Disappointment and Frustration

Well, I leave for Alaska in almost exactly 3 days and it looks like I may be leaving my Kifaru pack(s) at home. Right now I am battling two major issues and I am to the point of giving up and putting everything on the classifieds. I'm not trying to start a flame war here but I am a little disappointed in the fact that I have spent over a month trying to get my sternum strap fixed on my duplex frame. I know this is relatively minor and I could probably live without it but it's just frustrating.

The bigger issue I am having is I cannot, regardless of what I try, get a pack to stay up on my hips. I started out with a bikini with regular composite stays but it just never seemed to work right so I shelved that one and went with a duplex with aluminum stays. Now, I could technically pass the flat back test but I think it is because I have a unique back. By no means do I have any ass at all and when I wear a weighted pack for any amount of time, it just slips down to where the lumbar pad is at or below the top of my ass crack. I tried straightening the stays out for more of a flat back profile and this helped with the comfort a little but I still couldn't keep the pack up. Here recently I was doing hikes around the neighborhood with a 50lb bag of cat litter strapped up in a Nomad on the duplex. Overall pack weight was 65-70lbs depending on how much water I was hauling and other stuff. I could get the waist belt up on my hips like it's supposed to be and do my best to crank down on the hip straps as best I can.

Oh yeah, this is another issue that I can't seem to get a resolution to. It was suggested that I needed a large belt instead of the medium I have because the straps never feed right through the buckles. See the videos below. I would like to try out a large belt but I don't feel like wasting both my money and Kifaru's time just to order one and see if it works any better. I have asked about getting a trial belt but this has yet to be answered. I will admit that I'm not the workout warrior I may have once been and I have a few pounds to drop that I have been working on. I just don't want to buy a large belt only to find that it is too big, especially when I drop another 20lbs or so. As you can see in the videos, I feel like I am coming fairly close to bottoming out the medium belt. In the videos I don't really crank down as hard as possible but when I do, I have maybe an inch or two of webbing between the sides of the buckles and the edges of the belt. Wouldn't a large belt bottom out if I am this close with a medium?

Anyway, as you can see in the video, I have to tighten the belt one side at a time but eventually I can get it cranked down where the belt is up on my hip bones and the buckle is right at my navel. Unfortunately, within 50 paces or less, the belt is slowly making its way down to the position where most guys wear their pants lower on the hips. As mentioned before, the lumbar pad is now way down at my ass instead of up in the lumbar region where it seems it should be.

I should also mention that I end up having to have the shoulder straps and load lifters so tight (or they become this tight as the pack slips down) that eventually I just unbuckle the belt and it feels more comfortable even though the weight is all on my shoulders now.

I have even gotten to the point of pulling the stays out of the duplex and putting them back in "upside down". What is odd is holding the stays (out of the pack) next to my back, they fit the shape of my back better upside down. This is also after flattening out the "bottom" curve for more of a flat back stay.

Again, I will admit that I think my back is a little unique and maybe it just wasn't meant to be as far as these packs go. I just wanted to get this out there and see if anyone has any suggestions. I have read several threads where people have fit issues but none seem to relate to my issues really. I have really tried to stay positive and have an open mind about these issues but it's to the point now where it's frustrating to possibly be leaving the packs at home when the whole point of purchasing them was for trips this year.







Here is a poor attempt at a selfie to show the shape of my back. While I am twisting a little bit, I think this is a fair representation of the shape of my back. You can see how I could pass the flat back test while still having no ass at all.



Anyway, sorry for the long-winded blubbering but I feel better getting my frustrations out there where I know there are a ton of knowledgeable folks on the site that may have some suggestions. Also, it's not all doom and gloom as this first Alaska trip is more of a backpacking and fishing trip. While I can probably live with the fit issues or just leave the packs at home, this was supposed to be a testing opportunity as the mountains and hiking opportunities here in Kansas are limited at best.

Here is one more showing the current bend of the stays.



Thanks for any input.

You can try my large duplex belt if you want. Did you call and have them walk you though the fit process?

Did you just email or did you actually talk with a person on your broken strap? Usually in my experience they are extremely quick to correct things like that.

