KIFARU ARK FRAME review

[SkunkCabbage]

I’m at 10 days since ordering. Not shipped yet.

I ordered mine basically an hour after they dropped. Still no notification for me.

 

[Jake Larsen]

Mine just shipped this morning. I ordered within 1 minute of the drop.


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[SmalljawNH]

I ordered mine basically an hour after they dropped. Still no notification for me.

Same here. I ordered a shirt with the frame and they emailed me last Friday to let me know the shirt was out of stock. They apologized and refunded me so all good there. The shirt is the least of my worries.

Since they reached out to me first, I asked for a shipping ETA and was told middle of this week for the rest of my order. So I take it that the frames and components are in-stock.

I ordered their bino harness on pre-sale last year and that was a huge miss. They took nearly 6 weeks longer to ship than was promised.

I want to support U.S. manufacturing, but there could be more transparency around lead times. Under promise, over deliver is marketing 101. Consumer preferences have shifted as online retailers like Amazon Prime have set an expectation for timely fulfillment.

The lack of communication in the past on the bino harness and now the Ark frames is surprising to me. I thought a post thanking us for the overwhelming support of the Ark frame and reassurance that the orders will be filled as fast as they can would create some good will.

 

[Jake Larsen]

Same here. I ordered a shirt with the frame and they emailed me last Friday to let me know the shirt was out of stock. They apologized and refunded me so all good there. The shirt is the least of my worries.

Since they reached out to me first, I asked for a shipping ETA and was told middle of this week for the rest of my order. So I take it that the frames and components are in-stock.

I ordered their bino harness on pre-sale last year and that was a huge miss. They took nearly 6 weeks longer to ship than was promised.

I want to support U.S. manufacturing, but there could be more transparency around lead times. Under promise, over deliver is marketing 101. Consumer preferences have shifted as online retailers like Amazon Prime have set an expectation for timely fulfillment.

The lack of communication in the past on the bino harness and now the Ark frames is surprising to me. I thought a post thanking us for the overwhelming support of the Ark frame and reassurance that the orders will be filled as fast as they can would create some good will.

I was starting to get a little concerned myself. Very happy to see my shipping confirmation this morning. And I ordered within a minute of the drop, so it’s hard for me to imagine there were too many people ahead of mine. Some transparency on the timeline would definitely be a good idea for those guys.


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[trophyhill]

I got mine yesterday! I ordered right when they went on sale. Been under the weather so haven't been able to try it on yet.

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Did you get tracking info prior to delivery or any kind of email?

 

[GIS]

Yes, I got shipping/tracking notification on Friday morning and it was delivered on Saturday.

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[prm]

I received a shipping notification this morning.

 

[SmalljawNH]

I was starting to get a little concerned myself. Very happy to see my shipping confirmation this morning. And I ordered within a minute of the drop, so it’s hard for me to imagine there were too many people ahead of mine. Some transparency on the timeline would definitely be a good idea for those guys.


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I'm happy to see you and a few others are getting shipping confirmation. Part of the reason I'm online here is to look for some reassurance.

I know Kifaru sponsors this page and wonder if anyone there that reads the threads. They might be too busy stuffing boxes right now lol

 

[deerhunter628]

The review is working for me now. I ordered the frame yesterday. I chatted them today to see if the frame was in stock and ready to ship or if shipping would take time. They told me they expected it to ship by thursday and if it does not to contact them again.

 

[T_Widdy]

I'm happy to see you and a few others are getting shipping confirmation. Part of the reason I'm online here is to look for some reassurance.

I know Kifaru sponsors this page and wonder if anyone there is reads the threads. They might be too busy stuffing boxes right now lol

 

[prm]

I put in a separate order for a few items a couple days later, and if order numbers are any indication they are sending a lot of shipments out.

 

[T_Widdy]

Got my ark today, it looks very well made as always. Definitely seems to flex more than the DL. The belt and shoulder straps feel better to me than the DL. Really easy to put a Stryker xl on. Can’t wait to load it up and test it. The exo k4 water bottle holder fits pretty nice and seems secure even without the shoulder strap loop. I hope they come out with different belt pouches, they don’t fit the belt very well, I might try an Exo one.

 

[deerhunter628]

Got my ark today, it looks very well made as always. Definitely seems to flex more than the DL. The belt and shoulder straps feel better to me than the DL. Really easy to put a Stryker xl on. Can’t wait to load it up and test it. The exo k4 water bottle holder fits pretty nice and seems secure even without the shoulder strap loop. I hope they come out with different belt pouches, they don’t fit the belt very well, I might try an Exo one.

Well that sucks. I was hoping my pockets would work. Those Exo pockets look pretty nice.

 

[SmalljawNH]

Got my ark today, it looks very well made as always. Definitely seems to flex more than the DL. The belt and shoulder straps feel better to me than the DL. Really easy to put a Stryker xl on. Can’t wait to load it up and test it. The exo k4 water bottle holder fits pretty nice and seems secure even without the shoulder strap loop. I hope they come out with different belt pouches, they don’t fit the belt very well, I might try an Exo one.

What size belt did you order and what size is the belt pouch?

I look forward to hearing your impressions of the new frame under load, especially in comparison to the Exo given their reputation for comfort.

 

[T_Widdy]

What size belt did you order and what size is the belt pouch?

I look forward to hearing your impressions of the new frame under load, especially in comparison to the Exo given their reputation for comfort.

Small and small, I’m a 32 waist in normal pants. 25” frame

 

[T_Widdy]

Well that sucks. I was hoping my pockets would work. Those Exo pockets look pretty nice.

This one fits better

 

[SkunkCabbage]

Got my ark today, it looks very well made as always. Definitely seems to flex more than the DL. The belt and shoulder straps feel better to me than the DL. Really easy to put a Stryker xl on. Can’t wait to load it up and test it. The exo k4 water bottle holder fits pretty nice and seems secure even without the shoulder strap loop. I hope they come out with different belt pouches, they don’t fit the belt very well, I might try an Exo one.

Vertically speaking how does the flex compare? This is my biggest concern at this point with the setup

 

[Tony Trietch]

Well that sucks. I was hoping my pockets would work. Those Exo pockets look pretty nice.

I have a small belt and I used the small belt pouches on my belt with zero difference from the duplex.
The only thing I found different was installing them in the laser cut material.

 

[deerhunter628]

I have a small belt and I used the small belt pouches on my belt with zero difference from the duplex.
The only thing I found different was installing them in the laser cut material.
View attachment 679524
View attachment 679525

What did you need to do different to install the pockets on the new belt?

 

[prm]

So, it appears both a Kifaru nalgene holder and small belt pouch won’t fit on the same side? The mini pouch will fit with an Exo nalgene? (EXO uses a single row).