Late Season or Timberline 3

[wyodan]

Hey guys,
I'm new to this forum. I am looking at purchasing one of these packs, or maybe a Spike Camp. Does anybody recommend one over the other, and why? Does anybody have any pictures of the Late Season compressed and full? I have been using a Mystery Ranch Longbow, but the stiffness of the frame and weight do get tiresome to lug around. I would like to use the pack that I get as a daypack, with the ability to overnight or whole weekend out of it. Thanks for your input.

 

[Jager]

Type Kifaru in the search box mate.

 

[hammer0419]

This was my response to your post over on Kifaru.

Forget the Spike Camp as it is very small. Late Season is a super pack. PLENTY big for daypack+. It has had several upgrades done over the years and is now better than ever. Especially now having 24" stays. It does have a lower zipper access and can carry all the Kifaru pockets they offer. The T3 is also a great pack with more organization features because of the built-in pockets. It has a double layer bottom for durability but no lower zipper access. I have owned all 3 you have mentioned. My current pack is a DT3 which is just incredible and I have absolutely no intention of getting rid of it. The only hard part with Kifaru is MAKING YOUR DECISION. We all need to win lotto, buy them all and be done with it!!

 

[ohhiitznik]

The late season can't handle the load the T3/DT3 can handle. Other than that they are pretty close to the same in size I believe.... One is more of a dedicated daypack, while the t3/dt3 is more of a hybrid daypack/hauler

 

[squeekieslayer]

I went from longbow to DT3.... I will never look back. You would not believe how much of an upgrade you are looking at. The other packs from kifaru are great i am sure, but i have no experience. the DT3 with the bikini frame would be PERFECT.

Joe

 

[Lawnboi]

I have a spike camp that Ill use for the same purposes you are, that being said, I pack very minimally, and am short enough to get lift with the 22in stays.

Keep in mind the main bag of the spike camp and t3 are essentially the same. The t3's added pockets make up quite a bit of volume.

I was debating the same thing you were a while ago. I chose the spike camp option because I wanted to add whatever pockets I wanted to it based on the situation rather than having them being sewn on and not being used(and I had a t1 so I know what pockets ill use and not use)

Just keep in mind with the late season your getting a much bigger main bag than with the t3.

The dt3 and bikini frame might be an awesome option to look at as well, if you need the load hauling ability and don't mind a stiffer frame. But it sounds to me like you want a little more flex in your pack, which for me was a major point for a day/weekender pack as well. Im loving the flexability of the spike camp with lighter loads that's for sure!

All that being said, if you don't pack very very minimally, you wont fit a weekend into the spike camp. I run a few pockets on mine with minimal loadout to make it a weekend. The late season may be a great option if you like the 1 big bag concept, with the ability to add whatever pockets you want based on if your going for 1 day or 5 days.

I didn't care too much for the pockets on my t series pack, but that's just me. Especially with the modularity of kifaru, I like to be able to add or take off pockets based on what the trip dictates. The Late season with composite stays is also a very light pack, with the same wraptech suspension of the t3.

I think either one of these packs, t3 or late season, will allow you to get the flexibility you want, with the load hauling capability. It about wether you want a 1 big bag pack, with the ability to add any pockets you want, or a pack with built in pockets.

As per the double layered bottom on the t3, and not the late season.... you may want to call and check on that one cause my spike camp has a double layered bottom.

Someone can correct me if im wrong...... but the t3 and late season have the same exact suspension and load hauling capability

Now the DT3 has the beefed up suspension of the frame sheet.

The spike camp has the Omni suspension, which cannot handle heavy loads as comfortably as the wraptech that's found on the t3 and late season. The spike camp is also only available in 22in stays, which is a big turn off for most guys who are not short like I am.

Hope this helps a little, I went through the same decision a while ago.

 

[wyodan]

Lawnboi, how do you load your spike camp for a weekend? Do you put your sleeping bag in it or outside?

Anybody with a T3, how would you pack an bone in elk quarter? Can you put it inside, or do you strap it on?

Thanks for the responses, the views are helpful.

 

[Lawnboi]

Lawnboi, how do you load your spike camp for a weekend? Do you put your sleeping bag in it or outside?

Anybody with a T3, how would you pack an bone in elk quarter? Can you put it inside, or do you strap it on?

Thanks for the responses, the views are helpful.

For the spike camp, to get a weekend out of it, I run an E&E on the back of it (on trips over 3 days or if ill be fishing), that contains my day kit stuff for fishing or my bag that Ill use for stalking, or whatever. Then 2 belt pockets on the outside hold my shelter and 1 day of food.

For a sleeping bag for warmer weather (what I use the spike camp for) I use kifaru woobie express. I either stuff it in the bottom inside my bivy, or its small enough to fit in a long pocket and get slapped on the outside if I want more room in the main bag. My kifaru doobie also dosnt take up enough room to blow it out if I stick it in the bottom of the pack

My loadout is pretty compact. basically in the main bag I have my sleeping quilt, bivy, food, and raingear, socks, or any other stuff I need dependent on the trip. All my quick access stuff that Ill use all day long is on the outside in a pocket. My day food is on the outside so I can get it quick and don't have to dig, and my Paratarp is in a belt pocket so I can get it in a hurry if I need to setup fast.

Even with my loadout, and the pockets, im stuffed pretty full for 4 days out. Definetly NO room for meat at all in the pack when I have my camping gear.

