Zpacks ULTRA Arc Haul Backpack Unboxing!

March 2022
Here it is folks, finally got my hands on my new pack with the amazing new Ecopak/Ultra material joined with the Arc Haul Backpack. This is just an unboxing video where I give you a look at the pack and go over a lot of its specs.
Take a few minutes to watch the video especially if you have been intrigued by this new material.
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I hope you enjoy, cheers, Marmalade
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[@danielparsons2859]

Great pack. Mine arrived in the mail recently and I was blown away. This pack appears to be everything I want in a pack. I'm over 50 so the ultra light gear appeals to me. I want to do longer hikes while not carrying excessive weight.

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Daniel yeah so far I’ve been super happy with mine. Have about 400 miles with it so far and it’s been great!

[@RickandAndreaGetOutside]

Well done intro to this pack! I'm very intrigued by this backpack. Can't wait to hear how you like it after you take it out on the trail. There might be one of these in my future.

[@Ericidryfly]

Two big improvements over the old arc hauls. The new stays and material 👍 looking forward to checking out your pack in the future.

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Thanks brother and I agree. I had Major problems with my old one when I would create the arc, one of the two graphite stays when bent would literally stick straight outward from my pack where it bends instead of following the shape of the pack. Because of that like when I was in the sierras there was no space or air flow behind my back. As you know now it’s just pre bent with no tension when you create the arc.

[@georgeweber1337]

Congrats on a great pack!

[@TheHikingRev]

Great video and it looks like a great pack. I can’t wait for you to try it out. Looking forward to our hike at the end of the month.

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Thanks my friend, did you like how I arranged to have my pack parachuted out of the sky? I’m committed to my subscribers, or maybe I should be committed? Lol yeah I’ll try and use it once before we do our hike just to break it in and adjust everything

[@ParallelCamper]

Thanks! Good, detailed look at this pack.

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Thank you PC, hard to try and do a thorough gear video but not make it go on too long. There’s a lot more smaller details about the pack I could of shown but it was just meant as an overview. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@everyoneknowsadave3580]

Definitely looking at one of these packs …. Thanks for the unboxing review 👍👍

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Thanks Dave, yeah very interesting material and can’t wait to take it out and see how it differs from my regular arc haul.

[@BobPritchard]

Looks great Marmalade. I ordered the SWD ultra 400 backpack but I'll be waiting for a few months before that arrives!

[@3top5]

Thanks. This was informative and helpful.

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

You’re welcome Walter, I’ve used the pack on two trips so far and love it. Glad it helped

[@chili1593]

Looking forward to seeing it in action!

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Thank you!

[@enriquediaz7547]

I’m “up” on zpacks & ultralight & can’t believe I’ve missed this whole revolution. I was still on DCF! (I’ve own a zpacks dcf )

[@tedstrader3491]

Good review, I just got my 70 L and can’t wait to try it out. Like you I am a big guy so everything is bigger and a little heavier. I just got back from a trip in the Whites with my 62 L Arc Zip and want to flexibility to carry a bit more when I need to. Will wait for your review once you have tried it out.

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Hey Ted congrats on your new larger pack they just came out with. I’ve gotten all my gear so refined and compact I’ve purposely gone to the smaller 60 liter pack. When I don’t carry a bear canister it’s not even full. I’ve done four, three day backpacking trips (see the video I just posted of my hike in the Sierra using it) and I’ve absolutely loved it so far. I’m about to go back to the Sierra and continue my quest to finish the pct so I’ll be hiking 814 miles so I will definitely know how it performs… I’ll most likely do a 1,000 mile review of it after

[@grampakilt]

True story. My first generation Arc Blast was shipped to Canada by ZPacks in 2 large size Kellogg's Corn Flakes boxes telescoped together. Those were the days....GK

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Wow that’s crazy but yeah they were probably too small to be able to afford quality made boxes back then… do you know what year that is?

