Exo Mountain K4?

sr80

WKR
Joined
Feb 19, 2014
Messages
1,400
Location
British Columbia
I just made a new post and then found yours. Just held my SG lumbar on Exo with a 70lb load and liked it much better. May try to find what foam SG is using and buy some
For Exo lumbar. I find the Exo lumbar pad way too soft.
pretty certain exo has another option for their lumbar pads, i would reach out to @Mark at EXO
 

lintond

WKR
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Messages
1,600
Location
Oregon
Does anyone else here find the lumbar foam too soft? At 50-60lbs and up I am struggling with the pack sagging like I did with K3.

I took the lumbar pad off my SG Xcurve and put it in place, and snuggled up the waist belt and it seemed much more secure.

Might have to look into a firmer foam for the Exo lumbar or rig a permanent solution for the SG lumbar on Exo waist belt.

Reach out to Exo. They are sending me a smaller/thinner pad since I had the exact issue. The SG pad just works for my body the best.


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RAM190Hog

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Oct 4, 2019
Messages
236
Location
Boise, ID
Reach out to Exo. They are sending me a smaller/thinner pad since I had the exact issue. The SG pad just works for my body the best.


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I live here in Boise, and just dropped by the shop and got the thinner pad. I actually found it was worse. The foam pad is dual density…a softer foam up against your back, and a denser foam against the frame. The thinner pad contains a thinner portion of the dense foam.

I took my SG lumbar and put it on my Exo and seemed to lock the waist belt in much better.

I sent Mark a DM to see if they had any additional foams or options. Otherwise, I may try and rig up a frankenpack option with SG lumbar.
 

lintond

WKR
Joined
Mar 17, 2013
Messages
1,600
Location
Oregon
I live here in Boise, and just dropped by the shop and got the thinner pad. I actually found it was worse. The foam pad is dual density…a softer foam up against your back, and a denser foam against the frame. The thinner pad contains a thinner portion of the dense foam.

I took my SG lumbar and put it on my Exo and seemed to lock the waist belt in much better.

I sent Mark a DM to see if they had any additional foams or options. Otherwise, I may try and rig up a frankenpack option with SG lumbar.

Curious how you put the SG pad on your Exo? Just the foam or the entire thing?


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RAM190Hog

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Oct 4, 2019
Messages
236
Location
Boise, ID
Curious how you put the SG pad on your Exo? Just the foam or the entire thing?


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I took the lumbar off SG. The tab on bottom connected, and then I just positioned the lumbar once it was on my back. Unfortunately, the back of SG pad and the Exo frame both have “loop” section of Velcro where they meet. If I decide to run this, I’ll have to get a section of tough 2-sides Velcro to make the connection. Not sure if they actually even make that.
 

mahnster

FNG
Joined
May 28, 2019
Messages
97
I seem to have more sagging at 60+ lbs as well after it has been broken in. When I asked about stiffer foam options they didn't have anything but that wasn't very recently. I'm curious to see what others come up with.
 
Joined
Feb 26, 2023
Messages
684
Add me to the list of persons who feels the lumbar is soft or slipping. It will ride on my butt no matter what I seem to do. It starts out great and then just slides. I’m running 64lbs with the crib doing training hikes. If anyone figures something out hit me up.
 
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Highlands Hunter

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jul 18, 2017
Messages
224
I just made a new post and then found yours. Just held my SG lumbar on Exo with a 70lb load and liked it much better. May try to find what foam SG is using and buy some
For Exo lumbar. I find the Exo lumbar pad way too soft.
I found the K4 lumbar to be better once I got it broken in; it didn’t feel quite so bulky. However it did feel softer and it felt like it wanted to sag a little bit once I got over 60 lbs. I found a lumbar shim from my K3 and put it behind the K4 lumbar foam and it really helped.
It’s feeling great now. I need to put some more miles behind it and tweak it some more……I thought about cutting down the soft foam on the pad to reduce the thickness of it and then add another shim. I think that would firm it up even more??
 
