Possibility of Future KU packs and accessories?

[Norinco559]

Hello all,

This may be a stupid question, but is there even the slightest chance that the Kifaru Ultralight Packs may ever return to the kifaru lineup? Or possibly a small limited run of KU5200 packs, KU Koalas, or KU accessory pockets/pods. I am a younger guy that got into Kifaru a few years ago and have always been interested in the Ultralight packs the Patrick had designed, but a little to late it seems. From my readings it seemed that Patrick put a lot of time into the KU designs, but they didn't last the test of time. I love the quality of Kifaru made gear and have 7 packs ranging from the smallest day packs like the Koala, tailgunners and scout up to the large duplex frame with numerous packs for hunting and backpacking. However, the quality of the KU E&E and some of the long pockets which I've gotten off of the trading post are amazing and very functional in my opinion. If the older KU packs had flaws, would there ever be possibilities of upgraded KU packs, possibly stuff that will works with current kifaru frames? I guess these questions are mainly directed to the Kifaru staff, but would like the thought process of other forum members. I might just be one of a few people wondering this.

Thanks

[Patrick]

Hello Norinco, thanks for asking about the now-discontinued KU Ultralights. They were the lightest heavy load packs ever built. To achieve that distinction I designed them using our own Rhino Skin tipi fabric. Double layer. If the outer layer abraded, or experienced a nick, the inner layer would prevent penetration all the way through the bag. And this worked! In our sales specifications we made it clear to customers that abrasion and nicks could be expected but would not compromise the integrity, the functionality, of the KU packs and accessories. That such dings were only cosmetic. In essence, we were asking folks for a "compact" of accepting cosmetic blemishes over time in order to get the lightest gear of it's class ever invented.
But it turned out that a minority of users persisted in returning their KU units for "repair" of these cosmetic dings. These above normal "repair" requests--compared to the rest of the Kifaru line-- plus the fact that building the KU gear from exceedingly difficult to work with Rhino Skin fabric resulted in our pulling the plug on the project.
We continue to keep an eye out for material that could be used for reprising a KU lineup, but so far nothing offers enough weight savings, certainly not in the league of the original double layer Rhino Skin, to warrant adoption.

[Norinco559]

Thank you for the quick response Patrick, I'm glad that you haven't completely given up on the KU line of products! I'll keep my hopes up for the future. Until then I'll watch the trading post in the hopes of scoring some of your KU classics. Best of luck on your future endeavors!

Sincerely,
Sarkis

[teddy]

I love my KU pullouts, belt pouches, hanging meat bag, and possibles pouch!

How I would really love to have a KU Camp Bag to ride between the wings of my Nomad. My Camp Bags are among my favorite, most used items for overnight trips. A KU Camp Bag would be protected on the bottom by the 1000d cordura of a grab-it so would probably last many years. This application makes a lot of sense to me since I could replace the bag for far less than if I wore out a whole KU pack. Heck, when I want to run light I ditch the Nomad and run a Camp Bag, Guide lid, and Grab-it on my Bikini and doing so with a KU Camp Bag would get my pack weight down around 3 1/2 lbs with 30% more capacity than I get with a 55 liter OR dry bag.

I would buy a couple for sure!

[ikaretabab]

I love my KU pullouts, belt pouches, hanging meat bag, and possibles pouch!

How I would really love to have a KU Camp Bag to ride between the wings of my Nomad. My Camp Bags are among my favorite, most used items for overnight trips. A KU Camp Bag would be protected on the bottom by the 1000d cordura of a grab-it so would probably last many years. This application makes a lot of sense to me since I could replace the bag for far less than if I wore out a whole KU pack. Heck, when I want to run light I ditch the Nomad and run a Camp Bag, Guide lid, and Grab-it on my Bikini and doing so with a KU Camp Bag would get my pack weight down around 3 1/2 lbs with 30% more capacity than I get with a 55 liter OR dry bag.

I would buy a couple for sure!

A KU camp bag would be on the shortlist of products I would exchange an internal organ or firstborn child for

[Ruskin]

A KU camp bag would be on the shortlist of products I would exchange an internal organ or firstborn child for

Not Kifaru, but the OR dry sack ( or any sea to summit bag) is the same idea.


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