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Reviews > Packs > Internal and External Framed Backpacks > Ultimate Direction Cohiba > James Triplett > Field ReportField Test Report: Ultimate Direction Cohiba
Backpack by James E. Triplett 
Personal Biographical Information:
Backpacking Background: I grew
up car camping all through my
childhood as a means for family vacations. I later started hiking
to bouldering areas in Southern Illinois, which somehow led to
continuously hiking the lower 1/3 of
the Appalachian Trail, with an external frame Kelty Tioga (loaded
to over 50 lb / 23 kg) and some rather massive Vasque boots. Now
I
hike every day, and backpack when possible, which leads to many
weekends backpacking and camping each year. I try and take at
least one annual one-week backpacking
trip, in addition to many one to three-night weekend trips.
My style can best be described as lightweight, but not at the cost of
giving up too much comfort. I prefer a tent over a tarp, in fact
I love tents, but have not yet tried a hammock.
Manufacturer Information:
Product Information:
Actual Weights:
Additional Cohiba Backpack Product information: (from the Ultimate Direction website) Fabric:
Colors
and Sizes:
Additional Hydration System information: (from the Ultimate Direction website) 128 oz. (3.79 L) Reservoir Fabric:
Review: Field Test Conditions: The Ultimate Direction Cohiba has been used on daily hikes in the woods, trails, and parks near my home in Eastern Iowa since receiving the backpack in January. Temperatures have ranged from 10 F (-12 C) to 75 F (24 C). Weather conditions have included light snow, light rain, but mostly when I have used the backpack there has been little or no precipitation. The terrain has included dry leafy trails, hard dirt trails, mud, off trail brush and weeds, and paved roadways. The pack has been used in deciduous woods, pine forests, and open prairie. Due to the varied range of temperatures; I have worn the pack over multiple layers of clothing, including a rain-shell over a fleece jacket, contrasted with a single layer shirt when temperatures climbed. I have used the pack's self-contained rain cover three times. Adjustments and Fit: I have used the Cohiba backpack primarily as a day pack, with the water bladder full, and all the removable pockets attached to the pack. Pack weight, including the Cohiba itself, plus water and gear, ranged from about 20 to 22 pounds (9 to 10 kg). The nearly full water bladder* and hose weighed in at 7 pounds 13 ounces (3.5 kg) the one time I weighed it. Use of the Cohiba in this configuration consisted of daily morning hikes in the woods ranging from 2 to 5 miles (3 to 8 km), and some day hikes commencing from campgrounds in the parks in the area. I have purposely kept the backpack full of gear, as I intend to use this pack for a week of hiking in Colorado at the end of July, and I want to get used to a full load. * The nearly full bladder weight of 7 lbs 13 oz, or 125 oz (3544 g), minus the hydration system weight of 7.3 ounces (207 g) = 1818 oz (3337 grams), or (converting mass to volume) 3337 cubic centimeters which = 112.8 fluid ounces, indicating the bladder was approximately 88% full. Ambient temperature was 72 F (22 C). I have experimented with the Adjustable Torso Link Suspension System with mixed results. Initially I adjusted the shoulder harness to a relatively short position. This was in an effort to get the load high and tight against my upper back, but the curvature of the aluminum stay and the frame sheet moved above the curvature of my lower back. Another problem with the shortened shoulder harness was that this caused the hip belt to ride too high, which resulted in nearly all of the weight of the pack resting on my shoulders. I tried adjusting the shoulder harness a couple of more times and finally settled on having the harness at nearly its longest setting. This felt the best, and seemed to make sense since I have a reasonably long torso. The only issue I have with this setting is that the hip belt is located slightly up from the base of the pack and the bottom of the pack seems to ride on my tailbone. Additionally, the curvature of the aluminum stay and the frame sheet makes the pack ride lower than I would like when the hip belt is in the proper location. That being said, after using the Cohiba adjusted this way, eventually I have found it to be fairly comfortable in the hips, back, and shoulder areas, with the only aggravation remaining being the base of the pack on my tailbone. On the Trail: On the trail the Cohiba is quite a usable pack. The "S" shaped shoulder harnesses curve nicely toward my sternum which allows my arms to swing freely. The shape of the shoulder straps has been especially nice when hiking with several layers of clothing and becoming too warm. I have found that I can unzip my jacket and actually pull the front flaps of the jacket through the shoulder straps so that my jacket is open and on the outside of the harness; allowing ample airflow without having the front of my jacket flapping around too far out to the sides (see picture below). Another very nice thing I have noticed about the pack is that the two "Four-Flex" side pockets are actually reachable while hiking. I use one for a stocking cap and the other for gloves, and a dog leash, and it is easy to store or retrieve the items without removing the pack. I can fit my whole hand into the stretchy pockets when storing items which makes me confident that the items are secure and unlikely to fall out on the trail.  