2018 Exo Pack?

[Steel4sam]

Anyone hear of any changes or mods to 2018 packs?

 

[colersu22]

I talked to Steve on the phone the other day and he made it seem like the only change is on the belt, it sounded like it was going set up like the Kifaru belt with the power pull style to tighten the belt.

 

[BRTreedogs]

Idk ether just seen that on the born raised video when they mentioned testing for some planned upgrades.
Hopefully it's a cheap easy retrofit cause I'm kinda heart broke I just spent what feels like a life savings just to hear an upgrade. Lol I like the pack ether way but will be a little disappointed.

 

[colersu22]

Idk ether just seen that on the born raised video when they mentioned testing for some planned upgrades.
Hopefully it's a cheap easy retrofit cause I'm kinda heart broke I just spent what feels like a life savings just to hear an upgrade. Lol I like the pack ether way but will be a little disappointed.

They have tweeked the packs or frame every year since they started. I wouldn't be to worried about it, I was calling to see if there was changes to see if I should get a 2017 or wait for the 2018.

 

[Steel4sam]

Yes I thought I’d heard the same thing.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

Idk ether just seen that on the born raised video when they mentioned testing for some planned upgrades.
Hopefully it's a cheap easy retrofit cause I'm kinda heart broke I just spent what feels like a life savings just to hear an upgrade. Lol I like the pack ether way but will be a little disappointed.

I understand your feelings but, with a quality product like EXO, you might find their upgrade to be a personal preference thing of the field testers and, not so much an upgrade. There are some serious hunters here that truly love their EXO packs the way they were. So, get the pack you ordered, put some miles on it and see what you think about it as is. You might just have the perfect pack as is. God Bless

 

[doverpack12]

Idk ether just seen that on the born raised video when they mentioned testing for some planned upgrades.
Hopefully it's a cheap easy retrofit cause I'm kinda heart broke I just spent what feels like a life savings just to hear an upgrade. Lol I like the pack ether way but will be a little disappointed.

You should be able to add on a power pull. I have some from OV innovations or something like that with a 2” Tri glide and a short piece of webbing that you use another tri glide behind the belt tensioner webbing on the side and feed your buckle tail through then pull forward

 

[Justin Crossley]

I'm not sure what they have planned for 2018 but the 2017 K2 frame that I tested has a power pull belt.

Review: Exo Mountain Gear K2 3500 Backpack - Rokslide

 

[BRTreedogs]

Mine has what your talking about to. Not a true power pull but with some seesaw action using both hands works.

 

[steelheadmike]

Thanks to a lack of beer and carbs, I may be in the market for a new belt. I'm waiting to see what they come out with. I'm hoping that they improve the belt pull system. It the only thing about my Exo pack that isn't perfect.

 

[Matt W.]

I hope they come out with a larger pack bag.

 

[asac12]

Has anybody heard of when Exo will make an announcement? The wifey got me a gift certificate and I'm ready to place an order for a 5500 pack in Coyote Brown, but I want to see what the 2018 updates will offer. For the people with Exo packs, does the stretchy material on the front pocket get stretched out over time? I'm concerned the stretchy material will lose shape and retention after constant use.

 

[Matt W.]

I have had no issues with the stretchy material loosing shape.
I have jammed it pretty full as well...
Instagram

 

[HeadnWest]

Has anybody heard of when Exo will make an announcement? The wifey got me a gift certificate and I'm ready to place an order for a 5500 pack in Coyote Brown, but I want to see what the 2018 updates will offer. For the people with Exo packs, does the stretchy material on the front pocket get stretched out over time? I'm concerned the stretchy material will lose shape and retention after constant use.

Stretchy material has not lost its shape for me, and as High Country stated, I have jammed it full for sure. I would personally wait, I think they might have a minor upgrade in the belt. Just checking out Steve's belt on the Land of the Free project and from what I could tell, it was a little bit different material in the inside of the belt. Besides, its not like your going to get much use out of in in Jan. or Feb.

