Forloh Method Backpack Test and Review Complete on Page 2

[KickinNDishin]

@KickinNDishin is this a 2023 review?!!

@Ucsdryder it's with the editors.

 

[Ucsdryder]

@Ucsdryder it's with the editors.

So you’re saying 2024?!!

 

[Sherman]

@Ucsdryder it's with the editors.

Sweet.... your unbiased review is being edited by the “editors” from the pack makers company. All grammatical “edits” I am sure.

 

[ljalberta]

Sweet.... your unbiased review is being edited by the “editors” from the pack makers company. All grammatical “edits” I am sure.

…. Where does it say that the editors are the pack makers?

 

[Sherman]

…. Where does it say that the editors are the pack makers?

You’re right. Must be some other editors not related to Furloh.

 

[ljalberta]

You’re right. Must be some other editors not related to Furloh.

For instance, the owners or staff of this website.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Sweet.... your unbiased review is being edited by the “editors” from the pack makers company. All grammatical “edits” I am sure.

It’s edited by rokslide. I think we’ve decided many times over that the majority of us rokslider are knuckle dragging dipshits. They’re, their, there doing it to help the flow of the review not to affect, effect the sell, sale of the pack.

 

[KickinNDishin]

Sweet.... your unbiased review is being edited by the “editors” from the pack makers company. All grammatical “edits” I am sure.

The review is with the Rokslide editors, Robby and Justin, who will review prior to publishing.

 

[Anglo-American]

Patience seems to be getting less and less on Roskilde lately.
Or maybe it's me, noticing. I don't know..

 

[KickinNDishin]

@robby denning asked me to write a summary in this thread due to the numerous functional challenges that were experienced with this pack. A formal homepage review may be revisited after Forloh addresses the concerns of fit and functionality.

The System and Load Management

The pack system consists of the frame and pack body.

The frame stays consist of a vertical carbon fiber stay on each side, and a horizontal stay at top, middle, and bottom of the frame. The stays are about ¾” wide and ¼” thick. The frame is reportedly designed to provide maximum mobility while carrying weight and I found it to be quite flexible. Forloh designed the frame with three different positions for the shoulder strap/torso length. Adjustments are made through selecting one of three shoulder strap adjustment points on pack side of the frame. There is a pass through from the under side to the pack side of the frame for this strap, and the shoulder padding slides down behind the user.

Forloh designed the adjustable waist belt fitting a reported range of 28” to 44” waistline. The adjustment is made via Velcro wings hidden under the padded back/lumbar section of the waist belt. Additionally, the waist belt includes snaps that allows for a belt holster.

My Experience

I fitted the pack with a 40-pound bag of rock salt. Since I have a small torso, I used the smallest shoulder strap setting. My initial trial use was conducted utilizing the utility shelf to carry the load in the dry bag. I comfortably walked about 1.5 miles of flat terrain with no complaints.

After the initial trial, I used the pack body to carry the same 40-pound bag and a few extra items around the archery range for about 2 hours and 3 miles. While carrying the pack, I noticed the belt slipping down my hips and experienced significant strain on my shoulders.

The following weekend, I used the frame and pack body to check trail cams in the Colorado mountains. Carrying a 70-pound load consisting of the 40lb rock salt in between pack and frame to simulate a carcass quarter, water bladder, multiple cameras with security boxes, snacks, etc. The hike included maneuvering through thick timber with some elevation gains and losses. About a quarter of the mile in, I noticed the hip belt slipped lower on my waist. As I continued to walk, I attempted to tighten the belt but was unsuccessful, as it was already at its smallest fit and would not tighten any further. Attempts to adjust the fit and comfort through tightening the shoulder straps and load lifters were unsuccessful. I felt significant pressure on my collar bone, where my neck and shoulders meet, and pinching where my shoulder and chest meet, as if shoulder straps were pulling back and out. In the attached pictures, you see the belt riding appropriately on top of my hips at the start of the hike and then about a quarter mile in, the belt slipped and angled back.

