Mystery Ranch Beartooth on Kifaru Frame

Cdroot89

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Mar 24, 2019
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I know there are other threads on franken-packs and I have read through them. I didn’t see any comments on this specific combo. I know that if I try a mr bag on a kifaru frame I will have to change the buckles. Has anyone tried to the MR Beartooth on the Kifaru frame? Does it fit well? Sit high or low? Can you use the meat shelf or would I have to buy a quarter panel? If someone has done this I would love to see some pictures.

Why?
I like the beartooth bag and I haven’t found a kifaru bag I am in love with. I am having some issues with my MR guide light MT frame so I want to try a kifaru duplex. I may eventually buy a kifaru bag like the 44 mag or Mountain Warrior. I am like most people on here and like gear and trying new things. Thanks for your help!
 
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Cdroot89

Cdroot89

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Easy and rather obvious. I like the bag but am not fully satisfied with the frame that it came with.
 
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This isn't exactly the same combo you're pursuing, but it may be similar enough to give you some useful ideas. I'm adapting a MR Marshall bag (manufactured in 2018, originally mounted on a Guide Light frame) to a Kifaru Duplex Hunter frame. The key to making it work easily has been these "split-bar" buckles, which mate with the buckles already on the MR bag and can be attached to the existing loops on the Kifaru frame without any cutting/sewing:
Screenshot_20200527-203111.pngScreenshot_20200527-203553.png

I bought the split-bar buckles (also referred to as "field repair" buckles) from hudson4supplies.com and I saw that milspecmonkey.com has them too.

Here are some photos of the MR bag on the Kifaru frame. Both components have plenty of attachment points, and it would be possible to mate them in several different ways. I haven't carried the combo around with weight yet so I'm not sure I've achieved the best possible configuration, but it feels solid and can still be expanded to accommodate a load of meat between the bag and frame.
IMG_20200527_194340431.jpgIMG_20200527_194420723.jpgIMG_20200527_194759860.jpgIMG_20200527_194904582.jpg
 
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I’ve never understood why people do this sort of thing.
Pretty simple decision for me: I picked up a Mystery Ranch Marshall bag with Guide Light frame at a bargain price last year, but the frame just doesn't fit my (very skinny) body well. I wanted to try another brand to see if I could find a better fit, so I picked up a used Kifaru frame. Now I could buy a comparably sized Kifaru bag that's perfectly compatible with the Kifaru frame (for $300+ new, maybe $200 used) or I could buy $10 worth of buckles and adapt the MR bag to the Kifaru frame. Granted, I could sell the MR bag and partially offset the cost of a Kifaru bag, but I'd come out more than $10 behind on that exchange and I have no complaints about the MR bag...so frankenpack it is.
 
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Cdroot89

Cdroot89

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Thank you for your reply! The only issue that I see with this is that the MR bags are designed to hang on the frames with the tabs on the bag when the meat shelf is not in use. With the conversion they are hanging just by the straps. It will be interesting to see how it performs with weight. I am thinking it might not be a problem because when the MR ‘s meat shelf is expanded on its normal frame, it is just supported by the straps and the attached meat shelf.
 
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I played with a little mystery ranch / Kifaru cross mojination a couple of years ago. I played around with a woodsman and reckoning on an MR frame and some MR packs on my kifaru frames.

I can be done but it takes a little rigging. With the new Style buckles on the beartooth you are going to need to source some hardware. Mystery ranch sells a product called the time machine from their repair dept that might have some of what you need But you may need to go to another source for buckles.

in the end, for me, the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze. The MR frame fit me better and though there wasn’t anything wrong with the kifaru bags, the MR bags worked just as well so I went with an MR frame and pack.
 
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Thank you for your reply! The only issue that I see with this is that the MR bags are designed to hang on the frames with the tabs on the bag when the meat shelf is not in use. With the conversion they are hanging just by the straps. It will be interesting to see how it performs with weight. I am thinking it might not be a problem because when the MR ‘s meat shelf is expanded on its normal frame, it is just supported by the straps and the attached meat shelf.
It's hard to tell from the photos, but when the bag is cinched up to the frame, there are four attachment points in addition to the side straps:
• Both straps on the meat shelf/sling are routed through a split-bar ladderloc attached to the frame (circled in purple in photo below). I could've used a set of buckles for these attachment points but opted for ladderlocs instead.​
• Two existing buckles, one on each side of the bag near the top, are attached to split-bar buckles I added to loops at the top of the frame (circled in red).​
IMG_20200527_194904582~2.jpg

I think those four points would be capable of supporting the entire load. The side straps will really just be for compression, but I imagine they'll also help transfer some of the weight from the bag to the frame.
 

Bushfire

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May 2, 2021
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175
Old thread but interesting.
Like most I started out with one decent pack and finally after 4 or 5 I ended up with a Kifaru. Although I love it I want a smaller day hunt style pack I can use while not out west. With that being said I miss my MR Pintler dealer. Love the Kifaru frame way more but the Pintler was a perfect design for what I like. The 22 mag is nice but doesn't have the features I prefer in the Pintler.
Any updates on modding the MR packs to the Kifaru frame?
Thanks for your time.
 
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