I know 5milesback couldn't get the kifaru to fit him either, so far I think he is really liking the Stone Glacier so maybe try giving that one a test drive to compare before you jump on selling, if possible.

I will give you half of my ass and then we will both have regular asses.

I'm not a fit expert but I had that belt problem with my medium but most of the issue went away with a large belt. I have to work it a little bit as it comes reality tight now but it holds with a death grip once it's there. Joe or another Kifaru fit expert needs to look at this and walk you through dialing it in. It doesn't look right to me but I'm not good enough at fitting myself to instruct others.

I think your belt is too high.

Justin Crossley said:

I think your belt is too high.

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Really? I have it centered with the middle of the belt on the crest of the hips and the buckle is at my navel. From everything I have gathered, this is the way it is "supposed" to be.

Have you tried any other packs that fit you better? If so use that.

realunlucky said:

You can try my large duplex belt if you want. Did you call and have them walk you though the fit process?

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I may take you up on it after this trip. I should have reached out to people here earlier but I was convinced that it was me doing something wrong and I would figure it out before my trips.

dotman said:

Did you just email or did you actually talk with a person on your broken strap? Usually in my experience they are extremely quick to correct things like that.

I know 5milesback couldn't get the kifaru to fit him either, so far I think he is really liking the Stone Glacier so maybe try giving that one a test drive to compare before you jump on selling, if possible.

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Yes, both. As I told you via text, I'm trying to be nice as I know people are probably overworked and I assume this is a hectic time if year with so many gearing up for the upcoming seasons. I may give SG a shot or try out some other packs. Sadly, I think I am committed at this point for trips this season though.

Nick Muche said:

I will give you half of my ass and then we will both have regular asses.

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Hmm, this seems like an awkward and indecent proposal

Shrek said:

I'm not a fit expert but I had that belt problem with my medium but most of the issue went away with a large belt. I have to work it a little bit as it comes reality tight now but it holds with a death grip once it's there. Joe or another Kifaru fit expert needs to look at this and walk you through dialing it in. It doesn't look right to me but I'm not good enough at fitting myself to instruct others.

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If I had the time, I wish I would have had a chance to fly out to Denver and get a hands on fit. Sadly that didn't happen.

pyroducksx3 said:

Have you tried any other packs that fit you better? If so use that.

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Not really as this was my first dive into the realm of high end packs. In the past I have used a Cabela's Extreme Alaskan frame pack which I can't say was any better. It was the same basic complaint where the belt would want to ride down low and with the belt tight, there was a ton of pressure on the fronts and tops of my shoulders pulling them back and out. Again, I think it is because the frame was pivoting to a point on my back. Granted, the Cabela's frame is pretty much straight though.

Maybe it is the picture or your lack of ass but your back looks a little more arched out in the middle than normal have you attempted to adjust your stays to fit that curve appropriately as that might be fighting against your lumbar seating properly. You can borrow my shoulder straps to solve your sternum strap issue if you want, I'd loan you my belt too but its a medium I think (how do you tell for sure?).

If the belt slips and falls bellow your hips…. are the shoulder straps set to high? I know the objective is to get the weight on your hips, but some has to be on your shoulders.

What about lumbar pad? Would a bigger one help? Can you get a bigger one?…. or is it too big? …can it be made smaller? Sorry no experience with Kifaru, Just Mystery Ranch

Thicker lumbar pad? Maybe adjust the pack so it sits a little lower on your hips to start with. From your video a larger belt might help, but you risk dropping weight and bottoming out (as you stated). I only have experience with MR and SG packs.

My belt has always acted like yours, needing to open up the buckle slightly as I pull on the straps. Seemed normal to me. If you have trouble keeping the belt centered on the crest of the hip bones, set it above them. When centered on the widest spot of the hips, there's only one way the pack can go, and that's down. If you're centered above the crest, the belt can't get past without stretching.

wapitibob said:

My belt has always acted like yours, needing to open up the buckle slightly as I pull on the straps. Seemed normal to me.

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I had to do this too.

