Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting The Paradox Pack Thread

The gateway is the low slung front pack. It clips into the lower shoulder straps and rides in front. It's got a water bottle pocket, a good sized zippered pocket, and a security pocket. It's great to carry some food, headlamp, map, gps, gloves, stocking cap, etc.

I'll be honest, when Kevin was developing the Gateway I thought it looked kind of gimmicky. Then he sent me one to test out, and I've been in love with it ever since. It's one of those things that you think looks funny until you use it.

Thanks! I'll take a look at one. Though I use a Longhunter, I can see more sense in having alot of the stuff I keep in the lid pocket in the Gateway instead. That said, those of us with big bellies might find the location a bit more cumbersome...

pointer, I can see how that would be an issue! The Gateway should work on any pack, not just ours. And it really is handy, especially if you're under load and making tracks. It's nice to not have to stop all the time to dig for water/food/gel/map.

At $40 and 3.5 oz it's a low risk investment.

http://store.seekoutside.com/gateway-front-pack/

Edit: A side note here - Kevin and I both use a Sawyer filter bottle in our Gateways. All you have to do with these bottles is scoop up water from a source and drink filtered water through the straw. It's wonderfully easy if you're in water rich country. A perk is that you can dump your bottle and re-fill with cold water if you come across a cooler source.

Before I head out for a few days thought I would comment on the pack:

-Very comfortable belt, and there is no slip at all. Probably the feature that I like best.

-I like the x-pac material. Was doing a 55# hike and we got rained on a bit. The X-pac performed as advertised, didn't soak up any water at all.

-I haven't used the Talon as a daypack yet, but I really like the features that it offers for organization. The way I hunt it will likely never come off of the pack though.

-The frame puts all of the weight on the hips, with none to speak of on the shoulders.

After I get back and namack is done I will be putting some hard scouting miles on it. Should have some good information as well.

Also, like namack said, we and one other guy are working on a fairly comprehensive side by side review of several "top end" packs. The three of us will each be putting 25 miles on each of the packs he mentioned. We've put together a report card of sorts that will help any buyer figure out which pack best suits THEIR individual needs and preferences.

Our goal is to be done with the review before September huntings season rolls around. I will have details on where the review will be posted/printed after we get rough drafts and miles on the packs done.

Again, thanks! I may have to give one a whirl this fall. I like the idea of the Sawyer as well. I generally don't drink from a waterbottle, instead prefer a hydration bladder, but that does make good sense to do it that way.

I can see how it'd work on any pack, just mentioned the LH as I normally put that stuff in the lid pocket. Good place to keep it, just not very convenient, but I HATE stuff in my cargo pockets.

Sreekers , since you are affiliated with Seek Outside why should I have any confidence in your review ? I hope that you will put a disclosure on the first line of your review that you are promoting the Paradox pack.
In fact , as I think about it , Ed T is in business with Seek Outside also. It will be much more informative when customers start reviewing the Paradox rather than just company men promoting their new product.

Scott is affiliated with Seek Outside in no way other than knowing the owner. In fact, I'm not affiliated with Seek Outside either.

Really Dave, questioning someone's objectivity who you don't know? Scott will be honest if nothing else, but I trust he will also conduct himself with class. I wish the same were true for you.

"It is better to remain silent and thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." -Mark Twain

Your post is highly offensive, uncalled for and you should delete it and refrain from such bullsh!t in future.

I will not belabour the point, but, in my 51+ years of carrying packs and in some of the most remote, rugged and "empty wilderness in North America, often alone there for months without break, I have learned a bit about gear.

I have never met anyone who equals Ed Tyanich, in gear knowledge and helpful advice to others and he is humble and courteous in his posting. His integrity is simply beyond question and, btw, I have never met or spoken with any of these good folks, except Nathan, last week and Kevin a few times by phone.

So, you are wrong here and this site is far too decent, friendly and respectful to all for one person to start making invidious and foolish remarks about others....OK?

A more gracious guy than EdT you are not likely to run into. Last year when I was out in MT I looked him up. On the spot trip advice, on the spot gear advice, all you need to do is ask.

So , Sreekers is not a contributor to the seek outside blog ? Not writing articals about elk hunting for them ? Rockchucker30 , Kevin T is not your partner in developing the Paradox pack ? I not only question Sreekers objectivity , I now question your , Rockchucker30 , honesty. I think the Paradox pack may be a really great pack but stealth promotion is dishonest. Failure to disclose relationships gives the appearance of dishonesty even if none was intended. The attempt to distance yourself from Kevin T and Seek Outside certainly increases that appearance.
Kutenay, "I have never met with any of these good folks" . The people mentioned all have interconnected personal and business relationships that are not disclosed. So Kutenay , not ok.

