The ULA Extremely Nexus is a 40L streamlined frameless backpack that weighs 19 oz and is designed to hold 20-25 lb hundreds. It has 5 open pockets as an alternative of the three discovered on most ultralight backpacks, so you possibly can carry all of the gear, clothes, and meals you’d want on the surface of your pack without having to cease and open the closed storage within the pack’s fundamental compartment. It’s additionally the primary totally new pack that ULA has launched in a few years, so it is best to anticipate some modifications to it primarily based on buyer suggestions. I’ve a number of options under for minor modifications that I really feel would make the pack a lot simpler to make use of.
- Sort: Frameless
- Quantity 40L (32L closed quantity)
- Pockets: 5 exterior and open; 2 closed on hipbelt
- Entry: Roll-top closure
- Materials: Extremely 200
- Hydration appropriate: No ports, no heart suspension level inside
- Waterproof: Not seam-taped
- Load lifters: No
- Hip belt: Elective
- Canister compatibility: BV450 suits horizontally, however barrels considerably
- Execs: Sturdy cloth, nice exterior storage
- Cons: Principal compartment barrels simply, no aspect compression/lash factors, extra-long Y strap is ungainly
Two Fashions Out there
The Nexus 40 is out there in two completely different materials: the Extremely X Nexus 40 reviewed right here is made with Extremely X 200 cloth, which is extremely abrasion-resistant. Whereas the Extremely X 200 cloth is itself waterproof, ULA doesn’t seam tape the packs they make with it, so there’s an opportunity that the seams will leak should you get caught within the rain. ULA additionally makes an Ultragrid Nexus, which is simply recycled nylon strengthened with Extremely fibers in a ripstop sample.
Backpack Storage
The Extremely X Nexus has a fundamental compartment, 5 exterior open pockets, and two zippered hip belt pockets. The pack is designed so that you’ll carry all of the gear and meals you want through the day within the pack’s exterior pockets.
Principal Compartment
The primary compartment is a roll prime, however the ends of the roll prime clip collectively, relatively than down alongside the edges of the pack, so that you don’t get the compression that you’d if the ends have been buckled to straps alongside the aspect of the pack. There’s additionally no stiffener on the prime of the pack bag, which makes it troublesome to roll shut if the contents are bulging out the highest and to remain shut with out unraveling. Rolltups work so much higher if they’ve a stiffener on the prime, or snaps, magnets, and even velcro to carry the 2 sides of a rolltop collectively.
Internally, the principle compartment is only a large, open area with a skinny foam pad held in place by elastic straps. Whereas the pad is designed to cushion sharp objects inside, it’s not stiff sufficient to stop the contents from barrelling (rounding) and urgent uncomfortably into your again. Neglect making an attempt to hold a bear canister contained in the Nexus or overloading the area, since you’ll really feel it by way of the again panel.
The one different options inside the principle pack bag are two webbing loops sewn into the highest seam the place you possibly can hold an adjunct pocket, bought individually. The Nexus doesn’t have hydration ports, so there’s no level in hanging a water bladder inside.
The again of the principle compartment, going through the wearer and behind the shoulder straps, is Extremely 200 cloth, with none padding or mesh, so it’s proper up in opposition to your shirt. When the climate is heat and also you begin to perspire, the Nexus turns into fairly sweaty to hold.
Suggestion: The Nexus can be way more comfy in scorching climate if the again have been coated with spacer mesh so that you’re not sweating on the Extremely cloth. Alternatively, the interior foam pad may very well be externalized with pad sleeves, like these discovered on Gossamer Gear G4-20, or elastic wire like that on the Zpacks Nero and different decrease quantity ultralight backpacks. An exterior pad wouldn’t essentially scale back the barrelling that happens while you overstuff the Nexus, however having a thicker, extra cushioned pad, like a number of sections of Thermarest Zlite, would absolutely assist.
Plenty of Pockets
There are two (decrease) bottle pockets on all sides of the pack. The underside pockets have slanted tops with elastic cords to tighten the highest and safe objects, making them straightforward to make use of with water bottles. Nevertheless, the entrance of these pockets is open as a result of the underside of the shoulder straps terminate inside them, and is a standard design characteristic on all ULA packs. But it surely means you possibly can’t retailer smaller objects within the backside pocket lest they fall out. ULA runs the shoulder strap anchor by way of the entrance of the pocket to tug the pack nearer to your hips.
