Interesting thread. I just today got a DT2 (pack bag) with a LH lid in the mail new from Kifaru, that I was really excited about getting. I had never seen one in person, but was interested in upgrading to extra outside pockets. I already have a LH guide bag for my Duplex frame and a couple other bags that work real well on the frame. I was thinking of keeping the DT2 and selling the LH Guide.
Well..., after all my pre ordering and pre-delivery excitement about receiving the DT2, it is going back and I am keeping the LH guide. This is for a variety of reasons. First off the DT2 with out the lid and W/O the chamber pocket (so I could compare apples and apples) is 8.25 oz. heavier than the LH guide. And the LH guide is HUGE compared to the size of the DT2. The Guide is a full 6" taller and is almost 1.5 inches wider on flat measuring edge to edge. And this includes all the side pockets on the DT2. And I am not all that keen on the front pockets on the DT2. I am not sure they work as good as the ext. ones that I use. Also when I stuffed the DT2 full, the side slip pockets were not as useful as ext long pockets that I use. I have 2 ext. long pockets made of cordura ( that weigh together 10.25 oz. - almost the difference in the DT2 vs. the guide- only a net of 2 oz. more).
So in the end the LH guide starts off at 8.25 oz. lighter than the DT 2 ( my LH Guide W/O any lid weighs 34.20 oz) and then the ext side pockets that I can use, or not use are more useful as far as space of ci, compared to the side slip pockets on the DT2. And the overall ci of the Guide is much bigger. In the end, there was only a couple things about the DT2 that I thought were going to be better-over the LH guide. One was the slip pockets, but to me that did not end up being the case. So I will end up using the LH guide for bigger trips (instead of the smaller bags I use now on the Duplex frame for most hunting) and have a ton of versatility with it.