Flex Capacitor - Expand Your Gear, Extend Your Adventures
Aug 11, 2023
The lightweight backpack of your dreams is here. Meet the versatile pack that hauls it all. The Flex Capacitor is a beast of backpacking pack, constructed from durable nylon for rough conditions in the backwoods and built with adjustability in mind. Loosen the expanding horizontal gussets for additional cargo capacity on longer backpacking trips, or cinch it tight for smaller, compact loads on fast summit days. Plus, ample quick-stash solutions on the straps, sides and bucket lid ensure there are plenty of places to store your mid- trail essentials. However, you pack it, the Y-Flex suspension adds support so this lightweight backpacking backpack can hit well above its weight class.
Features
- Lightweight Y-Flex Suspension provides superior increased support.
- Adjustable volume to tailor both to extended backpacking trips or shorter day trips.
- Hydration sleeve doubles as removable summit sack.
- Dual adjusting shoulder straps tailors pack fit to your torso.
- 2 hydration pockets on shoulder straps.
- 2 stretch mesh side pockets to keep essentials close at hand .
- Zippered hip belt pockets for easy storage.
- U-shaped top access zipper for easy access while backpacking.
- Lightweight backpack.
Weight
- S/M Torso: 2 lbs 12 oz / 1.23 kg
- M/L Torso: 3 lbs 2 oz / 1.4 kg
Materials
- 100D Nylon Honeycomb/420D Oxford
Our Verdict
Since hitting the market back in 2020, the flex capacitor has calved itself out a niche in the outdoor industry, a bag capable of expanding or contracting, depending on how much gear you are carrying, a truly unique feature that sets it apart from its counterparts; the bag has been a firm favourite here at UOG. The new and improved 2023 flex capacitor is now more user-friendly and more convenient on the trail.
The bag’s main addition is two large elasticated mesh pockets on the front of the bag; these are becoming standard with most rucksacks now, especially in the American market. These large, accommodating pockets are perfect for storing wet weather gear, sit pads, maps etc., and in the case of the 60-80l bag, even a 2-person shelter.
The expandable volume of the Flex Capacitor is its unique selling feature, where most expandable packs do so with a longer body; the Flex expands its circumference instead, making it a far more comfortable pack when fully opened. This also provides a far greater range than most of its competitors –the old flex capacitor could expand by 15L, which was truly impressive, whereas the new 2023 iteration can expand by 20L.
The 2023 Flex Capacitor keeps the U-shaped lid access to the pack body, a beautifully simple solution to the heavy lids featured on similar packs. It makes for a rucksack that is refreshingly easy to pack and surprisingly spacious, even when fully cinched down. The Flex Capacitor veritably swallows gear while still providing dedicated space for a hydration bladder and keeping a small zipped essentials pocket in the roof, ideal for navigation kits and snacks. The finishing touches are also present, the hip belt pockets are vast, and each shoulder strap has an additional stretchy pocket which is perfect for storing a water bottle or a mobile phone; it’s brilliant to see these come as standard and not an optional extra.
My only complaint is that the bag doesn’t look quite as striking as the other incarnational, but the 2023 Flex Capacitor 60-80L is the ideal solution to the age-old question of of "what size bag do i need to take?"
- Reviewed by Ultralight Outdoor Gear
The lightweight backpack of your dreams is here. Meet the versatile pack that hauls it all. The Flex Capacitors is a beast of backpacking pack, constructed from durable nylon for rough conditions in the backwoods and built with adjustability in mind. Loosen the expanding horizontal gussets for cargo capacity on longer backpacking trips, or cinch it tight for smaller, compact loads on fast summit days. Plus, ample quick-stash solutions on the straps, sides and bucket lid ensure there are plenty of places to store your mid- trail essentials. However, you pack it, the Y-Flex suspension adds support so this lightweight backpacking backpack can hit well above its weight class.