Hunter Sargent
Lil-Rokslider
- Joined
- May 2, 2016
- Messages
- 249
Stone Glacier Xcurve - My Initial Impression and Comparisons to Other Popular Frames
I know a lot of people have been wondering about this frame and asking a lot of questions, so I decided to post this to maybe help out some guys like me who want more info.
I'm somewhat of a newbie to backpack hunting. My first hunt was last year and I carried a Mystery Ranch Marshall on a NICE frame. My buddy and I went for 6 days in Colorado the last week of archery season, and he carried a Kifaru Hunting frame with an AMR bag. I was pretty happy with the MR until we traded packs on a training hike and I noticed that I could walk much more upright with the Kifaru. No matter how I loaded the MR I always seemed to be walking hunched over quite a bit. Again, I thought this was normal until I tried his pack. So, I decided that for 2017 I would try some other packs. Since I could borrow his pack I decided to order a Stone Glacier Xcurve with a Sky 5900 bag to compare the two and would use whichever one I liked best. I am 6'0" and 170lbs, with a 32" waist and an overall slender build (lanky), and a curved back. Rankings are subjective on a scale of 10.
Unloaded:
MR: 8/10 - Nice and comfy, good movement. Heavier than the other two.
Kifaru: 8/10 - Comfy, lighter than the MR, but the frame sheet was evident when twisting my body.
SG: 10/10 - Like it wasn't even there. Extremely light and moved with me very well. I didn't measure width, but the frame and bag seemed narrower and like they wouldn't get caught on brush and limbs when hiking.
Loaded with a 60lb tube of sand:
MR: 7/10 - Harness and belt were still comfy, but I had to walk hunched over again.
Kifaru: 9/10 - The frame really sucked the load into my back and everything felt great. Slight lateral shift of the load when leaning over to the side...might be a problem when climbing over deadfall (might be less of a concern for beefy fellas with a wider torso. Good airflow to my back.
SG: 9/10 - Suspension carried the load great, and I really noticed how well the belt grabbed my hips without cinching down super tight. Airflow was not as good as the Kifaru. The load didn't shift or want to pull me over when climbing over obstacles.
Loaded with 120 lbs of sand (two 60lb tubes)
MR: 6/10 - Belt and harness were still good, load lifters worked well, but I was really having to hunch way over to keep the load balanced over my hips...this begins to hurt the lower back really fast. I believe this is because the NICE frame is flat, and I have a pretty good curve to my back.
Kifaru: 5/10 - I'm sure this is due to my body's geometry (I have no butt), but I couldn't keep the pack from sliding down and transferring a lot of the weight to my shoulders. The load lifters didn't really do much at this point. I cinched the belt down to the point that I was experiencing significant pain on the front of my hip bones, and the pack still wanted to slip down. This shocked me as I was expecting this frame to be the most comfortable under a heavy load after reading the comments of others here on Rokslide. Maybe some of this could have been helped with adjustments, but everything was adjusted according to Kifaru's videos. I didn't try to get the weight to shift around because I think I would have fallen over.
SG: 9/10 - This is where the Xcurve's hip belt really began to shine. Even after my hips being sore from the Kifaru's belt I didn't experience any pain, and didn't have to tighten it down near as hard for it to stay solidly in place. The load felt really "locked in". I didn't even experiment with the dual strap design, it just worked "as is." At this weight the load lifter angle was much lower than with 60lbs, but they still functioned pretty well. I could tell there wasn't much airflow, but none of the packs had much airflow at this point. I'm really impressed with this frame and will be training and hunting with it this season. I only subtracted a point because there is no such thing as a perfect 10/10 with 120lbs, except a mule to carry it
and the perceived lack of airflow.
The bags: All three bags are top notch and look to be tough. I don't have much time with the SG, but the MR and Kifaru have been bombproof through one season of elk and whitetail hunting, as well as training. The MR Marshall and frame are heavy, but have some really nice features...love the snow collar, lid, and extra straps. The Kifaru has the market cornered on add-ons and extra bags, I really like the modularity. I want to try putting the 14'er on the SG frame, because it looks to be the perfect treestand whitetail bag. The Sky 5900 has a more minimalist design but is really well thought out where it counts. The lid is smaller than the others, and I'm not sure what to do with the lid straps when day hunting without the lid. I wish they came in different colors, because the stone grey color won't blend into the Kansas deer woods very well and might stick out when hanging in the tree next to me during archery season. Its definitely worth the trade off though, I love the light weight and streamlined profile, as well as the front access and spotter/accessory pocket. Cant really go wrong with any of these bags.
