There's been a lot of talk about backpack suspensions as well as belt options lately. This is mostly due to the argument of what belt system actually works the best for each user. I normally would stay out of this, but I've had some funny emails forwarded to me that that are...well, a flat out lie when it comes to suspension systems.
Most of the PM's and emails I get are about the 3 piece belt/lumbar pad system when compared to other options.
To be honest, ANYONE saying that a 3 piece belt with a lumbar pad only works below 60lbs has no idea what they're talking about. I only say this because of the large amount of packs that my friends and I have tested throughout the years and that a 3 piece belt is the ONLY belt that keeps 100+ lbs off our shoulders and on our hips. If you add the few thousand people a year that Kifaru sells load hauling packs too, and the feedback we get from them, I can see pretty quickly that a 3 piece system works best for 90% of users.
Having said that, we do get an occasional user that needs a smaller lumbar pad to make the pack feel like a 1 piece belt. After looking through our records, less than 1% of Kifaru users needed a smaller lumbar pad last year. This was an easy fix, as we offer several thicknesses of lumbar pads, but the point is that most hunters need a lumbar pad.
As some of you may know, I have no ass whatsoever, and the reason I ended up using Kifaru (and working for them now), is because a Kifaru pack was the only pack that allowed me to carry 150lbs and keep the weight of my shoulders.
Here's why a 3 piece system/Kifaru's works best for many people
1) The hip belt from Kifaru will wrap around your hips and basically cup them. This gives you 2 very good points of contact to keep weight from sagging.
2) Since I have no ass to speak of, the Lumbar pad is needed to give me something that stops the weight from sagging down below my hips. If I didn't have a lumbar pad, common since would tell you that I WOULD HAVE NOTHING to keep the weight on my hips...... it would just slide down.
Again, this doesn't mean that the 3 piece lumbar system works for everyone, as everyone is built differently, but it does work well for the majority of users.
Steve Speck has recently done A lot of teting with belts to come out with his Exo pack and his testing has shown the same as ours; a hip belt that cups the hips, along with a lumbar pad is by far the best system for the majority of users.
In this photo Joe and I both have 130+ lb loads. We are built completely different, but the photo shows we are standing upright with the weight of out shoulders.
In this photo I have 7 days of gear and an entire deboned mule deer inside. My pack weight was excedding the 150 range, but I'm still able to stand upright with a functional suspension. When I've tried this with other belt and suspensions systems, I was carrying 90% of the eight on my shoulders.
Another photo of a 90-100 lb load with a completely different body type.
In the photos with the KU pack, I'm hauling out an entire mountain goat. I had about 70% of the weight on my hips and very little sag, so if someone is telling you that 60lbs is the max for this system....they're trying to sell you something
Like I mentioned before, this doesn't mean that a 3 piece/lumbar system works for everyone, but it does work for most. And when you compare that to the other options (even the newest on the market), they will not work as well with everyone.
I think Scott Reekers and Luke Moffat have both tried some of the other options, and while they both agree that they are good, I don't think either would say that they are better than a 3 piece system. Both of these guys, as well as myself and many others, pack out HEAVY loads and many of them each year.
Hopefully this post comes across as informational, as I'm just wanting to let everyone know that there's no "perfect" option for everyone. I would say that the majority of people would prefer what Kifaru, Stone Glacier and Exo are offering.
Most of the PM's and emails I get are about the 3 piece belt/lumbar pad system when compared to other options.
To be honest, ANYONE saying that a 3 piece belt with a lumbar pad only works below 60lbs has no idea what they're talking about. I only say this because of the large amount of packs that my friends and I have tested throughout the years and that a 3 piece belt is the ONLY belt that keeps 100+ lbs off our shoulders and on our hips. If you add the few thousand people a year that Kifaru sells load hauling packs too, and the feedback we get from them, I can see pretty quickly that a 3 piece system works best for 90% of users.
Having said that, we do get an occasional user that needs a smaller lumbar pad to make the pack feel like a 1 piece belt. After looking through our records, less than 1% of Kifaru users needed a smaller lumbar pad last year. This was an easy fix, as we offer several thicknesses of lumbar pads, but the point is that most hunters need a lumbar pad.
As some of you may know, I have no ass whatsoever, and the reason I ended up using Kifaru (and working for them now), is because a Kifaru pack was the only pack that allowed me to carry 150lbs and keep the weight of my shoulders.
Here's why a 3 piece system/Kifaru's works best for many people
1) The hip belt from Kifaru will wrap around your hips and basically cup them. This gives you 2 very good points of contact to keep weight from sagging.
2) Since I have no ass to speak of, the Lumbar pad is needed to give me something that stops the weight from sagging down below my hips. If I didn't have a lumbar pad, common since would tell you that I WOULD HAVE NOTHING to keep the weight on my hips...... it would just slide down.
Again, this doesn't mean that the 3 piece lumbar system works for everyone, as everyone is built differently, but it does work well for the majority of users.
Steve Speck has recently done A lot of teting with belts to come out with his Exo pack and his testing has shown the same as ours; a hip belt that cups the hips, along with a lumbar pad is by far the best system for the majority of users.
In this photo Joe and I both have 130+ lb loads. We are built completely different, but the photo shows we are standing upright with the weight of out shoulders.
In this photo I have 7 days of gear and an entire deboned mule deer inside. My pack weight was excedding the 150 range, but I'm still able to stand upright with a functional suspension. When I've tried this with other belt and suspensions systems, I was carrying 90% of the eight on my shoulders.
Another photo of a 90-100 lb load with a completely different body type.
In the photos with the KU pack, I'm hauling out an entire mountain goat. I had about 70% of the weight on my hips and very little sag, so if someone is telling you that 60lbs is the max for this system....they're trying to sell you something
Like I mentioned before, this doesn't mean that a 3 piece/lumbar system works for everyone, but it does work for most. And when you compare that to the other options (even the newest on the market), they will not work as well with everyone.
I think Scott Reekers and Luke Moffat have both tried some of the other options, and while they both agree that they are good, I don't think either would say that they are better than a 3 piece system. Both of these guys, as well as myself and many others, pack out HEAVY loads and many of them each year.
Hopefully this post comes across as informational, as I'm just wanting to let everyone know that there's no "perfect" option for everyone. I would say that the majority of people would prefer what Kifaru, Stone Glacier and Exo are offering.
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