Kuiu lower back pain

[Yuhboyrob]

So I just got the kuiu 3600 and last night I put 30 lbs in it and did a mile in my local trails. The pack is fitted to me perfectly but the lumbar pad seems obnoxiously huge, it pushes my lower back forward and after not long at all I was having pretty bad lower/mid back pain. I tried to adjust the pad height but it didn’t help at all. I go on 6-8 mile training hikes all the time with my other bag and I’ve never had this problem, even this morning my lower back is noticeably sore. does the lumbar pad on kuiu bags bother anyone else? I messaged CS to see if there was a solution for it and they told me Thats just how it was and they couldn’t do anything. I’m an ultra light hiker and the reason I went with kuiu was the weight of the set up, modularity and all the organization, and honestly that it’s a bit cheaper than the rest. I really wanted it to work but I think I’m going to return the bag to possibly get the SG solo 3600 since I can get 15% off, the only thing I don’t like is the lack of pockets for day pack use. I’m also tempted by the exo 4800. If anyone has any solutions for the lumbar pad I’d appreciate it, or if you went to another brand from kuiu and it fixed the problem. It feels like a crapshoot buying these hunting bags without trying them on to me, direct to consumer is nice but that’s the only pain.

 

[Moserkr]

Threw out my lower back last week to where I collapsed. Still went out opening weekend and did 20 miles with 10,000’ in elevation changes. The kuiu pack kept me nicely aligned and I actually felt better at the end than when I started. Still messed up, but better.

Curious how you have your pack set up, adjusted, and what size frame. Granted we are all different, could just be your back not liking it. How about a few pics of it all adjusted with you wearing it as you would when hiking? Youre putting a lot of miles in on regular hikes so I assume you know how to adjust packs properly.

 

[Rob5589]

You sound experienced so I'd say the Kuiu just doesn't work for your body. Time to try something else.

 

[Yuhboyrob]

Threw out my lower back last week to where I collapsed. Still went out opening weekend and did 20 miles with 10,000’ in elevation changes. The kuiu pack kept me nicely aligned and I actually felt better at the end than when I started. Still messed up, but better.

Curious how you have your pack set up, adjusted, and what size frame. Granted we are all different, could just be your back not liking it. How about a few pics of it all adjusted with you wearing it as you would when hiking? Youre putting a lot of miles in on regular hikes so I assume you know how to adjust packs

Threw out my lower back last week to where I collapsed. Still went out opening weekend and did 20 miles with 10,000’ in elevation changes. The kuiu pack kept me nicely aligned and I actually felt better at the end than when I started. Still messed up, but better.

Curious how you have your pack set up, adjusted, and what size frame. Granted we are all different, could just be your back not liking it. How about a few pics of it all adjusted with you wearing it as you would when hiking? Youre putting a lot of miles in on regular hikes so I assume you know how to adjust packs properly.

Im about 5’10” 160, slim athletic build and I went with the tall frame. I can take some pictures a little later than when I get some free time and throw them up. I think you’re right and it’s just my back not liking it, even with my cheapo cabelas multi day pack hauling 35-40lbs on 3+ day hikes I’ve never had this problem.

 

[Drenalin]

Couldn't solve it with the KUIU I had. Exo was much better for me before I tried the Kuiu. Have a Seek Outside on the way that I'm really looking forward to.

 

[Yuhboyrob]

I was looking at seek outside last night and I was pretty impressed with their set up. The IA4K looks like great bag and the frame basically looks like a beefed up kuiu platform.

 

[Cahunter805]

Pretty sure the lumbar pad comes with an extra insert in it. Have you taken it off and looked inside the cover of the pad?

 

[Moserkr]

Good point @Cahunter805 OP, look in the lumbar pad for grey foam inserts and pull em out. Those were uncomfortable to me.

 

[Yuhboyrob]

Yeah I checked that out. The lumbar pad itself is one big pad, it did come with an extra pad but there isn’t a way to make it smaller. I was thinking about trying to cut some foam away but if that doesn’t work I wouldn’t be able to return the bag. They should have made the pad two pieces with two different sizes shims so you could adjust it.

 

[Clarence]

Yeah I checked that out. The lumbar pad itself is one big pad, it did come with an extra pad but there isn’t a way to make it smaller. I was thinking about trying to cut some foam away but if that doesn’t work I wouldn’t be able to return the bag. They should have made the pad two pieces with two different sizes shims so you could adjust it.

The extra pad should be thinner than the one that came in it. Swap em out and give it a whirl. Have you tried moving the pad up or down? Subtle shifts can be helpful. Good luck, may want to get a different pack on it's way as insurance.

Sent from my SM-G981V using Tapatalk

 

[Tmayhaus98]

Yeah sounds like you need to try a different one.

