Kifaru Gun Bearer Issue - Poor CS Experience?

[bsnedeker]

Something doesn’t add up. I packed around a 15.5 pound LRKM for four years with that set up without issues. It’s either defective or you are not running the strap tight enough and the rifle is flopping around.

Wow, this blew up while I was out looking for bears!

For all those questioning me I don't know what else to say other than I know how to use the gun bearer. As I said in my original post I used the same gun bearer on my duplex hunter for years with no issues. I moved it to this duplex light frame last year and the slider bent during it's first season of use. I didn't have any accidents or other incidents with the pack that would have caused this that I can think of.

While I'm glad to see this is going to be taken care of I regret taking this issue public after seeing some of these responses. It wasn't my intention to start a bitch fest and I should have known better based on the subject. My bad.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[PathFinder]

Looks like the issue is solved, but to add my 2 cents on the sliders...
I've bent both of the ones I put a gun bearer on. In both cases, it was because a put a bunch of force on it other than the weight of the rifle. Both of them were easily straightened with a pair of pliers. The steel they're made of is very soft, but it's easy to fix and doesn't bend under normal use.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[Shraggs]

Wow, this blew up while I was out looking for bears!

For all those questioning me I don't know what else to say other than I know how to use the gun bearer. As I said in my original post I used the same gun bearer on my duplex hunter for years with no issues. I moved it to this duplex light frame last year and the slider bent during it's first season of use. I didn't have any accidents or other incidents with the pack that would have caused this that I can think of.

While I'm glad to see this is going to be taken care of I regret taking this issue public after seeing some of these responses. It wasn't my intention to start a bitch fest and I should have known better based on the subject. My bad.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

I fully believe you know how to install and use the gun barrer.

Looked at those pics a number of times, i think The bent slider Is non-related to installation in use. Maybe your pack was on the ground there was a rock under the pack and slider and you sat or kneeled on the pack, I don’t know but that’s what it looks like

 

[Tullis94]

I dont own a kifaru pack because I am very happy with my current pack. That being said if I ever get a new pack it will be a Kifaru for many reasons. Aron and his team are straight shooters!

 

[gelton]

OTT for use with the gun bearer (non-universal) I don't think that three bar slider serves any function....if it were me I would just cut it off and get the universal gun bearer (for free) based on the response from Kifaru, who is more than willing to replace the whole shoulder harness.

 

[fwafwow]

Wow. What a bizarre train wreck of a thread! I feel like I’ve wasted some of my life but at the same time I feel like going to the Kifaru site to buy some stuff I don’t need. Nice posts by Aron and a good show of restraint given some of the other responses…

 

[406unltd]

So I have to say I'm pretty disappointed and a bit surprised by Kifaru on this one and I'd like to hear if you guys think I'm being unreasonable. I've had a gun bearer for as long as I've had a Kifaru. Last year I bought one of the Hunter Lite frames and moved my gun bearer over to that frame. I used it last fall elk and deer hunting and by the end of the season the 3-bar slider on the shoulder strap that the upper portion of the gun bearer connects to was bent at an almost 90 degree angle (pictures below). Unfortunately this slider is sewn in so you can't just swap it out.

So I contact Kifaru CS and I just heard from them that they aren't going to do anything about it. They said I can try bending it back to straight with a pair of pliers "to get a little more life out of it" but when it inevitably snaps I would have to buy new shoulder straps from them at full retail price. I'm pretty disappointed by this response. Considering I didn't have this issue with my previous frame using the same gun bearer in the same way with the same weapon (no extra weight on the gun) I don't think this is user error so I was basically expecting them to take care of it.

What do you guys think? I've only had one other warranty issue with Kifaru in the past and they couldn't have handled it better so maybe I'm just expecting too much? Either way I'm not going to try to fight them on this...just curious what you all might think.

