UL FABRIC

[ernda]

Will the ul fabric only come in tan color? Also, aside from durability issues, is it just as waterproof as the other fabrics? And, last question, what is the best stuff to use for seam sealing the bags?

Thanks a lot! Very intrigued with these packs.

Ooh, ooh! Sorry, one more question! Will the ultralight frame option ( which sounds just fine for the weight I plan to carry) be available with any pack bag option?

[soadmin]

Yes the UL is only in Tan. It's really not UL in the form of like a silnylon, it is UL in comparison to most others. The Tan color is a good blend and works with some of our other colors. It should be water proof for a long time. The fabric itself is actually a Mil Spec fabric for tarps, so it is not made specifically for packs. It should be noted, neither was XPAC, Cuben or Silnylon made for the purposes they are used for in the gear world.

We will have other options as well. We can do the Cuben Pack fabric, or a XPAC VX07 as well. The Cuben will be a bit pricier than our Camo VX33 and the XPAC will be about the same as our VX21 in price but closer in weight to the UL.

The UL frame will be available with any pack bag. For the record, I carried over 100 lbs several times with it. It performs the same IMO, but I wouldn't choose it for an application like sheep guiding in Alaska or the like.

Seam sealing, you can use GE Silicone on the inside. Honestly, I think in normal use seam leakage will be a very minor problem. If you are wearing the pack, and standing upright, all you have is vertical or near vertical seams exposed, which are bound on the inside with ribbon. Vertical oriented seams tend to do much better than horizontal. Full submersion for any amount of time, and stuff will get wet unless you opt out of the side zip.

Regarding the side zip, I don't need it, but I find it very handy especially in later season, winter day hikes etc where i have a lot of insulation. Having the side zip, means you can access the pack easier for organization without a Talon and save some weight. It all depends on what you prefer.

[ernda]

This all sounds great. Any timetable for when all of these options ( especially the ul frame and cuben) will be available.

[ktimm]

The UL frame should be available for shipping in 3 -4 weeks. We have made them and tested them extensively, we just need to produce them for production.

Cuben, hopefully we should have photos in a few days.

Thanks
Kevin

[Frank]

Hi,
Could you please give details on the differences between the UL frame and the standard? Weight, construction, etc...
Thanks,
Frank

[soadmin]

Hi Frank

Same size , same material. same fit, thinner wall material. I've used the UL pretty extensively and it has worked fine for me. If you consider yourself a hard user , get the standard frame. If you won't do anything crazy with the frame the UL should work fine. By crazy, I mean dropping of cliffs etc. Alternatively frames are an easy swap out and we may them available separately at some point, so you could use a light frame most of the year and the standard if you were guiding or something