Exo Mountain K4?

[Justin Crossley]

It hauls a whole, quartered antelope buck with ease.

 

[huntnful]

It hauls a whole, quartered antelope buck with ease.

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Sweet! Nice buck too dude!

 

[Dioni A]

One tripped a whole mule deer bone in with Cape, camp, 95mm spotter and rifle with it yesterday. This thing is a freight train!

 

[ZDR]

Dang...nice buck! and impressive loadout...
That pic makes me think the pack has individual stays instead of the Ti one piece frame of the K3. Not expecting you to confirm or deny that btw...

 

[Cj0n3s12]

Was looking at a K3 but may hold out to see how the K4 turns out.

 

[JNDEER]

Haha I'm also a gear junkie so you never know what I have going on! But I also really like the tan color! I hope they keep it as a main color when they release the pack.

I actually offered to pay them for the pack when they reached out to me, and they refused. They just want honest, unbiased feedback. It's an amazing product, and honestly a group of people!

That’s awesome they randomly reach out to folks- how do I get on that list, lol. It’s not like I haven’t purchased every frame they have came out with.-lol.

Just a little jealous is all. Maybe I need to win the lotto of big game tags like some people did this year.

You getting ready for the opener? I am sure that monster you found in august has grown an inch or two by now. Haha.

 

[svivian]

That’s awesome they randomly reach out to folks- how do I get on that list, lol. It’s not like I haven’t purchased every frame they have came out with.-lol.

Just a little jealous is all. Maybe I need to win the lotto of big game tags like some people did this year.

You getting ready for the opener? I am sure that monster you found in august has grown an inch or two by now. Haha.

Its not random.... they search out folks who are really putting their gear to the test and will provide valuable feedback. These are guys out all year long using this stuff.

 

[JNDEER]

Its not random.... they search out folks who are really putting their gear to the test and will provide valuable feedback. These are guys out all year long using this stuff.

I understand- I am just jealous. Wishing to be able to provide feedback to the pack system I favor above all. Getting out all year is a tough chore.

Need to start using those # more often- lol.

 

[Justin Crossley]

I understand- I am just jealous. Wishing to be able to provide feedback to the pack system I favor above all. Getting out all year is a tough chore.

Need to start using those # more often- lol.

It's all about those #hashtags! lol

 

[svivian]

It's all about those #hashtags! lol

Social media whore....

 

[Dioni A]

I delete my Instagram for most of the year. Pretty sure that's not the deciding factor.

 

[JNDEER]

I delete my Instagram for most of the year. Pretty sure that's not the deciding factor.

Could be- I do however live in that state that shall not be named - which throws my chances out the window. Guess if I lived in their home state I would have better chances.

 

[Formidilosus]

Could be- I do however live in that state that shall not be named - which throws my chances out the window. Guess if I lived in their home state I would have better chances.

Why would you want to? That’s a serious question? Why would you want to use items that are not finished, have a high potential to be subpar or outright fail, and probably do so when you need it most? I have and do a lot of preproduction evaluating for quite a few products on the market, including packs. I don’t find it fun or entertaining in the least. Putting your camp in a pack, hiking with it, and maybe carrying quarter out with it isn’t “testing”.

Testing/evaluation done correctly is work that sucks. A couple years ago I had a pack have the hip belt completely rip off the frame on the way to a bull I had just killed; several miles from the truck in almost two feet of snow- there was nothing pleasurable about finding a weakness right when I needed that pack. A few years before that, a frame stay broke on another pack cinching down an elk quarter to it- again, 5’ish miles from the truck. That same year or the one before, a shoulder strap stitching failed on another pack and the shoulder strap broke while carrying out an animal.

That’s just the start of problems with “testing” packs. Add to that clothing that fails or doesn’t work, optics that fail, rifles that fail, shoes that fall apart or injure feet, etc, etc. I would tell anyone to just demand that manufacturers due legitimate testing/evading, and then be happy to buy the finished product that actually works.

 

[huntnful]

Could be- I do however live in that state that shall not be named - which throws my chances out the window. Guess if I lived in their home state I would have better chances.

I live in California too lol. It's not a big deal. But I have 250+ days of use and 25+ animals in their packs over the last 4 years. That's the important thing to them IMO. Heavy use and abuse. They asked my hunting schedule for the year and I had over 60 hunt days planned with 3 elk tags and 6 deer tags at the time and they decided that would be a good test. If I told them I only had two, week long, hunts planned for the year, I'm sure they would have selected someone else. And rightfully so.

 

[JNDEER]

Why would you want to? That’s a serious question? Why would you want to use items that are not finished, have a high potential to be subpar or outright fail, probably when you need it most? I have and do a lot of preproduction evaluating for quite a few of products on the market, including packs. I don’t find it fun or entertaining in the least. Putting your camp in a pack, hiking with it, and maybe carrying quarter out with it isn’t “testing”.

Testing/evaluation done correctly is work that sucks. A couple years ago I had a pack have the hip belt completely rip off the frame on the way to a bull I had just killed; several miles from the truck in almost two feet of snow- there was nothing pleasurable about finding a weakness right when I needed that pack. A few years before that, a frame stay broke on another pack cinching down an elk quarter to it- again, 5’ish miles from the truck. That same year or the one before, a shoulder strap stitching failed on another pack and the shoulder strap broke while carrying out an animal.

