I've got one of these packs. VERY comfortable. I also run a few other packs of similar size. The UTE is a sort of unconventional pack - it is comfy, versatile / modular and even doesn't scream tactical. In the 0-70 lb load range it is truly awesome. 65 lbs or so is the most I have loaded it up with to date. Quality materials and very, very comfortable. It's light enough - though not ultra light. Durability is key - once you go too light, the durability can suffer. The free floating yoke is also a great design - almost all the weight goes right on to your hips. I would advise to not really carry much on your belt, as the hip belt will rub into whatever is on your belt / into your waist, and impede a comfortable experience, but other than that - this is a great pack. It's not super heavy, but not super light weight either. Lighter than a few other packs of similar capability, but not by much either way. What it is - is well made - a durable pack will not be super light. It's more of a "live in the back country for a year" as opposed to a "fast/light hiking pack". For me, it's worth the trade off. In this size / carry capacity range vs Kifaru express and x-ray, and an older Karrimor SF 45 - my UTE is my favorite. After receiving this pack I took off the next day to travel from Switzerland, to France, to Italy, then back to Switzerland and then Canada. I have owned this pack for less than one year, but I can say this: +Comfort - 9/10 - seriously, it's really cushy. It almost feels "soft" when I wear it. It's the most comfortable pack I own. I stand at 6'2" tall and a "moderately" lean 225lbs. The back stays required no adjustment at all. +Capacity - 10/10 - there's no wasted space with this pack. It will take a lot of weight before it starts to wear on the user. +Versatility - 9/10 - running with the top pouch (butt pack) and a compression pouch, this thing can be set up in several different ways +Durability - 8/10 - though I need more time to investigate this further - the materials are top notch. It's 500d, not 1000 in many places, but I have a feeling it will last a very very long time. +Overall [impression, fit/finish/materials/workmanship] - 10/10 - I bought this pack knowing exactly what I wanted it to carry and what I wanted it to do - so for that, plus the fact that it doesn't make me look like a soldier - I love it. No threads out of place, no little bits that aren't quite sewn on right - perfect - right out of the box. The compression system is the best I have ever used. All the parts work very well together. I was, and still am, very impressed. +Customer service - N/A, but I have a good feeling - I emailed Evan Hill a long time ago to tell him I loved the chest pack I bought off him a year or so ago and he responded promptly, with thanks for the feedback. I have no doubt that the Hill People would respond and assist if needed. You can't build a company serving customers who demand a lot from their gear without answering the demands of said customers. One thing I did not talk about - Price. You get what you pay for. Shop around, look at high level packs - splitting hairs at this point. Good stuff is expensive. I'd rather pay an honest, hard working domestic team to make me something great than start chipping away nickels and dimes to go overseas and get - well... less. Hope this review helps. Keep up the great work, Hill People. ----{-@
Very much informative! Many people dont understand this very basic concept of load bearing. Some people even think aluminum frame bars are weak and inferior! Many thanks for the good presentation! Bless you all :)
My pleasure jackalo626. Glad to hear it helped you with a pack other than HPG. Back when you had to go to a high end specialty shop to buy an internal, employees knew how to fit stays and it was just part of the process. Most of that has gone away.
very helpful video. ive got the qui-ya and tara, not a ute and as a starving student, it was hard to rationalize this much money. but can genuinely say these were some of the best purchases of my life and are sturdy enough that I doubt Ill ever have to buy a pack again. great job guys! Thanks so much!
Thanks so much for the how to. I bought an 80L back pack and was needing to fit the stays specifically and this helped with how they need to be shaped. I am goin to be using mine as a car pack that has a bigger amount of things in it than most peoples bug out bag/get home bag because mine is for possible car accident which could be anywhere and for an undetermined amount of time.
HELLO and sorry for my English. I have a question. If my backpack doesn't have straps behind the shoulders. Would you recommend to bend the upper parts of the stays a little bit more toward my head ? Thank you for that video ! Helps a lot !
I have a problem im facing when using the pack. I am not sure if its due to the pack set up or my own physical limitations. When I use the pack and put a load of about 30 pounds In it as I am hiking the top part of my glutes really start to feel really tense and soar to where I have to take a break. I don't hike very far into the woods but when I do with pack on its so hard when I feel the intense burn. Again I am not sure if its because I need to build those muscles or it my pack that I haven't set up properly. ANy suggestions or insights? thank you
It sounds like you don't have it properly landed in your lumbar curve and it is riding down onto your butt. Try increasing the depth of the lumbar curve in the stays. Also make sure that half of your belt is above your pelvis, and half below. For more information, look here: hillpeoplegear.com/packfitment
I did pretty much everything jn this video, just wondering about the strap that goes in the ring, should this one be tight like the shoulder strap or really loose?
The point of the strap passing through the ring and up to the harness is to set the torso length. When adjusted properly, the shoulder harness should sit lightly in the correct position on the shoulders and the strap will be snug (but not super tight) between ring and shoulder harness. Tightening the lifter straps should take the shoulder harness off the shoulders.
Is this Ute the khaki and ranger green color? Or is the accent color more of a yellow/green? I have a ranger green tara and want to match a future Ute.
Yes, that's khaki / ranger green. True khaki is a tan color lighter than coyote, but with green saturation. This is true khaki. As it turns out, it's also very nearly a much lighter shade of ranger green. The rg / khaki goes very well together.
