Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Kifaru

Good or bad or any experience?

Packs specifically I should add.

I've had 4, couple of older Longhunters, and an Express. None of those made anymore. Updated to the new lightweight frame and a Woodsman bag with add on pockets. Happy with all those, got the archery quiver too. I use the Express for Whitetail and backpack and backpack hunt elk with my Woodsman.

Saw they just came out with a new frame design.

Good.

The newer pack design where the nylon yolk comes over the top of the frame to secure the pack and load lifters is a step backwards IMO but other than that, I have no complaints. The old style with the hypalon yolk with holes for the frame's tabloops to stick through was much better .

Their frames just fit me well. I have a Reckoning and a Stryker, which I use on a hunter's frame and small belt.

I have always used kifaru. They are good. Mine is the age that stitching broke and I had a had a strap pull out. It’s dental flossed on but will replace this year. Might try a stone glacier.

Calvin send it back to Kifaru to be fixed or replaced, from personal experience their customer service has always been excellent or if you just want a new pack then rock on with the Stone Glacier!

Thanks. Given I am currently on a spending freeze, I should probably take your advice.

Good experience here. Well made with good materials/zippers and thought out correctly for holding things down. Not cheap, but quality gear.

Best pack I’ve used ,fits me well and no issues with durability so far!

I have Kifaru and its been bombproof. Really heavy duty as far as packs are concerned. Mine gets used pretty hard and is as good as new.

One of my good friends is a Kifaru fanatic. His packs are super robust and well thought out. If money was no object I'd have several.

I ended up getting the 357 for day/one nighters. Yet to test it, but first impressions are all good.

All backs are different, but they are about as good as it gets...

Can anyone explain why they constantly change models/designs after short periods?

Seems strange to offer a bag for a year then discontinue it.

Things changed a lot after Patrick Smith let other people take over and eventually purchase the company. They seem to be a lot more restless with products. But also there is a lot more competition driving changes with a lot more high end backpacks available.

Got a couple that are 20 years old or so. Have beat the crap out of them in all kinds of conditions and they are still going strong. Have no idea about current production.

Seek Outside makes great packs in Grand Junction, Colorado. I have the Revolution frame with Peregrine 3500 and Goshawk 4800 bags for it. Lightweight and will cary a heavy load comfortably.

Really like Kifaru packs. Have a 24 year old Longhunter that is going strong that I carry in the truck for packing out meat...usually a bear or two every spring. Also have a 7 year old Reckoning that is my favorite back pack ever. Packed out a couple Stone sheep and a Dall in it. Spent 5 days packing a Mt Caribou back to the lake we flew into a few years ago! Used it on many 10-day to two week hunts in BC and the NWT. Great pack.

Also have a 12 year old Kifaru UltraLight UL5400 if I remember right. Last pack Patrick Smith designed as far as I know. Love it for overnighters and high country day trip hunting where you have to carry alot of gear, just in case. Weighs about 3 pounds (Double wall Sil nylon construction) and I always carry my bow in the Gun Bearer, unless packing meat out and I've switched to a backup firearm in grizzly country. Durability was less than the Cordura packs that weighed 2.5X as much, but I LIKE the Ultralight as a great dayhunt pack!

I think we have 5 or 6 between my 2 kids and me. We've had outstanding luck with them. I just keep the old ones when upgrading and loan them out to folks who need one for a hunt. I try to stick with USA made stuff and Kifaru is one of a handful of great manufacturers using USA materials and labor. I guess I'm close to 30 years now on using their stuff.

Just like any other consumer product, to generate sales with something "new."

My experience has been good, I think I have 4 of their packs. I like the old style Long hunter packs.

Kevin Timn is a leftist that absolutely hates anyone that does not vote like him. He made that clear on his Twitter, until people noticed, then he deleted it and said he was just kidding with all the vitriol.

Fùck him and the other commies at seek outside.

I have a spike camp that I really haven’t used much. Mostly due to not being waterproof. It was made when they just did one big compartment. It was comfortable but I never used it hard.

Anybody have a waterproof cover recommendation for it?

Seek Outside makes a good and unique product. But they lost me as a customer for good, that's for sure.

Me too.
I hadn't heard about KT liberal outburst until after i had bought a Silex tent.

The Alaskan will be my next Pack , Initial Ascent.

Brian Call is a grifter, Lampers a snake oil salesman.

I'm not fond of aron Snyder but he's better than those two

Tell us again why we should give a flying fùck who you're fond of?

Why don't you tell us how you were duped by bha until you finally saw the light (after years) and stopped supporting them financially but are still ashamed so you can't speak ill of them?


Lol old hen got a little fight in ya after 80yrs....good for you old fugg

Oh and I never said you should care, you dumb old fùck (much like nobody cares what you think)

Great gear. Been using it since Patrick launched it and still have & use my old HighCamp on a Bikini frame a pretty worn out Spike Camp. Over the years I’ve had KU ultra lites and a few of their newer EDC packs. You didn’t ask about their other gear but their 6 man tipi and one of their medium box stoves has been working for years & years. All very high quality.

LOL, BHA again, is that all you got? I moved on years ago but it's good to see they're still living in your head, along with all the others you like to spew about. It must be crowded in there. You want to call others "old hen" yet you're the one who likes to "dish" on everyone, and tell others what to think and who to buy from. As if your opinion really, really matters.

