Loving The Kifaru!

[ElkNut1]

Well I've put well over 30 miles of pack training with the Kifaru D3 Bikini Frame Pack so far & wow! This is definitely the best Pack I've used to date! The weight being hauled around is the weight there's no getting around that but the level of comfort is outstanding, no shoulder biting or back pressure at all. I've not exceeded 70# while training but it has done excellent & is capable of much heavier loads! My son & hunting partner tried it as well & now he has one coming. This pack will be tough to beat. With well over 100 elk packouts this is the best of the best! Aron & Kifaru have teamed up on one great pack system!

Paradox packs you have your work cut out for you! (grin) I can't wait to test them side by side, hurry up though, elk season is right around the corner!! (grin)

ElkNut1

[Harmy]

I have been using a bunch of different packs for many decades. Mostly I used various climbing packs from Black Diamond due to having worked there many years and climbing for nealry 30. These packs work fine for the most part but are not ideal hunting packs (I have worn out 2 hauling elk with them). These packs have too many climbing features and not enough hunting ones and do not perform well above 60 lbs. I have also used an Osprey backpack but more or less destoryed it with hauling heavy loads and it finally failed this season (broke hip belt buckle 5 miles in and carried it out on shoulders alone with about 30 lbs of camera gear and all the other overnight gear). Last year I picked up a Kuiu Icon3000 cheap and have been using it a bunch this year training. It has not met my expectations at all. Very uncomfortable over 50 lbs and it is super noisy. It squeeks like crazy. It is also rubbing my hips raw in two spots on the outsides of my hips. Last month after reading a bunch of reviews on this site and elsewhere I too decided to try out Kifaru as I had a Mountainsmith in the 80's which was a good pack for me at the time. I expect delivery of my DT2 at the end of the month.

My 12 year old son has had significant difficulty getting a pack that fit him well and that he could carry 20+ lbs with. Everything we have tried has been horrible as his super small waist does not fit any pack that would work. They all fit loosly with the straps fully compressed. Thus after speaking with Aron I decided to get him a Spike Camp with the hopes that the custom fit will actually work for his skinny body. Ordered it for him yesterday in fact.

Lots of $ to invest but hoping it is worth it. Comments like Paul's and others on this site has given me confidence that we are making the right choices. We will learn soon.

[ElkNut1]

Chris, I agree, it's great to hear others reviews, this can be an important part to ones decisions! Let us know how your son likes his new pack?

ElkNut1

[RockChucker30]

Paul,

Slow and steady wins the race. We will be developing the smaller batwing packbag that fits your style of hunting for a while yet.

I could get you a frame a for a bit to test with heavy loads, but that wouldn't get you the full picture of what we're doing.

[ElkNut1]

No problem Nathan, I know you guys want everything just right! Can't wait too see & try it! Thanks.

ElkNut1

[Aron Snyder]

I'm happy you're happy, Paul!

Patrick been doing this longer than Rockchucker, myself or Kevin T have been alive, so it's safe to say he's got things figured out.

[pointysticks]

i have 10 days, and mine is supposed to ship!!

[Trophyhill]

thanks for the review Paul. I finally was able to load mine in day pack mode yesterday now that I can get to all my gear and wow. I cannot believe all the room in my BT1. Compresses down very nice. now that I've got my bow dialed in to my fixed heads I will have a little time to start loading my pack with all my backcountry gear and really get a feel for it before I head north to CO. my initial impression is a HomeRun for Kifaru and any elkhunter who owns 1. thanks again for the autographed pack Reaper.

[pointysticks]

Wah! They are so late with mine. Ill be carrying my stuff in luggage soon:(