Review: KS 40 Dyneema Backpack by KS Ultralight

[Matthew S]

@matthewkphx Ahhh I see now. I haven’t experienced this barrelling feeling. For a backpad I have used a thick GG sitlight (too much padding,) a 1/2in foam sit pad, and a folded up 1/8in GG thinlight and none have transmitted any of that feeling. If I ever get it loaded up soon I could try the pack on without a backpad, but I’m guessing that barrel shape wouldn’t form.

[Ethan A.]

By barreling I meant if the pack bag ever takes a rounded shape between the stays, bowing out against your spine uncomfortably. Like Matthew K said. Good to hear you haven’t felt it.

The load transfer of the KS stays to hips looks very good.

[Jason Feng]

What were the reasoning behind the options? What do the 20mm straps do? Just more durable? I’m having trouble choosing the pack bottom loops, they kind of all seem similar to me. Is there no built in padding? What is the difference between the back pad holders and the 3d mesh padded back?

How did you decide on size? This will be my first ultralight pack. I’ve been buying a bunch of other UL stuff now all that’s left is the pack. I have a Fly Creek UL2 as a shelter, and a EE revelation + Neo Air for a sleep system. Do you think the 40L could handle up to 7 days food and 5L water if necessary?

Interesting, I had similar feelings about HMG, they always seemed very heavy compared to their competition.

Also as someone who has an air mattress already, what type of foam padding would you recommend to purchase?

[Rick Rogers]

Jason, I can help a little. I don’t have a KS pack but am considering buying one, and have been really spending some quality time trying to figure out the options. Don’t take what I say as gospel because this will be my first UL pack as well, and there are many other people on these forums who know more than I do.

20mm vs 13mm straps – I’ve heard some folks say that 13mm straps can break if you really cinch them down. So this decision is based on durability. You don’t really cinch down the sternum strap so you could go with 13mm there, but the 20mm sternum strap has a whistle in it which seems useful.

Back padding etc – For the back you have the following options:

• Standard – includes cords and line locks to attach a separate pad like a sit pad or cut up closed cell pad external to the pack.
• Sit Pad Pockets – similar to standard, but instead of using cord to hold the external pad, this uses little triangular fabric pockets to hold the pad. The fabric pockets can either be the same fabric as your pack, or 3d mesh. These pockets are small triangles and most of your back will be touching the sit pad.
• 3d Mesh Full Back – includes a wicking fabric over the entire the back. Might help keep you cooler (through promoting air flow), and some have said it can guard against chafing on very hot days
• 3d Mesh with built-in foam pad – includes a wicking fabric with a permanent foam pad that can’t be removed. This provides wicking and also support. The foam pad helps the pack keep structure and transfer load to the hip belt.
• Inner Pad Pocket – a pad pocket for you to insert your own pad, with an option to purchase a pre-cut foam pad from KS. Again, the pad provides structural support.
• The anatomical belt is not compatible with the sit pad pockets but is compatible with the internal pad pocket.

Everyone is going to make different decisions, but I will share with you how I’m making my decision in case it helps. I’m a big guy who might be carrying big loads sometimes so I would like the anatomical belt. That rules out the external sit pad options (standard and sit pad pockets). I want a pad for structure and support, which means I need to go with the internal pocket, or the 3d mesh with built-in pad. I prefer not to use a built-in pad because I think it is nice to have the option to take a sit pad out of your pack and use it for sitting or to extend the sleeping pad. This means my choice is the inner pad pocket. I’ll probably buy the foam pad from KS because it is something like $4 but I will also probably replace it with a Z-Lite sit pad which is $14. I do sweat a lot and am worried about chafing so I’m getting the 3d mesh back. All of these choices add weight so others will make different choices. If I didn’t want the anatomical belt, I’d probably go with the external 3d mesh pockets instead of the internal pocket + 3d mesh back.

Bottom loops: Option 1 is 4 loops in the corners of the bottom face. These are good for lashing things like closed cell sleeping pads underneath the bottom of your backpack. Option 2 is 4 loops on the front face, near the bottom. This is good for lashing things that across the bottom of the front face… like maybe snow shoes? Option 3 is a combination of both. I’m going with Option 3 because it the loops seem light and the price is pretty insignificant, so Option 3 gives the most flexibility.

[Matthew S]

@jason21feng

• 20mm is just a bit more beef. If your baseweight was 6lbs or so I would go with 13mm.
• I just got the pack bottom loops for future options for strapping.
• See @rogersr4’s post above about backpad options and read the website closely.
• Measure your torso for a size decision and convert it to metric.
• 7days and 5L water would perhaps start to push space or weight for your system. I would need to see your entire pack list (use lighterpack.com etc) to recommend what to do. I would do a PCT thru with my 40L, but I have different stuff than you. Here’s my list https://lighterpack.com/r/4c7odh
• For a foam back pad, I would find any cheap piece of 1/2in foam and cut it down. The 1/8th in gossamer gear would also fold nicely, be a sit pad, boost your xlite r-value (not that it needs it,) and serve as a barrier for desert pokies.

 

[Jason Feng]

@battlerattle thanks for the suggestions, I’ll update my lighterpack in a bit. I’m interested in the hip belt pockets, but the ones from KS seem to be enormous. Do you know if ZPacks or MLD hip belt pockets would fit?

@rsrogers4 Thanks for the breakdown. I’m interested in the anatomical belt as well. Do you know how much better / more weight it should be able to comfortably carry?