And as for Sreekers not promoting the Paradox pack . He just spent hundreds of dollars if not over a thousand dollars to assemble the lineup of packs to do this review to compare them to the new and unreleased Paradox pack that he has been given access to. I somehow doubt that it is coincidence or uncompensated in some way. After the denials and attacks I smell a bunch of rats.

Dave, "affiliated" in the context you originally used it implied a business or monetary connection. That is a false allegation. Let me spell this out for you very clearly. Scott and I both write for SO's blog. That is an UNPAID position. Further, I have NO business connection to Seek Outside. Paradox Packs is a solitary entity, not a subsidiary. This can easily be verified by searching the Colorado Secretary of State's website.

I don't think we have a need to "disclose" anything.

Dave, I understand where you're coming from, but I think you could conduct yourself with a lot more class than this.

We asked Scott to be a tester for the Paradox long before he decided to write a multi pack review. And honestly, he figured that gentlemen such as yourself would object, so he designed a testing regimen that almost assures objectivity.

All of the packs will be tested by three guys. Kevin and I don't know the other two gentlemen, but one of them - namack - has posted on this thread previously.

Dave,
I would think it isn't wise to question the integrity of folks you have never met. No relationships have been hidden. Yes, Scott has contributed to the SO blog. Why ? Well, as a company we believe in helping our customers have successful adventures and success in whatever pursuit they desire. It feels good giving a customer an opportunity to pursue their desires. During the course of the blog writing we became friends. We encouraged him from day one to write elsewhere (which he is now doing). Scott has used a lot of high end packs and we wanted honest feedback from him. We have a small business relationship with Ed, but it really is pretty minimal. We trust we will get honest feedback from Ed and he did give us honest feedback in his limited time. I have great respect for Ed's knowledge and experience.
Nathan and I believe the pack is fairly different from what is available. We wanted to get some feedback from a broader group, that has a lot of experience as well to make sure our experiences were similar so we make the best product we can. These folks have used a lot of gear, from other manufacturers and are not afraid to give us criticism. This will help us build the best product possible.
Now before you go throwing any more stones, look at the other relationships and so called gear experts and endorsements around other manufacturers. As Nathan stated, the blog writers are not paid. The pack feedback is also un paid.

Sreekers from what I have spoken to him seems like a more than stand up guy. I'm sure he will give a review to the best of his ability. We all have biases that is a fact, being 100% objective is darn near impossible but I have no doubt that he will do his best to get as close to that as possible.

Another thing to remember about any pack or review your read about anything, just cause it works great for one person doesn't mean it works great for you.

Kutenay who has been backpacking more than twice as long as I have been alive is a heck of a resource for anything backpacking and he likes Mystery Ranch packs. I on the other hand found I prefer Kifaru after using and hauling out animals both packs for a couple years does that make either of us wrong?

If Sreekers review ends up totally jaded I think it will be glaring obvious but I believe the will find perks and faults with each and every pack. I firmly believe there is no perfect pack that works for everyone.

If he can't find one single thing wrong with the Paradox I might be a bit skeptical as hitting a home run on a first run of a pack is dang near impossible as it is. There is always room for improvements as evidence in this thread alone with folks offering suggestions for pockets or PALs webbing while the designer, Rockchucker, isn't as interested on doing so as I imagine he designed it more for what his needs are, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Having written a couple reviews in the past I know its hard to remain 100% objective I believe it will be an informative read all the way around and I for one look forward to reading and seeing what Sreekers thoughts are on how these packs stack up to each other!!!

And there is the little bit of disclosure that is needed. The attacks on me for pointing out the facts leads me to believe that there is little honesty unless forced. Sreekers obviously has the ambition to be an outdoor writer and you , Kevin T / Seek outside , are giving him an outlet to be heard. That alone is of great value and a form of compensation. The conduct here in the initial denial tells me all I need to know about your integrity. The low class action was not disclosing the interconnected personal and business relationships and pretending that it's all kosher when it's far from pure. Parsings and denials are the acts of the guilty. Until now the only thing that was bothering me was that Sreekers was pretending that this review was COMPLETELY objective. If for no other reason than friendship he is looking through rose colored glasses. The pack may be revolutionary but I certainly wouldn't put my faith in the review. It may shed light on the performance of the packs but like most reviews I will take it with a grain of salt. Actually , after this reaction I'll take it with a pound of salt.

How about we just wait to read the review before you start saying its not going to be objective??

Damn you're dumb. Everybody else thank me for being nice, 'cause I wanted to do a mag dump.

Take-a-knee , I'm dumb ? Far from it. This entire thread is just an add. The Paradox add disguised in the forum is the appropriate title.

Dave,

You're entitled to your opinion, and I respect that. I truly do thank you for posing the questions you have and allowing us to clarify things. I imagine there were others with the same concerns who remained quiet out of politeness.

If you ever need anything I'm available. I'll PM you my contact info.

Thanks,
Nathan