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’ll be able to 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 primary compartment. It’s additionally the primary completely new pack that ULA has launched in a few years, so you need to anticipate some adjustments to it primarily based on buyer suggestions. I’ve a couple of solutions under for minor adjustments that I really feel would make the pack a lot simpler to make use of.
- Kind: 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 middle suspension level inside
- Waterproof: Not seam-taped
- Load lifters: No
- Hip belt: Elective
- Canister compatibility: BV450 suits horizontally, however barrels considerably
- Execs: Sturdy material, nice exterior storage
- Cons: Predominant compartment barrels simply, no facet compression/lash factors, extra-long Y strap is ungainly
Two Fashions Out there
The Nexus 40 is obtainable in two totally different materials: the Extremely X Nexus 40 reviewed right here is made with Extremely X 200 material, which is extremely abrasion-resistant. Whereas the Extremely X 200 material is itself waterproof, ULA doesn’t seam tape the packs they make with it, so there’s an opportunity that the seams will leak in case 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 primary 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 in the course of the day within the pack’s exterior pockets.
Predominant Compartment
The primary compartment is a roll high, however the ends of the roll high clip collectively, slightly than down alongside the perimeters of the pack, so that you don’t get the compression that you’d if the ends had been buckled to straps alongside the facet of the pack. There’s additionally no stiffener on the high 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 loads higher if they’ve a stiffener on the high, or snaps, magnets, and even velcro to carry the 2 sides of a rolltop collectively.
Internally, the primary compartment is only a huge, open house with a skinny foam pad held in place by elastic straps. Whereas the pad is designed to cushion sharp objects inside, it isn’t stiff sufficient to stop the contents from barrelling (rounding) and urgent uncomfortably into your again. Overlook making an attempt to hold a bear canister contained in the Nexus or overloading the house, since you’ll really feel it by way of the again panel.
The one different options inside the primary pack bag are two webbing loops sewn into the highest seam the place you’ll be able to dangle an adjunct pocket, offered individually. The Nexus doesn’t have hydration ports, so there’s no level in hanging a water bladder inside.
The again of the primary compartment, going through the wearer and behind the shoulder straps, is Extremely 200 material, 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 could be rather more snug in scorching climate if the again had been coated with spacer mesh so that you’re not sweating on the Extremely material. Alternatively, the inner 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 if you overstuff the Nexus, however having a thicker, extra cushioned pad, like a couple of sections of Thermarest Zlite, would absolutely assist.
A number of Pockets
There are two (decrease) bottle pockets on either side of the pack. The underside pockets have slanted tops with elastic cords to tighten the highest and safe objects, making them simple to make use of with water bottles. Nonetheless, 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 function on all ULA packs. But it surely means you’ll be able to’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 drag the pack nearer to your hips.
The higher two pockets on either side are smaller and made with Ultragrid mesh. You should utilize these pockets to carry snacks, your toilet/trowel set, or perhaps a small prepare dinner system just like the Jetboil Zip, which inserts properly.
The pack has a protracted 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 giant sufficient to retailer fashionable smartphones. The pockets are sewn to the hip belt and aren’t detachable.
Compression and Exterior Attachment Factors
The Nexus doesn’t have any facet compression straps, which severely restrict the utility of the pack and make it troublesome to hold cumbersome gear until you’ll be able to match them inside the primary pack bag. For example, when you can carry a pair of brief folding z-style trekking poles within the facet bottle pockets, I wouldn’t advocate carrying longer telescoping poles on this means, as a result of they’re extra apt to fall out and not using a strap to safe them in opposition to the facet of the pack. It’s an analogous story with Tenkara fishing rods: I pack these in the primary packbag, slightly than trusting them to the facet 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 had been added alongside the facet seams of the pack (each back and front), then customers may add their very own wire/cordlocks to lash lengthy objects to the perimeters of the pack. That may make a giant distinction. After all, an actual facet compression strap, like these on the ULA CDT could be even higher.Â
Whereas the Nexus does have a high 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 positioned 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’ll be able to pressure 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 had been an affordable 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 wish to open your pack, you need to thread the three ft of strap by way of the suitable triglide, which is tremendous annoying. Different producers use buckles you could clip and unclip to entry your pack’s high rolltop.
Suggestion: Rework the Y-strap with a buckle above the entrance mesh pocket you could unclip to entry the roll high. Or give prospects 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 ought to be famous that the Nexus hipbelt just isn’t just like the hipbelt used on ULA’s bigger packs; it solely has one tier of pressure with a central buckle and never two. You’ll be able to instruct ULA to depart 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 mandatory.
Assessement
The ULA Extremely X Nexus is the corporate’s first new backpack mannequin in fairly a while, and whereas it’s usable, I believe it may very well be much more versatile with the adjustments I recommend above. In order for you a frameless backpack that has facet rolltop straps, a cushioned and porous again, and a greater Y-strap, I recommend you’re taking a tough have 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 after they got here out with the Nexus.
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Disclosure: ULA donated a Nexus backpack for overview.Â
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