It’s been a few years now since started long-distance hiking. And over that time, I’ve made a lot of changes to my gear set-up. I moved from a sleeping bag to a quilt. I started with a semi-freestanding tent, then moved to a single-walled trekking pole tent, and then back again. I refined my clothing each season. And then there’s my litany of backpacks.
My very first backpacking pack an 65L Osprey Aura. It didn’t take long though to realize I was carrying a lot of unnecessary extra weight on my back. That pack that tipped the scales at 68 ounces (i.e., 4.25 pounds!). So in 2016, I ditched the Osprey and purchased a lightweight pack from Gossamer Gear that weighed a mere 30.5 ounces. What a huge difference!
Since making that change, I’ve exclusively carried packs made by Gossamer Gear. I used their best-selling Mariposa (60L pack) for my thru-hikes of the Camino de Santiago and the Appalachian Trail in 2018 and 2019. And when I eventually wore through that pack, I went even smaller and lighter with their frameless G4-20 (42L pack) for all my hikes in 2020 and 2021.
I’m a huge Gossamer Gear fan. Their packs fit my body extremely well. Each one is super durable for its weight. The outside pockets are plentiful, and perfectly sized to fit all the gear I want to keep easily accessible. Plus, I’m absolutely in love with the ‘electric blue’ color of my G4-20.
So why the heck am I suddenly changing packs???
ARIZONA TRAIL
The reason for this major gear swap is my upcoming hike of the Arizona Trail (AZT). I know I’ll have to some pretty long water carries during that 800-mile journey. Plus, I’ll be thru-hiking the trail in early spring, when I could see anything from freezing nights and snow to blisteringly hot sunshine (and sometimes even both ends of the spectrum in the same day).
These crazy desert conditions means I’ll need to carry more gear for the AZT. Instead of the 11- or 12-pound base weight I normally aim for in the summer, I will be carrying 15-16 pounds of gear for this shoulder season hike. Then there’s my consumable weight. Food, fuel, and water could add 15-20 more pounds to my pack during driest stretches of the trail.
Unfortunately, this heavier load is forcing me to leave my beloved G4-20 in the gear closet for my AZT thru-hike. After all, Gossamer Gear’s recommended load on their frameless pack is only 25 pounds. I don’t want to destroy my favorite backpack by abusing it with conditions it wasn’t designed to excel in.
What’s more, I already know that a frameless pack just isn’t the most comfortable way to carry big loads. I tried that on the Tahoe Rim Trail when I carried a bear canister with six days of food crammed inside it. That burden pressing down on my shoulders was pure misery. I vowed then, I’d revert back to an internal frame pack if I ever needed to carry that much weight again.
So, What pack did I choose?
As a creature of habit, I was tempted to return to the comfort and familiarity of the Gossamer Gear Mariposa once again. However, before I shelled out another $285.00 for a replacement pack, my curiosity took hold. What if the AZT was an opportunity to see what other internal frame options were out there on the market?
Before long I was falling into the deep recesses of the internet, reading gear reviews and analyzing other people’s packs.
As I weighed all my options and made a decision spreadsheet comparing the packs I was considering side-by-side (yes, I am really type-A), I kept coming back to one internal frame pack over and over again — the ULA Circuit.
In the end, it wasn’t a single feature that put it ahead of all the other contenders. It was the combination of things I appreciated, including:
- Brand Reputation. ULA packs get extremely high marks from other thru-hikers for their functionality, comfort, and durability. It’s one of the more popular gear brands you’ll see hikers wearing on the PCT and the CDT. Hikers talk about their gear incessantly, and they pull no punches when griping about what doesn’t work. So ULA’s strong and favorable reputation definitely worked in its favor.
- S-shoulder straps. Most companies only offer one type of shoulder strap on their packs – the J-curve. This standard design is great for lots of people. However, many female hikers find an S-curve shoulder strap accommodates their chest and shoulders better. ULA is one of the few packs that offers this more comfortable option when you customize your pack.
- Roll top closure. One of biggest things I love about my G4-20 is its roll-top closure (vice the fold-over closure on the Mariposa). This feature allows the pack to generously expand upward when you’re leaving town with a full resupply, but then the excess material neatly rolls down as your packs gets smaller. This design is just a personal preference, but it’s a small feature that put the ULA Circuit ahead of some of the other contenders.
- Hipbelt. The reason I wore through my first original Mariposa pack had a lot to do with the design of its hipbelt. Over time, the tightly tensioned straps that connected shoulder straps to the bottom of the pack repeatedly rubbed my hip belt. This friction created two large holes on both sides of the belt. Perhaps the excessive wear-and-tear was just unique to the way I move. But that design made me somewhat reluctant to purchase another Mariposa. Meanwhile, the ULA Circuit has a shoulder strap/hipbelt design that is more akin to the one on my G4-20, which is holding up absolutely perfectly.