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OP
AlpineAssassin907
Joined
Jun 26, 2021
Messages
622
I cannot believe how long this thread has continued & how many people have interacted with it, little late, I picked up a k4 5000 in June. Just got to pack my first animal out of the mountains with it! I absolutely love it. Load shelf & main compartment fully loaded down for the long pack out in the mountains of Alaska. My alpine Sitka blacktail!
 

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Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Messages
5,348
Location
oregon coast
I cannot believe how long this thread has continued & many people have interacted with it, little late, I picked up a k4 5000 in June. Just got to pack my first animal out of the mountains with it! I absolutely love it. Load shelf & main compartment fully loaded down for the long pack out in the mountains of Alaska. My Sitka blacktail!
Heck of a buck!! Nice work!

The k4 is one heck of a hunting tool, I absolutely love the k4… it’s in it’s own category for me, they have always made packs that were among my favorites, but the k4 really outdid themselves

Again, great alpine Sitka BT!
 

Dioni A

Basque Assassin
Shoot2HuntU
Joined
Mar 29, 2016
Messages
1,762
Location
Nampa, Idaho
Is Ivory Holsters our only option for this pack? How are people going about having a sidearm?
You should be able to fit anything with a molee attachment. I will say that the ivory is a phenomenal holster and the owner is a very good dude. I've had a few of his holsters before I met him and hung out with him quite a bit on the exo death hike this year. I personally won't be looking anywhere else for a holster.
 
Joined
Sep 7, 2015
Messages
678
Whats the best method to attach this to my K4?
View attachment 592923View attachment 592924
Don't... put it in your pack.
I don't know what the new craze is with everyone clipping and strapping all this extra shit to their packs/bino harness but it's silly.

Not once in over 20 years of hunting have I ever thought I needed a fixed blade strapped anywhere. My pocket knife does everything I need for a blade handily accessible.

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Red33

FNG
Joined
Oct 8, 2019
Messages
76
Whats the best method to attach this to my K4?
View attachment 592923View attachment 592924
I used the hard MOLLE attachment from my Ivory Holster, since I needed to replace those with the flexible kind to fit the K4. I just use one of the hard MOLLE pieces (and you can find them elsewhere) and replaced the attachment on the back of the knife sheath with that. Works awesome. I too liked to be able to access a knife without taking my pack off.
 
Joined
Jan 29, 2015
Messages
1,957
Location
Kalispell
I used the hard MOLLE attachment from my Ivory Holster, since I needed to replace those with the flexible kind to fit the K4. I just use one of the hard MOLLE pieces (and you can find them elsewhere) and replaced the attachment on the back of the knife sheath with that. Works awesome. I too liked to be able to access a knife without taking my pack off.
I always carry my belt knife on my belt with a small leather dangler attachment. I'm old school... I need a belt knife and want it on my person at all times.

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sr80

WKR
Joined
Feb 19, 2014
Messages
1,400
Location
British Columbia
I installed the rifle carrying system last night onto my pack. I've been using the universal gun bearer for probably 10+ years and have moved it to all my packs. So i kept the front strap on my shoulder strap so i can carry a rifle both ways. Initially watching the videos of the exo carrier i wasn't sure if i was going to be able to reach back and release it. But its actually really easy, and not far to reach at all. And I've got a bit of a gimped shoulder. I've never carried a rifle strapped to my pack before, so this will be a great option trailing in when its not needed super super fast. I didn't even notice it there to be honest.

The QR code on the tag that came with the carrier is a great touch as well. Other companies sometimes put out videos on how to install accessories etc, but they never seem to come out until after you get the item, and then you still need to search through the list of other videos to find the correct one. So this link was super helpful to double check that i had it installed correctly, but the install is pretty self explanatory.

Its really nice having all the informative videos that the team at exo have released about this pack.
 
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