Used my new REI UL45 this weekend, A Review
I was happily surprised that I received my REI UL45 pack on Saturday as it was not expected to arrive till during the week, so I used it Sunday for a dayhike up around Mount Greylock.
First, you may not be aware of it, but the metal frame that supports the whole shoulder harness system maybe put in backwards. I found this out before ordering and expected as such, and mine was the same way. I basically removed it, flipped it around, and voila! It fit perfectly. This error has been reported on another AT website, some REI shops know it, and I thought it has been mentioned here on VFTT as well, so if you ordered one, and you feel that the metal strap is poking right into the middle of your back, just take it out, play around with it and you will fix the problem.
First, the fabric is light weight, well it is a lightweight bag so yeah! I do not expect the bag to hold to lots of bushwhacking , dragging or stuffing with sharp cornered objects, so keep that in mid. It is hydration compatible, has a slot on both sides so if you prefer left or right, your good. It also comes toggles that attach to the bladder if you are using one like Nalgene's which has the corresponding holes. I have a 2 liter bladder and a 3 liter Camelback which I used Sunday because it was insulated. It looks like the toggles and bladder sleeve are set up for a 2 liter bladder as the 3 liter was too tall. Not a big problem, a minor nit actually.
I loaded it with about 15 lbs of stuff for a winter day hike including my bivy, a Marmot Trails bag, some spare clothes, a stuff bag with emergency gear, the bladder, down coat, crampons in their bag and food and it handled the load very well. It has a funky harness system that rides in a way that the shoulders and hips can move independent of each other which is a nice thing. The harness is very adjustable, and I found it to work well.
As for other features, it has two pockets on the lid, one that is on top, one on the underside of the top, btw, the top is fitted to the bag, it does not float so what you see is what you get, no expansion. The internal compression system worked well for me, although the toggle that you cinch for it is a bit tricky with gloves or mittens on, I may change it. There are fours mesh pockets, two on each side; large ones down low, smaller ones up top. The lower ones do not really seem large enough to carry a 1qt bottle, at least a normal Nalgene style ones. I am sure if you are using smaller soda bottles as your hydration system you would not have a problem.
There are two small daisy chains for lashing items too, and it is set up for carrying two ice axes. I removed one of the velcro straps, I had thought about bringing along my regular ice axe for the hike, but left it behind. There is also a small pocket and -pouch on the hip belt, I used the zipped pouch to hold a few snacks. They are both too small to carry anything beyond a powerbar or a bag of snacks, they are too small to carry a normal sized camera or anything as large.
Overall the bag worked very well, I was not disappointed with it, or found any major flaws that would make me leave this in the gear box at home. As a comparison, I own and use the Gregory G Pack, 05 Model, and use it regularly, are the comparable, yes, but both have some unique features. I would say the Gregory fabric seems to me at least, a bit stronger overall, but the REI has a better bottom on the bag so it may not wear out as much. It also has a vrey narrow profile, which I prefer, it does not flair out from around your back, it seems to sit in a very nice profile. That may be handy if you are going through some places that may snag the bag as you pass.
So far in the short term, I do like the REI version, and will look forard to putting it through some more tourture!