I switched the pack off with a male who measures approximately 6 feet, 185lbs, and has a 32” waist. He also experienced the belt fitting too loose at the smallest setting and was unable to find a comfortable fit through adjusting the shoulder straps and load lifters. The attached pictures were taken at the start and mid-point of his hike out of the backcountry, with the middle photo showing the waist belt gap he experienced.

After he reached the mid-point, he switched the backpack with another male, who measures approximately 6 feet, 222 lbs, and has a 36” waist. While the second male was able to appropriately fit the waist belt, he experienced significant tension from the load pulling on his shoulders. His attempts to adjust the load orientation through the shoulder straps and load lifters were unsuccessful. Both males reported their only reprieve was to grab the sternum strap and pull it forward and down.

Once we returned home, we determined that the measured length of the waist belt in the smallest configuration from padding end to padding end is 34” without accounting for the buckle. I also noticed that the point at the top of the stays where the load lifter straps connect are configured outside the shoulder straps, when viewed from the front of the pack. This outward angle of pull combined with the frame/stay length that I measured at 21”, are the main contributors to my experienced discomfort. Included in the attached pictures is the belt tape measurement at its smallest configuration and a comparison of Forloh’s outward angle compared to three other known backpack manufacturers.

I concluded testing after packing the 70lb load by 3 people of varying stature was unsuccessful. @sndmn11 and @Ucsdryder were test participants, they may have feedback as well.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Good review! I liked the pack material and potential modularity of the pack. At 185lbs and a 32” waist the pack was unusable for me. There was no additional remove for tightening it, let alone getting it “muffin top tight” which I like to do with heavy loads.

I think some semi-minor fixes that I won’t get Into now and some longer stays so the load lifters get above the shoulders and they’d be onto something.

I think a one size fits all pack isn’t feasible.

I run a kifaru pack now fyi.

 

[Marbles]

Thanks for the review.

 

[Christopher.Reed]

Doh, I had high hopes for their pack as I love the clothing. Sounds like I will be picking up an Exo, Kifaru, SG, or SO for my first real pack since I have ambitions of hauling heavy loads and am 6’2” with a 34” waist.

Thanks for the review guys!


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[sndmn11]

Doh, I had high hopes for their pack as I love the clothing. Sounds like I will be picking up an Exo, Kifaru, SG, or SO for my first real pack since I have ambitions of hauling heavy loads and am 6’2” with a 34” waist.

Thanks for the review guys!


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Where do you live, and what's your torso length?

 

[Christopher.Reed]

I live in Bentonville Arkansas with a self-measured 19” torso.

I say self-measured because it’s hard to be sure of the measurement without a second set of eyeballs. I measured from the top of the iliac crest to the vertebrae that protrudes atop the shoulders thanks to the Google’s .


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[Sherman]

Thanks for the honest review.

 

[ljalberta]

Great initial thoughts. Thanks for putting in the time and effort testing this. Will you be providing updates as to Forloh’s comments on the identified issues?

 

[Rob5589]

Why try and make a one sized fits all? Makes no sense. On @KickinNDishin it looks appropriately sized; looks far too short on the fellas.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

The early feedback confirms every fit/function issue I suspected might be present when I first saw the photos, and the oversized belt adds some new ones.

This has to be the absolute best ultra-high end pack for everyone with a body Sir Mix-a-lot admires. Certainly an under-served consumer niche in the high-end backpacking world.

 

[Drenalin]

The frame was designed with a standard size on purpose, because of several factors, and was built by leading special forces pack designers, who have extensive experience managing load distribution on the human body.

This review made me think of this statement from Forloh in the other thread. In my experience, the military knows a lot about putting loads on the human body, and virtually nothing about doing it with any degree of comfort. Hopefully Forloh can move on from the marketing talk and get this design worked out.