Which pack? I don't get it

[Bluto]

Great info gents, and very generous offers! I was just padding through Modesto, now 135 miles out of Vegaa, be there the next two days. Funny the kuiu shop was mentioned - I detoured my entire cross country drive to make that stop! (It's awesome, btw.) I did try on the icon, it's technically still in the running as well. I love the bag design as much as stone glacier.

Good words on the UL, fellas - and great insight Mosby, that sounds exactly like me. Freshly 40 and I know my "heavy haul" is about 80 pounds. I guess what I can't figure out about the UL kifaru setup is that up until a year ago, getting the correctly shaped stays was hugely important - now just straight arrow stays?

For the other comment above about never having a bag without a panel zipper, I'm kinda with ya....thoughts on an older high camp bag vs the new ones? Seems like a great design, even if the markhor is lighter.

 

[full draw]

Mystery ranch. Can't wait to try the new line up

 

[Ramcam]

Another consideration is does a full wrap belt work better for your body type than a lumbar belt?I think SG has a full wrap option and additional lumbar pad option.

 

[hammer0419]

Which ever company you go with. Once you have the frame your options are endless. I run a Kifaru UL Hunter frame with an Exo mountains 5500 bag. Get the foundation (frame) and you have endless options. You can go grab-it and dry bag if money is tight. HPG fits on Kifaru frames. Completely understand the confusion. It is a lot of $ to drop. However, buy once cry once. It will pay for itself ten times over. BUT........after you get your feet wet it's an addiction!!!

 

[Bluto]

I haven't ruled anything out! (MR.)

Great question on the belt....I have no idea. This will be my first "good" pack. I'm fast approaching forking over the cash to buy a few and returning all but the winner. (No one tell my wife.)

 

[Ramcam]

I haven't ruled anything out! (MR.)

Great question on the belt....I have no idea. This will be my first "good" pack. I'm fast approaching forking over the cash to buy a few and returning all but the winner. (No one tell my wife.)

That is an excellent idea

 

[stuckbuck]

Since November I have bought a MR marshall, Kifaru hunting frame with Argali bag; SG Sky Talus.
I am going through a process to eliminate one or two packs. So far my MR is a considerable amount more comfortable under heavier load.

 

[oldgoat]

The others aren't weren't even on my radar except kuiu but I kept hearing about failures with them, I only live a couple of miles from the Kifaru plant and I see Aron and crew on a regular basis, Kifaru it was! You just don't hear as many positive comments about the other brands customer service etc, I don't hear anything bad either though.

 

[quent]

being military anything is a caddy compared to a GI MOLLE. lots of grunts drop $800-$1000 on their own rucks so I was automatically drawn to kifaru and mystery ranch and lo and behold camofire had a hell of a deal on MR so i went with that. So many pack out their are so good you really cant go wrong.

 

[Cindy]

If you get the kifaru, order the cargo panel in addition the the bag and frame.
Thats one very nice feature of the stone glacier, (and the kuiu). The load shelf in included in the system.
Nothing better than being able to haul your game separate from your clothing and other gear.

 

[COlineman78]

There are cheaper/lighter options rather than the cargo panel if you want to run your pack with a load shelf. The Tahr and Rambler have it built in and I plan on using a Grab-it with a lash kit to run my 22mag as a meat hauler. Kifaru also stopped making their meat shelf accessory but the Exo one can probably be made to work with a Kifaru.

As far as belts go, a 3 piece till fit more people. If you have a build with a less defined waist (ie no hips or azz) you will have a much harder time with the pack sliding under heavy load without a big lumbar pad to try and hold things in place. At least that's my understanding of it.

If you don't plan on hauling over 80lb then you will be fine with the UL. However you may change your mind about that being your ceiling once you get 80lbs on your back with a Kifaru.

As far as why you can get away with straight stays on the Kifaru UL, the answer IMO is fairly simple and could be completely wrong; Aron would be the one to ask. Most of the comfort on a Kifaru comes from the waist belt and lumbar pad. When the load is under 80 lbs then you will only be carrying less than 20 of those above the waist and therefore how it fits your shoulders and how the load is distributed is far less important.

 

[Derek0525]

I had the SG solo and Sky archer and I liked them a lot Now though I have a Kifaru mainly because of all the pockets and attachments you can get for it so you can ass or take off when needed leave stuff at camp you don't need to pack around all day. Havnt packed much with the Kifaru yet but did pack a lot with the SG just a pain to dig through the bag to get to some things when now I have pockets on the Kifaru that I can keep stuff separated in. The SG is a good comfortable pack though I just had to sell it to fund the Kifaru pack. If you do get the Kifaru I would suggest the cargo panel. With that a dry sack and some pockets you can do a lot. I do have the Markhor also but see myself using the cargo panel the most.

