Is there one brand that is truly the best for carrying weight?

[grfox92]

Just to update the thread. I ordered a K4 during the flash sale. I've been busy and it's still in the box, but I hope to get it set up soon.

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[AK4570]

I know I've said this elsewhere, but if it absolutely must come out in one load (or if individual loads will exceed 100lb), there's no question that the Barney's will do the job... and with a surprising amount of comfort for the weight.

Best regards,
John

 

[plebe]

I know I've said this elsewhere, but if it absolutely must come out in one load (or if individual loads will exceed 100lb), there's no question that the Barney's will do the job... and with a surprising amount of comfort for the weight.

Best regards,
John

No experience with them. Are they the “Bob” and “Freighter” frames?

Those look somewhat like the SO frame, but the Freighter extends way over the head from what I can see. Wouldn’t want to hunt with that tower on my back, personally. But looks like a stout hauler.

 

[grfox92]

I know I've said this elsewhere, but if it absolutely must come out in one load (or if individual loads will exceed 100lb), there's no question that the Barney's will do the job... and with a surprising amount of comfort for the weight.

Best regards,
John

I have no idea why they aren't more common or popular outside of AK. It might be because they are just so big and also poor marketing on their part. Their website looks like it was designed with a typewriter.

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[Highlands Hunter]

I have the K4, DL, SO Revo, and recently got an R3. Had a Kuiu Pro and MR.

They are all high quality and capable, imo. I couldn’t tell anyone which brand will be truly best for carrying weight for them…nor which bag has the features they’ll like most. I’ve more than a few to choose from.

The K4 is incredibly well built and streamlined, but of all them, for whatever reason it’s the belt that moves on me the most of all. Under heavy loads it kind of settles down and finds it’s place. The bags are a bit narrow in my opinion, but that’s by design and I get why. Despite some belt wander, I‘ll enthusiastically recommend folks try the K4 because they might not have that issue with the belt and it could indeed be the best for them.

On the Revo, I think it isn’t the best choice for wider people. With how the tubular frame wraps around the hips, I could imagine it creating pressure. Also, it is super comfortable under lighter loads without the lumbar pad but adding the lumbar pad under heavier loads is beneficial, at lest for me. The frame extensions are nice for switching between day mode and haul mode. Idk, I find it pretty nice beyond a sack lunch or dayhunt load. It however has the least ventilation of all the frames I’ve used.

The Revolution frame was better without the lumbar pad when using heavier weights. With the lumbar pad it sagged more and the belt became to small. However, without the lumbar pad the bottom of the frame would hit the top of my glutes. I’m not a very big guy, 5’8” and 155 lbs. The frame worked best for me when I was carrying light loads and using a lumbar pad; it was super comfortable like this. Now I will admit with the lumbar pad the belt became borderline to small. So I bought another SO pack with a bigger belt and it was better comfort wise, but I was still getting sagging with weight over 30 lbs. I returned that pack and began to search for a new pack.

 

[JMonty]

I'd second the barney's packs. I have the frontier and even after a long hike (last was around 9-10 miles up and down hills) lugging around 50lbs my back and overall body felt good the next day.

 

[plebe]

The Revolution frame was better without the lumbar pad when using heavier weights. With the lumbar pad it sagged more and the belt became to small. However, without the lumbar pad the bottom of the frame would hit the top of my glutes. I’m not a very big guy, 5’8” and 155 lbs. The frame worked best for me when I was carrying light loads and using a lumbar pad; it was super comfortable like this. Now I will admit with the lumbar pad the belt became borderline to small. So I bought another SO pack with a bigger belt and it was better comfort wise, but I was still getting sagging with weight over 30 lbs. I returned that pack and began to search for a new pack.

Goes to show what works for one may not for another.

Take any brand or frame, and there’s folks doing stuff like adding or removing lumbar foam, swapping for softer or more rigid foam, changing stays, etc. Sometimes those modifications are the ticket, sometimes they don’t work.

 

[westsloper]

I think some people are being too harsh on the Seek Outside. There are plenty of testimonials from people who use and love it for huge loads. It’s been a top contender for many years, but it’s never quite had the cool factor of first Kifaru, then Stone Glacier, and now Exo. Still, it has major fit issues for a lot of people. I think the lumbar pad hampers performance but needed it to get the frame off my butt. A few other things just never worked, and I live near SO and had their help. I have several other issues with their packs and will not buy another, but that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily only good for light to moderate loads.

 

[mtwarden]

I've had the opportunity to use Stone Glacier, Seek Outside and Kifaru packs. If I had to choose amongst those solely on what pack carries heavy weight the best, I would say Kifaru by a small margin.

As several have said carrying 80+ lbs sucks regardless of the pack, but I've found there are minor differences on how much suck. Least to most suck—Kifaru->SG->SO (again minor differences).

All the above packs will handle loads from a construction standpoint with loads well in excess if what we can (should ) physically carry.

With that said, I've found the differences in handling weight between the three minor. Obviously getting just the right fit makes a huge difference and I'm sure with the individual differences in our physiques, that some packs are simply going to fit different folks better than others. This is where the ability to try different packs is really advantageous.

With that said, I'm carrying my pack in the mountains 95+% of the time with loads that don't exceed 40-ish lbs- I wish it was more often 80+ lbs

Sooooo there are a lot of different computations for me that go into choosing my pack-overall weight, bags available and their layouts, fabrics available, how boned meat is going to be carried and ease of doing so, accessories available, adjustability (including frame length), where the packs are made, etc, etc.

 

[Fins_N_Tines]

Funny how I didn't see any initial ascents recommendations on this post. I've tried one on couple years ago and the belt didn't fit well at all. I've seen lately some influencers pushing IA how it hauls heavy loads the best. I just don't see much talk on rokslide from real world folks on the IA being on par or superior to the top 3.

 

[Ecampbell25]

Ask any Alaskan guide their pack of choice for carrying heavy moose quarters and I bet 90% say Barney’s freighter pack…