Outdoor Carbon Uke-looking for owners with opinions

niwenomian

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I have a tenor outdoor uke, which I love for any use that my #1 uke isn't suited for, like kayaking or travelling etc. I've taken it backpacking a few times and while it was ideal when I got to camp, I spent plenty of time wishing it was smaller and lighter.

For the 2021 backpacking season, I'd like to pick up a soprano for this purpose, but I don't really know whether the carbon version is worth the extra $. Sure, more durable sounds good, but I've been rough with my tenor and it was fine. Extra toughness is not a priority. The 15% brighter sounds pretty good to me, but I'd like to know if anyone owns a carbon and non-carbon and can vouch for the brighter sound. Is it worth the money? It would be better for me if it were same toughness as the non-carbon, but lighter! C'mon Outdoor, how about a UL version?
 
It's only $25 more so if you think you'd want a brighter sound, I'd go for it.
You might also want to consider that a soprano will be naturally much brighter than your tenor regardless of material.
 
The idea that something can sound "15% brighter" is marketing nonsense. 15% brighter than what?

I have an Argapa backpacker uke. It's great fun, if a little limited.

If I wanted a proper uke, I'd take a Mahalo/Makala/whatever cheapie. It will be fine, but if you lose it (far more likely than breaking it on a camping trip), not the end of the world.
 
The idea that something can sound "15% brighter" is marketing nonsense. 15% brighter than what?

If I wanted a proper uke, I'd take a Mahalo/Makala/whatever cheapie. It will be fine, but if you lose it (far more likely than breaking it on a camping trip), not the end of the world.

:agree:

VCS700S did a comparison, see: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DbhxxrklbYQ . Meets the spec of owner with opinion. Plus his threads:
https://forum.ukuleleunderground.co...rbon-Soprano-Ukulele&highlight=Review+outdoor
https://forum.ukuleleunderground.co...door-Soprano-Ukulele&highlight=Review+outdoor


It’s your money and you might have plenty to spend; if you’ve got plenty to spend and money to waste then why not just take a gamble and do it? Personally I wouldn’t spend the extra on Carbon and don’t see brighter as an advantage either, the extra strength is surely just more valueless ‘overkill’. Price-wise I believe that the basic OU Sopranos were once sold for a little under 100 dollars, but you decide how reasonable the current price is (starts at 125 IIRC) and what value they give you. I’m of the mind that a well set-up second hand cheap and robust laminate is a far more sensible purchase than an OU. I’m loving my secondhand, cheap and tough Mahalo U30; Dolphins can sound fine enough too and they have a reputation for (high) durability - both just need a bit of easy enough setting-up. If you’re worried about water or other damage then common general purpose protective bags - dry bags even - big enough to hold a Soprano are neither heavy or expensive ... ymmv.

I don’t know about Uke weights and how important that is to you, but IIRC somewhere there is a list of Soprano weights and it might include some cheap laminates. (This might be a start: https://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?97353-comparing-soprano-weight-list ) I understand that the Soprano OU’s weigh 420 grams, from: https://www.outdoorukulele.com/collections/ukuleles/products/outdoor-ukulele-soprano-brown-1 & https://www.outdoorukulele.com/collections/ukuleles/products/outdoor-ukulele-soprano-carbon-nickel. Ditching geared tuners in favour of some cheap - but made to be functional - friction tuners will save you some grams. If I wanted a light Uke then at 420 grams the OU would be beaten by a big percentage of the traditional style solid and laminate wood instruments; the Tenor OU’s are 790 grams so any Soprano is a relatively large weigh saving.

The lightest Uke option is not taking one, and the lightest Uke that is taken might well sound naff and so be a waste of money and effort. Pick carefully, you don’t necessarily have to spend a lot on getting something that will do the job well enough.
 
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Seems to me the 15% claim would be vs. the original polycarbonate version. I think peteymack also did a YouTube comparison of the 2, not sure what size. Durability is the bigger selling point for outdoor ukes, so if you value/prioritize light weight over that, there may be better options.
 
For $20, go for it, sounds like it's what you want...:shaka:
 
I don’t own either of those soprano Outdoor Ukes but I have played both back to back. Yes the carbon is brighter sounding, I thought I would like brighter sounding but I preferred the standard models tone. I do prefer a warmer tone over all and have sold off many “bright” sounding ukes so take that for what it is worth.

The carbon just has chopped up carbon fiber in the mix, it’s not a real carbon fiber lay up. The weight listed on their website is 15 oz for both models so it’s the same weight as the standard
 
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Well I personally think the use of carbon fibers in place of glass in these ukes is mostly hype. But if you really are backpacking, you might think about the effect of having a dark uke rather than a light colored one. If you keep the uke buried inside your pack it won't matter, but if you actually kept it tied on the outside (like the photos) I would think the black colored "carbon" uke might get awfully hot during the day compared with the clear model.
 
