Exo Mountain K4?

[BroccoliRob]

Appreciate the feedback @twall13. Glad you're loving the K4 Frame, 3600, and accessories.

While I get where you are coming from with the 2200, a lot of what you didn't like (horseshoe, more zippers in general, etc) are exactly what most users wanted out of the daypack design. There is always a lot of preference involved with bags, and hunt context can certainly change what is "best" as well.

Sounds like running the 3600 for everything would be a great option for you.

Hey Mark,

Have you/Steve given any thought to offering all of the different bag sizes with either a straight or a horseshoe zip? i.e. You pick a 3600 bag, and then can select either straight zip or horseshoe. Comparing the designs of the current 3600 and 5000, it seems like the zipper & pocket design could pretty easily be utilized from one bag to the other without much fuss.

Obviously this would effectively double the number of SKU's you have to manage, but it would definitely help cater to the varying preferences that we all have.

 

[twall13]

Appreciate the feedback @twall13. Glad you're loving the K4 Frame, 3600, and accessories.

While I get where you are coming from with the 2200, a lot of what you didn't like (horseshoe, more zippers in general, etc) are exactly what most users wanted out of the daypack design. There is always a lot of preference involved with bags, and hunt context can certainly change what is "best" as well.

Sounds like running the 3600 for everything would be a great option for you.

To be clear, I'm not necessarily opposed to a horseshoe zipper, I just couldn't seem to get it to zip and unzip easily, which was my main frustration. I get that everyone has different preferences. Mine tend to fit a bit more with the 3600, but for a day pack I thought the horseshoe zip might be nice. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but it was a major pain to get into the pack and zip it back up again. I'll play around with it a bit more and see if it's user error on my part (totally possible). If it doesn't work for me I'm sure I can find someone else who will use it. If anyone has any tips on making the zipper slide more easily up top I'm all ears.

I appreciate you jumping on to respond though Mark. It means a lot to know Exo listens to feedback and is constantly striving to build a better pack to fit everyone's needs. That's a tough thing to do when, as you mentioned, everyone has different preferences. Not to mention different body types and builds, etc.

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[cuerro viejo]

Appreciate the feedback @twall13. Glad you're loving the K4 Frame, 3600, and accessories.

While I get where you are coming from with the 2200, a lot of what you didn't like (horseshoe, more zippers in general, etc) are exactly what most users wanted out of the daypack design. There is always a lot of preference involved with bags, and hunt context can certainly change what is "best" as well.

Sounds like running the 3600 for everything would be a great option for you.

Need bigger accessory/hip belt pockets. I know I’m probably the only one that runs a day rig of frame, lid and two pockets on load shelf, but I’d rather buy from y’all then “pocket it” or kifaru

 

[Mark at EXO]

Hey Mark,

Have you/Steve given any thought to offering all of the different bag sizes with either a straight or a horseshoe zip? i.e. You pick a 3600 bag, and then can select either straight zip or horseshoe. Comparing the designs of the current 3600 and 5000, it seems like the zipper & pocket design could pretty easily be utilized from one bag to the other without much fuss.

Obviously this would effectively double the number of SKU's you have to manage, but it would definitely help cater to the varying preferences that we all have.

Yes, we have certainly thought about it... but not for long ;-)

As a small team, we can only continue to operate (and grow) efficiently by keeping things as simple and streamlined as possible. Doubling our SKUs just isn't something we are willing to do. It would create complexities in production, inventory, shipping, and more.

Keeping fewer options (bag models, colors, etc) is a big reason we can keep inventory in stock, and also eliminate operational inefficiencies that help us be efficient and keep costs lower.

There would be other issues, as well, including customer confusion and indecision. Not everyone knows what they want and offering the same bag model with two different zipper configurations would be a hang-up for a good number of customers.

 

[Mark at EXO]

Some quick tips for those of you that will be loading your K4 up soon...

