I first stumbled on Ultra Light Adventure Equipment when I picked up their Catalyst pack about 4 years ago. I LOVE that pack http://robonza.blogspot.com/2016/02/review-ultralight-equipment-catalyst.html . We’ve had a lot of adventures together. Well They made a smaller day pack/longer day pack called the Photon and I have been using it on a lot of day hikes summer and winter and love it. At 35 liters it has plenty of room for food, camera and layers.
Some of the features I love, two pockets for Nalgene 1Q bottles. I use them along with a bladder, which it has a sleeve and port for on my long days. The criss cross bungee is perfect for that outer layer you keep taking on and off and the sleeve behind it for other quick access items.
The ULA Photon fits great fully loaded or partially loaded thanks to the shoulder straps and waist belt. The belt has built in pockets and the easiest to use adjustment of any pack I’ve owned. ULA makes this easy by offering the pack in different sizes for torso length, hip belt and strap style.
The shoulder straps feature elastic cords for water bottles, I tend to use them my SPOT tracker and guiding me hydration hose. Like other ULA packs the shoulder straps include handy wrist straps which are great on a long hike.
With a roll top closure you can expand the pack to hold tons of gear, or snug it down tight when you are wearing all of your extra layers. The buckles are large and can be used with heavy mountaineering mitts on.
I’ve even used it fat biking as it has room to hold all the extra layers you need during shoulder season.
Basically there is nothing to improve on this perfect long day/peak bagging pack. You should pick one up if you are in the market for a new pack.
ULA Says: https://www.ula-equipment.com/product/photon/
The Photon is the little brother of the CDT, our most basic backpack. With nearly 35 liters of available space, 10 liters smaller than the CDT, it is suitable for dayhikes and any distance backcountry forays.