I've got one of these packs. VERY comfortable. I also run a few other packs of similar size. The UTE is a sort of unconventional pack - it is comfy, versatile / modular and even doesn't scream tactical. In the 0-70 lb load range it is truly awesome. 65 lbs or so is the most I have loaded it up with to date. Quality materials and very, very comfortable. It's light enough - though not ultra light. Durability is key - once you go too light, the durability can suffer. The free floating yoke is also a great design - almost all the weight goes right on to your hips. I would advise to not really carry much on your belt, as the hip belt will rub into whatever is on your belt / into your waist, and impede a comfortable experience, but other than that - this is a great pack. It's not super heavy, but not super light weight either. Lighter than a few other packs of similar capability, but not by much either way. What it is - is well made - a durable pack will not be super light. It's more of a "live in the back country for a year" as opposed to a "fast/light hiking pack". For me, it's worth the trade off. In this size / carry capacity range vs Kifaru express and x-ray, and an older Karrimor SF 45 - my UTE is my favorite.
After receiving this pack I took off the next day to travel from Switzerland, to France, to Italy, then back to Switzerland and then Canada. I have owned this pack for less than one year, but I can say this:
+Comfort - 9/10 - seriously, it's really cushy. It almost feels "soft" when I wear it. It's the most comfortable pack I own. I stand at 6'2" tall and a "moderately" lean 225lbs. The back stays required no adjustment at all.
+Capacity - 10/10 - there's no wasted space with this pack. It will take a lot of weight before it starts to wear on the user.
+Versatility - 9/10 - running with the top pouch (butt pack) and a compression pouch, this thing can be set up in several different ways
+Durability - 8/10 - though I need more time to investigate this further - the materials are top notch. It's 500d, not 1000 in many places, but I have a feeling it will last a very very long time.
+Overall [impression, fit/finish/materials/workmanship] - 10/10 - I bought this pack knowing exactly what I wanted it to carry and what I wanted it to do - so for that, plus the fact that it doesn't make me look like a soldier - I love it. No threads out of place, no little bits that aren't quite sewn on right - perfect - right out of the box. The compression system is the best I have ever used. All the parts work very well together. I was, and still am, very impressed.
+Customer service - N/A, but I have a good feeling - I emailed Evan Hill a long time ago to tell him I loved the chest pack I bought off him a year or so ago and he responded promptly, with thanks for the feedback. I have no doubt that the Hill People would respond and assist if needed. You can't build a company serving customers who demand a lot from their gear without answering the demands of said customers.
One thing I did not talk about - Price.
You get what you pay for. Shop around, look at high level packs - splitting hairs at this point. Good stuff is expensive. I'd rather pay an honest, hard working domestic team to make me something great than start chipping away nickels and dimes to go overseas and get - well... less.
Hope this review helps.
Keep up the great work, Hill People.
----{-@
Very much informative! Many people dont understand this very basic concept of load bearing. Some people even think aluminum frame bars are weak and inferior! Many thanks for the good presentation! Bless you all :)
My pleasure jackalo626. Glad to hear it helped you with a pack other than HPG. Back when you had to go to a high end specialty shop to buy an internal, employees knew how to fit stays and it was just part of the process. Most of that has gone away.
very helpful video. ive got the qui-ya and tara, not a ute and as a starving student, it was hard to rationalize this much money. but can genuinely say these were some of the best purchases of my life and are sturdy enough that I doubt Ill ever have to buy a pack again. great job guys! Thanks so much!
Thanks so much for the how to. I bought an 80L back pack and was needing to fit the stays specifically and this helped with how they need to be shaped. I am goin to be using mine as a car pack that has a bigger amount of things in it than most peoples bug out bag/get home bag because mine is for possible car accident which could be anywhere and for an undetermined amount of time.
Shd aced the straight face challenge, astonishing!!
Awesome demonstration!
It helped a lot.. thanks.. Love from India 😊
HELLO and sorry for my English. I have a question. If my backpack doesn't have straps behind the shoulders. Would you recommend to bend the upper parts of the stays a little bit more toward my head ? Thank you for that video ! Helps a lot !
I suppose that might help. My first choice would be to add lifter straps if possible. I've been able to do that before on packs that don't have them.
I have a problem im facing when using the pack. I am not sure if its due to the pack set up or my own physical limitations. When I use the pack and put a load of about 30 pounds In it as I am hiking the top part of my glutes really start to feel really tense and soar to where I have to take a break. I don't hike very far into the woods but when I do with pack on its so hard when I feel the intense burn. Again I am not sure if its because I need to build those muscles or it my pack that I haven't set up properly. ANy suggestions or insights? thank you
It sounds like you don't have it properly landed in your lumbar curve and it is riding down onto your butt. Try increasing the depth of the lumbar curve in the stays. Also make sure that half of your belt is above your pelvis, and half below. For more information, look here: hillpeoplegear.com/packfitment
Man I want to order a UTE so bad, but I don't think I could get it adjusted correctly.
I did pretty much everything jn this video, just wondering about the strap that goes in the ring, should this one be tight like the shoulder strap or really loose?
The point of the strap passing through the ring and up to the harness is to set the torso length. When adjusted properly, the shoulder harness should sit lightly in the correct position on the shoulders and the strap will be snug (but not super tight) between ring and shoulder harness. Tightening the lifter straps should take the shoulder harness off the shoulders.
@@HillPeopleGear thank you for the answer friends. Great product as always.
So the bottom of the pack frame goes along the waist line?
No, the bottom of the frame is typically going to fall a couple of inches below the belt line.
Is this Ute the khaki and ranger green color? Or is the accent color more of a yellow/green? I have a ranger green tara and want to match a future Ute.
Yes, that's khaki / ranger green. True khaki is a tan color lighter than coyote, but with green saturation. This is true khaki. As it turns out, it's also very nearly a much lighter shade of ranger green. The rg / khaki goes very well together.