How did you get started with kifaru?

[PMcGee]

I first heard of them on Bowsite and then all the reviews on here. My first pack was a BT2 and I have a Duplex EMRII now as well.

 

[luke moffat]

First Kifaru pack I saw was in 2010 when my buddy Steve (Stid2677) let me try his on to pack out some gear. He shouldered my Mystery Ranch 6500 I had at the time. I knew the belt felt really good from the get go and the weight savings as well both appealed to me. The following year Aron called me up and asked if I wanted to try their newly designed Timberline pack. Been using it from 2011 till now, but not without a bunch of testing of other brands in between which I will continue to do.

Hard to beat them for heavy loads IMO. I wish they still made the KU 5200 though for my summer uses.

 

[Violent Hippie]

I have used multiple brands of backpacks and primary used Black Diamond and The North face ski / mountaineers style packs and they work great with sub 50 pound loads. I discovered Mystery Ranch and have owned a few of their packs which I believe are built well as they should be for a high end priced pack. The Mystery ranch packs primarily the "Nice" frame I used weren't to good at carrying heavier loads just like ski and mountaineer packs I used that were alot lighter. Buying the frame extender was IMO something that should already be built into the frame as Kifaru packs do (24 or 26 inch) . I eventually found Kifaru and have had a duplex frame for a few years that has had multiple packs on (currently EMR 2). Great frames and packs from kifaru that is my go to for any load that will be heavy.

 

[JoshTX]

Mid 1990's, I was climbing a bit and was turned on to a technical pack made by a company called Mountainsmith that was created by a guy by the name of Patrick Smith. It was called the Bugaboo and I still have it. A few years later I got out of the service and instead of climbing, hunting became my passion. Sometime around 2004 I was thinking about a hunting pack and I thought..what about Mountainsmith? I think by this time Patrick had sold that company but I didnt know that at the time. I looked it up on the interwebs and found Kifaru. Bought a Siwash, Para poncho and a few months later..an 8 man tipi. Been drinking the Kool-Aid ever since.

 

[Slim Jim]

I never even heard of Kifaru until 2010 or 2011 in an eastmans magazine. They did a review on packs and the KU 5200 was one of them. When I joined Rokslide in 2012 I learned a lot about Kifaru and their frames through Aron and a few others. I got rid of my eberlestock right away and have never been happier since switching to Kifaru. I love my DT1!

 

[bcimport]

Like many other guys on the site I have tried almost all the higher end packs. Two years ago I convinced a buddy to buy one for our sheep hunt knowing I would get a chance to check it out. Having used MR and SG they all have good points. Mystery Ranch was just bombproof, SG was oh so light and nice. The kifaru just really seems to have hit a nice balance between comfort, weight and durability. So far so good for me. High resale value on these high end packs sure makes it easy to buy, sell and try something else which is nice.

 

[Eric27]

Kifaru is an addiction, I bought a dual frame and the marhkor spiting scope and 4 belt pouches , two weeks later I got the grab it II and organizer, taking it out tomorrow for a scout with my 12 year old

 

[switchback270]

Got started with kifaru a few hours ago. Put an order in for a new hunting frame. Been a long time coming