KIFARU ARK FRAME review

[RaggedHunter]

To add to the belt sizing question. I wear a size 34 pant, but they are a little loose, I have to wear a belt, so probably more of a 33 in waist.

I ordered a small belt and it is definitely on the verge of being too small. I haven't loaded the pack up with weight yet, but I fear I may have to switch it out for a medium.

 

[deerhunter628]

I ordered on Sunday and got shipping notification today

 

[Jake Larsen]

I had a chance to mess with this frame a bit. It’s pretty awesome so far! I’ve been a big fan of the Kutthroat for summer backpacking/scouting, because of the weight savings and the comfort at 30-40lbs. This frame may change that. It’s not even broken in and it’s VERY comfortable for me. It’s hard to describe…it’s simultaneously more flexible (more comfortable when not loaded heavy) and also very supportive with 80-100lbs than the duplex. The contour fits my back perfectly. I had a bedlam and a Dall on it, both fit very nicely.

Just need to convince them to make a Kutthroat bag with a load shelf for this frame now haha.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SkunkCabbage]

Pulling on the frame against my knee in the middle the dl flex’s maybe 2” the new ark flexes about 4” so it does flex more vertically

I guess it will depend on how it handles the heavy weight in comparison to the tried and true.
Thanks

 

[SkunkCabbage]

Inquired yesterday on my offer. Credit card was charged when I placed the order and received my invoice number

Colton got back to me with this:

Hey **, there was an error with getting your order transferred over to our inventory system. I am currently getting with IT to have that show up so we can ship it to you. Thank you for your patience

 

[wowzers]

Mine should be here today.

 

[MNnice32]

I ordered 5 minutes after the frame went live and it was delivered today. This is my first kifaru frame and I'm pretty impressed! I went with 25in and medium belt and it's fits pretty well. I'm a 38 waist and a 36/38 in pants at 6'3 255. I do wonder if a large belt would fit better but fits way better than my older bags. It did come with the tab loops to attach a bag (10 total). I picked up a multi cam hoodlum as my first kifaru bag as well. The laster cut molle on the medium belt has 5 rows and 5 columns and was able to put a small belt pouch on but seems like a 6th row would allow it to fit better. Curious if a large belt is 6x6. Hope this helps some folks out there! I've been a long time reader and finally created an account to provide some insight!

 

[prm]

Mine arrived today. 25”/Small belt. I’m a 34” waist based on pant size and it feels good. Installed Stryker XL bag. Easy enough. I’ve played with a few different positions on the frame and think I have it adjusted, but need more time to be sure. I did strap in a 40lb bag of sand. Didn’t get to hike before rains came so that will have to wait until tomorrow. Frame + Stryker + all the little attachment straps came to 5 lb 9 oz. Still need to add nalgene and belt pouch. But here is a somewhat major oversight, Kifaru belt pouches don’t fit on a small Ark belt. There are only 4 columns of Molle, the small and med pouch need 5 (at least). Unless you want it loose, floppy, and generally fitting like a$$. However, an Exo belt pouch fits perfectly.

 

[SkunkCabbage]

Frustrated still has not shipped from ordering in the first hour. Contacted them this week about it and they said they had an error and would transfer it. I get the vibe I was transferred to the bottom of the pile. Less than impressed at this point.

 

[5MilesBack]

I must be the only guy out there that hates lumbar pads and wide thick pack belts. But that's probably because I prefer to wear my packs higher and lock the belt in between my hips and rib cage......i.e. waist. Hard to do that with a wide thick belt.

 

[sndmn11]

I must be the only guy out there that hates lumbar pads and wide thick pack belts. But that's probably because I prefer to wear my packs higher and lock the belt in between my hips and rib cage......i.e. waist. Hard to do that with a wide thick belt.