I ate shit coming down a snow covered sidehill a couple years ago with my rifle in the gun bearer and bashed my buttstock on the ground when I went down on my ass.
The way I attach the gun bearer may not be recommended but it’s better from the standpoint of repairs and the situation your pack is, or was in at the time of this thread. Knowing I’d be screwed if something happened to the three bar, I opted to attach mine to the plastic chest strap because they are replaceable.
That is what happened to me. I went down hard when I slipped and the force of the buttstock hitting the ground likely would have bent the three bar, which is what might of happened to you. Instead it broke off the plastic piece from the chest strap I attached it to and I contacted Kifaru.
At no charge, and with no question as to how it broke they simply sent me a new female strap/buckle that went onto my pack. No buying all new shoulder straps or any of that. I had my part installed and was hunting that very next weekend.

 

[valtteri]

I ate shit coming down a snow covered sidehill a couple years ago with my rifle in the gun bearer and bashed my buttstock on the ground when I went down on my ass.
The way I attach the gun bearer may not be recommended but it’s better from the standpoint of repairs and the situation your pack is, or was in at the time of this thread. Knowing I’d be screwed if something happened to the three bar, I opted to attach mine to the plastic chest strap because they are replaceable.
That is what happened to me. I went down hard when I slipped and the force of the buttstock hitting the ground likely would have bent the three bar, which is what might of happened to you. Instead it broke off the plastic piece from the chest strap I attached it to and I contacted Kifaru.
At no charge, and with no question as to how it broke they simply sent me a new female strap/buckle that went onto my pack. No buying all new shoulder straps or any of that. I had my part installed and was hunting that very next weekend.

Haha, this is EXACTLY what happened to me too! I just fixed the plastic buckle with a piece of thin string and it's still fine. But I definitely feel you!

 

[HuntHarder]

@HuntHarder
@Stalker69

Read the rules. You have some time now.

My bad Ryan. I got a little ate up and forgot etiquette.

 

[deerhunter628]

Kifaru has the best customer service I have ever experienced by far. I sent Aron Snyder an inreach message while on the mountain in Colorado about a pack fit issue. He answered my question fast and i was able to get my pack adjusted for a much more comfortable hunt. I dont think many other CEO’s would give that level of service.

 

[bsnedeker]

Kifaru has the best customer service I have ever experienced by far. I sent Aron Snyder an inreach message while on the mountain in Colorado about a pack fit issue. He answered my question fast and i was able to get my pack adjusted for a much more comfortable hunt. I dont think many other CEO’s would give that level of service.

Just as a follow up to this whole saga: I was sent a brand new set of shoulder straps by Alex, they got here on Thursday along with a couple of sets of pullouts that I had ordered from them to try to make up for this dumpster-fire of a thread that I started.

I was literally about to attach them on Friday morning before heading out to chase bears for the long weekend when my phone rang, "Hi, this is Aron Snyder from Kifaru" wanting to make sure I got everything ok...I was floored! The owner/CEO of the company was calling to follow up. We chatted for a few minutes, I apologized for this thread, he apologized for any misunderstandings, we're all good.

Bottom line, even the best customer service companies in the world sometimes slip up. It's the ability to take a potentially negative situation and turn it into something positive that TRULY sets the bar for what great CS is in my opinion. This is what that looks like in the real world.

 

[BlacktailCrazy]

I guarantee Mr. big shot up there wouldn’t be telling Aron to GFYS to his face. Quite comical actually how a keyboard makes people act. Anyways, I haven’t dealt with customer service yet but Aron and Frank have always answered all of my questions. Aron even set me in the right direction with a new arrow setup. So for that I’ll remain a loyal customer. It says a lot when the owner of a company will help people with products that won’t put a penny in their pocket.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

Top notch. I’m once again reassured why Kifaru is my favorite.

 

[BuzzH]

I've had a Kifaru gunbearer since 2006. Bought another one for my brother in 2018 or so. The quality between 2005 and 2018 definitely improved. Price changed a bit, but totally in line with the increase in quality.

My gunbearer upper strap bit the dust the first tough hunt I did with it. The upper strap was pretty lame on them in 2006, ripped wayyyyy too easily when I sat down to fill water bottles.

You can see the upper strap ripped away from the strap on my pack here:

Rather than whine to customer service, which I knew would likely only result in them sending the same part that would rip again...I just solved the problem locally.

We have a little hole in the wall hippy back-backing shop here in Laramie that fixes packs, webbing, etc. I took the busted strap in to show them, and the gal running the sewing machine and I solved the problem in about 5 minutes. She had better buckles, better webbing, and better quality velcro that she backed with webbing. IMO/E, what we designed in 5 minutes was about a 100% improvement.