 

[Poser]

One of my complaints about the hunting pack design trends is that brands are overbuilding the lumbar pads and hips belts. You don’t actually need that much beef on them, even carrying 150 lbs. I suspect that since these packs are all pretty much sold based on the visuals that there is an “arms race” for the beefiest looking hip padding because it “looks” comfortable. I still use my Gen 1 Exo frame vs for the newer designs because they’ve since gone down that road. It’s overkill -you don’t need a rear pad the size of a couch.

 

[BDRam16]

One of my complaints about the hunting pack design trends is that brands are overbuilding the lumbar pads and hips belts. You don’t actually need that much beef on them, even carrying 150 lbs. I suspect that since these packs are all pretty much sold based on the visuals that there is an “arms race” for the beefiest looking hip padding because it “looks” comfortable. I still use my Gen 1 Exo frame vs for the newer designs because they’ve since gone down that road. It’s overkill -you don’t need a rear pad the size of a couch.

Eh. I think it depends a lot on body type. I'm a pretty skinny guy with out much meat around my waist. The thinner belts and shoulder straps really dig in and cause discomfort quick. I definitely appreciate the bulky padding.

 

[Yuhboyrob]

One of my complaints about the hunting pack design trends is that brands are overbuilding the lumbar pads and hips belts. You don’t actually need that much beef on them, even carrying 150 lbs. I suspect that since these packs are all pretty much sold based on the visuals that there is an “arms race” for the beefiest looking hip padding because it “looks” comfortable. I still use my Gen 1 Exo frame vs for the newer designs because they’ve since gone down that road. It’s overkill -you don’t need a rear pad the size of a couch.

I totally agree. My lightweight pack barely has anything for a lumbar pad and it’s extremely comfortable. Granted I only carry 20-25lbs max in it but still, it’s unneeded. The kuiu back pad feels like there’s a brick pushing into my lower back lol I was playing around with the pack earlier and just took the lumbar pad off and it completely changed the feel of the pack, 100x more comfortable in my opinion. I might just chop the foam in the pad in half and ride with it.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I don’t like big lumbar pads either. Stone glacier or Barney’s frames fit me well.

 

[Yuhboyrob]

I don’t like big lumbar pads either. Stone glacier or Barney’s frames fit me well.

Which stone glacier frame do you have? I’ve been going back and forth with the kuiu customer service and they told me if I trimmed the foam pad down a bit it would ruin my warranty on the suspension.. which I really don’t understand because it’s just a foam piece that goes into a pocket, it would have zero effect on the rest of the suspension. He told me I should find an older kuiu suspension on eBay and buy it since the lumbar pad wasn’t as big before. I haven’t been impressed with the customer service at all, they’ve been absolutely no help. You’d think they would want to just help me figure it out and keep the money over having me just return the item but it doesn’t seem like it.

 

[Poser]

I just looked at the Kuiu bag design for the first time in quite a long time. I’m still of the mindset that KUIU came to the market with a POS untested backpack that was an absolute failure in the field. I know they have fixed these issues in subsequent years, but that permanently effected my judgement of KUIU packs as being an option that can’t be taken seriously.

Anyway, the lumber pad design is over the top, too large to serve a functional purpose and reinforces my idea that this design trend is beyond functional.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Which stone glacier frame do you have? I’ve been going back and forth with the kuiu customer service and they told me if I trimmed the foam pad down a bit it would ruin my warranty on the suspension.. which I really don’t understand because it’s just a foam piece that goes into a pocket, it would have zero effect on the rest of the suspension. He told me I should find an older kuiu suspension on eBay and buy it since the lumbar pad wasn’t as big before. I haven’t been impressed with the customer service at all, they’ve been absolutely no help. You’d think they would want to just help me figure it out and keep the money over having me just return the item but it doesn’t seem like it.

I have used an xcurve for a few years and its worked well for me.

 

[Yuhboyrob]

I just looked at the Kuiu bag design for the first time in quite a long time. I’m still of the mindset that KUIU came to the market with a POS untested backpack that was an absolute failure in the field. I know they have fixed these issues in subsequent years, but that permanently effected my judgement of KUIU packs as being an option that can’t be taken seriously.

Anyway, the lumber pad design is over the top, too large to serve a functional purpose and reinforces my idea that this design trend is beyond functional.

I agree. I don’t know who in the world this lumbar pad would actually be comfortable on unless your back was shaped like un upside down question mark. And the fact that the customer service has given absolutely zero cares about actually helping me out with finding a solution has turned me off from them that much more. It sucks because their packs themselves have everything I want in them, but the fact that the CS would rather have me just return it then help fix a simple problem while acting like they really don’t care just blows my mind. I think I’ll be going with either exo or stone glacier, I’ve read that their customer service is a lot better.