But back on topic. Kifaru always treated me right, back when Patrick was running it and now Aron. You probably never met Aron but I've dealt with him directly a few times. First time I was looking for a new pack and he let me borrow one for a few weeks to see how I liked it.

Great gear and stellar customer service. But Jackoff Handily isn't "fond of him."

Blow it out your ass, blowhard.

Well no I'm not fond of him because he is part of the hunting influencer club. Not because of anything kifaru.

Apparently my opinion matters a lot to you, you constantly throw a bìtch fit every time I post and harm your sensibilities. So I appreciate living in your head, to use your own analogy.

If I ever wanted a Cordura sack attached to a frame/suspension, kifaru would be at the top of my list. But it's not 2003 anymore.


An old curmudgeon (emphasis on old) calling someone a blowhard.....lol rich lol.

LOL, what is it with you and your snide little remarks about age? When one is born is one of the few things in life you have absolutely no control over. You say "in your 80's" like it's something to be ashamed of.

Are you really that shallow, is that how you think? Are you doing everything you can to make sure you're never an 80 year-old? LOL.

I would call you a young wet-behind-the-ears know-it-all who'll never understand that God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason, but your age has nothing to do with it.

Because I know it gets under your skin, old timer.

I don't hate most old people, we'll all be old one day, if we're lucky. I just don't like old dumb fúckers like you.


Play the poor old victim, but keep in mind how YOU addressed me first.

Congrats on being such a pathetic old bìtch...

Yep. Same here. I saw his comments before they wiped his profiles clean. Lotta hatred in them. Me and mine have spent a lot of money with SO over the years, but not another dime.

I needed a new pack last year and went with a SG X-Curve. May or may not miss the X-PAC of my old SO pack, but prefer the fit and weight handling of the SG by quite a bit anyways.

Blow me, ya little whining cùnt.

No thanks gramps, not like your bha buds.

Give it a rest. My goodness.

While packing out a moose last year I heard quite a ‘rippppp’ just as I initially stood up after loading the pack up with a solid, 80 or so lbs of meat. I need to send this in for repair. I fully expect Kifaru to repair it 100% no questions asked. I just haven’t got to it yet as I have been trapping and bird hunting all winter with this pack.

This hip belt is 5 years old now and it has been good to me but it was just a matter of time.

No doubt they’ll take care of you.

I wish Kifaru worked better for me, they are the best packs out there IMO. Thinking about trying the new ARK frame to see if it fits better.

Must be a weak point. Looks like same as mine. Mine ripped with about a 90lb moose load, while standing up too.



Don’t laugh at my dental floss field fix.

I actually just purchased new shoulder straps and a belt for my frame. I couldn't tighten the belt and keep it to stay without slipping due to the wear on the straps. Just very smooth and no friction to stay tight with more than about 20 pounds. Same with load lifters. I didn't try to warranty it as it was just worn out.

I went ahead and got a new Reckoning bag as well. I'll look like a newbie this season with fancy bright stuff...grin...

I hadn't thought much about why, but my waist belt also noticably hasn't kept cinched tight lately. I am constantly having to retighten it even with light loads. I thought maybe the waist belt was just stretching out. It is borderline too big for me and cinched tight has always been completely out of adjustment. The waist straps don't look worn but I could not know what to look for. I'll have to look closer at that tonight.

I don't mess with the load lifters much so I am sure they're fine.

You fellas must be superfly tnt, because I've only heard tales of kifaru being indestructible

Own one of their tarpa, a 12 man tipi and two stoves, and two packs. Packs are nicely made but they don't carry weight any better than others I've used.

The big deal about Kifaru when I purchased it back when Patrick operated it was they stood behind their products. I'm not sure how it is today being that Patrick is not operating the company. I have an shelter that I need to send in and I suppose that I'll learn how CA is in the current time.

Having several packs rip at the same point due to heavy loads tells me there is a design flaw at that point. Aaron needs to put some backing behind those bar tacks or Kifaru will keep having the same issue if they already haven't. I'm no expert but have sewed up a a few homemade packs and gear and when you run a stitch back and forth over the same spot like a bar tack you can weaken the fabric at that point because of all the extra needle holes and tugging on fabric threads. Putting some backing inside the waste belt will help alleviate the issue.

I’m a ways out of the backpack game, but I had an issue with the customer service that sounds like a one-off but it had to do with their on-line inventory system and one of the gals telling me how theirs work “just like every other on-line system.” I cared to differ in that I expected the inventory to reflect accurately and keep up with items sold. To the point, I thought she was more than rude sounding like they just couldn’t possibly be wrong! Left a very bad taste in my mouth.

Then there is the ever changing design, just for the sake of crating a buzz leading to a “collector” mentality, often leaving good design features.

This year, they came out with a “new” frame that just happens to look like other’s offerings. Hmmm.

I have a couple younger friends that are always upgrading gear, and they swear by Initial Ascent’s packs. I have no idea of the owner or reps personality so no comment there. I did get a chance to look at their packs at a Sports Show in Boise (they’re relatively local). And they seemed very well made.

12 years later and i’m still using an internal frame Timberline prototype that Aron gifted me. This pack has done it all.

You want to haul a heavy load get a Barney’s pack, you want to swallow a heavy load get a kifaru

I just received a brand new waist belt yesterday. Kifaru couldn’t repair those stitches so they replaced the whole belt. It seems there may be fewer Molly loops on this newest version as my belt pockets don’t fit as they did on my old belt.

They only have Ranger Green now apparently, so my stuff isn’t goin to be so delightfully matching anymore.