At Exo Mtn Gear we don't just want to sell you something, we want to make sure you have a great experience with our products and that they perform to their fullest potential for you.
In the months since we released our new K4 Pack Systems, we have received amazing feedback about how easy the pack is to use, and how well it performs. However, when we do get questions about something being "not right", we notice that it is related to one of three mistakes that are being made. In this video, we discuss those mistakes and show you how to avoid them, so that you have the best experience possible with your K4 Pack System.
1) — ACCESSORY INSTALLATION
"I attached the K4 Nalgene Holder to my hipbelt, but after using my water bottle a few times the Holder becomes loose and wants to come off the hipbelt. Is there a specific way to attach the Holder to the hipbelt, to prevent it from coming off?" — K4 Customer
When any of our MOLLE-mounted accessories — the K4 Nalgene Holder, K4 Hipbelt Pouch and K4 InReach Mini Holder — are installed correctly, they are rock-solid and will never come loose. But if they are installed incorrectly or incompletely, there can be issues.
The mistake we see some customers make is that they do not "weave" the MOLLE tab back-and-forth between the accessory and the mounting location. Instead, they simply slide the MOLLE tab down through the top of the mounting location, and out the bottom. As shown in the video above, be sure to weave the MOLLE tab back-and-forth between the accessory and the mounting location, then securely tuck the remaining MOLLE tab.
WATCH — K4 Nalgene Holder Installation
2) — REMOVING THE BAG & LID
"I wish there was a way to remove the bag from the frame and access the load shelf without needing to completely remove the lid." — K4 Customer
Good news! You do not need to completely disconnect or remove the lid to access the load shelf. (You can remove the lid if you want to, but you don't need to remove it.)
There is a tab that connects the top of the frame over the top of the bag, which is behind the lid straps. If you loosen the lid-to-frame connection to create some slack in the lid strap webbing, you can easily remove the bag's tab from the frame and slide the top of the bag off of the top of the frame, all without having to remove or disconnect the lid.
WATCH — How To Load Meat & Antlers
3) — FITTING & ADJUSTMENT
"I purchased the frame height that you suggested on your sizing chart, but I have a gap between my shoulders and the pack's shoulder harness, even after moving the harness to the lowest position on the frame." — K4 Customer
The final area of mistakes some customers make has to do with fitting and adjustment. In particular, we are seeing customers assess the pack fit without weight, make massive changes to their harness-to-frame connection (adjusting the torso setting), and use way too much load-lifter tension. These three things are all related to each other, and for some customers, they are doing all three things at once — which will definitely result in improper fitting.
In the video above we reiterate some of the important, but sometimes overlooked, aspects of our detailed fitting and adjustment process. When you are fitting a pack, please be sure to...
- Load the pack with 30lbs, or more
- Loosen all adjustments (hipbelt, sternum strap, shoulder straps, and load-lifters)
- Focus on positioning the hipbelt over the crest (highest point) of your hip bones
- Only touch the load-lifters as the last step in putting the pack on, using just enough tension to remove any "sway" or instability that you feel in the top of the pack
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
We hope that highlighting these "mistakes" will help ensure that you are getting the best experience possible with your K4 Pack System on your next hunt. If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to reach out to us directly.
Finally, we recommend that you browse our full collection of "How To" videos that cover all aspects of using a K4 Pack System at https://exomtngear.com/howto, and also see "Before and After" examples of real customers that fixed their pack fit.