Exokifaru Franken Pack 3500 and 5500

[SHTF]

Huge thanks to Mauidiver for sending me his 3500 bag and buying a Kifaru Frame so we could try this. It works so well I purchased a exo 5500 bag to attach to my Kifaru Tactical Ultralight.

Franken pack part 3 Kifaru Ultralight and tactical frame and Exo Mountain gear 3500 and 5500 bags.

Question: Will the Exo Mountain Gear 3500 and 5500 fit on the Kifaru Frame?


Answer: Yes they do. They fit together like they where made for each other!!!

What do I need to buy to make this work?

1. youll need a set of Kclip compression kit from Kifaru: https://store.kifaru.net/kits-p32.aspx
2. Slotted SR Female set of 4 buckles https://store.kifaru.net/web-management-and-buckle-sets-p144.aspx
3. Set of 4 Adjustable male SR buckles https://store.kifaru.net/web-management-and-buckle-sets-p144.aspx
4 Pair of Quick attach triglides https://www.mcnett.com/gearaid/tri-glide-quick#80215





This was an easy one to put together. Only challenge I had with this was if you put your game between frame and bag to pack it out youll need to talk to Steve at Exo Mountain about sending another set of lid straps for the back side of bag. Or you can use a couple of carabiners to for the back of the lid to attach to the sleeve. It works fine but if your not into that then youll need to be able to sew on the straps.

Exo Bag has a sleeve at the top of the bag and it fits perfectly over the Kifaru frame. No issue no modifications needed. It even has the cutout exactly where you need it to be. The 26 inch load lifter loop fits perfect also. if you are a fan of the 24 inch load Lifter loop then your going to need to cut a slot in the Sleeve of the Exo Bag you choose.



At the bottom of the bag you use the included compression straps on the Exo bags. They run through the kifaru bar tac's on the bottom of the frame. and attach to the Exo Bag.



For the Compression Straps on each side ofthe bag. If you know Exo Frames, They have their Compression straps sewn in to the frame. So you have to replace those to run from Kifaru Frame to the Exo Bag. A Bit of cutting is done here with some stout dikes to remove the Exo Buckle off the bag itself.





That is done in 4 places on the Exo Bag. Once you remove them you can save them if you cut them clean as they can be reused for other applications but are not neccessary to keep.

The K Clip compression Straps come with Theses adjustable SR buckles



You remove them and add the Famale Slotted SR buckles with the male counterpart.

 

[SHTF]

Attach these in the 4 spots on the Exo Bag and run it to the Frame connection points. Remember to go higher then the buckle placement on the bag. This helps to keep the bag tight to the frame.









The Exo Lid was the part that was the most challanging with this. Exo keeps the 3/4 inch straps for the back of the lid connected to their frame. So it doesnt come with the Exo Bag when you order it. If you request it with steve and for a small Fee he will include an extra set of lid straps with buckles in with your bag. For the Foilage 3500 I didnt do that. I use the quick connect triglides to connect the back of the lid right to the bar tac where your load lift straps connect. I cut off the back buckles of the lid. Run the 3/4 material where the buckle attaches through these bar tack's and then sealed the deal with the quick connect triglides. If you dont plan to take pack much between the frame and bag then this will work perfect.






If you do plan to do alot of Frame packing and want to keep the lid attach to the bag then I would go with Caribiners as this was the perfect solution to keeping the back of the lid attached to the bag when you have the bag away from the frame.

 

[SHTF]

Here is the Load Shelf Added a couple Ghooks to the Shelf to attach to the Kifaru Frame here.










Exo 5500 Bag this one is mine. I attached it to my Kifaru Ultralight Tactical Duplex. I couldnt believe how well this worked with the 3500 I knew I had to have a 5500. THis is what I will be using for next year's trips. Everything I described above applies in making this works. Only difference for me is I wanted to use my Guide Lid and Kifaru Grabit on my Exo Bag.

For the guide lid I had some straps laying around that I used to run through the bar tac at the top of the frame and just threaded those into the guide lid. Freaky how well this all went together. Guide lid attached to the bottom of the Kifaru Frame then run the straps up like you would if you where using your grab it on just the frame.

 

[SHTF]

Few photos of the 5500 and 3500 together.

Also anyone that thinks the 5500 is to small? This bag is huge.. Alot bigger then 5500 CI. I would say with snow collar and the side pockets its closer to 7200 CI. Its just a big well thought out bag. Add the Guide lid and I believe your over 8000 CI but I could be wrong this is me guessing.

 

[SHTF]

Was getting dark in this photo

 

[Matt W.]

Dang, you certainly put some effort in on that! Out of curiosity, what didn't you like about the Exo frame?

 

[SHTF]

Matt,

I had a 2014 Frame and bag before. I had some fit issues that didnt work for me. Belt was to small and it was a large. and Im only a size 40 waist. I know Lenny and steve came out with some great changes including the Large belts being Large. So Im sure they would work on me now but I already had the Kifaru Ultralight tactical so this made sense.

 

[Matt W.]

Cool, interesting project. Glad you got something that works for you.

 

[mauidiver]

High country, about the frame? Nothing!! The 2015 frame was great. I blame it all on SHTF for telling me it could be done. I just want to try all these frames and see which is best for me. There was nothing wrong at all with EXO frame, I just like to try em all. Can I be a double fan boy? I thank SHTF for doing this for me and posting for you guys to try if you wish. Can't wait to slap that baby on my back!!