I had a very similar issue and a much flatter back than I originally thought. I had the stays outta my duplex so many times I thought I was going to wear out the track-pockets into which they fit so tightly....

Anyway, in the end, I had to "expand" the curve where the torso pads ride. The stay fit the curve of my back, but the material of the torso pads moved the rest of the shApe away from my back and made the lumbar pad line up at an angle. After I widened that curve, I had to add curve at the top of the stays to get the load lifters to work correctly. Then I tweaked a bit at a time to get the lumbar pad to square up to my back where I needed it to ride.

My bikini frame has flat back stays and it fits pretty good with very little manipulation of the stays but my duplex really is a "custom" fit now. It's the most comfortable pack I have owned.

I would start in the middle. Fit the stays to curve around your back with the torso pads in mind. Then bend the tops back a bit to get the load lifters behind your head and neck far enough to work. Then bend the bottoms until you get the lumbar pad square to shape of your back. Also, fwiw, I have to crank down the hip belt really hard. It stays put, though, and 80-90 pounds rides as nicely as it could....

wapitibob said:

My belt has always acted like yours, needing to open up the buckle slightly as I pull on the straps. Seemed normal to me. If you have trouble keeping the belt centered on the crest of the hip bones, set it above them. When centered on the widest spot of the hips, there's only one way the pack can go, and that's down. If you're centered above the crest, the belt can't get past without stretching.

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muleman said:

I had to do this too.

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Interesting. On the bikini, the straps pull just fine and you can tighten both sides at the same time as I have always thought you should be able to. This is how it is shown in videos. When I got my duplex, I had the issues shown and hence the reason for the videos. I was told the reason was I needed the larger belt and that is whey the straps wouldn't tighten on their own. I'm not really sure what a larger belt would have to do with how the strap fed through the buckles but I guess it could matter.

wapitibob, I may try to shorten up the torso length. That sure seems like it will be really short but worth a shot I guess.

mt100gr. said:

I had a very similar issue and a much flatter back than I originally thought. I had the stays outta my duplex so many times I thought I was going to wear out the track-pockets into which they fit so tightly....

Anyway, in the end, I had to "expand" the curve where the torso pads ride. The stay fit the curve of my back, but the material of the torso pads moved the rest of the shApe away from my back and made the lumbar pad line up at an angle. After I widened that curve, I had to add curve at the top of the stays to get the load lifters to work correctly. Then I tweaked a bit at a time to get the lumbar pad to square up to my back where I needed it to ride.

My bikini frame has flat back stays and it fits pretty good with very little manipulation of the stays but my duplex really is a "custom" fit now. It's the most comfortable pack I have owned.

I would start in the middle. Fit the stays to curve around your back with the torso pads in mind. Then bend the tops back a bit to get the load lifters behind your head and neck far enough to work. Then bend the bottoms until you get the lumbar pad square to shape of your back. Also, fwiw, I have to crank down the hip belt really hard. It stays put, though, and 80-90 pounds rides as nicely as it could....

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Interesting suggestions. I may give this a shot but it may not be until later this fall when I really have some time to play with it. As I mentioned, I did flip the stay upside down as they fit the shape of my back a little better. I definitely don't want to give up on the system since it seems so customizable. I guess it may just take a longer time to dial in for me.

I think you still need to bend the stays more.

I have 4 backpacks including a Kifaru Longhunter G2 with Duplex setup and a less expensive Eberlestock J34. The Longhunter is a great hunting pack with incredible load lifters and the ability to carry heavier loads. But, after some minor adjusting of the pack, it just didn't ride comfortably with a load. My Eberlestock, while very comfortable with lighter loads, has only adequate load lifters for medium loads (40 to 50 lbs). I have a 19.5 in torso length but out of desperation shortened the torso length of the J34 to around 18 plus inches and reformed the stays. It made all the difference in the world. I can now comfortably carry 75+ lbs with the J34. I guess what I suggesting is don't be afraid to make some aggressive adjustments before you give up on your pack. This year I'm re-tuning my Longhunter, hoping to achieve the same results. Kifaru's makes some of the finest backpacks!