The higher two pockets on all sides are smaller and made with Ultragrid mesh. You should utilize these pockets to carry snacks, your toilet/trowel set, or perhaps a small cook dinner system just like the Jetboil Zip, which inserts properly.
The pack has an extended open mesh pocket on the entrance with an exterior elastic wire threaded by way of tabs on the pocket’s perimeter. The mesh pocket is sweet for storing a moist water filter or spare folding bottles, meals, or clothes, whereas the elastic wire is appropriate for hanging damp clothes that should dry.
The hip belt has two zippered pockets which can be massive sufficient to retailer fashionable smartphones. The pockets are sewn to the hip belt and will not be detachable.
Compression and Exterior Attachment Factors
The Nexus doesn’t have any aspect compression straps, which severely restrict the utility of the pack and make it troublesome to hold cumbersome gear except you possibly can match them inside the principle pack bag. As an illustration, whilst you can carry a pair of brief folding z-style trekking poles within the aspect bottle pockets, I wouldn’t advocate carrying longer telescoping poles on this approach, as a result of they’re extra apt to fall out and not using a strap to safe them in opposition to the aspect of the pack. It’s the same story with Tenkara fishing rods: I pack these in the principle packbag, relatively than trusting them to the aspect bottle pockets the place they’re sure to fall out with out my noticing that they’re gone.
Suggestion: The perimeter of the entrance mesh pocket has webbing loops to carry an elastic wire. If extra webbing loops have been added alongside the aspect seams of the pack (each back and front), then customers may add their very own wire/cordlocks to lash lengthy objects to the edges of the pack. That may make an enormous distinction. After all, an actual aspect compression strap, like these on the ULA CDT can be even higher.
Whereas the Nexus does have a prime Y-strap, it’s simply bizarre and absurdly lengthy. One finish of the Y strap is sewn to the pack in a seam above the suitable shoulder strap. From there, it travels to a plastic ring situated simply above the entrance stretch mesh pocket, after which lastly to a tri-glide buckle sewn to the seam above the suitable shoulder strap. So the one place you possibly can rigidity it’s by way of the tri-glide above your proper shoulder. That may be tolerable if the webbing that makes up the Y strap have been an inexpensive size, however it’s 3 ft longer than it must be (and hangs behind you as you hike like a tail.) So each time you need to open your pack, you must thread the three ft of strap by way of the suitable triglide, which is tremendous annoying. Different producers use buckles that you would be able to clip and unclip to entry your pack’s prime rolltop.
Suggestion: Rework the Y-strap with a buckle above the entrance mesh pocket that you would be able to unclip to entry the roll prime. Or give clients the choice to make use of a single strap as an alternative of the Y-strap, like on the ULA Circuit SV.
Backpack Suspension
The Extremely X Nexus is a frameless backpack designed to hold very light-weight hundreds, maxing out at 20-25 lbs. As such, there’s no weight switch onto the hipbelt, whose solely purposeful contribution is to carry the pack nearer to your torso and to offer a mounting level for the 2 hipbelt pockets. It must be famous that the Nexus hipbelt will not be just like the hipbelt used on ULA’s bigger packs; it solely has one tier of rigidity with a central buckle and never two. You may instruct ULA to go away the hipbelt off that pack, and I’d advocate doing that. I discovered it annoying, and with a max load of 25 kilos, a hipbelt isn’t actually obligatory.
Assessement
The ULA Extremely X Nexus is the corporate’s first new backpack mannequin in fairly a while, and whereas it’s usable, I feel it may very well be much more versatile with the modifications I counsel above. If you’d like a frameless backpack that has aspect rolltop straps, a cushioned and porous again, and a greater Y-strap, I counsel you are taking a tough take a look at the ULA Photon (35L) or the ULA CDT (50L) as an alternative. They’re each nice packs, and I can’t perceive why ULA didn’t leverage their designs once they got here out with the Nexus.
Disclosure: ULA donated a Nexus backpack for assessment.
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