Travis1984
WKR
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2012
- Messages
- 683
Sick of Bikini Reviews Yet?
Special shout out here to Aron and the rest of Kifaru who got me my pack the day before I needed it for a hike. Also, thanks for installing those connectors at the bottom of the pack.
So I'm going to hold of on greater judgement until I can get home and load up two fifty pound sandbags, but WOW.
I had 40 pounds in my pack today and took in on the Summit Loop at Smith Rock, just outside Bend, OR. It is approximately a 7.5-8 mile hike. 40 pounds is about 15 pounds below my 7 day pack in weight, so we weren't quite there yet, but close, and I certainly can't speak to what it's going to feel like with a 100 pounds in it.
So some things right off the bat, the DT1 is BIG. I wasn't even close to filling it. The bag also has more pockets then I realized, and the sleeping bag zipper at the bottom is a huge plus in my book. The spotting scope pocket easily fit my 80 mm Swaro, and I was able to fit the lid over the top completely covering my spotter.
It took me a bit of playing last night, maybe 15 minutes, after watching the video's on Kifaru on how to fit your pack to your frame, to get my pack just right. But I think it wouldn't take me more then five minutes now that I know what I'm doing. There is a couple of little tricks.
I made a mistake right off the bat when I started my hike. When I cinched everything down the lid was over part of the load lifters, and it only took me about a hundred yards to realize something was wrong. I moved it back a little, put the pack back on, and I got between 2-3 inches of lift on my shoulders.
You can see the lift pretty apparently in the pictures below. Sorry I look like a goober with my pants rolled up. The sun was beating on this pale skinned man from Western Washington. I haven't seen the sun in about 6 months! :chuckle: :chuckle:
The front side of Smith Rock (Monkey Face Trail) was pretty steep. It honestly felt like I had no weight in my pack. The lifters put all the weight on your hips, it was pretty phenomenal. I felt myself checking out most of the other hikers packs. I saw mostly northface and REI packs everywhere (coupled with lots of Suburu's), and I don't think I saw a single functional load lifter all day, and I looked at over a hundred packs.
I really don't have anything bad to say, which I didn't expect too. It's very easy to cinch everything up tight once you get into a routine. I spent quite a bit of time glassing on the backside, as I was pretty much alone back there, and the ease of removing and replacing the spotter was really nice. My only concern is if I fell, the spotter is pretty exposed on the outside. While hiking in, I think I'll probably wrap my spotter in between all my gear internal to the bag.
I know a couple of you wanted to test out the pack who live locally. Just hit me up when you want to give it a whirl, and I'll see if I'm available.
This thread will be an ongoing review, as I will be drastically increasing the weight when I get home.
Special shout out here to Aron and the rest of Kifaru who got me my pack the day before I needed it for a hike. Also, thanks for installing those connectors at the bottom of the pack.
So I'm going to hold of on greater judgement until I can get home and load up two fifty pound sandbags, but WOW.
I had 40 pounds in my pack today and took in on the Summit Loop at Smith Rock, just outside Bend, OR. It is approximately a 7.5-8 mile hike. 40 pounds is about 15 pounds below my 7 day pack in weight, so we weren't quite there yet, but close, and I certainly can't speak to what it's going to feel like with a 100 pounds in it.
So some things right off the bat, the DT1 is BIG. I wasn't even close to filling it. The bag also has more pockets then I realized, and the sleeping bag zipper at the bottom is a huge plus in my book. The spotting scope pocket easily fit my 80 mm Swaro, and I was able to fit the lid over the top completely covering my spotter.
It took me a bit of playing last night, maybe 15 minutes, after watching the video's on Kifaru on how to fit your pack to your frame, to get my pack just right. But I think it wouldn't take me more then five minutes now that I know what I'm doing. There is a couple of little tricks.
I made a mistake right off the bat when I started my hike. When I cinched everything down the lid was over part of the load lifters, and it only took me about a hundred yards to realize something was wrong. I moved it back a little, put the pack back on, and I got between 2-3 inches of lift on my shoulders.
You can see the lift pretty apparently in the pictures below. Sorry I look like a goober with my pants rolled up. The sun was beating on this pale skinned man from Western Washington. I haven't seen the sun in about 6 months! :chuckle: :chuckle:
The front side of Smith Rock (Monkey Face Trail) was pretty steep. It honestly felt like I had no weight in my pack. The lifters put all the weight on your hips, it was pretty phenomenal. I felt myself checking out most of the other hikers packs. I saw mostly northface and REI packs everywhere (coupled with lots of Suburu's), and I don't think I saw a single functional load lifter all day, and I looked at over a hundred packs.
I really don't have anything bad to say, which I didn't expect too. It's very easy to cinch everything up tight once you get into a routine. I spent quite a bit of time glassing on the backside, as I was pretty much alone back there, and the ease of removing and replacing the spotter was really nice. My only concern is if I fell, the spotter is pretty exposed on the outside. While hiking in, I think I'll probably wrap my spotter in between all my gear internal to the bag.
I know a couple of you wanted to test out the pack who live locally. Just hit me up when you want to give it a whirl, and I'll see if I'm available.
This thread will be an ongoing review, as I will be drastically increasing the weight when I get home.
