Most people review these setups after hunting with them, loaded with elk quarters, or a full camp. They perform well in that capacity as it is what they were designed for, this will be a different sort of review.
After my 1st year of "real elk hunting" I knew I needed a proper frame/pack, so I picked up a Kuiu Icon pro 1850 in Vias2.0 with tall frame and L/XL belt during the big pack sale a few months back. I then picked up a 3200bag for it here on the forum to expand storage capacity "just in case" (turned out to be a good move). I have not done any hunts with it as my season was over, but I wanted to give an initial review on the pack with the use I have given it.
I had a trip to AZ for the Christmas weekend and a the last minute decided to use the pack as my carry on bag both to test it in that function for possible future trips and to show family that also hunts. Technically speaking the pack with the tall frame is beyond max length limits for the airlines. Most airlines are 22" max length and my pack was measuring 26" from bottom of belt to the end of the frame stays. The pack itself though was down in the 22-23" range. I was only going for a few days, but I put the 3200bag on it so I had room for expansion on the trip home (it was xmas after all!) Pair of Jeans, whites, couple shirts, hat, gloves, heavier jacket. I rolled the items up to compress them as much as possible, then pulled the compression straps tight and it was not any bigger than the 1850 bag wise. Off I went to airport.
- No issue at all going thru TSA. I put bag with belt up, snapped the belt closed and then tightened it so it was as small as possible and it went right thru. 1st hurdle passed!
- As we started boarding we had an airline guy show up (not part of main gate crew) and start harassing people about roll on baggage sizes, I knew I was long and worried he would throw a fit. One nice thing about the Kuiu design is that you can have the frame stripped out in moments so that was my backup plan if he had caused a problem, I would just carry frame separate in hand. I had the pack on my back and walked by him to the gate agent and quickly onto the jetway as the "bag nazi"argued with a frequent flier member about his bag size. 2nd hurdle passed!
- Storage on the plane was what I was really concerned about, would it fit in the bin itself? As mentioned previously, I could pull the frame, but hoped not to. I tried putting the bag in the bin frame up and frame down, on the Airbus A320 did not seem to make any real difference, the pack fit just fine both ways. Hurdle 3 passed!
Return flight was much the same with no issues in TSA, or boarding at the gate. This flight was on a 737, bins seemed a touch smaller and different shape. I found putting the bag in with frame up worked best so that the frame was not jammed into back of the bin or being flexed, and also buckled the belt together for better fit. It was tighter but still fit.
Overall I was quite pleased with how the bag worked as a carry on bag for air travel. A standard frame would be even better due to the shorter length fitting in overhead bins better, but even the Tall works. The 3200 left plenty of room to pack for many more days if I had needed. I now plan to use it for week long trips in Feb and again in July that will require more gear to be transported and see how it does filled up.
Interesting sidenote, this was apparently the Kuiu flight and it is amazing the instant bond we have as hunters even with people we have never met before. It is funny how certain words you know can cut thru the din of voices in public settings.. I was in my seat already reading a book when I heard "blah, mumble, blah, mule deer, blah mumble.." I looked behind me to see another passenger walking to the back of the plane talking to the flight attendant and wearing a Icon Pro 3200. HAH! The flight was not full and as we pushed from the gate a flight attendant moved me back 3 rows to a row with 2 empty and larger seats. After we landed and were waiting to exit I noticed the guy in front of me had Vias2.0 pattern jacket in his hands, mentioned it to him and he mentioned how he liked Kuiu and he also had an icon pro at home and had noticed the other passenger the went to back of plane.
