@trophyhill I think there's value in these words. I'd sure like to read how you landed in your opinion and I think it adds to the purpose of what this thread and review are about.
I'd be appreciative because at some point Ucsdryder is dropping this ark off for me to experiment with. I think understanding multiple perspectives would be good food for thought as I am walking. Especially since I am a Seek fan and already bought and returned a K4 this year, my preferences might be narrow.
Ok so with both my old packs, the Tactical and the Duplex UL. The first thing i noticed was the fit of the Ark. Perfect fit comparatively speaking. The old packs, I had to have a small belt because the medium belt would bottom out and not be tight enough. The small belt was a pain in the azz because i would have to loosen it all the way to get it clipped, and then there wasn’t much belt to grab to cinch tight.
With the Ark, it’s a perfect fit with the medium belt. I was worried I’d have the same issue with the medium as i had previously with the other 2 packs. But it’s a non issue. So it’s a win for fit. With 75# in the pack, it doesn’t slip, and i can tighten more if i had to.The width and comfort of the waist belt is just what the doctor ordered and form fits my body perfectly. I just simply watched the videos and adjusted accordingly. It was damn near a perfect fit out of the box other than adjusting the shoulder straps and load lifters.
The lumbar pad is a huge improvement over the old pad as well. It conforms and hugs tight and does not allow for any slippage under heavy load. Which is huge as anyone who has experienced slippage can attest too. With my other packs, i would have to adjust and tighten frequently when humping camp In and out and even more so with unstable meat loads. I always went with the adage, “it aint sposed to be easy”. But it could always be better. Which i think Kifaru has done with this pack.
At first I thought the frame was on the stiff side compared to the Tactical, but quickly realized it’s the fit of the new and improved lumbar pad. This thing simply sticks into my lower back and stays put. I think that is why i initially thought it felt stiffer. It really is a great fit. The Ark seems to move with me under heavy load but not nearly as much as the Duplex UL as far as side to side movement goes. It is similar to the Tactical in that aspect.
Attaching the Hoodlum was a breeze and didn’t even need to watch the video for that . Once you attach 1 Kifaru bag to a Duplex, you can attach any Kifaru bag to any frame. The belt pockets were simple to install and i definitely like the new system compared to the old for those attachments.
In the end, i have to give a big thumbs up to Kifaru. They could have sat with their thumbs up their asses and stayed with the status quo, but it’s obvious there were some things on the Duplex frames that customers did not like, and or maybe even Snyder didn’t like. But this is what great companies do. They listen to the customer base and make improvements and or innovations. They actually tested and R&D’d the fk out of this pack frame to come up with what it is at the moment.
Now as far as the frame’s being easy to scratch or having slight cosmetic blemishes from handling? I have to laugh at that. It’s a total non issue for the performance of the frame and i think that’s just guys trying to find something, anything they can to not like about it, because they can’t find anything else to bash about the frame. (These guys are probably justifying to themselves why they don’t want to spend the coin on a 100% Made in America product because they spent almost as much on their made in china packs.)
Judging by what i see so far, this frame system just raised the bar that much higher, and now it’s going to be the new gold standard the other pack companies are just going to have to live up too and up their game, or be left behind.