[@grampakilt]

@@MarmaladeOutdoors Methinks around 2012. GK

[@TheBser97]

Received my arc haul ultra in the mail yesterday. I went with the all black version. Seems to be super nice! I’m coming from an Osprey Atmos 65 - so a totally different direction with this pack. Looking forward to trying it out and seeing how it carries, since this is my first UL pack/ Zpack pack. Base wait is sitting at around 14 pounds (with my camera gear), so I think it’ll be a solid option! Spent months looking for a new pack. When this one came out, it was almost a calling! Super light, “ultra” tough materials, and plenty of space. I was worried the frame would be confusing/too much to worry about… but with the new pre-bend frame stays, it seems like this will be a non-issue

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Thanks for the nice message Billy, so as you heard me say in the video I’ve had the regular arc haul for about a year and like you was my first try at a truly ultra light pack and I honestly loved it. It’s very rare to find a UL pack that can carry weight well and this does. If you feel like it you can go to my playlist and choose my pct thru hike album and just watch from day 85 on because I’m using the arc haul in the Sierra Nevada mountains as well as did mount Whitney with it and it truly worked and felt great. To me this is the exact same pack just a tad lighter. If you remember let me know how your first test run goes… cheers

[@MylesAway3]

Great video, thanks for sharing. I just purchased this with the hopes I can carry a bv450 inside comfortably. We shall see!

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Hey Miles you totally can. I used the bv450 last year to finish the Sierra. I found the best way to put it in your pack is because it’s the heaviest thing in your pack, put it in the middle of your pack with the bottom of the canister towards your back. I pot my folded mattress out Jack in my pack between my back and canister so you don’t feel it. It worked perfectly. Thx for watching

[@MylesAway3]

@@MarmaladeOutdoors perfect! Thanks for the reply. I will for sure give that a try once it comes in. I have an arc blast, and it is just a little tight.

[@jacricci]

That looks like a great pack! Can't wait to see your video's when you use it the first time.

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Thanks so much Jacqueline, I have a three day backpacking trip at the end of this month in Joshua Tree National Park but will try and take it out before that just to test it out

[@jacricci]

@@MarmaladeOutdoors When is your start date for the PCT this year to try to finish?

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

@@jacricci not sure if you watched my videos on the pct last year but if you did I started at mile 702 Kennedy Meadows south and went north but had to get out near mammoth after about 3 weeks because they closed all the national forests in California. My permit start near the end of July to get back on trail near where I got off and continue north through the rest of the Sierra, go through the Lake Tahoe area and do the rest of the entire NorCal section. I want to do 812 miles and end 20 trail miles past the California and get off in Ashland Oregon. I will then have Mexico all the way to bend/sisters complete, and from the northern terminus down to stevens pass (middle of Washington) complete so only a little over 400 miles left which will be norther Oregon up to mid Washington

[@jacricci]

I have watched all your videos and look forward to watching whatever you have to post. Loved the video you made recently of the photos you took in the Sierras, I actually paused it & snapshot a few so I could save it in my gallery.

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

@@jacricci wow that’s very flattering thank you. I’m in the beginning stages of somebody helping me out a website together so I can put everything I do and the ways people can support the channel in one place. Also been asked many times if they could buy some of my pictures so I may have that on there as well. I only film with my iPhone so although the pictures turn out pretty clear, they can’t be blown up very large so they would better regular smaller sizes. Had such an incredible experience in the Sierra I was so bummed to have to get out. I had done all the really hard passes, lost weight and got my trail legs and just when I got to the trail wasn’t going to be as hard, boom… forest closure lol

[@wildwolf8983]

Now that it has been more than a year since you got your back pack, can you share pros and cons? I am still debating if I should get a zpack backpack or not.

[@jefferybyard8429]

Love my Arc Haul, when it finally gives out I'm sure this will be what I'll go with.. Just wondering if they'll come out with other colors later?

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Hi Jeff and great question. When I watched other KZbin channels researching this new material is seems like it’s already in other colors but just not readily available yet. I think certain colors only come in certain deniers right now but as it always does, I’m sure it will progress from here.

[@jiffijoff9780]

Great video and very helpful insights. Seems like a backpack to check. On a technical side: you might want to check your audio levels. The outdoor and voice over do have substantial difference in amplitude.

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Thank you and I agree but I’m recording the video and sound with my iPhone 11 Pro but just bought an inexpensive mic to better record voice overs. I film a lot of my gear reviews in a public park and this one was on a Saturday and it was super busy. There’s voices in the background you can hear but in the end I did the best I could. Thank you for watching

[@lancewasniewski2637]

Now that it has been a year, what do you think of the pack?