I mentioned the Adjustable Torso Link Suspension System above as it pertains to fit. On the trail, another feature of the Adjustable Torso Link Suspension System should cause the shoulder straps to act as if they were fastened to each other around a pulley, with the two straps looped around a dowel at the base of the pack. The idea is that the straps should slide causing one strap to be longer and the other shorter when movement necessitates it. In reality, with a loaded pack as described above, they don't move. By hunching my shoulders and pulling on one of the straps with my hands I can get it to slide, but there is simply too much friction for this to occur naturally simply by hiking, or even by reaching for something overhead. A result of this design is that the shoulder straps curve under my arms and then meet at the center of the pack at a point behind the hip belt. This causes the straps to hug my body along the sides of my torso just above my waist. I have become more or less accustom to the way the straps fit, but as the rub of the straps is in the "love handle" region, it did take some getting used to. The dowel which the straps wrap around is what is rubbing on my tailbone. The Cohiba backpack has four load lifters, one on each shoulder strap, and one on each side of the hip belt. The lifters on the shoulder straps work well and pull the pack load forward making it more comfortable. They do however, distort the frame sheet. The lifters on the hip belt do not work with a fully loaded pack as they also distort the frame sheet making the pack uncomfortable. I have left these load lifers loose in the name of comfort. The Cohiba also has compression straps which run underneath the removable side pockets, holding the side pockets to the pack. I have lightly cinched these up to keep the pack load tight, but they too have distorted the frame sheet. (You can see the distorted frame sheet below. Compare it to the picture in my initial report.) Despite this distortion I have left the compression straps lightly tightened.  As far as the 3D AirMesh back panel goes, I have primarily used the pack while wearing multiple layers of clothing which has not allowed for adequate testing of this feature. We did have a week in April where temperatures climbed into the 70s F (low 20s C) and my back remained relatively dry and comfortable and not significantly warmer than the rest of my body. I will monitor the 3D AirMesh back panel more as temperatures climb this spring and summer.  I have used the Removable Pack Rain Cover three times. The first two times were on one-hour hikes in light rain, and I had put the cover over the pack before heading out on the trail. With the pack relatively full, the pack cover seemed too small. That being said, the cover provided adequate protection during this light exposure to rain and the pack did not get wet. The third time was just this week and all conditions were similar to the first two times, except the rain was much heavier. The pictures in this report where the yellow rain cover is shown were taken during this hike. The areas the cover covered remained dry, but as mentioned earlier the cover does not cover the entire pack as it leaves the side areas exposed. The pack did get wet in these areas, although the inside of the pack remained dry during this short, one-hour, hike.  The hydration system has its own set of features and issues, most of which are good. I'll talk more about the features later, but for on the trail use the bladder, hose, and kicker valve work well. The kicker valve is ease to open by holding the hose in one hand and pulling the red silicone mouthpiece straight out with my teeth. The flow rate is impressive as there is almost no constraint when sucking water from the valve. To close the valve, the red silicone nipple needs to be pushed to the side, and when this is done it snaps back into the closed position. I can do this with either my mouth at the end of a drink, or with my hand which is holding the hose. It really is easy and works quite well. Water spillage when closing the valve is minimal and I have had only one or two drips from the closed valve while heading down the trail. There are a couple of issues with the hydration system, however. First and foremost, the hose is simply too short (see picture below). The hose and mouthpiece measure 3 feet 5 inches (just over a meter) from the base of the bladder to the tip of the kicker valve. This seems lengthy, but with the shoulder harness extended up high enough for a proper fit, even the 22 inches (46 cm) of hose protruding from the pack is not long enough for me to drink without turning my head to the side about 45 degrees. This came as quite a surprise as the picture of the Cohiba on the Ultimate Direction website shows the hose coming out of the pack and extending well beyond the hip belt. For my use, with the pack adjusted properly, it is not ideal - but is usable. The hose just needs to go up quite a distance from the pack before it reaches my shoulder and travels down the shoulder strap. The second issue isn't as big a deal, but except when I first start out on a hike, with a full pack and a full hydration bladder putting pressure on the reservoir, the kicker valve allows the water in the tube to return to the bladder. That means that every time I need a drink I must first suck the air out of the tube. I have not had this issue with other types of valves.  