Some actual weights, FYI:
my non-carbon brown soprano outdoor ukulele - 427gm
son's $35 laminate kmise (without the gig bag) - 393gm

the kmise kmu laminates are great "beater" ukes imo
 
It strikes me that if you have a uke tied to the outside of a bag, the strings will catch on stuff anyway. Ukes are not practical like that.

I have an Argapa traveller uke. That's quite good fun if you just want to play on your own. It's good fun and would fit in a backpack.

I still reckon a laminate is as good as anything for that purpose.
 
Have had OU, MF, Watermans, Enya. For backpacking/kayaking/max portability, I might personally go with Enya Nova Mini $60, esp if backpacking solo, for space reasons.
Was def not a jump-on-Enya-Nova bandwagon type & hate buying from Amazon. And really like OU & feel their instruments are worth the cost.

The ENM is a thin body w/ mild arched back & has more than expected volume, relatively speaking. I sincerely appreciate compensated saddles, especially on small ukes. The enclosed shell case would come in handy IMO, since if backpacking, I'd likely lash an instrument to the outside, than slip in crammed pack...
That said, can't go wrong w a burly OU soprano. On the OU tenor, I did long for a side port, but other than that, quite liked it. And based on playing OU instruments their guitar is quite tempting, since I often miss those bottom 2 strings.

OU unlikely to come out w UL, as UL is inversely related to durability, generally speaking.

Neither are 100% CF. My ENM came with end button & significantly lighter strings than OU's D'Addarios.

TONS of Nova & Nova Mini reviews on YT, so if one can stand the too-much-talking most of them have, they can help w decisions.

Two videos I like (allow room for very different robustness of playing):
OU (singing is distractingly good) https://youtu.be/S9cI-Z6i_aQ?t=76
Enya Nova Mini https://youtu.be/XdVpTrOTTPs?t=316

Would also consider the Nova concert, even for backpacking/camping. Comp of the 2 Novas. https://youtu.be/PTlXJ19UOPs?t=45

I have a tenor outdoor uke, which I love for any use that my #1 uke isn't suited for, like kayaking or travelling etc. I've taken it backpacking a few times and while it was ideal when I got to camp, I spent plenty of time wishing it was smaller and lighter.
 
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I have a beater laminate Mitchell ukulele that I bought for ~$30 USD and strung with Aquila strings. I backpack and camp with it all the time. Go to an outdoors store and ask them for an extra sleeping bag or small tent case, and use this to be a uke bag to tie to the outside of your normal backpack. You need the wind & weather protection. I’m sure the outdoor ukes are all great, but my cheapo laminate takes care of my needs when I am far from civilization. Hard to quibble with small intonation / sound issues when you are surrounded by nature.
 
Just dropped back in and have to say that this is why I love the UU community. Loads of really good, thoughtful responses. I've watched the videos and considered all of the suggestions, and I can see that my initial question, "OU or OU carbon" is a false choice. I really liked the weight list that Graham Greenbag posted. I'll add laminate back into the mix. Super helpful to see all of the ukes lighter than the OU. I really enjoyed the OU vs. OU carbon comparison video and I don't really think the carbon sounds any better to me whatever the price point. Also, several made the point about the color. I've carried my uke inside the pack in the past, but could strap it to the outside too, a lightweight DCF sack will give weather and snag protection.

Saw several references to Argapa travel ukes. Is this a UK based brand? I found a blog of the same name, but none for sale. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
 
Just dropped back in and have to say that this is why I love the UU community. Loads of really good, thoughtful responses. I've watched the videos and considered all of the suggestions, and I can see that my initial question, "OU or OU carbon" is a false choice. I really liked the weight list that Graham Greenbag posted. I'll add laminate back into the mix. Super helpful to see all of the ukes lighter than the OU. I really enjoyed the OU vs. OU carbon comparison video and I don't really think the carbon sounds any better to me whatever the price point. Also, several made the point about the color. I've carried my uke inside the pack in the past, but could strap it to the outside too, a lightweight DCF sack will give weather and snag protection.

Saw several references to Argapa travel ukes. Is this a UK based brand? I found a blog of the same name, but none for sale. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

I’m glad that you found our collective responses helpful. In terms of practical purposes I personally don’t believe that an OU has anything particularly useful to offer over a typical laminate, but ymmv.

