Kifaru Warranty for Shoulder Straps

Wiscgunner

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jun 24, 2018
Messages
182
Location
Madison, WI
Personally seems legit to me.

Foam never has the life of a more durable product like Cordura. The average sneaker with foam sole is recommended to be replaced every 300-400 miles. Seems like a lot of miles to most people but most people don’t count miles. As a FedEx driver that means new shoes about every 2 months if I want the foam to be super comfortable. Shoulder straps really aren’t any different.

Weight training with a pack just a few miles each time, a couple times a week adds up. I only do about 3 miles in 45min on my training route. Per the OP 2x/wk for 5 months is approx 120miles on my route, not sure their’s. PLUS 8-10 hunting trips is at least another 100miles. 2 seasons is approximately 440miles for “only 2 seasons”. Seems about time to me think about replacing the foam components. This also means boot inserts that are utilized far too long.

Just my 2 cents and poor math.
 

Ucsdryder

WKR
Joined
Jan 24, 2015
Messages
5,487
I don’t see an issue with flat shoulder straps but that lumbar doesn’t look OK and I think would affect the usability of the pack. Seems like they could find a material with more life. They talk so much about the quality of the components they use….
 
OP
thegoosano
Joined
Jan 22, 2017
Messages
971
Location
Santa Fe, NM
Ya I agree I never thought the shoulder straps would effect the feel of how the frame rides so much given the old saying of “all the weight should be on your hips”. But from my experience between my worn out straps and new set it’s substantial. Hard to describe until you bite the bullet and pay for new ones and feel the difference yourself.

So I did a little test on the new foam this afternoon. With my finger I poked into the foam pretty hard and waited for it to rebound and come back to full thickness…it never came all the way back to full thickness. There’s now a permanent indent in the foam where I poked it…so I would guess this foam is meant to mold to your body and develop a custom fit. Unfortunately that seems to come at the cost of long term durability.

Also a caveat, I’m a kifaru fan and this isn’t meant to knock their stuff. They make the best overall pack I’ve ever used. This foam issue was new to me though and it sounds like it’s surprised a lot of others as well so it’s worth a good discussion.


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Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Messages
4,979
Location
oregon coast
I don’t see an issue with flat shoulder straps but that lumbar doesn’t look OK and I think would affect the usability of the pack. Seems like they could find a material with more life. They talk so much about the quality of the components they use….
It probably varies quite a bit from batch to batch too (foam)

I used to make a living in 1/2” neoprene, bought every suit from the same company, and it was crazy how much it varied from suit to suit… some were so stiff my biceps would be sore for a week just fighting the neoprene breaking it in, some would be soft and fluffy, some would compress down 30% after a month, some would hold up for several months… all from the same facility, no two batches were ever the same
 

nodakian

WKR
Rokslide Sponsor
Joined
Aug 24, 2017
Messages
600
Location
Dickinson, ND
It probably varies quite a bit from batch to batch too (foam)

I used to make a living in 1/2” neoprene, bought every suit from the same company, and it was crazy how much it varied from suit to suit… some were so stiff my biceps would be sore for a week just fighting the neoprene breaking it in, some would be soft and fluffy, some would compress down 30% after a month, some would hold up for several months… all from the same facility, no two batches were ever the same
This goes for other components, too. I recently saw two newer Kifaru tactical frames side by side with different shades of webbing and cordura. The same also occurs with materials for the packs I make.
 
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