Newlywed Wife Gets It :)

Just wanted to post a big shout-out to my (newlywed) wife. We have been together for over 8 years, and she led me from Wisconsin to Colorado five years ago. Since then, I have transformed from the typical mid-western tree-stand sitter to a DIY-er backpack hunter. I have gone through at least two if not three upgrades in every gear department in those five years (wish i would have known about "Cry once, buy once" back then). My latest pack is a Horn Hunter Full Curl, and although it has served well, I have been looking forward to stepping up into the premium pack game for a few years. With a wedding and two grad school educations to pay for, I was sure i would be rocking the Horn Hunter for several more years. Well, we got married yesterday in Estes Park (I wrote my vows on a hillside before the ceremony watching and calling to bugling bulls). My wonderful wife surprised me with a small box with a stuffed rhino inside, which I instantly equated to something Kifaru!!! Although she is not much of a sportsman (it is a long and slow process I am working on; she is from Boulder, CO so it is a process) she had picked up on my hints the past few years. She actually drove down to Kifaru to buy a full pack set-up, and talked with one of the people there for quite a while (she doesn't remember who unfortunately, but thanks go out to them). She realized it was probably best to let me pick my system on own and left with a gift-card equivalent, but it was a tremendous gift i really cherish. Anyway, even though she doesn't share my passion for backpacking/hunting (yet), she nailed it with the gift, and more importantly I can't wait to spend the rest of my life together with her. I'm raising a glass right now in Estes (bulls were bugling at the venue this evening!) to all the other men (and women) who have spouses or significant others that support their passion. Cheers everyone!

Congrats you picked wisely pilgrim.......! Many do not choose well and later it can become an issue...I just read your post to my wife of 32 yrs and smiled and wished we were young again as I celebrated her 50 yesterday! Good luck to yours and mrs in the future....

Ross, I can only hope the good Lord blesses us with 32 years of health and marriage! And maybe one or two of those great bulls you put down on a consistent basis

Congratulations ! Sounds like you have a winner !

Congratulations!
May the two of you have many years of happiness together.

Congats!

Having a women knowing and supporting your outdoors and hunting from the start is a winner! I know I been blessed for 23 years this month with a wife who says "why don't you go spend a couple days out in the hills" Take good care of her.

Congrats on your marriage. It looks like you two will have many happy years together.

Last week was 4 years with my wife. We were together a while before we got married though. We have spent 2 of our 4 anniversaries out hunting. I cant imagine a wife that didnt support me. She likes to backpack hunt too and I am grateful for her interest in the outdoors. She grew up south of Milwaukee and never knew of hunting or fishing before we met but she took right to it. She may not always like all the gear I buy but she has only put her foot down once and said no to something I wanted to buy. She even gladly left Wisconsin to move out west.

Thanks for the wonderful responses everyone! We have been blessed with love and support from our families and friends, and we appreciate the support from Rokslide as well! Hopefully i will be showing off some new Kifaru "heavy-pack" pics next fall

Congrats! So which Kifaru set up are you going to get!?

Congrats on the wedding! She sounds like a keeper for sure. Remember a marriage is a two way street, she is showing her support for your hobbies/interests, remember to do the same for her.

What set up are you going with?

Definitely do my best to support her, and I would like to think her super generous wedding gift is an appreciation for that support. On to the fun stuff:
I'm leaning towards the new ultralight Duplex, but I want to do a side-by-side of all four current frames to make sure. Bag-wise, the EMR II is in the lead (this is actually the one the wife had it narrowed down to as well!). And there should even be some money left for accessories!

I would imagine Kifaru as demo frames for all the options, but the new frames have been taking about 4 or so weeks to get so they may not. Either way, everyone there is awesome and super helpful.

I can tell you this. I ran a bikini frame last year and I appreciate how light it is but it's not as comfortable as the new hunting frame. I didn't have many problems with getting a bulge/poked through the stays but some people complain about that. The best option for Kifaru frames if you're not worried about a little extra weight is the new one. It's just a really good upgrade from the previous models.

I am currently running a Timberline 2 but I'll will most likely be trying something new next year. I like the looks of the EMR and the Nomad. I also like what people are doing with the cargo panel.

Cantharellus, thanks for the feedback! I am definitely leaning toward one of the new hunting frames, but hoping to give all four a try (if available). Definitely benefits to living 45 minutes from the factory! I am not trying to get this set up for this season (want to take my time and not rush it just to hunt the last few weeks of the season with a new pack). I think the frame decision should be fairly straightforward, but the pack decision already has my head going back and forth on about six different options! Having done the dry bag/wings/mismatched bag and frame/strap crap on like the beverly hillbillies over the past five years with various Cabela's, Bass Pro, and Horn Hunter packs, I'm really leaning toward the "one big bag" concept rather than cargo panels/Nomad. However, those concepts may be executed much more effectively by Kifaru. Thanks for the feedback everyone, it is appreciated!

Congrats.

Am I the only a-hole that expecting something totally different when I opened this? Lol.

BackcountryMT said:

Congrats.

Am I the only a-hole that expecting something totally different when I opened this? Lol.

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Sorry to let you down! Especially since my wife and I share a very inappropriate sense of humor On the other hand, I may have some new thoughts for the Manscaping thread...

I hear ya. I really like the T2 but I just feel like I want to try something different next year. not to make it even harder for you, but I was also told that they're working on some new packs.

Carlin59 said:

Cantharellus, thanks for the feedback! I am definitely leaning toward one of the new hunting frames, but hoping to give all four a try (if available). Definitely benefits to living 45 minutes from the factory! I am not trying to get this set up for this season (want to take my time and not rush it just to hunt the last few weeks of the season with a new pack). I think the frame decision should be fairly straightforward, but the pack decision already has my head going back and forth on about six different options! Having done the dry bag/wings/mismatched bag and frame/strap crap on like the beverly hillbillies over the past five years with various Cabela's, Bass Pro, and Horn Hunter packs, I'm really leaning toward the "one big bag" concept rather than cargo panels/Nomad. However, those concepts may be executed much more effectively by Kifaru. Thanks for the feedback everyone, it is appreciated!

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Good to hear about the new packs. I'm thinking I will get the frame, belt pouches, top lid, and grab it ordered sooner than later, and spend the winter hoping to see the new packs/going back and forth between current packs. Can't complain about Kifaru having so many options, as well as their frame/bag compatibility guarantee when you want to try something new!