 

[roosiebull]

Has anyone tried anything to loosen up the Nalgene holder at all? Mine has always been snug but usable, but it was a wet weekend and I couldn’t get my Nalgene in or out when my pack was soaked

For now, I ordered a 50 oz bottle of ZenWTR just for the bottle and it will work fine, but using my tall Nalgene is a drop the pack program when it’s wet

Wonder if adding a grommet in the bottom would let air escape and be manageable? Just stretching it a little would be ideal, but what would be the best way to go about that?

I don’t know how EXO is going to improve on this pack system, can’t wait to load up a Roosevelt bull in it in the very near future

 

[sivart]

Has anyone tried anything to loosen up the Nalgene holder at all? Mine has always been snug but usable, but it was a wet weekend and I couldn’t get my Nalgene in or out when my pack was soaked

For now, I ordered a 50 oz bottle of ZenWTR just for the bottle and it will work fine, but using my tall Nalgene is a drop the pack program when it’s wet

Wonder if adding a grommet in the bottom would let air escape and be manageable? Just stretching it a little would be ideal, but what would be the best way to go about that?

I don’t know how EXO is going to improve on this pack system, can’t wait to load up a Roosevelt bull in it in the very near future

Just get the stone glacier Nalgene holster. It fits perfect and actually works better than the EXO version. You can slide the Nalgene all the way to the back of the hip belt and you don’t even know it’s there. Shifting the weight back make it more comfortable and it has much easier access was well

 

[lukebrowning]

@Mark at EXO I see there’s at least one EXO lightweight prototype bag floating around for the K4 frame. Looks very minimalist - similar material to Stone Glacier’s Terminus 7000/8700 series. I think something like that would be the cats ass and I would be first in line to buy one … can you share anything else and if/when this might go into production?

 

[ChrisAU]

@Mark at EXO I see there’s at least one EXO lightweight prototype bag floating around for the K4 frame. Looks very minimalist - similar material to Stone Glacier’s Terminus 7000/8700 series. I think something like that would be the cats ass and I would be first in line to buy one … can you share anything else and if/when this might go into production?

Interested in info here as well

 

[MT_Wyatt]

Three's a crowd, ha, let's do this. We've seen some glimpses from Ben R. and it sounded like there's a V2. I'd be interested in hearing a few things on the process like material selection, bag size, what's working/not working, etc as you develop a possible future UL bag.

 

[mtnbound]

Has anyone tried anything to loosen up the Nalgene holder at all? Mine has always been snug but usable, but it was a wet weekend and I couldn’t get my Nalgene in or out when my pack was soaked

For now, I ordered a 50 oz bottle of ZenWTR just for the bottle and it will work fine, but using my tall Nalgene is a drop the pack program when it’s wet

Wonder if adding a grommet in the bottom would let air escape and be manageable? Just stretching it a little would be ideal, but what would be the best way to go about that?

I don’t know how EXO is going to improve on this pack system, can’t wait to load up a Roosevelt bull in it in the very near future

I switched from the plastic bottles to stainless steel ones and they slide in and out much better.


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[CCooper]

Has anyone tried anything to loosen up the Nalgene holder at all? Mine has always been snug but usable, but it was a wet weekend and I couldn’t get my Nalgene in or out when my pack was soaked

For now, I ordered a 50 oz bottle of ZenWTR just for the bottle and it will work fine, but using my tall Nalgene is a drop the pack program when it’s wet

Wonder if adding a grommet in the bottom would let air escape and be manageable? Just stretching it a little would be ideal, but what would be the best way to go about that?

I don’t know how EXO is going to improve on this pack system, can’t wait to load up a Roosevelt bull in it in the very near future

I cut the elastic rim off of mine in a moment of frustration with a pocket knife- looks janky, but works well.

 

[Mark at EXO]

@Mark at EXO I see there’s at least one EXO lightweight prototype bag floating around for the K4 frame. Looks very minimalist - similar material to Stone Glacier’s Terminus 7000/8700 series. I think something like that would be the cats ass and I would be first in line to buy one … can you share anything else and if/when this might go into production?

@lukebrowning @ChrisAU @MT_Wyatt Yes, we have continued to build UL bags — testing both different materials and different designs. Nothing is headed to production any time soon, so don't get too anxious. We really want to test and continue to refine things before we think about releasing anything. While a lot of the "new" materials have great specs and performance in controlled tests, they don't always perform as claimed in the field and we want to really test things thoroughly.