Was pretty sure we had the problem solved but had her make 2 of them in case one shit the bed again so I'd have an extra. When I asked her how much it would be she said, is $5 each too much? I said, hell no its not enough, you run a business...here's $20.

Still using the same one and have never needed the spare, they're hell for stout.

I called after I fixed the problem and talked to CS at Kifaru to let them know of the problem and they had multiple people with the same ripped straps. They offered to fix it, but I already solved the issue. The CS person asked what I did, told them and they were happy to get the information. Very pleasant experience.

I was also glad to see that the next one I bought 12 years later, had a significantly better upper strap design with better materials.

I know that I'll never be without a gunbearer and if I wear out the one I have (doubtful) I'll get another.

 

[roosiebull]

Everything turns into a crisis on the internet!

I wouldn’t even think about a warranty claim after several years of use on a little 3 bar slider that’s bending.... there aren’t many things period that last several years of use in the woods.

mid I ever do bend that part on mine I will just order another universal one, figuring it’s better for my use.

knowing how the internet is, it would take a pretty negative experience to complain on a forum, because it doesn’t justify the bash fest that always ensues.... even if it’s a company I don’t like.

it’s hard for people to step back and look from an outside perspective, but it sure would be nice if people had the discipline

if I get several years out of anything that costs under 50 bucks, that’s a win... especially something I’m dragging around the mountains.

every company has hater trolls, I wish people weren’t so quick to drop a bait under the bridge... let them stay under the bridge unless there is a valid rant, because small stuff gets blown up on forums

 

[bsnedeker]

Everything turns into a crisis on the internet!

I wouldn’t even think about a warranty claim after several years of use on a little 3 bar slider that’s bending.... there aren’t many things period that last several years of use in the woods.

mid I ever do bend that part on mine I will just order another universal one, figuring it’s better for my use.

knowing how the internet is, it would take a pretty negative experience to complain on a forum, because it doesn’t justify the bash fest that always ensues.... even if it’s a company I don’t like.

it’s hard for people to step back and look from an outside perspective, but it sure would be nice if people had the discipline

if I get several years out of anything that costs under 50 bucks, that’s a win... especially something I’m dragging around the mountains.

every company has hater trolls, I wish people weren’t so quick to drop a bait under the bridge... let them stay under the bridge unless there is a valid rant, because small stuff gets blown up on forums

You should try re-reading the original post. I didn't get "years of use" out of it. It failed the first time I used it on this frame. It has been taken care of.

 

[Ryan Avery]

Wow, this blew up while I was out looking for bears!

For all those questioning me I don't know what else to say other than I know how to use the gun bearer. As I said in my original post I used the same gun bearer on my duplex hunter for years with no issues. I moved it to this duplex light frame last year and the slider bent during it's first season of use. I didn't have any accidents or other incidents with the pack that would have caused this that I can think of.

While I'm glad to see this is going to be taken care of I regret taking this issue public after seeing some of these responses. It wasn't my intention to start a bitch fest and I should have known better based on the subject. My bad.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

@bsnedeker I don't doubt you at all. That's why I said it could be a defective part. But I see lots of people using this product wrong. I've had two GBs since 2011 with around 80 days a year of use on them and have yet to have one fail.

 

[bsnedeker]

@bsnedeker I don't doubt you at all. That's why I said it could be a defective part. But I see lots of people using this product wrong. I've had two GBs since 2011 with around 80 days a year of use on them and have yet to have one fail.

Right, and to be clear I think it is entirely possible that I did something that caused this issue....I just can't think of what that would be. I keep my rifle cinched down as tight as I can get it and I don't remember any falls or anything that would cause the issue but who knows?

Kifaru took care of me, I used the bearer on a 4-day hunt over the holiday weekend and the new 3-bar slider held up well so far.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Well…for what it is worth, I got my latest Kifaru order. Despite my specific request in the instructions, I got no shirtless photo of @Aron Snyder riding a horse like Vladimir Putin. This is probably the 3rd time they have not provided one. All I got was a box full of high-quality, moderately-priced, American-made outdoor gear. what is the world coming to.