The spike camp is also a very very slim pack (which I wanted for day trips) It lays very close to your back and is skinny. Even with a few pockets on it its still more streamlined than some of the bigger packs iv worn. Im very happy with it as a day/weekender pack as of now.

 

[hammer0419]

An Elk quater (bone in) CAN NOT be put in a Spike or T3. I absolutely love my DT3 but the narrow opening on it (DT3, T3, Spike) can be a pain. For my daily exercise I carry a Kifaru meat bag filled with feed in my DT3. The diameter of a fully filled meat bag just slides into these packs not a hair bigger would fit. Definately not a deal breaker because I would never give my DT3 up!!

 

[justin davis]

I prefer the late season. I like no pockets. I use the late season as a day pack! Late season carries elk quarters like a champ

 

[Ross]

I used the T3 on many hunts, both elk and deer this fall. As noted the T3 will not allow an elk quarter to slip into the main compartment due to its narrowness. You will need to bone it out. I overnighted with the attached photos with no extra pockets on my T3, though this year I will be adding something for the sleeping bag, as even compressed it just took up too much room in the main compartment. On my deer, I was able to bone it out and pack it out along with my gear for just a day hunt. I will say it is very comfortable and streamlined, making for a nice solid day pack that does not get in the way while hunting carrying loads in the 40-70 pd range very comfortably.

 

[hammer0419]

You are right on the sleeping bag being too much in a T3. Even with a Kifaru compression sack it takes a lot of space up. A kifaru POD is a great option to put your bag in and strap it to the bottom or back of the T3.

 

[wyodan]

Ross, is the T3 the same pack that you have on in your horn hunting photo? That looks like quite a haul of sheds. That is one of the things I am in particularly interested in. I do quite a bit of horn/bear hunting in the spring. It seems like you are saying that the T3 is mostly a daypack, but capable of overnights? Do you think that a person could haul back a good load of meat with the T3 using a grab it or cargo panel? I am thinking that as long as I could get one good load back after a kill, then I could grab my dedicated meat hauler to grab the rest.

 

[Ross]

The T3 is a nice size for overnight trips, IF you are very selective on what you bring, as there is no real room for many extras without adding a POD or Grabit, which I am going to look to do for my sleeping bag this coming season. It is slim enough, that I wore it as a daypack for my October and November Elk and Deer hunting. I was able to bone out my muley buck and fill the entire main compartment with meat, with one shirt packed into the main compartment, otherwise it was all meat and it filled it to the top. For my shed hunting I am using a Horn Hunter pack as of last year and an old dwight schuh plastic frame prior to that. I really like the Horn Hunter for shed hunting only. The T3 is extremely comfortable, carries the mid weights 40-70 very comfortably. Without my rifle my pack for the overnight trip was in the 35 pd range. For packing out an elk quarter, you will have to bone it out, as the design is just too slim to slip a quarter right into the pack.

I really like the Horn HUnter strictly for antlers, as it allows you to slip and buckle the antlers right next to your pack/back and the buckle design allow for not having to use alot of bungees and rope, unless you have a BIG haul day

 

[Lawnboi]

Add a grab it, and a few lashing straps, and I don't see how you couldn't haul sheds out with ease with just about any of the kifaru packs.

I know your comparing the late season to the t3, but have you thought about the t2? essentially the same size main bag, the t2 just has the pockets. If you like the pockets on the t series this might be a better option than the t3.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of these options

 

[wyodan]

Does anybody know how wide the T3 pack is while the main bag is full, but the side pockets are empty? I am also wondering how wide the pack is when the side pockets are full, too?

 

[Ross]

Without anything in it and it is right around 14 inches wide. The side pockets if packed full would each stick out about 3 inches.

 

[wyodan]

Ross, do the stays on the T3 stick out into the open? That's what it looks like in other photos, but not in the ones you posted.

 

[bbrown]

I have heard the side pockets on the T-series packs can be hard to use when the pack is full - is that because the side pockets are taking up part of the main bag space so the pack is not really 3700ci (2100ci main + 1600ci pockets). In theory if the main bag is separate from the pockets then they really should not balloon into each other too much although I can see the main bag material ballooning into pockets a bit.

sqeekieslayer - how do you like the top access only compared to the tri-zip? That is my only other concern as I really like the tri-zip but I had the X2 before and it was only a top loader so maybe I am making something out of nothing...

I am currently running the MR dragon slayer and my only complaint is once I drop my swaro spotter and tripod into the interior slots they take up a ton of the 2300ci. Does not really matter much when I am using it as a day pack but when I am actually packing in it limits how much I can pack. I really like the smaller pack designs and don't want to jump up to the T2 although it seems like it would solve these concerns.


*Here is my MR DS loaded up for 3-4 days - my food is in one long pocket and my tent and cook kit is in the other. With the main bag and the 2 long pockets I am around 2900ci.

 

[Lawnboi]

bbrown. I cannot speak from a t3, but with the t1 the pockets were a litte tougher to stuff when the bag was full, but there was still room in them. You could also run your spotter in a long pocket on any K pack as well. This year ill be running my spotter in a KU long pocket slapped right on the back of the pack or on the top. If your worried about the built in pockets you can always go with the late season or High camp and add whatever pockets you want to, after owning a t1, that is the route iv ended up going, it just makes the pack a little more versatile to me.

A bigger pack would let you not have all that stuff hanging off your pack