 

[fatrascal]

In earlier years we did not have Rokslide. We had some other websites but none that go as deeply into packs as this site. As a result many of us have bought many packs. Badlands, Eberlestock, yuppie packs and everything you can imagine. Its kinda like the optics game. You dont want to spend a fortune at first so you buy a cheaper pack but find out that its not all that comfortable or its heavy. So you buy another pack thats a little more expensive and then another and soon your garage is filled with old packs. When in the first place you would have saved a lot of money if you just bought a great pack the first time. I ve learned a lot on hunting websites and the most important thing I've learned is to go with other peoples experience. They've already made all the bad moves and bad decisions and have wound up going to quality in the end.
So you Bluto have made that correct choice in listening to the experience that is out there.
I finally after many years bout a higher end quality pack last year. I got a KUIU 7200 Icon Pro. Much more comfortable than my old Eberlestock. Its all about comfort which means less fatigue which means being able to hunt day in and day out without killing yourself. This year Im getting a Kifaru because i buy two of everything. I want a back up and also i have friends that are not equipped. So i have a quality KUIU pack for friends and for myself I will have a Kifaru.
Goodluck in your choice of bag to go on your frame. I personally like pockets and options so I like the Nomad but after watching some videos I might go with the EMR 2 or the Duplex Timberline 1. Nevertheless, as stated above, the frame and its comfort are the foundation of the pack. Kinda like a quality boot for your feet is the foundation of your whole body. fatrascal.

 

[CC]

I was lucky enough to go to a sports show and try them all on in the same day. For me, they were all very similar but the Mystery Ranch was the least comfortable. I thought the Kifaru was a little more plush, the Stone Glacier was a little lighter. You can't go wrong with either pack and comes down to personal preference. I chose the Kifaru because I like being able to add and remove pockets on the exterior of the bag and like camo. To me, it came to a personal preference issue, not comfort as both where similar. If you do go the Kifaru route, the Argali is awesome. I had someone add some webbing on the top, the sides and a side zipper. This bag is now very similar to the Tahr (with side zipper) The fold down snow collar is great, I can put 4 belt pouches on the back alone. If I want ton's of Organization and size I'm 8lbs, If I want to be light and couple pockets on belt I can be at 6. Can't wait to give it a shot this fall

If your a oz counter = Stone Glacier
If your OCD on Organization = Kifaru

I'm OCD

 

[mrbillbrown]

Pics CC. Pics!

 

[milunchbox]

Since November I have bought a MR marshall, Kifaru hunting frame with Argali bag; SG Sky Talus.
I am going through a process to eliminate one or two packs. So far my MR is a considerable amount more comfortable under heavier load.

Let me know what you decide to keep in looking for a pack.

 

[CC]

Here are some pic's of the Kifaru Argali with 3 & 4 belt pouchs on bag, with and without guide lid. You can see the folded down snow collar works great. Best of luck on your search

 

[wasatchcomm]

does the argali have a meat shelf?

 

[COlineman78]

does the argali have a meat shelf?

No it does not (I incorrectly said it did in an earlier post).
https://youtu.be/skv5kSXjHt0?t=3m20s
https://youtu.be/RTw6nk28Ku4?t=1m33s

 

[wasatchcomm]

thank you for clarifying that
i had watched the videos as well and thought thats not correct

seems like they could put a simple shelf for all those bags or even a separate purchase

call it the "SHELF"

maybe the "grab it" could be used in between the frame and the bag if someone wanted another option

I've never put my hands on one of these packs, so i am guessing based on reading and pictures

not that i want a meat shelf, but the versatility of a pack that can accommodate that as well,,seems pretty good.

seems to me the kifaru packs are without question the most versatile and option oriented on the market

which is a great thing,,just makes it harder to decide which options to go with

i mostly day hunt, but do backpack camp with my family.

i keep changing my mind but i am leaning to this setup

hunter duplex 26"
argali with guide lid
large side pocket (less expensive than the spotter pod and more ci)
2 small belt pockets

i read the argali has a place to hang a bladder inside???

this to me would be a very versatile pack with so much room to grow (7000ci)

other than the meat shelf I'm not sure why someone would choose the tahr over the size the argali is capable of.

weight is only 2oz penalty for the argali but almost double the ci

any thoughts?

I'm new to this type of backpacking and gear but to me it seems more ci for the $$ and versatile as well