Why do Kifaru owners hate load shelves?

[Cng]

I’m still pretty new at this, but most meat shelves sit too low for my liking. I think the best I’ve used was a SO Brooks with the meat sling thing inside the pack. That worked pretty slick. But the frame didn’t work for me as well as a Kifaru, and I love the idea of the meat shelf, just need some more practice with it!

 

[woods89]

I’m still pretty new at this, but most meat shelves sit too low for my liking. I think the best I’ve used was a SO Brooks with the meat sling thing inside the pack. That worked pretty slick. But the frame didn’t work for me as well as a Kifaru, and I love the idea of the meat shelf, just need some more practice with it!

This is what I like about meat in the bag. I put a bunch of gear in the bottom of my bag and the meat winds up being elevated in the bag. I prefer expanding upward to further back, within reason.

If you are going to pack elk in the bag, I think you have to use a bigger bag than you can get away with if you use a load shelf. The Kifaru DT1 is awesome for this, in my opinion. I packed a couple elk quarters with some gear in a Highcamp 4800 last fall in the bag, and I was pretty much at capacity. Next trip I'm going back to my DT1 and accepting a bit of a weight penalty.

Both ways work. My hunting partner uses a Kifaru duplex with an Exo bag and packs meat on the shelf. It works great as well.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

I like it. Mainly I keep my quick grab items in there vs. the main compartment. From a meat perspective it doesn't help/hurt my setup or hauling meat out.

It can't weigh much. Undo the velcro and it's out of the way if needed. I don't do this b/c I like the lower compartment, as noted above, for quick grab items (my layers etc).

 

[roosiebull]

I like load shelves for mess mitigation, I don’t like dealing with a bunch of blood soaked gear and pack, especially when you are not taking breaks in the fall and hunting non stop

I think some kifaru users don’t like meat shelves because the kifaru meat shelves are not intuitive, exo are very intuitive, so most exo users seem to like meat shelves

If there were more xpac options from kifaru, I would be more apt to load meat in the bag, it’s easy to clean, keeps the mess off the frame, and that’s why I bought the gnargali… I will use it mostly for blacktail and will put meat in the bag

Archery elk I will use my Stryker xl, because it has a very intuitive place to put meat

I know this isn’t a blanket statement, but I think a good amount of those who use kifaru and don’t like meat shelves is because people just like kifaru and they didn’t have meat shelves for quite awhile, now they do, but not a very practical design, so it’s still easier to throw the meat in the bag

Why do all exo users like meat shelves? Kinda the same question imo

 

[Pacific_Fork]

Not having a load shelf seems insane to me. Where are all these guys putting their gear when packing out with their bags stuffed full of mea? I can hardly fit all my gear and a full boned out mule deer in my 6900 pack with load shelf…

 

[Wilderlife]

I think carrying meat in the pack itself might make tightening it down a little easier, but for me, the convenience of having the meat separate trumps that and I always use a load shelf. I don't have a Kifaru yet but I've been using an Exo 5500 steady for over four years now.

The Exo only really has two compression straps per side so with really big loads in the meat shelf it tends to be a little finnicky to get everything feeling tight. Not saying it sucks but just pointing out that if I had the meat in the pack itself the shape/form of the bag would help keep things tight.

I'm very lucky with opportunities to hunt down this way and it isn't uncommon for me to pack out multiple animals even over a weekend. For this reason, the meat shelf is being used extensively on my Exo, and will be used extensively on my Kifaru when it arrives. Even when day hunting I have a lot of camera gear and stuff in my regular pack and it's easiest to keep it all away from the meat when I want to pack stuff out.

From what I can see so far, the Kifaru meat shelf looks a little better than the Exo as it actually has the piece of cordura that serves as a shelf, as opposed to just using straps at the bottom of the bag like my Exo does. Time will tell.

 

[S.Clancy]

The Exo only really has two compression straps per side so with really big loads in the meat shelf it tends to be a little finnicky to get everything feeling tight. Not saying it sucks but just pointing out that if I had the meat in the pack itself the shape/form of the bag would help keep things tight.

