Seek Outside Flight One Review

[thegoosano]

I recently purchased a SO Flight One pack for summer scouting trips, and after a couple months of waiting I’m putting it to the test this weekend.

For those that don’t know much about this pack, it’s an internal frame, 36oz (2lb 4oz), 3700ci (61L), ultralight backpacking pack with a load rating of 50lbs max depending on your build. I have the 24” frame, but it’s also available in 22”. Based in their chart the Max recommended carry for me is 40lbs. My bag is the full spectra version, but an X-Pac/Spectra hybrid is also available.

My total pack weight for the weekend including spotting scope, tripod, bear spray (lots of bears in this area, usually don’t take it but had some risky situations last year), water, food, camera gear, trail cams, etc is 30.9lbs on my scale. A good weight to put the setup through its paces.

My route will start at about 9300ft elevation going up to roughly 12800ft, about 13mi I’m expecting each way. Ouch my legs already hurt.

Here are a few photos of the pack ready to get thrown in the truck. I’ll report more when I get back with a breakdown of things I did, and didn’t like. I hope most things are stacked in the “like” category.

If you want any specific info about this pack drop a comment on here or PM me!

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[Dirtydan]

Just did a 23 mile overnight last weekend with about 19lbs with mine. Love the frame and comfort once I ditched the intrusion spreader bar. Overall I like the pack but absolutely hate having to wear a harness bottle pocket to access water without removing the pack. The Flight Two solves this problem and I may sell mine and upgrade. Anxious to hear how you like it.

 

[i8urcat]

That is super light? How much are they?

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[mtwarden]

I’ve probably got close to a 1000 miles with mine. Lots of positives- near waterproof fabric, hauls heavier loads than similar weight packs, very comfy shoulder straps and hip belt, probably the nicest (and roomy) hip belt pockets I’ve ever seen, roomy front and side pockets.

If you have a shorter torso you’ll be golden, if you have a longer torso you’ll wish the frame was longer. There is a fix, but takes some sewing skills (see long thread on backpackinglight.com). The hip belt while comfy is too long even in the smallest size (fixed in v2) and due to the design will collapse some under heavier loads.

It’s a great pack and my go to pack for other than hunting.

 

[Rokwiia]

Congratulations. Fine-looking pack and curious to hear how it carries at 30lbs.

That is super light? How much are they?

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Yes, I would say so. What lighter-weight packs do you suggest that can carry 40lbs comfortably?

 

[thegoosano]

I wasn’t able to do my full route due to snow but the miles I did put on the pack I was super impressed. I’ll update this after I really put it through the paces but here are first impressions:

Things I didn’t like:

1. Water bottle pocket access. As others mentioned on here it’s difficult to access the water bottles with the pack on. If this is a concern go with the updated Flight Two pack.

2. The frame could have been a bit taller. The longer I hiked the more I noticed the bag sagging. It wasn’t horrible and was very manageable with 31lbs but anything over that and I’d be pushing it for long hikes. I have a 21” torso for reference so I should probably try to modify the pack to a 26” frame. It should be easy by adding some .166 ID arrow extensions into the frame.

Things I did like:

1. Super comfy. Even with the sagging my shoulders and waist were never uncomfortable. The load just felt off.

2. The hip belt pockets were amazingly huge and easy to access.

3. The stuff pocket on the face is nicely pleated and oversized for tons of room for on the go items. I fit my SG Grumman, butt pad, down gloves, buff, and merino gloves in it.

4. So light. This same setup with my kifaru just feels bigger, bulkier and heavier. I felt so mobile and light all day with this guy.

After my next full trip when the snow melts a little I’ll update this with more info!


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[mtwarden]

peruse the Flight thread on bpl, there is a pretty in depth discussion on how to lengthen the frame (it does take some sewing, but nothing crazy)

I wish they would make one length longer frame, a 26" would be perfect

 

[thegoosano]

peruse the Flight thread on bpl, there is a pretty in depth discussion on how to lengthen the frame (it does take some sewing, but nothing crazy)

I wish they would make one length longer frame, a 26" would be perfect

I’ll definitely check it out thanks for the pointer!

One cool thing I have played with is reducing the frame to 22” by removing the little 2”aluminum extension inside of the tube frame. Seek Outside says to not do this on their site, but I did it for my wife who has a very short torso length and it worked great.

I also did a little mod by swapping out the aluminum extensions with carbon extensions from 0.166ID arrows. Works awesome and saves a few ounces.


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[thegoosano]

That is super light? How much are they?

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The spectra X-Pac version is $299

The full spectra version is $319

The Flight Two has the same pricing structure.

And yes I would say these are ultralight. For comparison, something like the hyperlite mountain gear Southwest 3400 which is made from Dyneema is 2lbs 3oz, almost the exact same weight with slightly less volume and same load rating. The flight packs are very impressive stacked up against the competition.


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[mtwarden]

I think the frame on the Flight kicks pretty much any of the other maker’s butts. It’s easy to say you can carry 40 lbs with a pack, it’s something totally different to actually be able to carry that weight comfortably. Flight I think is in a class by itself.

 

[thegoosano]

I had the pack out again over Memorial Day, but this time my wife was using it since I was the Sherpa for our toddler in his child carrier .

My wife was extremely happy with how it carried. The fact this pack has the adjustability to go from fitting a 6’-3” tall, 200lb, 34” waist, 21”+ torso man to fitting a 5’-7”, 115lb, 17” torso woman is just amazing. She had about 20lbs in the bag and was very comfortable, with zero complaints (and she knows how to complain ).

I will say that the spectra was less waterproof than I imagined. Seek does not claim for it to be, so I should have expected this, so that’s on me. We got hailed/sleeted on for 2-3hrs and the contents in the bag were wet. Not soaked, but definitely wet. Just something to consider for those people on the fence between the spectra and the X pac versions.

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[mtwarden]

I just finished up with a three day trip across the Bob Marshall with my Flight, still very impressed with this pack. Carries better than any other pack I’ve owned in this weight class.

The Xpac is very (very) water resistant, also very tough. We had to negotiate a ton of blowdown and much of route was off trail bushwhacking, it’s holding up great.

 

[thegoosano]

Thanks for the review on the Xpac version [mention]mtwarden [/mention]! Looks like you’re putting that pack to good use.

I was able to finally get up to set trail cams and did a 20mi day with the pack and was extremely happy with it. Comfortable all day, zero snags, rips, abrasion issues, straps stayed tight, no sag with my 20lb load, and just generally enjoyable all around.

For those wanting easy water access with this bag, the marsupial shoulder strap pocket (solid) does great with a small water bottle, I use a 750ml life water.

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