That’s just the start of problems with “testing” packs. Add to that clothing that fails or doesn’t work, optics that fail, rifles that fail, shoes that fall apart or injure feet, etc, etc. I would tell anyone to just demand that manufacturers due legitimate testing/evading, and the. be happy to buy the finished product that actually works.

Valid question.

I have used and “tested” many packs over the years. My dime and X companies finished product kind of testing. Hell even the old 4500 badlands finished products had their plastic frame pieces snap in half on me. Of all EXO has been my favorite since there pre-order sale on the original.

Having any input at all in a pack I am going to buy and test anyways sure seems like a good idea to me- hell I will even pay to test it and give my feedback in hopes if there are any specific issues that I personally have problems with they fix or tweak which would ultimately leave me with a perfect pack that is perfect for me and the hunting I do- seems like a win win, IMO.

I also believe in this testing they wouldn’t throw out a product that couldn’t “work” to begin with to test- last thing they would want is product failure on a hunt of a lifetime in some remote wilderness.


Note- I knew I should have kept bugging Mark- lol.

 

[huntnful]

Why would you want to? That’s a serious question? Why would you want to use items that are not finished, have a high potential to be subpar or outright fail, probably when you need it most? I have and do a lot of preproduction evaluating for quite a few of products on the market, including packs. I don’t find it fun or entertaining in the least. Putting your camp in a pack, hiking with it, and maybe carrying quarter out with it isn’t “testing”.

Testing/evaluation done correctly is work that sucks. A couple years ago I had a pack have the hip belt completely rip off the frame on the way to a bull I had just killed; several miles from the truck in almost two feet of snow- there was nothing pleasurable about finding a weakness right when I needed that pack. A few years before that, a frame stay broke on another pack cinching down an elk quarter to it- again, 5’ish miles from the truck. That same year or the one before, a shoulder strap stitching failed on another pack and the shoulder strap broke while carrying out an animal.

That’s just the start of problems with “testing” packs. Add to that clothing that fails or doesn’t work, optics that fail, rifles that fail, shoes that fall apart or injure feet, etc, etc. I would tell anyone to just demand that manufacturers due legitimate testing/evading, and the. be happy to buy the finished product that actually works.

Excellent view point on this for sure!!! I would definitely say what I'm doing with the pack is more of an "evaluation" and less of "test". And they've already produced several great products. I would absolutely not be testing some random ass ,no name, pack prototype on one of my 7 day backpack hunts lol.

I'm sure you'd have no problems "testing" a new nightforce scope out on a hunt. You know it's going to work, it's just whether or not you like the new features and design. But the brand is proven. Same thing here as far as I'm concerned.

 

[JNDEER]

I live in California too lol. It's not a big deal. But I have 250+ days of use and 25+ animals in their packs over the last 4 years. That's the important thing to them IMO. Heavy use and abuse. They asked my hunting schedule for the year and I had over 60 hunt days planned with 3 elk tags and 6 deer tags at the time and they decided that would be a good test. If I told them I only had two, week long, hunts planned for the year, I'm sure they would have selected someone else. And rightfully so.

#truth.

Wouldn’t compare myself to a killer like you. But - got to make some noise in hopes of being heard and maybe getting a shot and providing some input- either way they would get my money on a K4.

Get that rifle, pack and good luck up in the sierras.

 

[Formidilosus]

Having any input at all in a pack I am going to buy and test anyways sure seems like a good idea to me- hell I will even pay to test it and give my feedback in hopes if there are any specific issues that I personally have problems with they fix or tweak which would ultimately leave me with a perfect pack that is perfect for me and the hunting I do- seems like a win win, IMO.

The problem is a lot of times they don’t listen to what you find. And I’m not necessarily or even at all talking about Exo- in general if you are early enough in the “testing” phase to have any say in design or specs- it absolutely can and will fail on you. What Exo is doing here at this point, and what most good companies do like this, is getting a generally fleshed out pack to people they know will find any flaw or major issue before it hits the market. My experience is at this point in “testing”, companies already have the pack layout with pockets, etc. done how they want.

What huntinful said is correct- people would love to get a Nightforce a year before it comes out, because it already works. At that point, they’re not changing a feature you don’t like, they’re just making sure no major mechanical flaw shows before launch. If you get in early enough in testing to change features, they can and will fail you.

I’ve had a pack for over a year that is coming out next year, that some people are just getting right now to check out. I’ve had pockets rip off, zipper stitching fail, lid problems, etc. People seeing it right now think it’s awesome. They have no idea the work and failures that went into it to get it to this point. They’ll make sure there’s no major failures before production hits, but the pack features and pocket layouts aren’t changing no matter how much someone doesn’t like it.

 

[Dioni A]

These packs have been tested for multiple years now. Steve will not accept a product that isn't the absolute best thing he can make. The reason there's no announcement for a release date or anticipation of when they'll be made available is because he wants to have a bunch of people test them and make sure that there are no surprises. He's willing to delay the release an entire year if we find something he doesn't like or consensus is that something needs to change. We aren't necessarily concerned with pocket layouts or which zipper needs to go where as much as making sure that the structure of it does its job without any surprises.

 

[Justin Crossley]

Steve just called me a little earlier today. Like mentioned above, the frame and harness system are pretty well dialed in after more than a year of testing. This latest bunch of packs that were sent out for the season is just a way to prove out the design and assure nothing was missed.

The smaller details like zipper and pocket placements could still change. One great thing about smaller companies like Exo is that they do actually listen to our feedback. There are quite a few details Steve and his team are still considering based on feedback from the testers.