Excited to try this new pack from Aron. Weight is always a factor but if it hauls better with good distribution and is comfy for multiple mile/day pack outs I’ll gladly sacrifice a pound to trade for that.
I see where Exo fits into the market but in BC with personal hunts/guiding where you’re taking full capes, meat, and client gear, you need that extra weight on the pack to make it comfy and feel ok at the extremes. I’ve had the k2/3/4 and all of them slipped for me under loads over 65lbs. To me, this is where I’m hoping this pack fits into the market.
Kifaru is moving more towards the mass market. I do agree Exo has really perfected what I consider to be the lower 48 pack and Kifaru is moving most of their chips into that space. At least that’s how I felt after talking to them at a show and with the new Ark frame. Kifaru made sacrifices on the Ark to meet weight specs unfortunately. The duplex lite is still my favorite heavy hauler. With that said, they both make amazing packs and it’s an awesome time to be a consumer. You have so many choices of extremely high quality gear. Having another competitor (BP) I’m hoping only pushes this space further.
I’ve always enjoyed Aron’s design philosophy. He likes to find the happy medium that allows you to use it to the extremes. The SG Terminus for instance took light to the extreme. Oh it’s light, but man, over 45lbs it was a joke. There are trade offs to everything, and again, I’ll happily take a bit of weight for packability with weight. If you do value to be the absolute lightest, you need to understand what you’re giving up and that’s the pack out.
All of this is incredibly speculative and I guess that’s the fun with new gear is debating about unknowns. Stoked to try and get one before the sheep opener in August!