- Customizable colors. I love the ability to immediately distinguish my pack from its surroundings. No blasé black or gray backpack for me, thank you. ULA appeals to this preference by allowing hikers to completely customize the color of their packs. Hikers can choose from standard fabric (400 Robic, Cordura, or 420 nylon) or X-Pac (a composite fabric) and from 22 different colors. Each element of the pack – from the side pockets to the main pack to the shock cord – can be a unique color. I love this feature immensely, and picked something that reminded me of my G4-20’s vibrant blue with some yellow accents!
- Weight. During my research, I had a difficult time finding lightweight backpacks that could carry up to 30-35 pounds comfortably. So much emphasis in the market has been placed on: (a) sturdier backpacks that weight at least 4 pounds; or (b) ultralight packs that don’t have the internal frame I crave. Finding the ‘sweet spot’ for a structurally sound, but moderately lightweight pack narrowed the field considerably. But, the ULA Circuit fits this bill. It weighs just 36.6 ounces (or 2.28 pounds), has 68 liters of carrying capacity, and can carry up to 35 pounds of gear.
- Cost. The cost of the ULA Circuit was very similar to the Gossamer Gear Mariposa. Its base price is $280 – if you pick one of their five pre-made pack colors. This price increases (by and additional $50-$70) when you customize the colors and fabric. Having the choice to customize my pack uniquely to my taste was well worth the additional price to me.
- Made in the USA. ULA’s factory is located in Logan, Utah, which means it’s employing people locally in the Western US. This is a bonus in my book, as I prefer my hard-earned money go to small business owners who are tied into their local communities.
Initial Thoughts
My new ULA Circuit arrived back in November, and I’ve taken it out on a number of training hikes to prepare for the AZT. The pack itself is extremely comfortable. It carries my heavier AZT base weight, plus 4.5 liters of water and four days of food, very well.
However, as with any new piece of gear, there are a few aspects that I’m still trying to get used to, including:
- Zippers. The dual side pouches on the ULA Circuit’s hipbelt are quite nicely sized. However, I was surprised to see that they zipped closed in the opposite direction than I was used to. Every other pack I’ve used has hip belt pouches that zip forward (toward your navel). But the Circuit has pouches that zip closed by pulling the zipper back toward the wearer’s hips. I’m still getting used to this design change. Consequently, I’ve accidentally forgotten to zip my hipbelt pouches closed more than once! Yikes!
- External Mesh Pocket. I like the material of the Circuit’s mesh pocket and the thicker shock cord crisscrossing the back of the pack. However, both of them seem to have a lot more tension and a lot less give than the mesh pocket/shock cord on my Gossamer Gear packs. I tend to stuff a lot of frequently used items (trowel and TP bag, water filtration items, rain jacket, and even my camp shoes) into that mesh pocket. However, the tight squeeze of this external pocket means I’ll need to find new spots for some of those items.
- Side Pockets. One design item I love on my Gossamer Gear packs are their side pockets. One pocket is taller, while the other is shorter. The tall pocket was perfect for storing my tent poles and even my rolled up tent, while the shorter pocket on the opposite side was perfect for holding my water bottles. The Circuit doesn’t have this same nifty design. Instead, it has two evenly-sized angled pockets for storing items. Neither pocket is tall enough to securely hold my tent. So I’m still figuring out how best to use my external storage to accommodate my gear.
- Frame. While I’m super excited to have an internal frame that can help support my heavier load on the AZT, I was surprised how high the frame protrudes on the Circuit. Normally, the aluminum frame inside the pack is level with the top of my shoulders. However, the design on this pack has the internal frame going up as high as the base of my skull. This seemed really odd at first, and I really worried it would tap up against my head as I hiked. But so far, it hasn’t been an issue, so only time will tell if my concerns were warranted.
- Zipper pocket. One item I really miss on my Circuit is a small zippered pocket on the outside of the pack. My G4-20 had one just above the mesh pocket on the back, while the Mariposa had one on the top flap. I love having a tiny storage pocket on the outside of the pack that’s just big enough to fit those infrequently used items I don’t need cluttering up my hip pouches (e.g., a Sharpie, tent repair tape, waterproof mittens).
Of course, like so much of backpacking, this gear choice is about trade-offs. My number one priority was finding a new pack was that it could comfortably carry the heavier load that the Arizona desert required. Knowing I can hike more comfortably between water sources and stay on the trail longer is well worth it.
If you’re interested in following along on my journey and seeing my new pack pans out, check out my 2022 Arizona Trail Journal, where I’ll be posting daily updates about my journey. I’ll also post my complete packing list at the end of the hike with what what worked, what I ditched, and why.