[@wolfeadventures]

Sweet! That material looks really fantastic. Can’t wait to see your review after some trail time.

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Thanks bud!

[@sharehikes8173]

How do you feel about the shoulder straps? I had the Archaul dyneema and the padding on the straps was not enough so had to order additional shoulder pads.

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Share yeah I understand what you’re saying. With my regular arc haul it for so well I had no problem with the passing in the shoulder straps padding but I have heard as you get the miles on the pack, the straps get compressed. I was just planning on buying the pads once I needed them. After getting about 3,000+ miles on my ULA Circuit the straps did the same thing. Hard not too with all that weight and compression on them.

[@glenndavis3676]

Now that you have the pack for a while just wondering how it's working out for you. Also are the belt pouches Ultra Black or Gray the same as the pack, hard to tell with the lighting. Thinking about purchasing one since Zpacks has it's fourth of July sale going on.

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Hi Glenn, so far I e really loved it. I’ve been on 5 three day trips with it so far and have loved it. I’m getting ready to do 814 miles with it on the PCT over two months so that will be a great test..the pouches are dark black but look shiny or grayish in the sun when I filmed this but yeah, their black

[@adventureswithfrickandfrack]

I like the new video opening. I am excited for this new material. It will be neat when they start making tents out of it. Great unboxing!!

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Thanks Kim & Jeff.. yeah it’s a pretty awesome material, I guess exceptionally tough agains scraping and snagging which we all know happens a ton on trail…

[@TheBser97]

I don't think tents will be made out of Ultra anytime soon. I read some articles where a guy did the math on what it would take for a Zpacks Duplex to be made from Ultra. On a pack, where material is fairly limited, the slight increase in weight only makes an Ultra pack around .5-1 oz heavier than Dyneema (which makes sense for the increased abrasion resistance). A tent, however, takes way more material. It was estimated that an Ultra version of the Zpacks tent would end up weighing around 5-6 pounds, and would cost well over $1,000, since Ultra is currently more expensive than Dyneema. Things may change in the future, but I think Dyneema tents are here to stay

[@TheHikingChick1]

Cool new pack...but it's not orange!!🤷‍♀️😁

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Lol trust me I wrestled with that fact… every pack I’ve had until had had orange, I thought “am I still Marmlade with a pack that’s not orange”? Lol you’re the only one to notice…

[@TheHikingChick1]

@@MarmaladeOutdoors function over fashion this time! A nice supply of orange shirts and jackets should do the trick.😉 P.S. cool new intro!

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

@@TheHikingChick1 thanks and I agree. Almost always have an orange bandana hanging off my day and regular backpacks so there’s that. Thanks on the intro, been designing a few of them and just changing them each time. Maybe one of them will be a clear winner lol

[@thejoeybadger9429]

Curious if anyone has actually put 40lbs in these packs? Like to know how they perform

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

I agree I wouldn’t only because I’ve gotten my base weight down pretty low so maximum with a lot of water and 4-5 days of food I’m only at 25ish pounds so yeah I have no idea. Remember this was just an unboxing and I had t used it yet. It was simply to show it and go over it specs. I have over 500 miles on it now (probably do a review of it) and have really enjoyed it except having a piece of graphite that connects the waste band to the pack break while I was on trail doing the pct. Had to hike almost 40 miles with all the weight on my shoulders. They did send a replacement piece right away so I could repair it so that’s good

[@mattheishman170]

I had a 50lb load in mine..did well..little uncomfortable but nothing to serious

[@enriquediaz7547]

Can you really get to the water bottles while wearing it?

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Hi Enrique, I’m not sure what you mean? Can you clarify?

[@enriquediaz7547]

@@MarmaladeOutdoors thanks! I had heard that the the side water bottle holders were positioned low & angled so that one could reach the water bottles *while* hiking/wearing the backpack. TIA

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

@@enriquediaz7547 oh yeah no problem, I have one smaller chest water bottle on it so I don’t have to reach back so much for water. I drink out of the one on my chest for awhile and when it’s empty I only have to fill it once in awhile

[@AngryWombat8]

audio level your opening video, it is so loud. About blew my ears off, lol!

[@MarmaladeOutdoors]

Hey sorry about that, I listened to it and it wasn’t too bad. I always pay attention to my sound levels so not if maybe whatever you were listening it through was turned up loud but I appreciate you watching!