Originally Posted by
MikeDawg46L
This thread has one foot in the grave, but I'll add my .02 since it is viable topic and seems to come up quite frequently.
Moose and Doc nailed it to the wall but I will reiterate what they said and add a little of my own experience.
I've had the TT Operator pack. Nice, lightweight, good construction and materials. Decent quick-hike or EDC pack for very light loads. Got rid of it b/c it didn't hold everything I wanted to carry on full day hikes. I'm not sure about their larger packs from experience, but I'm sure they are made with the same quality construction.
I also had a Spec-Ops THE pack. While I'm sure the construction of the pack would survive a plane crash, it was not comfy at all with any kind of load. I also used the pack frame, which helped keep the pack from sagging but still didn't help the comfort. The straps are too square and the waist belt does not take any of the load off of your shoulders. It just kept the pack from swaying if I were moving quickly or running.
Next I moved onto a Kifaru X-Ray. Took me a year of researching packs and trying to justify the price to myself.
Kifaru or Hill People Gear packs will be all that I invest in from now on. I own a Kifaru X-Ray and some of the quick-attach pockets on the outside, as well as their admin pouch. It is the best construction I've ever seen in nylon gear. It is heavy, but the suspension system is simply outstanding. I use the molle version, and have a non-padded molle belt so carrying a load is very comfortable. Just using the pack, I can carry my 3L Camelbak bladder and a 1.5 days of clothing and supplies. Utilizing the outer pockets that I added, it is a good 3-day pack if I pack carefully. If I want to carry a light load around town or pack it out for a get-home or bug-out bag, it cinches down pretty snug. It is a great all around pack that I will likely own the rest of my life if it doesn't get stolen or lost.
You really just don't know how well thought out the Kifaru products are until you have one in your hands, or better yet, on your back.
I took a nasty spill on the down slope of a slick rock while hiking in the Appalachians. I landed strangely, sort of on the bottom of the pack. The waist belt held me up and prevented me from hitting my tailbone on the rock, which is about 99% likely to have broken it and we were 4 miles from our cabin. Would have sucked if I was sporting some cheap china-made pack with crap construction that broke when it hit the rock.
I'm also looking at trying a Hill People Gear Tara for a lighter hiking/EDC pack so that I can keep my Kifaru loaded up the way I like it. I have one of their Recon Kit Bags and it is also made with the same durable construction and attention to detail as the Kifaru stuff. If I'm not mistaken, HPG was started by some former Kifaru employees.
Hope this helps anyone else who has been eye-balling the Kifaru stuff but hadn't pulled the trigger because of the price. There's quite a few nice packs out there besides Kifaru, but I haven't found any reason to try them.