Initial Ascent IA8K - info needed

[IBen]

I ran the stone glacier 6900 on a c curve last year on everything from Alaska mtn goat to deer and elk across the west and even for turkey in Tennessee this last spring. I liked it but didn’t love it. It was nice to shave some weight from previous packs. ( I used kifaru for 12-14 yrs with a couple others mixed in). Durability with the bag was good. For me the lumbar was just a little too small. I also felt like I was constantly trying to cinch down the straps or adjust the pack. On the goat hunt in Alaska we had so much rain on our pack down the mtn everything was soaked except for the inside of the bag with the use of a rainfly. Half way down with the first load the Velcro that retains the stays actually started to fail and wouldn’t keep the stays in place so they stuck me in the top of the rump most of the way down and back up.
I got my IA8K this summer and carried 45 lbs around the track and bleachers while my daughters had their track practice. I worn it scouting and hunting sheep in Colorado for probably 5 weeks and an elk hunt in Wyoming. I have yet to cuss anything about the packer frame. I do have a little scuff or wear on the mesh like fabric of a shoulder strap. Not sure what caused it. Weather I have it full or cinched down with just day hunt stuff, it rides great. I have very rarely had to re-cinch or adjust while hiking. It does have a bigger lumbar pad which I prefer. I think you can actually remove some of it if needed. It took about 2 trips to get the height adjustment of the lumbar where I liked it. The taper of the bottom of the bag does its job and keeps the load up where you want it. The bag is probably the easiest to start using over any of the other I’ve tried. I wasn’t overwhelmed with straps and buckles. The horseshoe zipper works great for loading and unloading or grabbing items without a full dump. I use a 48oz Nalgene with the swig rig in the elastic pocket and my 85 swaro in the spotter pocket and they fit perfectly. The lod can seem to be a bit big at times and I had to be careful or it would be a catch all and just be loaded with everything. The 2 cutouts the slide over the frame are great to keep it from sliding down when in day mode. I can usually think of something I would change or improve on a bag but I’m not sure what it would be on this bag.

The stays come out if you don't tighten the two straps on the hipbelt enough.