gelton
WKR
First of all I must premise this article by saying that in no way am I some kind of pack guru. I recently "graduated" from a large army ALICE pack rucksack to the "Cadillac" of packs, but compared to the ALICE obviously anything would be an upgrade.
However upon receiving the pack I was able to just look at it and the materials it was made of and know that this would probably be my last pack purchase for at least a decade. Now I know why they call it Kifaru. It is Rhino tough.
For those of you deciding between a DT1 or a DT2 I would suggest the DT1. I had assumed the 1 would be large enough to carry my sleep system, my wifes sleep system and most of our gear, however, it isnt big enough to handle all of it (thank god) so she had to pack some of her things. The DT1 is plenty big though if you are carrying for one. Especially if your sleep system is smaller (I use a neo air x therm, thermarest pillow, marmot sawtooth bag) but when you through in 50-100 lbs of meat I think the exra room will be much appreciated.
Also, the DT1's opening is larger which makes it easier to load meat and gives you more room to store your sleep system in the bottom.
First off, when my pack arrived it certainly wasn't sized correctly and the shoulder harness needed a ton of adjustment. Thanks to the help of Aron we got all of that ironed out before I took off to the mountains to try it out.
Before leaving though I made some alterations:
1. the sleeping bag cover and all of the loops that it attached to were cut out of the bag.
2. the d ring loops on the shoulder harness were cut off.
3. the webbing that covers the pockets on the back were cut off on my return (seemed to get in the way)
4. still eyeing the snow collar but I think I will keep it for at least one season to see if I might need it.
While there we hiked 18 miles over two days and the pack performed flawlessly. Don't get me wrong - it was just as heavy as my ALICE pack when putting it on (its funny how for some reason I expected it to be lighter) but once its on and adjusted correctly, it rides like a breeze.
Overall - heavy duty and bombproof. plenty of room for all of your gear and then some (meat) if need be. rides like a dream.
Additions - blaze orange grab it, two small KU belt pouches, two medium belt pouches in highlander for the bag. Sea to summit ulra sil dry bags - 35 liter (outerwear/rainwear), 15 liter (insulated underwear), 5 liter (socks/underwear). Eagle Creek Specter cube set (possibles pouch, kill kit, first aid, electronics etc.) This allows me to - ditch the need for a pack cover.
Here are a few pics:
A Before & After:
However upon receiving the pack I was able to just look at it and the materials it was made of and know that this would probably be my last pack purchase for at least a decade. Now I know why they call it Kifaru. It is Rhino tough.
For those of you deciding between a DT1 or a DT2 I would suggest the DT1. I had assumed the 1 would be large enough to carry my sleep system, my wifes sleep system and most of our gear, however, it isnt big enough to handle all of it (thank god) so she had to pack some of her things. The DT1 is plenty big though if you are carrying for one. Especially if your sleep system is smaller (I use a neo air x therm, thermarest pillow, marmot sawtooth bag) but when you through in 50-100 lbs of meat I think the exra room will be much appreciated.
Also, the DT1's opening is larger which makes it easier to load meat and gives you more room to store your sleep system in the bottom.
First off, when my pack arrived it certainly wasn't sized correctly and the shoulder harness needed a ton of adjustment. Thanks to the help of Aron we got all of that ironed out before I took off to the mountains to try it out.
Before leaving though I made some alterations:
1. the sleeping bag cover and all of the loops that it attached to were cut out of the bag.
2. the d ring loops on the shoulder harness were cut off.
3. the webbing that covers the pockets on the back were cut off on my return (seemed to get in the way)
4. still eyeing the snow collar but I think I will keep it for at least one season to see if I might need it.
While there we hiked 18 miles over two days and the pack performed flawlessly. Don't get me wrong - it was just as heavy as my ALICE pack when putting it on (its funny how for some reason I expected it to be lighter) but once its on and adjusted correctly, it rides like a breeze.
Overall - heavy duty and bombproof. plenty of room for all of your gear and then some (meat) if need be. rides like a dream.
Additions - blaze orange grab it, two small KU belt pouches, two medium belt pouches in highlander for the bag. Sea to summit ulra sil dry bags - 35 liter (outerwear/rainwear), 15 liter (insulated underwear), 5 liter (socks/underwear). Eagle Creek Specter cube set (possibles pouch, kill kit, first aid, electronics etc.) This allows me to - ditch the need for a pack cover.
Here are a few pics:
A Before & After:
You are correct though, only took the pack off a couple of times because it was so comfortable while on that it didnt need to be taken off except for longer stops.