We have discussed doing some expanded, "public" testing with limited runs of UL bags/frames in the future and we would be sure to make the Rokslide community a part of that if/when it happens.

 

[Mark at EXO]

@roosiebull @mtnbound @CCooper The Nalgene holder should be somewhat snug, but not tight. You can see a suggestion on technique and how the bottle should come out and go in here:

There have been a few that escaped past QC and were too tight and if you ever feel like you may have something out of spec, please contact us directly.

 

[Marbles]

@lukebrowning @ChrisAU @MT_Wyatt Yes, we have continued to build UL bags — testing both different materials and different designs. Nothing is headed to production any time soon, so don't get too anxious. We really want to test and continue to refine things before we think about releasing anything. While a lot of the "new" materials have great specs and performance in controlled tests, they don't always perform as claimed in the field and we want to really test things thoroughly.

We have discussed doing some expanded, "public" testing with limited runs of UL bags/frames in the future and we would be sure to make the Rokslide community a part of that if/when it happens.

I'm not an ideal tester, don't hunt enough. But I'm good at breaking things and will happily pay for a prototype UL frame and bag if funds allow. So, I hope this ends up being the case.

 

[HighUintas]

Count me in for that testing. I suck at hunting, but hunt a lot and backpack a lot, preferably with weapons.

 

[roosiebull]

@roosiebull @mtnbound @CCooper The Nalgene holder should be somewhat snug, but not tight. You can see a suggestion on technique and how the bottle should come out and go in here:

There have been a few that escaped past QC and were too tight and if you ever feel like you may have something out of spec, please contact us directly.

Mine just seems like it shrunk a little, it was snug from the start, but a few cycles of getting soaked and drying maybe?

I was just wondering if there was a way that anyone has found to stretch them a little bit, but I have a plan for now.

It got hot the past couple days and everything has dried out and it’s not any different dry, the bottle won’t go in unless I drop the pack and push and twist

I don’t think I have a QC problem with mine, because it was functional until recently (though always pretty snug) I think some combination of things made it contract a little bit.

 

[sr80]

I have also come across the odd picture testing the UL frame floating around...

 

[lukebrowning]

@lukebrowning @ChrisAU @MT_Wyatt Yes, we have continued to build UL bags — testing both different materials and different designs. Nothing is headed to production any time soon, so don't get too anxious. We really want to test and continue to refine things before we think about releasing anything. While a lot of the "new" materials have great specs and performance in controlled tests, they don't always perform as claimed in the field and we want to really test things thoroughly.

We have discussed doing some expanded, "public" testing with limited runs of UL bags/frames in the future and we would be sure to make the Rokslide community a part of that if/when it happens.

Thanks @Mark at EXO . Can you share how much potential weight savings we’re talking about in a 5,000ci configuration?

Just my $0.02, but I view the bag (not frame) as a replaceable commodity after a few seasons (like boots, clothes, etc). I’m more concerned with failure (which would make a pack out very difficult/impossible) rather than wear and tear after a few seasons. Sure, durability can lead to outright failure but failure can also be largely mitigated by inspecting every few months and repairing as needed. At $300’ish for the bag I’m willing to replace it as needed after a few seasons in the interest of weight savings, simplicity, and less water-weight retention. If possible, can you share what issues you are seeing with some of the lighter-weight materials? Is it durability concerns or outright failure?

 

[mtnbound]

@lukebrowning @ChrisAU @MT_Wyatt Yes, we have continued to build UL bags — testing both different materials and different designs. Nothing is headed to production any time soon, so don't get too anxious. We really want to test and continue to refine things before we think about releasing anything. While a lot of the "new" materials have great specs and performance in controlled tests, they don't always perform as claimed in the field and we want to really test things thoroughly.

We have discussed doing some expanded, "public" testing with limited runs of UL bags/frames in the future and we would be sure to make the Rokslide community a part of that if/when it happens.

I also would be happy to field test new designs or ideas.


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