|
| Home | Guest - Not logged in | |||
|
» Register
» Login
Gear Reviews
Documents
Tools
» Contact
|
Reviews > Packs > Internal and External Framed Backpacks > ULA Equipment Fusion > Steve Nelson > Long Term ReportLong-Term Report: ULA Fusion Backpack Reviewer's Information Name: Steve Nelson 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 past year I made the transition to lightweight and ultralight backpacking. 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 Overview
The author wearing the ULA Fusion on a snowshoeing trip in the Sierra Nevada The ULA Fusion is a lightweight backpack with an intriguing design that incorporates a sleeping pad into a folding panel that holds the pack's suspension. This report covers my long-term experiences with the pack; you may wish to take a look at my Initial Report for more background on the pack and its features, and my Field Report for my first two months of experience backpacking with it. Both reports contain an annotated photograph of the pack that you may find useful to reference for identifying some of the rather unique features I describe herein. Field Conditions I have used the Fusion now in all four seasons, for at least 17 backpacking days over five backpacking trips and two day trips: a mountaineering class day trip on Mt. Shasta, California; a fast and light overnight in Yosemite; a six-day traverse across approximately 90 mi (145 km) of the High Sierra and John Muir trails; a fast and light overnight to the West Canada Lakes region of the Adirondacks; a fast and light overnight backpack through Henry Coe State Park in California; a day hike at Point Reyes National Seashore; and a late winter overnight snowshoe bushwhack to Loch Leven Lakes in the Lake Tahoe region of California's Sierra Nevada. Elevations ranged from sea level to 13,200 ft (4,000 m). Temperatures ranged from 15 to the 80s F (-5 to 28+ C), with conditions ranging from bright and sunny to strong winds and hard rain, sleet and snow. Trails ranged from well-maintained to substantially overgrown to full-on cross-country bushwhacks. Summary of Findings Features and Overall Usability After nine months with this pack, my feelings about the Fusion are split, though positive overall. I appreciate the quality of the construction and a number of well-thought-out aspects of the design, but I do have mixed feelings about the suspension system and related compression straps (more on both in a minute). I like the overall design and shape of the pack body—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 load volumes. I did note that when I used the extension collar (carrying a bear canister, or a large-volume winter load), the top opening never quite closed completely. I generally put a folded sit pad on top of the pack and hold it in place with the top compression/closure strap, and that has done a fine job of keeping precipitation and dirt out of the opening. I continue to appreciate the two large mesh pockets due to their capacious nature and easy accessibility even while I'm wearing the pack, though I now have lost a couple of items out of them while hiking (fortunately, in both cases, fellow hikers behind me found the items and returned them). The shape of the pockets and compression straps tends to allow items to tip toward the outside of the pack, where the pockets are short and items are more vulnerable to falling out. 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 a bit 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've also accessorized the Fusion with a shoulder pouch on some of my trips—there is a hoop on each shoulder strap that makes it easy to attach such pouches. 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 pass through. This is not the case with a number of packs I've used, and I like this design. A few things I don't like: as noted previously, 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 is awkward to get at when the pack is full, and can get wet when precipitation or other moisture soaks through the pack body (items in the pack body can be protected with stuff sacks or garbage bags, but the stash pocket is simple mesh and attached in a way that makes it difficult to protect). I still am not entirely happy with the two compression straps, which also serve to hold the pad sleeve snug against the pack body. Each is a single piece of webbing routed in a triangular pattern—two loops on the pad sleeve, with a buckle attaching the webbing to the pack body near the top of each side pocket (my Initial Report shows this in more detail). I found this system inconvenient to adjust, hard to get really snug, and subject to some slippage in the field. In addition, as noted above, the placement of the buckles at the "point" of the triangle of webbing tends to compress the pack body in the middle, giving it an hourglass shape but not really holding anything snug at the top or bottom of the pack. Other designs I've used are more effective at snugging the pack around varying loads. As noted previously, I feel that the pack is not ideal for trips that require a bear canister (or, for that matter, any bulky item needing to be stowed in or lashed to the pack). My BearVault fit vertically into the top part of the pack (when using the extension