Kifaru
Kifaru Bedlam
A 4,900 ci (80 L) multiday workhorse designed in the open with Rokslide community input — Kifaru's first pack produced in its Riverton, WY facility. A near-full-length two-way side zipper, enclosed spotting-scope pocket, and Hellbender-style front stash pocket define the asymmetric layout. Complete price is $850 ($350 bag + $500 ARK frame); the bag weighs 2 lb 12 oz, roughly 5.9 lb as a full system.
Specifications
Features
Pros
- ✓Rokslide's official reviewer, alternating it with his Seek Outside during 70 lb ruck training, concluded the Kifaru platform is 'the best load hauler of any pack I've used' — and noted nearly every Alaska sheep guide he saw ran Kifaru or Barneys for exactly that reason.
- ✓The near-full-length two-way side zipper reaches gear without unpacking half the bag — access that roll-top competitors like the Stone Glacier Sky 5900 and Seek Outside Divide simply don't offer.
- ✓The enclosed spotting-scope pocket swallowed the reviewer's Swarovski ATS 65 and its tripod together, while the opposite stretch pocket holds two 32 oz Nalgenes or doubles as rifle carry.
- ✓Owners praise the layout as the best in Kifaru's line — one who has 'run a ton of Kifaru packs' calls it his favorite, citing the side zip, enclosed scope pocket, and how small it collapses for day hunts.
- ✓The extra-wide, heavily padded belt with single inward-pull straps and an oversized lumbar pad drew specific praise as more comfortable than any belt the Rokslide reviewer had used.
- ✓It was designed in the open on a famous Rokslide thread with direct end-user input, and owners report getting 5-7 days out of it with a Guide Lid or Claymore added to the 4,900 ci base.
- ✓The DWR-treated 500D Cordura survived a full dunking during a river crossing on a Bob Marshall traverse with the contents bone dry, and shrugged off 30-mile, 14-hour days at race pace.
- ✓At 2 lb 12 oz the bag undercuts the 44 Mag by half a pound while carrying 180 ci more, making the $850 complete system Kifaru's best volume-per-pound and volume-per-dollar hauler.
Cons
- ✗Weight is the honest tradeoff: about 5.9-6 lbs complete versus roughly 4.5 lbs for a similar-volume Stone Glacier system and under 4 lbs for a Seek Outside — Rokslide's reviewer flagged this as where 'the Kifaru doesn't shine as brightly.'
- ✗Even the positive Rokslide review pegs the sweet spot at 3-4 days — the reviewer chose a different pack for his Brooks Range Dall sheep hunt, so expedition hunters may still outgrow it despite the 80 L rating.
- ✗The interior Chamber pocket is too small to be useful for first-aid and toiletries — the reviewer said doubling its size would fix it.
- ✗Kifaru's Autolock buckles can't slip, but they're genuinely hard to release in the cold or with gloves — a repeated Rokslide gripe across the line that stings most on a strap-heavy bag like this.
- ✗It comes in exactly one color (Ranger Green) and one size of bag, with no lid included — the Guide Lid or Claymore that owners use to stretch trips are extra purchases.
- ✗500D Cordura bucks the industry trend toward lighter, near-waterproof ultra-weave fabrics, and its DWR coating wears off and needs refreshing.
- ✗Just 4 reviews on kifaru.net (albeit all 5-star) is a thin public record for an $850 direct-only purchase you likely can't try on first.
- ✗The asymmetrical layout takes learning — even the Rokslide reviewer joked about the 'front' pocket being in the back, and meat hauling uses the frame gap rather than a purpose-built X-Pac sling like the Hellbender's.
Compare the Kifaru Bedlam
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