Hill People Chest Rig vs. Kifaru Steelhead

[jnawalaniec]

Has anyone who has used the HPG Chest Rig tried out the new Kifaru Steelhead? Looking for something for all around general use: carrying while hiking, turkey hunting, fishing, possibly trail running if I ever decide to get in shape.

I would also love to hear your opinion on either one if you’re currently using it.

 

[Hoghead]

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[Voyageur]

I've had my HPG Original Kit Bag for several years now, probably 8-10, and have zero complaints. I can shoot my bow while wearing it and use it for summer backpacking and canoe trips as well as hunts. It's comfortable which means it's always on. I've never felt the need to look for a different option.

 

[switchback7]

I have the HPG Recon bag and love it. You may want to check out FHF chest pack too.

 

[*zap*]

 

[dmc]

Got to play with my buddy's steelhead and think my HPG Heavy Recon suits me better. Two awesome features on the Steelhead 1) pistol rip tab, 2) the front pouch accordion lining (does he call it a raptor mouth? haha) that keeps gear from falling out of the sides. Otherwise the HPG Recon is perfect for me and you can do a lot with all the molle it has. I use it for night hunting pigs, hiking with my glock, and flyfishing.

 

[jnawalaniec]

Got to play with my buddy's steelhead and think my HPG Heavy Recon suits me better. Two awesome features on the Steelhead 1) pistol rip tab, 2) the front pouch accordion lining (does he call it a raptor mouth? haha) that keeps gear from falling out of the sides. Otherwise the HPG Recon is perfect for me and you can do a lot with all the molle it has. I use it for night hunting pigs, hiking with my glock, and flyfishing.

how do they compare size wise?

 

[dmc]

I didn't have them side by side, but I would think similar with the Steelhead having more depth/thicker. I think the webbing on the Steelhead's shoulder straps weren't as wide as the HPG. Pros & cons I'm sure.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I looked hard at HPG a few years back. Played with my brothers. Big fan of their gear.

I opted to roll my own in a way. I run a hapylon molle chest rig (blue force gear rack minus) with an FHF gear bino pack (center), a range finder pouch (right) and an admin pouch (left).

 

[Rokwiia]

I've owned the Original Kit Bag for many years. On my second one. A few thoughts.

1) The two appear to be similar in size although I can't find the published width, height, and depth of the Steelhead.

2) When using the OKB, I always "dock" it to my backpack using lifter straps that come with the chest pack. Even when I have a Ruger Super Redhawk in the chest pack, it becomes weightless. That feature does not appear to be on the Steelhead. Having a lot of gear, a firearm, and ammo can weigh down the chest pack. Without docking it, you feel the weight and it pulling down, especially over time. The ability to dock it, thus making it weightless, is an enormous feature.

3) When I unzip the center pouch (there are three zippered compartments), it folds down but does not allow the contents to spill out. The Steelhead has a tie-down feature to accommodate the same result.

My only wish is the OKB could be made another inch wider.

The docking and lifter straps are demonstrated and discussed here:

 

[2ski]

So when did Kifaru ditch the Koala/lite?

I have an original Kit Bag and love it. The fact that the Steelhead has dedicated parts for fishing items is intriguing to me as the fishing companies don't make chest rigs that are made to carry a gun. But at the same time, too much gear on my chest when I'm fishing, I really feel after a while 9n my back. It's why I changed from a vest to a sling pack. Actually come to think of it, someone should make a sling hunting day pack. I use a fanny pack that way because fanny packs sag when you get enough weight in them. But I would love a sling pack for a day hunt style pack. I suppose the guide lid sort of fits that bill.

*edit I guess Sitka and Banded make sling packs but both are designed around waterfowl hinting.

 

[jnawalaniec]

So when did Kifaru ditch the Koala/lite?

I have an original Kit Bag and love it. The fact that the Steelhead has dedicated parts for fishing items is intriguing to me as the fishing companies don't make chest rigs that are made to carry a gun. But at the same time, too much gear on my chest when I'm fishing, I really feel after a while 9n my back. It's why I changed from a vest to a sling pack. Actually come to think of it, someone should make a sling hunting day pack. I use a fanny pack that way because fanny packs sag when you get enough weight in them. But I would love a sling pack for a day hunt style pack. I suppose the guide lid sort of fits that bill.

*edit I guess Sitka and Banded make sling packs but both are designed around waterfowl hinting.

I’m switching from a sling pack back to a chest pack, my hands start to go numb after wearing the sling pack a while. Did you use the kit bag for fishing?

 

[2ski]

I’m switching from a sling pack back to a chest pack, my hands start to go numb after wearing the sling pack a while. Did you use the kit bag for fishing?

No. I don't use it for fishing. I have a Simms sling pack I use.

 

[Hancock]

I've had a HPG Recon Kit Bag (full size), for about 3 or 4 years now and I wouldn't take anything for it. It's just too handy. I leave fire starting components in there, wet wipes (for the doo-doo), small emergency kit, small led light, my pistol rides in the back portion of it. I'm never in the woods without it anymore.
I like the molle on the front. That's where my old kuiu binocular harness rides.
Like mentioned earlier, it can slip down if you start loading it up too much. That's when it's nice to just dock it to your pack.
When I first got it, I was on the fence about how much I'd actually use it, but like I said, I'm hardly ever without it in the woods.
Looking at the Steelhead, it looks like it is deeper front to back than HPG kit bags. Maybe, maybe not. For me personally, I limit my front side to just the kit bag and sometimes my bino harness. Not knocking anybody else's preference, but I see people strapping more and more garb to their front side and it's getting ridiculous and cumbersome looking to me. I like the looks of Marsupial Gear, but some of that looks like it's getting out of hand with the bino harness, RF pocket, wind checker pocket, etc. piling up on your front side. I don't know. That's just me. The Recon Bag is about right to me in terms of thickness. No issues shooting a bow with it on.
If you haven't seen Kifaru's new video "Kings of the Mountain", I do wonder how much grief Frank gave that kid on there for sporting that HPG Kit Bag.
Damn, that got long.

 

[jAKe0711]

Helikontex also makes a chest pack

 

[Jermh]

Reviving this thread for a minute. I'm trying to decide between these two but I'm curious...do any of you guys carry binos with either of these? Would love that option but seems like it would get bulky, especially while shooting a bow. Anyone have experience with this?

 

[jnawalaniec]

Reviving this thread for a minute. I'm trying to decide between these two but I'm curious...do any of you guys carry binos with either of these? Would love that option but seems like it would get bulky, especially while shooting a bow. Anyone have experience with this?

you can fit binos in the hpg kit bag no problem and wouldn’t get too bulky for shooting a bow. They also make a thinner kit bag you can put a bino pocket on

 

[bsnedeker]

Reviving this thread for a minute. I'm trying to decide between these two but I'm curious...do any of you guys carry binos with either of these? Would love that option but seems like it would get bulky, especially while shooting a bow. Anyone have experience with this?

I use the HPG with the bino pouch in front. It doesn't interfere with my draw at all. Killed the bull in my profile pic while wearing it last September, you can see the harness in that pic too.

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[tonym123]

Do you prefer a chest rig to a Bino harness for archery?


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[jnawalaniec]

Do you prefer a chest rig to a Bino harness for archery?


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I’m planning on using my bino harness for archery this year, next year I may try out the HPG recon kit bag with their bino pouch.