[Jason Feng]

@battlerattle this is more or less my lightpack – https://lighterpack.com/r/6nqeyt

[Matthew S]

@jason21feng

You’ve a 12lb base and said you need to carry 5L of water, and 7 days of food. That’s about 36lbs. The max I have done is 26. 10 more pounds is alot to put in the bag. I’m GUESSING it could do it, but it’s not going to be fun for about two days. Looking at your list, you need a 50L bag for sure.

[Rick Rogers]

@jason21feng, I do not know how much extra weight one could carry with the anatomical belt. I’m just guessing it would be more comfortable for me.

[Michael M]

If you are planning that kind of load out I would upgrade to all the “beefy” options. At that point take a look at the total weight of the pack as it may get into the ballpark of other manufacturers. Also I would share this info with Laurent can give you some advise and possible recommend a different design.

One thing I will mention with regards to the straps is the 20mm straps operate much more smoothly than the 13mm. It minor but when you are constantly releasing and re tightening straps it can get old… Personally I would go 20mm regardless of other options selected.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Slightly off topic, but the Hanchor Marl (42L) is a similar pack and worth considering for those concerned about barrelling. Hanchor is not that well known, but their stuff is really well sewn. It looks a bit more professional than the KS stuff appears to be.

https://www.hanchor.com/products/Outdoor%20Series/MARL_Hiking_Backpack?locale=en

The Marl has a vertical stay plus 2 horizontal stays, so the vertical one stops barrelling. The pack isVX21 fabric and fully featured (weighs 2 lbs). So not quite the same niche – more similar to HMG – but its a nice lightweight pack that doesn’t get any attention around here. Price is cheaper than HMG too ($250 USD).

[Matthew S]

Just to be clear, if I wasn’t above, there’s no barreling in the KS40. I suppose any “empty bag” like the MLB Burn, Zpacks Zero, etc would barrel if you packed the ever living hell out of it.

@dandydan As for the quality of the KS40, I immediately turned it inside out and looked over all of the stitching etc. Every seam point is reinforced with grosgrain and I looked for any flaw intently. 4 trips this summer and there’s no change in my initial opinion, this bag is perfect for baseweights of 8-13lbs, and it’s likely a lifetime bag for me (depends on how old that interior dyneema coating gets after a decade!)

P.S. That 37 ounce Hanchor bag isn’t interesting to me, but Hanchor’s ASH-SUL39 looks very cool.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

I think the Marl is 32oz (the stay weighs are included in the main weight) but yeah it’s a very different beast. Much more of a HMG competitor. I just mentioned it because other posters were concerned about barrelling and with the horizontal stay it should have the structure to avoid that. I don’t think barrelling is a big issue, but someone who is a big over-stuffer might like a horizontal stay.

I didn’t mean to imply the KS isn’t well sewn. I can’t speak to that. I was just saying the Hanchor packs are really nicely constructed. I did say the Hanchor packs appear more professional. By that, I mean the KS designs appear more basic/rudimentary (e.g. no baffling on the rear stretchy pocket). Nothing wrong with that.

Yeah the Hanchor ASH-SUL39 (or SUL27) would be sweet. At 7-8oz it’s like a nicer Zpack Zero. Pretty good price to ($130 with free ship).

[Yoyo]

This thread has got me seriously interested in looking into a KS 50.  My go-to pack is a HMG 3400 Southwest.  At 29.8 oz, it’s a little heavy, though.  What I love about the HMG pack are the two pre-bent aluminum stays, which are essentially two long, flat bars that can be bent to fit the exact shape of your  spine.  I have not worn another pack, after trying ZPacks, Gossamer Gear, ULA, and many major brands, that is as comfortable.

Any idea if Laurent would allow this option for his packs?  He would only need to sew in two sleeves so that the two aluminum stays could be inserted (I could obtain the stays from HMG if necessary).  Also, my 3400 Southwest has a permanently sewn-in ccf pad to add padding to the back.  If I understand you guys correctly, Laurent offers this as well.  Do think I should go with this option, were I to order the pack, or a sleeve that allows me to stuff in a 1/8″ thinlight ccf pad?

I have been searching high and low for a pack with a frame (specifically one that utilizes the aforementioned Al stays) that weighs under 20 oz.  This may be it.  ZPacks Arc Blast is the closest thing I have found.  I’m just not a huge fan of the external frame “arc” design.  I want the load right up against my back–I get that with my HMG pack.

Final question: Does Laurent not offer cuben fiber hybrid fabric as an option?  The material on the Arc Blast seems enough for my purposes.  I do pretty much all my hiking on trail, and am not doing any major long distance trials such as the CDT, PCT, AT, etc.  I’m also very careful with my gear.  I have no experience with X-Pac but I’m guessing that would be the closest to cuben in terms of its waterproofness, stiffness, etc.

[Sam G]

I now pronounce this thread alive.

For those of you with KS packs, how is the torso sizing compared to your true measurement? I am about a 19.5 or so torso, Medium in my OHM2.0, and bottom 1/4 of the ArcBlast2017 adjustment slider (almost toward the lowest setting). Would the 50cm be an accurate fit, or do you guys recommend a different sizing?

 

Basically if I do 50cm, would the strap wrap 2inch or so around as it should?

 

Thanks.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Nice pack but I’d need about 55 to 60 liters for more extended trips.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Matt,

Thanks for the video. Better than still photos by far for understanding the KS pack.

I have a much heavier Osprey EXOS 58 but still “UL” to me. I do sometimes carry 40 lbs, for example with water on dry stretches or the 1st day of a long trip of 7 to 8 days so I need the EXOS’ strength.

 

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