Exo Mountain K4?

[Grady.J]

Also very glad that you didn't make the auto locks standard. They are a pain in the arse, IMO.

I'm with you in this one, I haven't had any issues with the current buckles, and find autolocks to be a bit of a pain for no real benefit when I've used them. Wouldn't be a dealbreaker if they had them though.

 

[ljalberta]

When strapping horns, guns, or tripods to the pack, and other solid objects, depending where the buckle ends up, a regular buckle can slide loose due to the angle of the buckle and pressure on the strap. I love auto lock buckles, but they’re certainly not needed by everyone.

 

[sr80]

auto locks are the bomb! Also never wished to be able to adjust my frame height of a pack. Ive never owned an exo pack before, but this one is looking pretty slick. Only thing i see missing as far as thing i like in a pack is more side compression straps. Probably because i am used to the 4 on each side of my SG packs.

 

[sivart]

I think this will be the perfect pack that I've been longing for. I'm a pack snob. I own several Kifaru, and one SG.

Have the 1800 K3, and have used the 4800. Love the bags. Best by far IMO. Only two wishes. Wish they had a belt more similar to the Kifaru, and a good water bottle pouch. It looks like the K4 takes care of both my wishes.

 

[huntnful]

Three more bucks into the pack since my last post. Two were mine and one was my buddy’s. Been putting this pack to WORK.

Locking buckles are cool, I just won’t have them everywhere. But a few places for sure!

 

[Dioni A]

Forgot to get a pack out picture but I just gave this bear a ride. Sure glad I packed the rifle on this scouting trip.

 

[passinggas33]

I love everything about this pack, BUT I’m just hoping for maybe a few more or different color options than what is currently offered. Yes I have a form of vanity (that doesn’t involve a flat brimmed hat) and it is probably to Steve’s dismay. But I would still love some form of a grey or a different combo pattern. Regardless, my money is theirs for a pack and for some accessories.

 

[Bullchaser65]

I have the prototype and will be taking it on a few hunts this fall. They haven't said yet when the final design will be done and released.

I just know they have quite a few out being tested for the season.

Some of the newer pack companies should take notes on how to do R&D prior to release instead of after......

View attachment 452246

How are you mounting your garmin?

 

[sr80]

I feel like the more i look at that pack the better it gets. I really like how the lid straps go through the load lifter ring or attachments to keep the lid centered and tight to the frame. Thats a huge pain in the butt for me is keeping the lid tight when the pack isnt stuffed full.

 

[Justin Crossley]

How are you mounting your garmin?

You can get them from Aziak equipment.

 

[S&S ARCHERY]

The non ability to adjust the frame length is a buzz killer for me. Good thing now I don't need a new pack.

I definitely understand this, I really wanted to keep the feature as well it just wasn't in the cards with this new design. Before I made the decision to stop working on a way to get it done I surveyed a couple hundred Exo users and 99% of them did not use the feature. Just about everyone set it at home and never touched it after that. Hearing that, it made it easier for me to drop the feature and focus on other parts of the design. With the better head clearance and 4 frame height options just about everyone will be able to get a perfect balance of load lifter angle and frame clearance (both head and ducking under brush)

Short rant here based off 10 years of obsessive pack designing;

While frame height is definitely an important part of the equation on how a pack will carry weight, it's no where near the top of the list. I'll take a well designed 22" frame over a poorly designed 26" frame any day of the week.

The rule of 80/20 (80% of the weight on your hips and 20% on your shoulders) tells you exactly where 80% of the design should be focused and 80% of your purchasing decision should be based around. The shape and rigidity of the frame itself, how the weight carried transfers into that frame, making sure the frame doesn't change shape when loaded (i.e. barreling), then how that weight is transferred down the frame into the lower, then how the lower (lumbar pad and hipbelt) react to all the weight being transferred into it. These are all vastly more important in the overall design than whether the frame is 24" or 26".

Other factors like the shape and size of the hipbelt / lumbar pad, the foam used, the fabric used, attachment points etc all play very important roles as well of how that weight feels on your body and will perform over time. You can have a great design but use cheap foam and a mile down the trail with 100lbs you'll be feeling it.

The frame height and shoulder harness are still 20% of the equation and important, no question, that's why we have offered frame height adjustments in the past and will continue with the 4 options going forward with K4. It's just not nearly as important as the overall design of the frame and the lower.

 

[S&S ARCHERY]

I feel like the more i look at that pack the better it gets. I really like how the lid straps go through the load lifter ring or attachments to keep the lid centered and tight to the frame. Thats a huge pain in the butt for me is keeping the lid tight when the pack isnt stuffed full.

I was really happy with how this small design feature worked out. It was definitely on my radar to work on.

 

[S&S ARCHERY]

auto locks are the bomb! Also never wished to be able to adjust my frame height of a pack. Ive never owned an exo pack before, but this one is looking pretty slick. Only thing i see missing as far as thing i like in a pack is more side compression straps. Probably because i am used to the 4 on each side of my SG packs.

I did do all the frame buckles male / female opposing (unlike K3) so you can take the 2 compression straps that are built into the frame and wrap them around the bag if needed. The downside is it creates a little more confusion when you are new to the system but the upside is a lot of flexibility.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

please add a color that isn't a brown variant, wearing a large brown pack in my home state will get me shot and killed during most of our hunting seasons.