This guy too! I've learned that in the last month

 

[Bcleck90]

Mine arrived today. 25”/Small belt. I’m a 34” waist based on pant size and it feels good. Installed Stryker XL bag. Easy enough. I’ve played with a few different positions on the frame and think I have it adjusted, but need more time to be sure. I did strap in a 40lb bag of sand. Didn’t get to hike before rains came so that will have to wait until tomorrow. Frame + Stryker + all the little attachment straps came to 5 lb 9 oz. Still need to add nalgene and belt pouch. But here is a somewhat major oversight, Kifaru belt pouches don’t fit on a small Ark belt. There are only 4 columns of Molle, the small and med pouch need 5 (at least). Unless you want it loose, floppy, and generally fitting like a$$. However, an Exo belt pouch fits perfectly.

Curious to see if they switch to more molle backed pouches vs the sliders that currently are on the belt pouches. Seems like it would make more sense with the new belts.

 

[wowzers]

I got mine yesterday. I’m writing this from the perspective of using the same Kifaru pack for the last 14ish years. Out the gate the frame sheet I got looks different than the picture that Tony posted in the beginning. In his picture the frame sheet looks like what you think of carbon fiber looking like and mine looks just like the one on the website. Not sure it makes any difference and I don’t really care about it looking like a Honda civic hood if it performs the same but they do appear different.

The one concern I have is the texture of the frame sheet. It feels about like 3000 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Just from it getting to me in the shipping box you can see where the shoulder straps rubbed on the frame. Unless that texture wears off I would think it’s going to cause abrasion issues over hundreds or thousands of miles especially on the back of the bag.




Another thing I noticed right out of the box was my frame has several nicks around the slots in the frame and one spot that has several scrapes or gouges in it.




I know squat about how you make carbon fiber stuff so maybe it happens when they pull it out of the mold or something. If it’s just from assembling it at the factory I have some concerns about how longevity as I plan to use it for the next decade and half like my last one. If it doesn’t effect the strength of the frame then I don’t really care.

The shoulder straps and waist belt definitely feel better than my old one. Lumbar is a little pronounced but I’m guessing I need to get some time under weight to break it in.

 

[wowzers]

Any word on how this frame works with the old hypalon w/holes bags in regards to load lifter connection.

I think it will work but you can probably only use the top lifter spot. Frame slides in the hypalon and lines up with the holes. I’m messing around with mine and I think I’ll need a few straps to make the old bag attach to the spots on the side of new frame.

My intention is to get a new smaller bag though for this frame but being able to run my big bag if I want to do a long hunt is a plus.

 

[MNnice32]

I got mine yesterday. I’m writing this from the perspective of using the same Kifaru pack for the last 14ish years. Out the gate the frame sheet I got looks different than the picture that Tony posted in the beginning. In his picture the frame sheet looks like what you think of carbon fiber looking like and mine looks just like the one on the website. Not sure it makes any difference and I don’t really care about it looking like a Honda civic hood if it performs the same but they do appear different.

The one concern I have is the texture of the frame sheet. It feels about like 3000 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Just from it getting to me in the shipping box you can see where the shoulder straps rubbed on the frame. Unless that texture wears off I would think it’s going to cause abrasion issues over hundreds or thousands of miles especially on the back of the bag.


View attachment 681415

Another thing I noticed right out of the box was my frame has several nicks around the slots in the frame and one spot that has several scrapes or gouges in it.
View attachment 681420

View attachment 681424

I know squat about how you make carbon fiber stuff so maybe it happens when they pull it out of the mold or something. If it’s just from assembling it at the factory I have some concerns about how longevity as I plan to use it for the next decade and half like my last one. If it doesn’t effect the strength of the frame then I don’t really care.

The shoulder straps and waist belt definitely feel better than my old one. Lumbar is a little pronounced but I’m guessing I need to get some time under weight to break it in.

Mine also had these same nicks around the sheet. It really does feel like 3000 grit sand paper was already wondering if it would be best to smooth it down. I am partly worried about the plastic tab loop rubbing against the frame where the bag connects but time will tell.