 

[S&S ARCHERY]

Hey guys in general we don't have a lot of changes coming for 2018. But here are the bullet points of what is changing and why:

- First Lite Fusion will be a stocked color across the product line (we are building these now and they should start shipping in early March) We'll be making an official announcement here in early February.

- Due to the popularity of adding Ranger Green last year and adding Fusion this year we will be phasing out Coyote Brown. Being a small company it makes it very hard for us to keep stock up if we have too many color options. We will keep accessories available all year but won't be producing any new bags or frames in Coyote Brown after March 1st.

-We are changing the buckle system on the hipbelt away from the pulley system we currently use to having the ladder lock sewn to the hipbelt itself and the main 1-1/2" buckle acts as the pulley now. The main reason we are doing this is to eliminate the binding affect that would happen to someone who was on the higher end of a belt size but not big enough to jump to the next size. We tested this all of 2017 and really feel its a toss up in performance, there are pro's and con's to each system and we debated a lot back and forth but in the end eliminating the binding issue for some guys was worth the change. See attached pic of a new belt.

- We are also changing to a solid fabric on the inside of the hipbelt instead of spacer mesh. We really like this change, in our testing it semed that the belt grabbed better to your hips and was a little less prone to sliding. We are keeping the spacer mesh in the shoulder harness though, we built and tested a handful of harnesses with spacer mesh on one side and the solid fabric on the other. We frankly couldn't believe the difference in the amount we sweated with solid fabric. It was substantial and we really try to pay attention to those little things the customer may never even notice but in the end it adds up to a better experience with the pack on. Hiking up a steep ridge, sweating your butt off on cold morning just to sit down and glass, it's going to be a big difference how fast you dry out. See attached pic, this was after a short 2 mile hike. There is almost zero sweat on the spacer mesh side while the solid fabric side is pretty well soaked through. The back was much worse then this as that's where most of the contact is but I was alone that day so I couldn't get a pic of it.

- Lastly from a pure aesthetic standpoint we changed the logo and embroidery on the pack. We like to do this every year so its easy for us to identify just by looking at a pic what year someone's pack is.

Let me know if anyone has any other questions. Best bet is to email me [email protected].

Thanks,
Steve

View attachment 64516

View attachment 64515

 

[S&S ARCHERY]

Has anybody heard of when Exo will make an announcement? The wifey got me a gift certificate and I'm ready to place an order for a 5500 pack in Coyote Brown, but I want to see what the 2018 updates will offer. For the people with Exo packs, does the stretchy material on the front pocket get stretched out over time? I'm concerned the stretchy material will lose shape and retention after constant use.

On the stretch fabric that will not stretch out over time, the fabric we use is very expensive made in the USA material and the process used to build it is very unique. Its nothing like other stretch materials you're probably used to. We probably see more wear issues in the 500d Cordura over time then we do in the stretch fabric. Its really an amazing material.

Steve

 

[BRTreedogs]

Thanks for the update.
Pics not working for me thou.
Will the new harness be backwards compatible with the older packs.

 

[S&S ARCHERY]

Thanks for the update.
Pics not working for me thou.
Will the new harness be backwards compatible with the older packs.

Yes the updated belts for 2018 will work on 2016 and 2017 K2 Frames.

Steve

 

[MuleDeerMike]

Yes the updated belts for 2018 will work on 2016 and 2017 K2 Frames.

Steve

Pics aren't working for me either.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[asac12]

On the stretch fabric that will not stretch out over time, the fabric we use is very expensive made in the USA material and the process used to build it is very unique. Its nothing like other stretch materials you're probably used to. We probably see more wear issues in the 500d Cordura over time then we do in the stretch fabric. Its really an amazing material.

Steve

Thanks for the reply! You're right, I'm used to seeing stretch fabrics become worn out and baggy over time, so it's good to read that the Exo packs feature a more resilient material. As for the Fusion pattern, has the purple tint on cordura been resolved? The Fusion pattern on current bino harnesses and older packs from your competitor looks way off.