You have the 2 on the frame only and the 2 for your bag to tighten it down. I cross the straps on the frame, that way the meat doesn't slide thru.

From what I can see so far, the Kifaru meat shelf looks a little better than the Exo as it actually has the piece of cordura that serves as a shelf, as opposed to just using straps at the bottom of the bag like my Exo does. Time will tell.

Exo used to have a meat shelf attachment that was super slick. It attached to the frame and bag, you could vary the height to your own preference. They went away from it for reasons I dont understand.

 

[Randle]

I haul bone in 1/4 s so shelf is the way to go
After watching this i can see boned out meat in the bag is a pain . I dont do back pack hunts much any more so shelf and day/ overnight gear doesnt send too much weight out off my back

 

[Wilderlife]

You have the 2 on the frame only and the 2 for your bag to tighten it down. I cross the straps on the frame, that way the meat doesn't slide thru.

Exo used to have a meat shelf attachment that was super slick. It attached to the frame and bag, you could vary the height to your own preference. They went away from it for reasons I dont understand.

Yeh, I forgot to mention the ones on the frame itself. As I said, the system is fine, but I'm looking forward a bit more versatility/modularity with the Kifaru when it gets here. The Exo isn't really leaving anything to be desired but I'm interested in trying something new and I could use some more space a lot of the time.

 

[eaglemountainman]

I wouldn't hunt with a pack that didn't have a load sling/meat shelf.

 

[Fins_N_Tines]

A-aron hates meat shelves and thinks they are pointless. Kifaru users had been asking for them for years, which is why basically every new model Kifaru bag has a meat shelf.

The problem is their meat shelf kinda sucks and love Kifaru. If I’m gonna use a meat shelf I want the design to put the load a 3-5” above my hip belt at a minimum and kifaru doesn’t do that

 

[Life_Feeds_On_Life]

I bypass the meat shelf and prefer to keep the bottom of the bag tightly attached to the frame and wedge the meat between the bag and frame. It keeps it higher than the shelf unless you have the tactical frame.

 

[sndmn11]

Does anyone remember the cargo chair?

 

[Randle]

Thats how EXo designed theirs to wedge the meat by keeping the bottom of the bag tight to the frame and it works great

 

[Poser]

You have the 2 on the frame only and the 2 for your bag to tighten it down. I cross the straps on the frame, that way the meat doesn't slide thru.

Exo used to have a meat shelf attachment that was super slick. It attached to the frame and bag, you could vary the height to your own preference. They went away from it for reasons I dont understand.

I didn’t realize they ditched this design. I’m still using a Exo Gen 1 bag with the “beaver trail” design

 

[packmule74]

Always stuffed mine right in the bag and strap it down tight. Never had any issues on the Kifaru but I would like to experiment with the meat shelf after reading all of the comments.

 

[hunting1]

Stuffing in the bag is the way with my Kifaru but if I have camp not enough room. My Mtn Warrior was before they added the shelf. I like my KUIU and EXO for the ease of the shelf.

 

[Blockcaver]

Still use a Kifaru Longhunter from 2000 with a Cargo Chair as my bear hunting backpack...and as a loner pack when friends or family hunt with me. Still in OK shape too despite packing a bunch of CO elk, then moose, caribou, bears, deer etc in BC. Cargo chair carries the meat low unless its a big critter with bone in, but was a good option in my opinion. Usually with a bear the chair to further confine the qtrs that are in the bag. Chair adds a lot of rigidity to the load.

My main pack is a Kifaru Reckoning with a meat shelf...which works well.

 

[S.Clancy]

I didn’t realize they ditched this design. I’m still using a Exo Gen 1 bag with the “beaver trail” design

Yea, after Gen 1 they stopped. I just had to replace the belt and shoulder straps on my Gen 1 frame after I rolled past 40 animals on the frame. Exo makes good stuff, their bag layouts are by far the best, IMO.

 

[trophyhill]

I got no use for the load shelf. My meat goes inside the pack for safe keeping against meat bees and flies and such.