 

[Read1t48]

I got mine yesterday. I’m writing this from the perspective of using the same Kifaru pack for the last 14ish years. Out the gate the frame sheet I got looks different than the picture that Tony posted in the beginning. In his picture the frame sheet looks like what you think of carbon fiber looking like and mine looks just like the one on the website. Not sure it makes any difference and I don’t really care about it looking like a Honda civic hood if it performs the same but they do appear different.

The one concern I have is the texture of the frame sheet. It feels about like 3000 grit wet/dry sandpaper. Just from it getting to me in the shipping box you can see where the shoulder straps rubbed on the frame. Unless that texture wears off I would think it’s going to cause abrasion issues over hundreds or thousands of miles especially on the back of the bag.


View attachment 681415

Another thing I noticed right out of the box was my frame has several nicks around the slots in the frame and one spot that has several scrapes or gouges in it.
View attachment 681420

View attachment 681424

I know squat about how you make carbon fiber stuff so maybe it happens when they pull it out of the mold or something. If it’s just from assembling it at the factory I have some concerns about how longevity as I plan to use it for the next decade and half like my last one. If it doesn’t effect the strength of the frame then I don’t really care.

The shoulder straps and waist belt definitely feel better than my old one. Lumbar is a little pronounced but I’m guessing I need to get some time under weight to break it in.

I wouldn’t accept those marks after paying that kind money. I would have them send you a new one. Who’s to say the gouge in the middle won’t crack in the future and probably at the worst time possible.

 

[wowzers]

I wouldn’t accept those marks after paying that kind money. I would have them send you a new one. Who’s to say the gouge in the middle won’t crack in the future and probably at the worst time possible.

It is a concern to me. I wrote them an email with the pictures and we’ll see what they say. I thought for a minute maybe I was the lucky one to get the frame they threw off the cliff!

I’ve had great luck with Kifaru and only had to send one item in for work and I had bought it second hand and they fixed for free which I really didn’t expect.

 

[prm]

I did my first hike with the Ark this morning. Just a few miles up and around our local mountain. For this, I added a 40lb sand bag. I don’t have dedicated compression straps yet because they have not been available in a bit through Kifaru. The Stryker bag did a pretty good job of securing the load anyway.
The belt feels really good. The best thing I can say is that it didn’t move when snugged down and I didn’t notice it. No interference with movement and no pressure points. After a couple miles I did retighten. Possibly just working slack out of system or pad compressing over time. The load never shifted to the shoulder straps. In fact, I kept loosening them just to be sure. They did nothing other than keep pack from falling back. My K4 always shifts down until some portion of the load is on the shoulder straps.
Pleased so far with how it functions. Not thrilled about belt pouch and Nalgene holder options. Still need to sort out the straps at the back of the belt. The Ark doesn’t have the same attachments and the Stryker doesn’t have a place to attach them. I emailed them.
Need more miles, we’ll see.

edit:
I also added the EXO nalgene holder. As a pleasant surprise, the shoulder strap is directly inline with the top slot of the nalgene holder once mounted on the back row of molle on the small belt, so that can also support the nalgene holder just as it does on the K4. Total weight with Exo belt pocket and nalgene holder is 5lb 15oz. Only thing missing is two compression straps on frame.

 

[SmalljawNH]

It is a concern to me. I wrote them an email with the pictures and we’ll see what they say. I thought for a minute maybe I was the lucky one to get the frame they threw off the cliff!

I’ve had great luck with Kifaru and only had to send one item in for work and I had bought it second hand and they fixed for free which I really didn’t expect.

I'm interested to hear what they say about the gouges and missing pieces on your frame. Kifaru had a great reputation; the story about your 14 year old pack is a great example of that.

Edit: For what it's worth, even the promo photo on their website shows a similar small void on the surface.

 

[mthomasondpt]

Very interested to hear more reviews on these. I have a DL frame and have been happy so far. The lumbar pad foam needs replacing, but otherwise fine. Between nicks & gauges in the frame and not having enough slots for belt pouches, I'm waiting to jump on this. Anyone else notice their customer service isn't quite what it used to be?