Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting The Paradox Pack Thread

Yea, I need a lesson in packs and suspensions...

Let me guess... Kifaru right?

Kent

Kent,

Thanks for the kind words. I can speak to the back venting....it works to a point. I'm in TN and right now it hot and humid. I did 11 miles with 35 lbs in the Evo a few weeks ago in 90� weather with 60%+ humidity. That is the point that the back venting starts to not work as well. I actually sweated through a silnylon gateway that day and wetted out a paper map of the state park I was in. I need to seam seal the gateway, just haven't gotten around to it.

The modularity concept matches my own evolution of packing in camp and packing out animals. Packing elk quarters or a whole lion are ungainly with an internal. Using an 8 lb frame is heavy and hard to day hunt with.

All can work obviously. The MR at just over 4 lbs and modularity is a good setup.

What I'm seeing here may be better at less weight, more venting... if it carries the weight.

Kent

Their waistbelt is the most comfortable I've ever tried. I don't care for ANY of Kifaru's packbags. The Hill People Gear compression panel concept is, IMO, the way to go, and their waistbelt looks top-notch but I haven't tried it yet.

We're deciding on the line of pack bags and Talons that we will initially offer.

The 6300 bag is a dual drawstring with a snow collar. It is roughly 4200 below the collar, 1600 in the collar, and 500 in water bottle pockets. It has ice axe loops, and comes with a flat lid. An upgrade will be a pocketed top lid of 500 ci and you can add a side zip for an upcharge. Note that our 6300 ci is comparable to other 7000-7500 ci bags. It is LARGE, but used without the snow collar it's still good for weekend trips. And it compresses down to nothing.

The smaller bag will be around 4300 ci. Kevin and I both think that a rolltop makes more sense for the smaller bag. The rolltop should be lighter, more waterproof, and should be a bit cheaper to cut and sew. This bag would come with ice axe loops, water bottle pockets, and you would be able to run a top lid if you wanted or even just two over the top straps.

For Talons we intend to offer a Flat Talon compression panel with a small zippered pocket, a larger Base Talon of about 1000 ci that is affordable to manufacture, and the Day Talon which is 1000 ci with two zippered pockets and its' own harness so it can be used as a daypack.

Thoughts?

Sounds very good, to me, still would buy a pair of spotter/tripod sized side pockets and I can rig a Gunbearer and perhaps a Kifaru Organizer to meet my other requirements.

I certainly "get" your point about not wanting to build accessories that are just there "because" and the market IS saturated with all kinds of pack accessories. My concern here and why I would prefer such items made by you, is that most of what I have seen in terms of pockets, etc. are "mil-spec" and made of fabric far heavier than one requires for a hunting pack.

My ONLY reason for buying one of these, fully rigged, would be to save substantial weight over my MR NICE rigs as this is important at my age and it seems counterproductive to buy a lighter pack and then put pockets on it that weigh twice what they really should.

JMHO, I am MOST impressed, so far, and am probably going to buy one and use it as hard as my elderly bod will handle.

I think that the policy of keeping it simple, light and as lowly priced as possible will really resonate with a LOT of hunters and it will sell as fast as you can make them.

Having lived out of a ULA Catalyst quite a bit, that would be my preference.

Wouldn't if make more sense to carry your fragile spotter in the top of your pack? If you take a spill, it will be much less likely to get whacked?

Kutenay,

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against making pockets and accessories, but if we do then I want it to offer something that is not out there already. With our X-Pac materials we have the potential to do some pretty cool things. But at the same time, we have more pressing development needs.

With a couple runs of PALS on the belt, two water bottle pockets, a dual zip Day Talon (with its' own water bladder sleeve), plus a pocketed top lid I think the pack would have a lot of organization. Throw in a Gateway and you'd reach pocket bliss.

Looking forward to the release. Any timeline? Have a early Nov elk hunt and trying to decide on keeping my current pack or giving this a shot. Price and the timeline of release will probably dictate my decision.

If I were starting afresh with a system like that, I'd look for a Big F--- Bag with a pocket in the lid for week+ trips. Then a 4-5000 CI bag for weekenders.

If I can get a rifle butt in the "water bottle pocket", you will have done one thing really well that several other companies have missed. Can't tell for sure, as the pics on your site are tiny, except for the 5-pack composite, which is a great shot (that far right configuration, with the green bag being full of dead stuff looks like a happy pack to me).

I'm not opposed to roll-tops, seems you could offer both bags in both configs without too much difficulty beyond inventory issues? I prefer a drawstring/lid on my main bag, but you make good points on the roll-top.

PALS on the belt sounds cool - never ran a pack so configured, so can't say for sure. Digging the Stone Glacier belt config, as it is very easy to attach whatever to the belt. Seems PALS could do the same.

Not sure I am totally getting what a "Talon" is? It is a compression panel, that optionally has pockets? And optionally converts to a mini day pack?

