3F UL Gear Qidian Pro Review: Half-Price Ultralight, Half-Measure Comfort

There's no frame at all. The back panel is a sleeve for a folded foam sleeping pad, and that pad, plus the tension of the pack body, is the whole suspension. OutdoorGearLab fit a full-size closed-cell foam pad in the sleeve.

OutdoorGearLab's comfort complaints are specific. It calls the load lifters somewhat impotent, and says the hipbelt is padded only at the ends, not around the lumbar, so it can't put much weight on your hips. It also found more straps than on most packs it has tested, regularly in the way and fluttering in the wind. Its comfort score was 5 out of 10.

The load lifters are the detail that made me wince. OutdoorGearLab says they only play an ornamental role: without a stiff frame or a supportive belt, they cinch the front of the roll top rather than pull the pack toward your shoulders. Two straps, one job, and not the job the name promises. It also says the foam-pad attachment pushes the pack a bit far from your body, with some straps lying uncomfortably against your back.

Then sizing. It comes in one torso size, which 3F UL Gear rates for roughly 170 to 190 cm of height. OutdoorGearLab's male tester with a 32 in waist found the hipbelt almost too long. In fact the two ends of the belt practically touched at the center. OutdoorGearLab's conclusion: it will most certainly be too big for a waist under 32 in, unless you carry a particularly thick foam pad behind it. If you're small, that's the reason to skip it, and no strap adjustment fixes it.

My read on load: with no frame and a hipbelt that doesn't wrap the lumbar, keep it light. Under 20 lb total is where a pack like this makes sense. That's my judgment, not a number OutdoorGearLab measured.

OutdoorGearLab's own conclusion is blunt: despite the price, it isn't comfortable or adjustable enough for them to recommend. I'm a little more generous, for one reader. If your base weight is already under 10 lb, your loads stay under 20, the one size fits you, and price decides it, the Qidian Pro is a working sub-2 lb, 50-plus-liter pack in the $100-115 band on October 16, 2026.

Here's the comparison that changes the math. In the same OutdoorGearLab table, the Durston Kakwa 55 weighed 31.0 oz. The Qidian Pro weighed 31.0 oz. Identical. The Kakwa has a frame, comes in S, M and L, and costs more. OutdoorGearLab says the Kakwa offers much better value for its comfort and ease of use. If you can stretch the budget, that's the pack I'd look at first. OutdoorGearLab also names the Granite Gear Crown3 60 as an almost ideal entry-level ultralight pack, with a plastic back sheet for support.

Two more from the same table and nearby reviews. The Zpacks Arc Haul Ultra weighed 21.8 oz, much lighter and much pricier. And the Osprey Exos 58, a framed pack listed in the high $200s on Osprey's site, is about two and a half times the Qidian's price, with a big-brand guarantee behind it.