collar), but its thickness didn't leave much room for a full hydration bladder or anything else along the vertical voids the cylinder left inside the narrow profile of the Fusion. It was a struggle to get the bladder and canister in at the same time, though I did manage ultimately to make it work. A bear canister might better be lashed on top, except that the Fusion doesn't provide any lash points other than a couple of daisy chain loops on the front center face of the pack body, near the top of the side pockets. The suspension system as originally delivered had some failings I detailed in my last report and which I expand upon below; putting that aside for the moment, the suspension otherwise was effective for my trips, is easy to adjust while walking (load lifters, hip snuggers, sternum strap in addition to hip belt and shoulder strap adjustments), and was reasonably comfortable for me with loads of up to 35 lb (16 kg), as advertised. The comfort definitely improved after ULA made a design modification explained below. One other note regarding the suspension design: the open top of the pad sleeve can collect both precipitation (snow in particular) and debris (e.g., twigs and other plant matter from bushwhacking). This means that the pad can get wet or dirty, and is exposed to items that might puncture or damage its material. I did experience the former (the pad got soaked in spots on a couple of occasions), but never saw any damage to the pad despite picking up all kinds of stuff while bushwhacking. I'd personally prefer a closed design for the pad sleeve, though that's a minor quibble. Loading and Environmental Factors My trips involved a wide range of loads and equipment needs; I detailed the equipment taken on previous trips in my Field Report, but for this report, am summarizing and pointing out issues noted, rather than going into detail about the gear carried on each trip. The trip to West Canada Lakes was a fast-paced solo trip at a rather aggressive daily pace on the Northville-Lake Placid Trail, with challenging conditions including lots of blowdown, mud, misroutings and inclement weather. For this trip my starting pack weight was approximately 27 lb (12 kg) including all food, water, fuel and the Fusion, and I kept most of my gear in the pack rather than in external pockets due to wet weather. Extra warmth layers and a tarptent initially stowed internally created greater volume than I'd carried on previous trips (a picture below under "Fit and Comfort" shows how the extension collar of the Fusion accommodated this). The pack's fabric held up well to the bushwhacking and rough trails of this trip, though after the trip I discovered that the internal frame had broken, right by the junction of the composite frame hoop with a carbon fiber stay. I don't know if this was due to tightening of load lifter straps in the suspension (which always seems to bend the frame forward), or some accident I was unaware of, or even just the culmination of ongoing fatigue or stress at that point in the suspension; however, there it was. As it turned out, each of the three testers for backpackgeartest.org had the frame fail during the initial or field testing (more on how ULA addressed that failure below). Also, the Fusion is not advertised as waterproof, and on this trip it was clear that (like most packs) it indeed is not. Water soaked through the outside of the pack (though my use of a poncho helped reduce the amount of water that got on it), and also soaked into the pack interior from a wet tarptent that I'd placed in one of the outside pockets. Because I always pack my gear in a garbage bag inside the Fusion, nothing important got wet other than the items in the small internal stash pocket, which hangs from the inside of the pack body. The trip to Henry Coe was a fast and light overnight with lightweight gear in milder conditions; my starting pack weight was approximately 22 lb (10 kg), and the gear volume was relatively low (I've included a picture later in the report, under a discussion about the Fusion's issue with drooping). I had no performance issues with the pack on this trip—it worked well. The day trip was in mild conditions and the Fusion was loaded to a starting pack weight of approximately 18 lb (8 kg), including a Therm-a-Rest ProLite 3 pad for support, plus snacks, extra layers, and a full hydration bladder. The pack was comfortable at this weight, including when I loosened the hip belt and carried it only with shoulder straps. I felt that, with this smaller load of gear, the compression straps were not adequate for making the pack contents as snug and stable as I'd prefer. The winter snowshoe overnight was also with lightweight gear—an ultralight bivy and poncho tarp served as my shelter, and conditions were mild enough that I carried only a couple of pounds (one kg) of clothing layers. I used a closed-cell foam pad for back support, and my starting pack weight was approximately 28 lb (13 kg). Outside the pack I carried an ice axe and SnowClaw, and at the start of the trip I also hung my snowshoes from the back of the pack until we reached snow near the trailhead (bringing the total starting weight closer to 34 lb (15 kg). As shown in the following picture, this exposed some of the limitations of the Fusion in regards to compression and external lashing of gear:
While there is a daisy chain in the upper center front of the pack, the ice axe partially blocks it and makes it a bit awkward to get at. Also, it comprises just a couple of loops, and I couldn't find a good point to which to lash the bottom of the snowshoes. Since it was only a short distance to the snow, it really wasn't a big issue, but for longer walks when it might be necessary to lash gear like this to the pack, a better lashing system would be welcome (note: the manufacturer did not position the Fusion as a winter or climbing pack, merely as a lightweight pack capable of carrying a fair amount of weight; I was pushing the boundaries of its use). Also, the single compression strap that goes over the top of the pack also can serve to hold some gear in place (in this case, a softshell jacket, sit pad and climbing harness), but it tends to slip and is not an ideal place to lash anything other than lightweight clothing and/or a pad, in my opinion. Fit and Comfort As noted in my previous report, I ordered the pack with a size M hip belt, but soon realized that a size S belt would be a better choice (no fault of ULA, of course). I ordered a size S belt from ULA for $40 (as an aside, they also charged $10 for shipping despite claiming that it would be "$5-7"; polite notes asking for clarification of this small discrepancy went unanswered even though ULA addressed other issues in the same notes). In any case, the size S belt is an excellent fit and has served me well, though it did not make a difference in the drooping pack syndrome I also described in my Field Report. Regarding that drooping issue: in my previous reviews, I noted the tendency for the main body of the pack to sag down well below the hip belt because of slippage of the pad sleeve relative to the pack body. I provided pictures of this issue and a detailed description in my Field Report, and continued to have the issue on my West Canada Lakes trip in this long-term testing period, despite switching to a Z-rest pad at the recommendation of ULA's Brian Frankle. Here are pictures from that trip:
Note that the pack continued to droop (that's the bottom of the pack peeking out from under the poncho in the second picture). After this trip and each tester suffering from a frame failure, ULA requested that all testers return the packs for modifications. The modifications included adding a revised composite frame, plus making a modification to the pad sleeve so that it could be tightened to different thicknesses depending on the thickness of the pad used. The latter modification is in the form of a buckle and webbing that adjusts the bottom of the pad sleeve from the full width of the sleeve bottom to as little as about 2 in (5 cm). Here's a picture of me wearing the pack at Henry Coe State Park, my first trip after these modifications:
Note that the droop has been lessened—indeed, almost eliminated. It's not perfect—the pack still occasionally droops—but the modification goes a long way toward correcting the tendency of the pack to slip downward away from the pad sleeve and suspension. When the pack drooped, I often didn't find the Fusion comfortable; the modified pack is much more comfortable and stable. On my last trip—snowshoeing with a large elevation gain off-trail—the pack was actually quite comfortable and I enjoyed using it. The portion of the pad sleeve that contacts the wearer's back is a simple mesh over foam, with no shaping or channels. I found that it gets fairly hot and sweaty: not excessively so compared to other packs I've used, but toward the sweatier end of the continuum. Durability and Wear The Fusion's materials fared well in general throughout the test—the wear through the hoop frame's bottom fabric sleeve I documented in my Field Report, plus the broken frame, were the only durability issues of note. ULA repaired the wear on the frame sleeve when they made the other modifications to the pack—the repair is visible, but carefully done and has held up in the months that followed. Other than these two issues, the fabric, mesh, webbing, zippers, fittings and other suspension components have all held up well, despite some bushwhacking and challenging trails. Summary After spending over nine months with the ULA Fusion backpack, I have great enthusiasm for many of its features, tempered by cautious optimism over its newly-updated suspension system and acknowledgement of its limitations in load compression and the attachment of additional gear outside the pack body. I feel that, for its weight and size, it carries weights upwards of 30 lb (14 kg) quite well. Because of the limitations in compression and volume, I'll probably stick to using it for three-season backpacking trips and occasionally for short winter trips (e.g., hut trips and day snowshoe outings where I want to carry more volume than would fit in a typical daypack). Thanks to BackpackGearTest and Brian Frankle at ULA for giving me the opportunity to participate in this test. Read more reviews of Ultralight Adventure Equipment gear Read more gear reviews by S. Nelson Reviews > Packs > Internal and External Framed Backpacks > ULA Equipment Fusion > Steve Nelson > Long Term Report | |||