 

[mrbillbrown]

High Country, you'll find plenty of differences between the fit and feel of the EXO frame and the Kifaru frames. Non-USA made components, overall smaller and thinner materials used, and a metal frame covered in fabric all lend themselves to a lesser feel from the EXO frame when it's in your hand or on your back. From a side by side comparison there is no comparison between the EXO and the Kifaru.

 

[camping1601]

Looks like I have an EXO frame for sale.

Curious why you had to cut the buckle off the exo bag. Could you not get a compatible strap?

 

[SHTF]

Looks like I have an EXO frame for sale.

Curious why you had to cut the buckle off the exo bag. Could you not get a compatible strap?

Much easier to just replace the entire setup buckles and all instead of trying to find a buckle that will work with Exo Buckles. Youll see what I mean when you go to make your own =-). With the way I did it above you can now take off the compression strap setup all together and use it on the frame which gives you a huge advantage when packing stuff with just the frame and no bag. These Compression straps double as your frame straps when bag is not in use.

 

[dotman]

Looks like I have an EXO frame for sale.

Curious why you had to cut the buckle off the exo bag. Could you not get a compatible strap?

EXO buckles do not work with ITW nexus buckles that are the best buckle out and what Kifaru uses. I learned that lesson when I put an EXO 3500 on a bikini, got my perfectly good quality ITW male buckle stuck in a cheap EXO buckle.

FYI... The EXO bag fits the bikini really well as well, the biggest thing I didn't like is how noisy the EXO bag is compared to Kifaru, think it is because of the xpac material to make it waterproof.

 

[SHTF]

besides when I pull out the snow collar I really dont notice much difference between Kifaru and the Exo in the noise department. when Im rumaging around in the bag is when I do hear it a bit more.

My big points and why I really like the Exo bags are 1 the drink pockets, the big front pocket with stretch material is also awesome and I also dig how the bag tapers down on the bottom of the bag. The velcro ditty system is also pretty slick. Lots Steve and Lenny got right in my book on the bags. It just works for me.

 

[camping1601]

With putting my 2015 exo 5500 bag on a UL Duplex it sounds like it is best to use the 26'' frame? Would that frame work for me at 5'10''?

Thanks for all your work and help on this.

 

[hammer0419]

Awesome work!! Definitely going to get a 5500 for my new UL duplex. I knew it would be an easy thing to go. The Kifaru frames have so many connection points it makes things easy. When I had a Bikini frame I used it with a Mystery Ranch pack and it worked flawless. I ordered my new UL with a Mountain Rambler which I have night hopes for. The 5500 will be for long trips.

 

[sojourner]

Much easier to just replace the entire setup buckles and all instead of trying to find a buckle that will work with Exo Buckles. Youll see what I mean when you go to make your own =-). With the way I did it above you can now take off the compression strap setup all together and use it on the frame which gives you a huge advantage when packing stuff with just the frame and no bag. These Compression straps double as your frame straps when bag is not in use.

You don't HAVE to cut off the EXO buckles and replace them if you'd rather not. You can just put the appropriate Exo male buckles onto whatever compression straps you use (or make). I've heard people say on here that if you contact Exo, they will sell you buckles for cheap. Otherwise they are a lot harder to find than the ITW nexus buckles. What you want to search for is Rock Lockster Side Release Buckles made by Duraflex. I've found them when I was attaching a HPG Tarahumara to my Exo frame

 

[dotman]

J

besides when I pull out the snow collar I really dont notice much difference between Kifaru and the Exo in the noise department. when Im rumaging around in the bag is when I do hear it a bit more.

My big points and why I really like the Exo bags are 1 the drink pockets, the big front pocket with stretch material is also awesome and I also dig how the bag tapers down on the bottom of the bag. The velcro ditty system is also pretty slick. Lots Steve and Lenny got right in my book on the bags. It just works for me.

I did like the he layout and updating buckles is cheap, I agree nothing major needs to change other then the noise factor for me

 

[dotman]

With putting my 2015 exo 5500 bag on a UL Duplex it sounds like it is best to use the 26'' frame? Would that frame work for me at 5'10''?

Thanks for all your work and help on this.

Yup the 26" will work for sure, Becca M uses one and she is 5'3" or something.

 

[SHTF]

You don't HAVE to cut off the EXO buckles and replace them if you'd rather not. You can just put the appropriate Exo male buckles onto whatever compression straps you use (or make). I've heard people say on here that if you contact Exo, they will sell you buckles for cheap. Otherwise they are a lot harder to find than the ITW nexus buckles. What you want to search for is Rock Lockster Side Release Buckles made by Duraflex. I've found them when I was attaching a HPG Tarahumara to my Exo frame

Yeah you can also leave the buckles on and just get the ones I listed above. They can still fit on the 1 inch webbing leaving the exo buckles intact if you think you may want to resell the 5500/3500 bag. That would work also. I cut them off because myself and Mauidiver knew we werent changing bags at this point. As a matter of fact if you do leave the Exo Buckles in place, use the Kifaru ITW Buckles, you then have an extra way to attach things if you get the matching male buckles. Im running my guide lid on the exo 5500. That Exo Lid though is sure a handy pocket. Im thinking of attaching it on the face of the pack where the stretch material is. But then I also I have a Tarahumara from HPG and a Highlander.