[Edit. If you use the search function and look through some old threads then you’ll get some pointers on alternatives for camping and beaters. Fleas are a bit pricy but ‘indestructible’ and sound very good (play them both at home and on the trail), second hand laminates can be very cheap and can be made to sound and play just fine. Something like an old Lanikai LU21 or Kala KA-S would be good and they’re better sounding than a (still perfectly adequate) Dolphin. Like I said earlier I’m loving my old and well set-up Mahalo U30 - I’m not so keen on their other Sopranos though.
Here are examples of such a threads, they’re dated but the answers are still relevant: https://forum.ukuleleunderground.co...-Ukulele-for-a-Camping-Trip&highlight=Camping
https://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?100583-Do-You-Have-A-Beater-Uke&highlight=Beater
]

The Argapa travel Ukes have a small but loyal following, a search of Sven’s blog should identify them more and he has some you tube videos up too. Sven is a hobby builder, he makes good stuff and I’d love one of his Sopranos but am reluctant to spend the (significant but fair) sum required ... I’ve already got too many Ukes too. The travel Ukes have a shorter than Soprano scale and are open backed, they suit some folk but not others, they’re maybe ideal for a hotel room. The video shows his range of Ukes and he makes resonators too.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KJtN_EuOsbQ
 
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...The lightest Uke option is not taking one...

Very true, of all the times I've brought a uke on the trail I never played as much as I thought I would or should given the sacrifice to haul the thing around. However, almost without exception, the times that I don't bring a uke I think about it constantly. Obsessively. Last summer, I was on the Pacific Crest Trail for a few days and didn't bring a uke with me, so of course I'm thinking about it all day long. When I reached my end point for the day, I set my pack down to go hang a bear bag and by the time I got back (10 min tops) a couple had set up their tent right next to my intended spot. We chatted for a bit and when they realized we were double booked there, they invited me to join them saying they were going to make pasta and play the ukulele. I set up the tent and played for a good hour while they cooked. It was perfect.

So the very best option is to have someone else bring the uke! A nice heavy one that sounds great. Can't get any lighter than that. Plan B is to bring something that is in the sweet spot between light in weight and good sounding.
 
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Flights are heavy...can't recall the exact # but the TUS I had weighed as much as (or slightly more than?) my solid mahogany concerts.
 
Bill, this is a really good post. I appreciate all of the points you've made, especially about the reasons to leave the ukulele behind. This one well and truly hits home. I've lugged my uke for miles on the trail and hardly played. I took a uke on a trip to Europe a few years back and hardly played. Leaving things behind is really what backpacking is all about to me; figuring out what is needed for survival and basic comfort and letting the rest go. Music certainly isn't needed. The uke would be a luxury, and a pricy one at that, weight-wise. Leaving the uke behind would mean each step along the journey would be a bit easier, and without the option of playing, my time would have to be spent on other things.

I won't be around large groups of people, but can expect a few others beyond my hiking crew at communal campsites here and there. In the past, my friends have encouraged me to play some songs when we hit the campspots, but I am very sensitive to the idea that music in general and my music specifically may not be everyones cup of tea. I've read through discussions in the backpacking community where music at camp sites is frowned upon because it really doesn't give the chance to opt out for those who prefer not to have their solitude polluted by someone else's idea of music. I get this, I feel the same way when encountering someone on the trail with music playing through a speaker. My mind automatically jumps to its condescending tone of voice "Don't they want to hear all the....nature....around them?" I also wonder this about the quiet ones who pass by with headphones in, but at least they aren't forcing their playlist on me. Everyone should hike their own hike, as they say, but also be aware of your impact on others who seek to do the same.
 
As ever Bill makes some excellent points, read and note them ‘cause he usually takes his posts down after a few days. Now just to give a little balance to the not invalid ‘leave it at home’ argument.

The OP has carried a circa 800 grams Tenor around to a lot of places, that’s not an insignificant amount of bulk and weight for a backpacker and particularly tiresome if you don’t always use the instrument. In comparison something that will do the job ‘just as well’ (ie. a Soprano) is very much less bulky and circa 400 grams (so half the Tenor’s weight). From what I read in earlier posts I’d have said that the OP will get enough pleasure back from a Soprano to make taking one worthwhile for him. The hassle and physical effort of carrying the Uke would roughly halve whilst the pleasure of playing would be the same or more - ymmv but I find that Sopranos are just more fun to play and easier to have around.

When we go away from home we take both things that we know we will need and things that we might need. Extra food, extra fuel, extra cloths, extra water and the first aid kit fall into the might be needed category and we’d think ourselves foolish not to take them for they are important to ensuring our physical well-being. Likewise we have mental well-being to consider, in that context and in support of the all round pleasure of a trip away a Soprano Uke is arguably not too burdensome to carry ... but I could understand that a Tenor might be.
 
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I have an OU Tenor and both Enya Nova mini and concert. The mini is very light and also slim - much more carry friendly. It's also 14" scale length so half way between a concert and soprano making it more playable for me. And at $60, a considerable cost saving to a OU (and it comes with a case, tuner etc).

Both my daughter and I have OU Tenors and these are our beaters we use in the house, in the garden or by the pool (or if someone wants to "have a go"). If I'm leaving the house, it's the Enya mini I take.

https://www.gotaukulele.com/2020/11/enya-nova-u-mini-soprano-ukulele-review.html
 
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