I have used the Strap Secure webbing control system which as explained in my previous report consists of small loops of elastic at the end of each web-strap. Any excess strap material can be rolled up and secured with the elastic thus limiting the amount of dangling strap material. I've primarily used this on the areas of the pack I can reach while wearing the pack; those being the shoulder straps and the hip belt. This is a nice feature, although I don't believe it is necessary for all the straps. Another feature which may not be necessary is the detachable logo key ring. I have not had any occasion to use this device. The Hydration System: The hydration system included with the Ultimate Direction Cohiba consists of a 128 ounce (3.79 L) unstructured reservoir, an insulated 5/16 inch (7.9 mm) inside diameter drinking tube, and the "new and innovative" Kicker Valve. There is a baffle inside the reservoir which prevents it from ballooning out too drastically under the pressure of the fluid inside. The closure for filling is a roll-type mechanism. The reservoir material itself is rolled up and secured with a Velcro flap (see picture below). This means that when unrolled there is a very wide opening for filling and cleaning the reservoir. The only disadvantages I have found for this are 1) there is no structure to the opening so it can move around (like filling a giant Zip-Loc bag), and 2) there obviously are no threads on the opening which could be fitted to a water filter.  Primarily I have filled the reservoir while the hydration system is in the Cohiba backpack. This allows the hydration sleeve in the pack to keep the reservoir stationary, and filling has been easy and trouble free. The only disadvantage to this method I have observed is that the water volume indicators printed on the reservoir can not be seen. I've been filling the reservoir all the way up, so this hasn't been an issue.  As stated above, I have found the hydration tube to be too short for the way I have the pack adjusted. Another issue has also occurred. As you can see in the pictures in my initial report, the insulation on the drinking tube extends all the way to the Kicker Valve. At some point in time this insulation has moved to several inches (5 cm) away from the Kicker Valve, and try as I might, I can not get it to slide back to its original location (see picture below). I simply have no explanation for this. Other than these two issues I find the hydration system to be excellent. The reservoir is easy to fill, and the Kicker Valve has the least restriction of any bite-valve I have ever used. Due to the shortness of the drinking tube I have not used the alligator clip (spring-loaded pinching clip) which allows the tube to be secured at any point along the tube, to any location the clip can be clipped to. It simply further restricts the already restricted tube location and is not necessary.  Summary: I was really intrigued and pleased with the Ultimate Direction Cohiba backpack when it arrived. Through some on-going use I am now less enthralled with the Cohiba, but still think it is a good pack. My main areas of dislike consist of the not quite correct fit (mainly the hip belt being too high on the pack), the ineffective Adjustable Torso Link Suspension System where the shoulder straps don't slide, and the length (or lack thereof) of the hydration drinking tube. I really like the "S" shaped shoulder harnesses and the Four-Flex side pockets, which work extremely well. I also really enjoy all the compartments which make storing my gear easy, logical, and organized. The hydration system is one of the best I have used, despite the hose length being restricted by the pack design. Test Plan: I will continue using the Ultimate Direction Cohiba backpack on all my short outings and weekend trips. I still need to investigate whether or not I can use the Cohiba for overnight trips. At this point I have only used it for day-trips. All testing will be in Iowa, with the exception of a Rocky Mountain National Park trip which should fall within the test period. The temperature and precipitation data for Eastern Iowa is in the table below. The elevations here range from around 480 feet (145 meters) near the Mississippi river, to around 800 feet (245 meters) around my house. I do not have temperature data for Colorado, although the last time I was there, at the same time of year, the temperatures ranged from 70 F (21 C) in Estes Park, down to 35 F (2 C) at higher elevations. The elevations where I plan to go in Colorado will be above 7,500 feet (2,300 m), and hopefully as high as 14,000 feet (4,300 meters).
 Respectfully submitted, -James T.
Read more reviews of Ultimate Direction gear Read more gear reviews by James E. Triplett Reviews > Packs > Internal and External Framed Backpacks > Ultimate Direction Cohiba > James Triplett > Field Report | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||