Chinese "UL" pack

fluffkitten

fluffkitten

Moderator
Staff member
Was only a matter of time before one or more of the Chinese companies who sell through Aliexpress started doing the classic roll top frameless pack. This one isn't quite UL at 930g which is why the "" in the title. The same seller has called it both a 3F and a Naturehike so...

There is this review as well.

 
widu13

widu13

Ultralighter
Competition is good. The cottage manufacturer have set themselves up with MASSIVE markups. This will put a shot across their bows.

Not wanting to blow smoke up certain people on here but certain pouch and cone sellers are selling their stuff at a fair price and that is why people continue to support them rather than buying off the shelf.
 
cathyjc

cathyjc

Thru Hiker
My Golite Jam (50lt) is 750gm with dry bag opening mod and back stiffening mod. It will outlast me. :D
I've yet to see any reason to part with ££'s to "not" upgrade to another pack from a UL cottage manufacturer or other source. o_Oo_O

If I want more capacity my Golite Quest 65lt @ 1150gm, with top pocket and full frame is sooooooo comfy.
Sorry, but I'll sacrifice carrying a few grams extra and the "uncoolness" of my choices for spending more ££'s on gaining what ??

I recognise Golite packs not easily available now for new buyers.
 
slovhike

slovhike

Thru Hiker
@widu13 agreed. The fabric cost for the 30l UL pack are around 30-40$ depends of the build...asking massive five times more and a bit extra ...some cottage are doing is very dirty business I dont want to support!
 
cathyjc

cathyjc

Thru Hiker
I'm not critizising the mark-up on the "cottage" packs ……I well understand how much labour goes into the making.
I just don't think the hype about how much 'weight you will save' by getting one is quite as much as some older/budget options available. A bit "Emporers New Clothes"
 
fluffkitten

fluffkitten

Moderator
Staff member
ADz said:
Damn. Seems the Gray is out of stock now. Was going to have a punt.
Click to expand...

Their last sale ran out of the other two colours, tempted by the orange.

Edit: currently at £43.15 posted on the app
 
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G

Gonathras

Trekker
someone just reviewed a 22l aliexpress daypack without hip belt or chest strap or back padding in a german forum
this is the pack
here is the german review

the person is smaller than 180cm (not sure how tall exactly) and says it is comfortable.
with the self made chest strap it weighs 188g.

Would be really tempted to try but being tall and fat I really don't think it will fit me very well :(
 
ADz

ADz

Thru Hiker
Saw those vids a few days ago. Does anybody know which buckles he is using on the front straps?
 
Gadget

Gadget

Thru Hiker
Not seen them, but these would do the job,

http://dutchwaregear.com/clip-hook.html
35i-clhk-blk.jpg

or these,

http://dutchwaregear.com/mini-combo-hook.html
00336_1473404987.jpg
 
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ADz

ADz

Thru Hiker
fluffkitten said:
How does the quality look?
Click to expand...

Not bad. I'm not an expert on stitching etc but looks pretty good to me. I'm quite impressed with the 3F UL Gear quality. I have the single man Lanshan shelter as well. I've been meaning to get out and use both but Weather has just been too hot. It's looking cooler this weekend so may try and get it with them then.
 
captain paranoia

captain paranoia

Summit Camper
widu13 said:
Competition is good. The cottage manufacturer have set themselves up with MASSIVE markups. This will put a shot across their bows.

Not wanting to blow smoke up certain people on here but certain pouch and cone sellers are selling their stuff at a fair price and that is why people continue to support them rather than buying off the shelf.
Click to expand...

Those cottage manufacturers are mostly in developed countries; the US, UK, and are using small scale manufacture. Aliexpress products are made in China/Far East, using mass production facilities, which will use both less time, and that time will be much cheaper. They will also be getting fabrics direct from mills, which the cottage manufacturers may struggle to be able to do (having to go through intermediaries).

Then there's the issue of recouping design costs; if you're just copying someone else's design, or using someone else's design tool, then you're saving money.

Finally, some cottage manufacturers are trying to make a living wage out of it. Others are merely trying to earn a 'bit of pin money'.
 
shetland_breeder

shetland_breeder

Ultralighter
fluffkitten said:
Anyone bought one these yet?
Click to expand...

I've got an orange one. The build quality seems very good to me.

I've removed all the shock-cord and the straps meant to hold a folding mat, and my wife unpicked the seams on the belt (and sewed them up again - seems like magic to me) so the stiffeners could be removed (~70g). There's still some stiffening in the belt so i can't really see why the extra stiffening was there in the first place.

It now weighs 752g which seems quite respectable considering the fairly heavy fabric used.

The back is a little short for me, but with a Multimat Superlite XL (57cm wide) as a 'burrito' (whatever that is!) instead of the standard 50cm mat the loadlifters have something to bite on to make up the difference.

It carries very well for me - the most I've had in is 8.6Kg which included 1.75Kg food and 50ml water so not too far off a realistic load.

The side pockets I find really good compared to the (one lower) pocket on my Mariposa.And i like the roll-top. I can't somehow come to terms with a simple draw cord top - seems a hopeless design to me for UK conditions.

Pete
 
shetland_breeder

shetland_breeder

Ultralighter
So, I've been for some longer walks over more technical ground and I have come across a few niggles.

The first is that there's no way of compressing the pack at the bottom so it can handle smaller volume loads. Even if I hadn't cut off the webbing loops and straps I can't see how anything could be rigged up to compress the pack front-to back at the bottom because the 'teardrop' shape of the bottom means the loops at the front are too high up the front. Compression straps on the sides would mean modifying the pockets to allow the compression straps to pass inside them.

The second thing is again an individual niggle - my arms rub on the waist belt pockets unless they are empty. I don't use trekking poles any more, since for some reason i get sciatica in my right leg if I use them, so I hold my arms close to my body when moving them. I think it's due to the very thick padding in the hip-belt as the hip belt on my Gorilla doesn't have this effect.

But is is still a comfortable carry even at 10Kg.

Pete
 
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