Ark vs Duplex, a comparison review

[svivian]

I’ve put a lot of miles on the ark so far. I don’t necessarily want to give away the review before I write it, but the ark has definitely grown on me.

I’ve packed ~30 animals in 3 years with the duplex and it fits me like an old pair of tennis shoes. After the first couple trips with the ark I liked my duplex better. Now after getting used to the ark, I realize that the duplex was my “comfort zone”. I’ll put a few more packs on the ark before writing the review.

I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people that sent back the ark and kept their duplex didn’t give the ark enough time.

The lumbar pad on the ark has a different feel and shape. It’s stiffer and more square than the duplex. When I first put on the pack it felt like it was “jabbing” me in the back.

This is part of my previous post where I talked about the duplex being more comfortable because I was used to it. The lumbar pad on the ark, while not as “comfortable” as the duplex pad that’s more of a crescent shape, holds in the small of my back much better than the duplex with 60 plus pounds.

I believe the rounded edges of the duplex allow it to slide down toward my butt, while the right angles of the duplex do a better job locking it into place.

While talking to Aron about this, he agreed and said that if the stiffness of the ark pad is bothersome, you can put a 45 pound plate on the pad overnight and it will break it in. I was able to do the break in through wearing it, but if someone has an issue with the ark pad, give it a shot!

How is the pad breaking in? personally I think manufactures seem to be going towards stiffer sturdier foam for longevity. I know that was one of my biggest complaints for Exo and Stone glacier was having to replace the lumbar pad frequently.

 

[Ucsdryder]

How is the pad breaking in? personally I think manufactures seem to be going towards stiffer sturdier foam for longevity. I know that was one of my biggest complaints for Exo and Stone glacier was having to replace the lumbar pad frequently.

I think that’s the big question. Longevity of the new foam. Both Aron and Anders talked about the new foam and finding a solution to long term use. It’s definitely on their mind, but time will tell if the new foam is more durable. I don’t think we’ll know for a couple of years, even the old foam lasted most heavy users multiple years and light users a lot longer!

I will say one of the testers I had play with the new frame is DEFINITELY a candidate for a new belt, lumbar pad, and shoulder straps. He wanted so badly for his duplex to be as good and as comfortable as the new ark, but with worn out padding it was shocking how much of a difference it made. I think a lot of guys might fall into the same category. Over time, he didn’t realize just how bad the foam got, until he compared it to a new frame!

 

[TheBootBowhunting]

I did 5 miles with 60 pounds with the Ark yesterday, glad I went ahead and grabbed one. The lumbar sticks in my lower back and doesnt move. It was firmer than the one I tried on at Tac, but by the end it felt like it had started to more or less conform to my lower back. I did another 2.5 with my DL and to me the Ark feels more stable side to side, mostly because of the flat vs contoured lumbar. As ucsdryder said, the DL does have a worn in boot feel to it that makes it feel comfortable.

I didnt notice too much difference in the density of the foam on the shoulder straps. I do think the Ark breathes better as the ark straps stop midway down the frame creating more air flow back there. The Ark just frame just generally feels more streamlined.

I use a bottle pocket on 1 side of the belt, and a hip belt pouch on the other. I tried the Kifaru mini and small belt pouch, hill people gear medium admin pouch and an exo k4 pouch and pretty clearly prefer the K4 pouch on my left side. The Kifaru mini was damn near impossible to close 1 handed. The small/medium belt pouch really needs 6 wide molle to be taut enough to open and close easier - works fine on my DL with the extra column. I believe the large ark belt has 6 columns so the current belt pouches should work fine if you wear a large. I do think Kifaru needs to up their belt pouch game for the ark to work better with 4 columns like the K4, and add some rigidity so its a smoother 1 hand operation like the K4 pouch.

This really isnt good or bad, but the Ark belt goes from loose to full cinch faster than the DL because of the denser lumbar foam. With the DL you tighten the belt, and you also have to decompress the lumbar pad in the process to get it cinched - so you can almost feather the tightness a bit better with the DL (if that makes any sense). I can see this being something that might be a preference thing between the frames.

I sold my backup DL, but Im definitely fine keeping my other DL/Stryker XL to go with the Ark/Bedlam. The Ark will be the go to, but Id be perfectly fine with the DL. That said, $50 extra for the Ark over the DL is a no brainer. It’s far easier to adjust, more durable, lighter and for me the lumbar is more comfortable. Used DL vs new Ark, that’s a budget thing, but the DL is still a damn good frame.

As far as fit and finish of the ark frame sheet, mine has zero imperfections. Even the chamfering around the slots in the frame seem a bit more uniform than some of the early pics. Probably no functional difference, but it does look...cleaner.

 

[realunlucky]

I had both Aron and Anders on the Rokcast and they addressed this head on. Pretty interesting conversation https://www.rokslide.com/tt29-everything-kifaru-with-aron-snyder-and-anders-christianson/

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

 

[Ucsdryder]

I had both Aron and Anders on the Rokcast and they addressed this head on. Pretty interesting conversation https://www.rokslide.com/tt29-everything-kifaru-with-aron-snyder-and-anders-christianson/

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

Just listened. Well done!