Finally, I want to note that these are my subjective findings based on MY BODY. What works for me might not work for you. Your best bet would be to try on a few different bags. If anyone in NE KS wants to try the MR or SG hit me up!
I know a lot of people have been wondering about this frame and asking a lot of questions, so I decided to post this to maybe help out some guys like me who want more info.
I'm somewhat of a newbie to backpack hunting. My first hunt was last year and I carried a Mystery Ranch Marshall on a NICE frame. My buddy and I went for 6 days in Colorado the last week of archery season, and he carried a Kifaru Hunting frame with an AMR bag. I was pretty happy with the MR until we traded packs on a training hike and I noticed that I could walk much more upright with the Kifaru. No matter how I loaded the MR I always seemed to be walking hunched over quite a bit. Again, I thought this was normal until I tried his pack. So, I decided that for 2017 I would try some other packs. Since I could borrow his pack I decided to order a Stone Glacier Xcurve with a Sky 5900 bag to compare the two and would use whichever one I liked best. I am 6'0" and 170lbs, with a 32" waist and an overall slender build (lanky), and a curved back. Rankings are subjective on a scale of 10.
Unloaded:
MR: 8/10 - Nice and comfy, good movement. Heavier than the other two.
Kifaru: 8/10 - Comfy, lighter than the MR, but the frame sheet was evident when twisting my body.
SG: 10/10 - Like it wasn't even there. Extremely light and moved with me very well. I didn't measure width, but the frame and bag seemed narrower and like they wouldn't get caught on brush and limbs when hiking.
Loaded with a 60lb tube of sand:
MR: 7/10 - Harness and belt were still comfy, but I had to walk hunched over again.
Kifaru: 9/10 - The frame really sucked the load into my back and everything felt great. Slight lateral shift of the load when leaning over to the side...might be a problem when climbing over deadfall (might be less of a concern for beefy fellas with a wider torso. Good airflow to my back.
SG: 9/10 - Suspension carried the load great, and I really noticed how well the belt grabbed my hips without cinching down super tight. Airflow was not as good as the Kifaru. The load didn't shift or want to pull me over when climbing over obstacles.
Loaded with 120 lbs of sand (two 60lb tubes)
MR: 6/10 - Belt and harness were still good, load lifters worked well, but I was really having to hunch way over to keep the load balanced over my hips...this begins to hurt the lower back really fast. I believe this is because the NICE frame is flat, and I have a pretty good curve to my back.
Kifaru: 5/10 - I'm sure this is due to my body's geometry (I have no butt), but I couldn't keep the pack from sliding down and transferring a lot of the weight to my shoulders. The load lifters didn't really do much at this point. I cinched the belt down to the point that I was experiencing significant pain on the front of my hip bones, and the pack still wanted to slip down. This shocked me as I was expecting this frame to be the most comfortable under a heavy load after reading the comments of others here on Rokslide. Maybe some of this could have been helped with adjustments, but everything was adjusted according to Kifaru's videos. I didn't try to get the weight to shift around because I think I would have fallen over.
SG: 9/10 - This is where the Xcurve's hip belt really began to shine. Even after my hips being sore from the Kifaru's belt I didn't experience any pain, and didn't have to tighten it down near as hard for it to stay solidly in place. The load felt really "locked in". I didn't even experiment with the dual strap design, it just worked "as is." At this weight the load lifter angle was much lower than with 60lbs, but they still functioned pretty well. I could tell there wasn't much airflow, but none of the packs had much airflow at this point. I'm really impressed with this frame and will be training and hunting with it this season. I only subtracted a point because there is no such thing as a perfect 10/10 with 120lbs, except a mule to carry it
and the perceived lack of airflow.The bags: All three bags are top notch and look to be tough. I don't have much time with the SG, but the MR and Kifaru have been bombproof through one season of elk and whitetail hunting, as well as training. The MR Marshall and frame are heavy, but have some really nice features...love the snow collar, lid, and extra straps. The Kifaru has the market cornered on add-ons and extra bags, I really like the modularity. I want to try putting the 14'er on the SG frame, because it looks to be the perfect treestand whitetail bag. The Sky 5900 has a more minimalist design but is really well thought out where it counts. The lid is smaller than the others, and I'm not sure what to do with the lid straps when day hunting without the lid. I wish they came in different colors, because the stone grey color won't blend into the Kansas deer woods very well and might stick out when hanging in the tree next to me during archery season. Its definitely worth the trade off though, I love the light weight and streamlined profile, as well as the front access and spotter/accessory pocket. Cant really go wrong with any of these bags.
Finally, I want to note that these are my subjective findings based on MY BODY. What works for me might not work for you. Your best bet would be to try on a few different bags. If anyone in NE KS wants to try the MR or SG hit me up!
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