God bless Kifaru waist belts

Joined
Jan 10, 2014
Messages
610
Got to put some weight on my EMR II/bikini today for the first real mountain test to go check a trail cam. I put all the stuff I needed in it for the day, which wasn't much, so I added a 30ish lb bag of rice. Hike was 2 miles one way. At first, it seemed as if the lumbar pad was too bulgy and didn't ride well. It felt like there was an unnecessary amount of padding there and that it was pushing my lower back in uncomfortably far. Also, for the first little while, in my waist line area on my back it felt like the waist belt was digging in a little and making my back pretty tender. Just curious has anyone else experienced that feeling?

Anyway, after a little while, the seemingly bulgy lumbar pad began to feel very comfortable. The pinching/tenderness in my lower back subsided completely as well (I have a hunch it had to due with where and how my belt was riding underneath the waist belt of the pack). I think my initial reaction after beginning my hike with the weight in the pack and feeling that the pad was too much was probably due to how my previous pack, a badlands, didn't have a lumbar pad at all - the whole back is just a semi-hard foam-like material. I bought a kifaru pack without ever having worn one, but I'd read so many reviews of how much people liked them and how just about every owner always mentioned how comfortable the waist belt was that I decided to take the plunge hoping for the best. Boy am I glad I did. The price was a hard pill to swallow at first, remembering how cheap my old badlands pack was in comparison, but the awesomeness of a kifaru pack really is something you have to experience firsthand to get the full effect. The phrase buy once cry once really hit home.

I am one happy customer :D
 
I had the same experience with my lumbar pad, now I love it. I am also a very happy customer with my Bikini frame and suspension. I'm really impressed how tight I can get the waist belt and how tight it stays.
 
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