Initial Ascent Pack for Stout/Husky guys

[gostovp]

Any stout/husky guys that have the Initial Ascent packs and how do they fit? I'm 50 year old dad bod with broader shoulders and chest and corresponding beer/bbq gut and zero butt cheeks. I hike/ruck/kettlebell quite a bit to try to stay in shape. I currently have an EXO K3 4800 and am generally happy with it, but do find that I have to readjust it a bit when rucking with 50 to 60 lb loads...like keep having to tighten the belt and sometimes feels like the pack wants to ride down.

 

[steelheadmike]

Any stout/husky guys that have the Initial Ascent packs and how do they fit? I'm 50 year old dad bod with broader shoulders and chest and corresponding beer/bbq gut and zero butt cheeks. I hike/ruck/kettlebell quite a bit to try to stay in shape. I currently have an EXO K3 4800 and am generally happy with it, but do find that I have to readjust it a bit when rucking with 50 to 60 lb loads...like keep having to tighten the belt and sometimes feels like the pack wants to ride down.

I have a similar body as you and had the same experience with the K3 (a lot of people did). I have no experience with IA packs but the K4 pack seemed to alleviate the slippage issue. The first time I rucked with my K4, I kept wanting to tighten the belt (out of habit) but never needed to.

 

[gostovp]

I have a similar body as you and had the same experience with the K3 (a lot of people did). I have no experience with IA packs but the K4 pack seemed to alleviate the slippage issue. The first time I rucked with my K4, I kept wanting to tighten the belt (out of habit) but never needed to.

You ever try the lumbar foam kit from Exo to try and fix that issue? I personally haven’t tried that

 

[steelheadmike]

You ever try the lumbar foam kit from Exo to try and fix that issue? I personally haven’t tried that

Yes, I did. It seemed to help a bit but I still was constantly tightening. The foam kit helped more with keeping the bottom of the frame from digging into the small of my back. The K4 belt was the biggest fix but I had also lost a few lbs which helped getting the hip pads into the right place.

 

[fisherman983]

No experience with IA but had the same issues with my k3. Bought a k4 and they went away. That being said, being a gear junkie I've been looking at the IA packs as well.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

 

[David Gough]

Wondering the same this myself. Have a similar issue with Kifaru with 40+ pounds.

 

[gostovp]

I bought the pad kit from Exo and it just showed up today so I’m going to take it for a hike and see how it does.

 

[plebe]

I bought the pad kit from Exo and it just showed up today so I’m going to take it for a hike and see how it does.

Exo made a big deal about how the K4 is better in this respect.



I never tried the K3, but the K4 still settles on me with heavier loads, and moves around a bit under lighter loads. K3 is lighter and some prefer those bag arrangements; it’ll be interesting to hear your conclusions.

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I haven’t tried the IA stuff. They never responded to an inquiry of mine. That’s never happened before in this product market.

I’ve the Kifaru DL, K4, Seek Revo, Stone R3. Have used MR and Kuiu too. They all have pros and cons. I’m sure that holds true with IA.

I could be totally wrong, but I think what’s in front of you is far less important to pack fitting than what’s behind, so long as the belt is correctly sized. In other words, I don’t think there’s one best frame for the stout or the skinny.