ULA Catalyst

[rlown]

gee. In my 35 years, tent and sleeping bag attached outside even bushwacking hasn't been a problem.

[Wandering Daisy]

A friend fell down Pants Pass and her tent unhitched from her pack and she never found the tent. Luckily, in the Sierra, weather allowed for cowboy camping for the remainder of her trip. I have observed plenty of tent poles lying on the trail. I once put my Therma-rest in its bag on the outside of my pack and ended up sleeping on hard ground for 3 nights. Tennis shoes tied to my pack were ripped off bushwhacking up to Edith Lake. I have lowered my pack on alpine routes before rappelling. Have you ever fallen into a crevasse? Never had a strap clasp break?

Although tent on the outside may be "standard" nowadays, the risk of damage or loss is not zero. And we are all fallible and can at times do a poor job of attaching the tent. And believe me, if I paid $700 for one of those fancy UL tents, it would ALWAYS be inside my pack!

The times when I do carry my tent on the outside, I make sure the cinch top goes down inside the side pocket (so the cinch string does not snag on brush or tree limbs) and the compression straps are really tight, so if I end up-side-down the tent does not fall out.

You are just fooling yourself if you buy a smaller UL pack, tie on half your gear on the outside, and then think you are UL.

[rlown]

I bought the Catalyst to lose the frame on my Kelty Tioga. 3 lbs right there. everything fits but I have yet to test the thing. Other stuff in the pack doesn't change. Only thing I'll change is less food. I always come out with extra. Bearikade inside, Tent outside and I'm still pondering the sleeping bag, but I think it will be inside the Catalyst at the bottom.

[kpeter]

I bought the Catalyst to lose the frame on my Kelty Tioga. 3 lbs right there. everything fits but I have yet to test the thing. Other stuff in the pack doesn't change. Only thing I'll change is less food. I always come out with extra. Bearikade inside, Tent outside and I'm still pondering the sleeping bag, but I think it will be inside the Catalyst at the bottom.

You just described my plan almost exactly Only difference is I use a BV instead of the Bearikade, fits horizontally just fine. Sleeping bag definitely at the bottom, tent on the outside.

I've had my Catalyst out on a couple of day hikes now and it seems fine. I really like the hip belt. I still can't quite tell if I need to take the stays out and bend them into shape in some way. Anyone have advice on on how/whether to fit the stays to your back?

[rlown]

Play with the stays the first night out if you need to. I'm not to touching mine until then.

[robertseeburger]

This is kind of a very real post for me ..regarding tent on the outside. I pretty much always carry my tent on the outside.
I just tighten it with straps.. ( sleeping bag inside). I have been doing this for years...no problema.

At the end of my last trip, after 50 days of backpacking last summer... I am walking along on a trail and I notice that... my tent isn't there.
Panic! I talked to my partner , who always walks ahead of me.. I said.. I am going to walk back the way we came for 1 hour max and turn around if I dont find it. He agreed to wait. I walked back..and the tent was in the middle of the trail, about 200 yards back. I returned in 10 minutes.
I will continue to pack my tent on the outside... but moral of the story.. perhaps check my straps and tighten, with just a little bit more diligence!

[Wandering Daisy]

Sil-nylon is VERY slippery and offers little friction to grab the straps. Most tent bags nowadays are made of this material. I have put strips of seam-seal on the bottom of my Sil-nylon tent so my sleeping pad does not squirm around all night. I suppose you could do the same with the outside of your tent bag. Or use a tent bag made of material that has more friction.

When I occasionally put my tent on the outside, I put it in a deep side pocket and then tighten the horizontal strap.