 

[S&S ARCHERY]

I love everything about this pack, BUT I’m just hoping for maybe a few more or different color options than what is currently offered. Yes I have a form of vanity (that doesn’t involve a flat brimmed hat) and it is probably to Steve’s dismay. But I would still love some form of a grey or a different combo pattern. Regardless, my money is theirs for a pack and for some accessories.

The plan is to do Ranger Green, Coyote Brown and Fusion for now. I"m sure we'll do some limited runs of others in the future like we have done in the past but I really don't see that until 2024. 2023 all of our energy will just be focused on keeping things simple enough so we can keep up with orders. Fast shipping and no backorders is the goal.

 

[BRTreedogs]

The plan is to do Ranger Green, Coyote Brown and Fusion for now. I"m sure we'll do some limited runs of others in the future like we have done in the past but I really don't see that until 2024. 2023 all of our energy will just be focused on keeping things simple enough so we can keep up with orders. Fast shipping and no backorders is the goal.

I thought you had previously decided coyote was a terrible seller?
Honestly if I can't get Multicam I'm probably out.
Old school brown camo would be awesome though.

 

[camping1601]

I definitely understand this, I really wanted to keep the feature as well it just wasn't in the cards with this new design. Before I made the decision to stop working on a way to get it done I surveyed a couple hundred Exo users and 99% of them did not use the feature. Just about everyone set it at home and never touched it after that. Hearing that, it made it easier for me to drop the feature and focus on other parts of the design. With the better head clearance and 4 frame height options just about everyone will be able to get a perfect balance of load lifter angle and frame clearance (both head and ducking under brush)

Short rant here based off 10 years of obsessive pack designing;

While frame height is definitely an important part of the equation on how a pack will carry weight, it's no where near the top of the list. I'll take a well designed 22" frame over a poorly designed 26" frame any day of the week.

The rule of 80/20 (80% of the weight on your hips and 20% on your shoulders) tells you exactly where 80% of the design should be focused and 80% of your purchasing decision should be based around. The shape and rigidity of the frame itself, how the weight carried transfers into that frame, making sure the frame doesn't change shape when loaded (i.e. barreling), then how that weight is transferred down the frame into the lower, then how the lower (lumbar pad and hipbelt) react to all the weight being transferred into it. These are all vastly more important in the overall design than whether the frame is 24" or 26".

Other factors like the shape and size of the hipbelt / lumbar pad, the foam used, the fabric used, attachment points etc all play very important roles as well of how that weight feels on your body and will perform over time. You can have a great design but use cheap foam and a mile down the trail with 100lbs you'll be feeling it.
The frame height and shoulder harness are still 20% of the equation and important, no question, that's why we have offered frame height adjustments in the past and will continue with the 4 options going forward with K4. It's just not nearly as important as the overall design of the frame and the lower.

Il

I definitely understand this, I really wanted to keep the feature as well it just wasn't in the cards with this new design. Before I made the decision to stop working on a way to get it done I surveyed a couple hundred Exo users and 99% of them did not use the feature. Just about everyone set it at home and never touched it after that. Hearing that, it made it easier for me to drop the feature and focus on other parts of the design. With the better head clearance and 4 frame height options just about everyone will be able to get a perfect balance of load lifter angle and frame clearance (both head and ducking under brush)

Short rant here based off 10 years of obsessive pack designing;

While frame height is definitely an important part of the equation on how a pack will carry weight, it's no where near the top of the list. I'll take a well designed 22" frame over a poorly designed 26" frame any day of the week.

The rule of 80/20 (80% of the weight on your hips and 20% on your shoulders) tells you exactly where 80% of the design should be focused and 80% of your purchasing decision should be based around. The shape and rigidity of the frame itself, how the weight carried transfers into that frame, making sure the frame doesn't change shape when loaded (i.e. barreling), then how that weight is transferred down the frame into the lower, then how the lower (lumbar pad and hipbelt) react to all the weight being transferred into it. These are all vastly more important in the overall design than whether the frame is 24" or 26".

Other factors like the shape and size of the hipbelt / lumbar pad, the foam used, the fabric used, attachment points etc all play very important roles as well of how that weight feels on your body and will perform over time. You can have a great design but use cheap foam and a mile down the trail with 100lbs you'll be feeling it.
The frame height and shoulder harness are still 20% of the equation and important, no question, that's why we have offered frame height adjustments in the past and will continue with the 4 options going forward with K4. It's just not nearly as important as the overall design of the frame and the lower.

I like to tinker enough that'll probably get one to try when they're released. Thanks for the reply.

 

[camping1601]

What frame height is my tall k3 considered in the tallest setting?

 

[S&S ARCHERY]

What frame height is my tall k3 considered in the tallest setting?

26.5". In how I designed K4 though it sits roughly 1" higher on the body. It would be more like a 27.5" frame if you're comparing to K3.

 

[S&S ARCHERY]

I thought you had previously decided coyote was a terrible seller?
Honestly if I can't get Multicam I'm probably out.
Old school brown camo would be awesome though.

Yeah we dropped Coyote back in 2018 because it wasn't selling nearly as well as Ranger Green.

For K4 packs we are using a fabric called Squadron which is a 500d laminated to 1000d fabric. The entire frame panel is made of this as well as all the laser cut Molle panels you see. It is not an option to get this in Fusion so Coyote Brown was the natural choice as it looks best with Fusion.

We've also had a decent amount of requests to bring Coyote back. I know we'll sell 5 to 1 Ranger Green to Coyote but with Coyote working with Fusion it made sense.