive perspiration?)
• Ease of packing, unpacking, repacking, and adjusting for changing loads (including reduction of weight and volume over time due to consumption of food and fuel on a long trip; usefulness of the "dual-drawcord extension collar"; the effectiveness of the "4-point compression system")
• Usefulness of pockets, including those on the hip belt
• Ease of use and security of cinch cords, buckles and other elements, including when wearing gloves or mitts
• Suitability and security for lashing external items (ice axe loop; lash points for extra pads, shelters carried externally, snowshoes, crampons, etc.)
• Ability to accommodate bulky items such as a bear canister
• Usability with a hydration bladder (comparing sandwiching it in with the pad versus placing it in the pack or pockets; tube and bite valve routing)
• Durability of materials and construction (including during bushwhacking and non-technical climbing)
• Weatherproofness (how well does the top seal; how waterproof is the pack in fog, precipitation, or the wet bottom of a canoe?)
• Suitability as a canoeing/portaging pack
• Camp chair conversion (rumor, gimmick or luxury?)
• Ramifications of the exposed, sandwiched pad integrated into the suspension (how easy is it to place and secure the pad; does it stay in place; does the pad sleeve construction collect precipitation or debris; does the exposed pad snag on vegetation or get exposed to excessive dirt and other abuses?)
• How comfortable is that pad sleeve, anyway? Which pads or other "fillers" are most comfortable and effective?

For all trips I'll record a summary of items carried, their overall weight and volume, and note weather and trail conditions along with my observations.

Summary

After spending two months with the ULA Fusion backpack, I have great enthusiasm for many of its features, tempered by my concerns over its load dynamics and comfort (all relating to its innovative suspension design).

I plan to keep experimenting with how I can best use this suspension, as well as contributing ideas for how to improve the design should it turn out to have genuine issues. Either way, I look forward to expanding my experience with the Fusion as I continue to give it an extensive workout in the coming months.

Thanks to BackpackGearTest and Brian Frankle at ULA for giving me the opportunity to participate in this test.

Reviews > Packs > Internal and External Framed Backpacks > ULA Equipment Fusion > Steve Nelson > Field Report