Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting The Paradox Pack Thread

Seam sealing:

We get a lot of questions on seam sealing. The pack bags are designed with almost all seams in a vertical orientation, which helps water shed instead of penetrating seams, so in light quick rains you will probably not need to seam seal. Heavy rain is a different story.

Seam seal the exterior seams. sealing the interior seams does little good. I like to thin silicone with mineral spirits pretty hard, then suck it up in a small syringe and use that to inject it into the seams. This leaves a clean line that looks better than brushing, but brushing is faster.

Test after it dries to check for water penetration. Showers, sprinklers, hoses, etc work well for testing. If it passes a 15 min drenching rain test then you're good.

Here's a video on sealing. A bit long and not exciting, but hopefully helpful.

[video:youtube]uD1r0sQ61IA[/video]

Another quick note - Side zips don't affect water penetration in rain if the pack is in a vertical orientation (like its being worn).

I honestly didn't expect the side zip to perform as well as it did, but I haven't seen any water penetration through the zipper even in some very tough testing. The Talon and compression tend to hold the rain flap down, and water never reaches the zipper.

If the pack were laying suspension side down with the flap facing up so water could pool in it then I'm sure water would penetrate then.

Here is a photo of the coyote XPAC VX21. It is a pretty good looking combo.
We also have a few other little accessories in the pipeline (Belt pockets / etc)

Bump!

I added fastex/QR buckles to the loose ends of the shoulder straps of most of my packs so I can easiily clip in an admin pouch, thusly...



I also added my own extra straps to compress vertically when I don't want/have the talon:





Nothing fancy

Those of you with the side zip on a 6300 bag, how often do you find you use it? Worth getting? I like the idea of a pack that I can leave out in the rain without worrying about water pooling in the zipper flap, but I also like the idea of added convenience when accessing things in a large pack bag. Thoughts?

I have not taken mine for an overnight trip yet, but I considered the side zipper essential. Even loading some stuff in it for a test hike I just used the side zip. Ill only use the top for major loading and unloading. You could just lay the Talon over the zipper when setting it out in the rain. Or, as was mentioned, just set it upright,

I'm loving this pack





Paradox with no pack bag.



Frame as gear shelf above wet ground.

Post up more pictures buddy!!

I just got the evolution 4800 set up yesterday. So far I'm happy! Trying to decide if I need the Unaweep also!!

I went for a walk with my Evolution frame. Felt really good when I started out. Couldn't really tell I had 40 pounds in it. As I walked the belt started to press on the front of my hipbones and became a little uncomfortable. Is this something that could be fixed with a bigger belt?

I had a 40 lb bag of softener salt in it. Any time I leaned forward it caused my back to become humped and push against the bag, which caused the entire pack to move away from my body, putting a lot of pressure and discomfort on my waist. However, I'm not sure if that will be different when I get the bag and load it up. Anyone else have this issue? Any advice/tips is appreciated.

How much does the belt wrap around? Might be too small.

Make sure the pack is adjusted properly to you. Youtube videos on the subject.
Try loosening the belt up a little. Mine works best when just snug.

Also, mess with the talon rigging. Easy to make a higher load shelf, support from the top of the frame, etc.

The pack moving away from your body makes it sound like you don't have the load lifters snugged down. The usual way to do that is to loosen up the load lifters and shoulder straps, get the hip belt adjusted right first, then snug down the shoulder straps second, and then snug down the load lifters last. Don't be afraid to crank down on them; they bring the load close to your body.

Then after you crank down the load lifters, the shoulder straps may be a little too tight and need to be loosened a bit.

It comes around very similar to this pic. The pad ends just as it is wrapping around my hips

Backroads and Smokepole,
Thanks for the tips. I'll try them when I get back home. Part of the problem is the fact that the bag of salt is rounded a little, so I'm assuming it sits closer to my body than a bag packed with gear would.

I think belts doesnt wrap around enough. Putting too much pressure on your hip bones. Size up a size.

Yes, if you have room for 3 inches more padding do it.


Harness set to a little longer torso judging form the picture.

Engage load lifters to snug up

I received an Evo with 6300 and Base Talon this week from Ed and Capital Sports. Try as I might, I just don't feel I'm getting it adjusted right. With close to 30 pounds in the bag, I adjusted the harness so the top was about even with my C7 as instructed on the Seek Outside site. Adjusted this way, there is a sizable gap between the harness and my back. Is this normal? Load lifters were pulled tight, which did move the frame closer but the harness still "floats." Honestly, with this nowhere near heavy load it wasn't all that comfortable. I must be doing something wrong.

Here's how I got my Unaweep 4800 fitted up.

- put the pack on without fastening the hip belt.
- loosened up the load lifters.
- snugged the shoulder straps down.
- Fastened and checked hip belt location. (it was a bit too low, so I changed the belt mount to the frame to the last hole, to raise the belt an inch or so. Then everything fit.

I had the 4" frame extensions in. I could have also shortened the extensions to effectively put the shoulder harness closer to the belt, but I didn't want to before checking out the load lifter geometry.

At the end of it all, I cut 1" off the frame extensions, and that, along with the belt in the highest mounting position, puts everything where it belongs, with the shoulder harness riding close.

Load lifter engagement will lift the shoulder harness a bit at the back, as designed.





I've carried it several miles up and down the hill with about a 30 lb load. Very comfy.