You might also consider offering a gram weenie option with frame, thin compression panel, roll top bag with no loops or pockets or zippers or frills... Gram weenies don't seem to do much, but they do accumulate equipment.

The talon is an optional compression panel. One version can be a daypack.

Do you mean rifle butt in the bottle pocket at an angle ?

Kevin,
Optional as in you can tie stuff directly to the frame without using it? How do the bags attach to the pack without this talon? Any pics in that config?

On the water bottle pocket:

I'm looking at the center pack in the set of 5 here: http://paradoxpacks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Five-Pack-Composite.jpg

Looks like you could stuff the butt of the rifle in the water bottle pocket, cinch the straps around the stock and have a nice, secure way to pack a rifle over long distances. A simple, secure way to carry a rifle (doesn't have to be quick access, but it can't be falling out when alder bashing) is a big deal to me.

4500ci is a sweet spot for me. I am borrowing Kurt's Solo Stone Glacier and it is a great pack but is 3300 +2100 expanded. With 4500ci and the abiltiy to expand for meat that would be ideal, my 2 cents anyway.

cwh,

The compression straps are keyed so you can use the pack without a Talon. They will hook to the corresponding side. i.e. the left side straps have male buckles, the right side has female.

Without a Talon I hook the middle straps to the bottom load shelf then you can hook the top and bottom straps horizontally, or you can cross them to form an "X".

I think most folks will opt to use a talon. The Flat Talon is only 4 oz, has a pocket, and you can affordable get different colors - such as blaze orange for rifle season.

Lots of suggestions, to be expected on a forum such as this, I guess. There are many ways for different people to accomplish the same or very similar ends and so many suggestions may well produce quite different, but, equally effective ways of accomplishing the same ends.

As I mentioned on the phone last week, I think that this is a pack design, that could really BE the "all around-do it all" rig that many might well want and will gladly buy.

One basic frame, can have several different bags for different uses, perhaps, large and small "Multicam" versions for hunting, a spare Talon, in orange, as you point out and then, the same bags in a nice, bright combo of "Dayglo" orange and red, for climbers, ski-mountaineers and others who are wise to be clad in and carry gear of highly visible colours so it is easier to spot them from a SAR aircraft in an emergency.

I don't know of any current pack maker who offers a system that does this and I think that it is a useful approach to providing an "all in one" pack that might well be a very practical and popular choice for many people.

One point here, there was a mention of keeping my spotter/tripod in my top pocket, rather than in the side pockets I have and prefer on all of my packs. I do not do this because ALL of the considerable first aid and emergency gear I always carry, on day hikes as well as hunts, etc. is ALWAYS placed in the SAME places in my top pockets.

This, is one of several personal techniques which I have evolved over many years of spending extensive time alone in some of Canada's most remote wilderness and I have very sound reasons for doing this. So, that pocket is full and my optics must ride elsewhere.

Whatever, I am eager to see reports of this pack in the field and think it is going to be a "winner".

Interesting that long usage has fostered some of the same habitual or ritual traits/actions in me that Kutenay mentions. For decades I have put the same item in the same pocket or section of all packs (or as close as the specific pack allows). I use the same quick release knots to hold any added outside gear and it will always be attached in the same spot.

That way my hand goes instinctively to items I may need in a hurry, no searching, and I can find them in the dark if no light is available. Repeat: No searching through a pack for critical items. Flashlight and first aid gear are never bumped from their location!

Even on my person, certain items are sacrosanct (is that a permissable hunting word?) as to their location: one finisher or other use round of ammunition, knife, compass, predator call (endless uses from moose to mountain sheep and even a predator once in awhile!)

I'm not sure if I'm describing wisdom from experience or curmudgeonness!

Back on topic: this Paradox pack interests me more than any I've seen, especially the frame alone. Tempting...

Introductory prices are set and the packs are available for orders.

http://paradoxpacks.com/lightweight-backpacks/

Prices:

• Evolution Frame, no Talon - $299
• Evolution Frame, Base Talon - $329
• 6300 Pack Bag with Flat Lid - $229
• 4800 rolltop pack bag, no lid - $179
• Day Talon - $139
• Evo /6300 / Day Talon - $599 - Introductory Special

Multicam is an upcharge, as is a side zip on the packbag.

That "Introductory Special"makes me groan in frustration, as this is THE most exciting new pack that I have encountered since the MR NICE series and I am a HARDCORE Dana Gleason pack fan due to 35 years of VERY satisfactory service.

I do NOT "need" one of these and DO need a new deep freeze as well as a new 4x4, but, I am considering various ways and means of getting the $$$$$ to purchase that rig.

I have a feeling that this pack is going to become VERY popular as it is just what most backpackers require as a "do it all" pack.

Kute, you live in BC...you can store food outside most of the winter, so you don't really "NEED" that deep freezer.

The introductory pricing won't last forever. After we have actual numbers to work with instead of guesses and estimates then I anticipate the prices will change a bit. Plus we're positioning aggressively because we want packs out in the field this fall.