UKH

Hi everyone, 

Hopefully I can get your two cents on this. I’m thinking about getting an Ultimate Direction Fastpack for winter runs in the mountains  when I would need more kit, for lightweight camping and maybe something like the spine challenger which is a long term objective. I’m gravitating between these two models as hip belt packs don’t suit me as I have a wonky hip and I already have a ud Scott Jurek pack which I like. My question to any owners would be can you pack a decent amount of camping Kit into the fastpack 25 ie lightweight 3 season Down sleeping bag around 1kg (I need to get one of these too eventually) , Thermarest neoair xterm, tent or bivi plus spare clothes, warm layers and cooking equipment(Pocket rocket and titanium mug), or would I be better stumping up for the larger fastpack 35? Essentially I don’t want to get more space than I need. Thanks in advance 

If you get the 35, you will just take more stuff.

Happy adventures!

I have the 25 and there is loads of room. It is almost as big as my montane trailblazer which is a 32l. 

I do find if it's full though it is very high above my head. I am very small in the chest tho and have to have all the straps done up tight to make it fit. If the straps were not as tight I guess it would sit lower. 

I have never tried the 35.

Lee

Thanks folks it seems the consensus is for the 25

The big difference on the 25 compared to 35 is no hip belt. The 35 on the other hand is huge and definitely needs one. 

The two chest straps work very well, and I suspect are fine if the 25 isn't overloaded. It would probably be possible to sew a basic hip belt on, but the take off is where the chest straps arise from so tricky. I have an UD35 and it is *big* for what you want, although your sleeping bag sounds pretty huge.

Of note, the side compression straps are a bit rubbish on the 35 when it isn't so full - the steps just pull through the strap holders, kind of difficult to explain but they don't hold a half-full pack tight close to  your back, all the stuff just joggles down to a bulbous bottom - perhaps reflecting their owner, who knows...

Also, the smaller model (the 15l one that Mrs B has) used to have some very poorly designed fasteners that only work one way round for the main closure. Actually, the 15 is a bit useless.

The other slightly more unusual pack out there I would like to try is the Ultraspire Epic XT, which is a solid 25l pack that is relatively "thin" so the weight is close to your back. It looks to tick a few more boxes than the UD35 (especially with a decent hip belt). A lot more 'stuff' on the front looks busy, but is good for balance. https://ultraspire.com/products/epic-xt/

b

I have a 15l - have used the 25l - but opted for a 20l OMM Phantom! (old version)

All great bags, my 15l is a day to day bag for running to/from work and a lot of longer hill days. The 25l was borrowed to test it out as a possible bag for mountain marathons and I felt the lack of hip pockets didn't work for me. 

Not tried the 35l - but they look HUGE when you get hands on with them.

I've got the 25 and use it for winter running where I need to carry axe, crampons etc. It's great for that but despite being easily big enough for a MM I don't like it for that. With more than a few kilos I find it bounces around and I far prefer a bag with a proper waist belt for that. 

I've the 35 - find it stable when running and have (so far!) managed to avoid throwing in extra kit for the sake of it. I too was debating 25 vs 35 and went with the 35 as the difference in weight when empty is negligible (for me anyway) and I figured it would allow me to extend usage into the colder months when I might want warmer gear along with me.