Day 2, and the last day I’ll be at SHOT Show, is here! Yesterday was a blast and the ITS/PDW Meet & Greet was perfect. It was great to finally put a face and voice to many of the people I’ve only talked to online. Today I’ll be at the MPBM (Morale Patch Black Market) meetup (during the show) and the TAD Junkies after the show.
To make this game easier here’s a picture of my backpack and media badge for the day. If you can find me just introduce yourself and comment on the ADR patch (or bring up the post) and I’ll give one to you. They’re numbered (out of 100) and a good half of them are gone already.
Kifaru Booth
One of my first stops of the day (besides the media room for coffee) was to the Kifaru booth. I had swung by there the day before but it was nice to get another look at their packs. The three I was most interested in were the X-Ray, the Zippy, and the new Antero.
The Kifaru X-Ray is the most commonly seen Kifaru pack at GORUCK events. It’s large enough to fit everything you need and can be outfitted with their belt system. In addition the large amount of webbing on the pack allows you to attach whatever pockets you would want.
The part that sits against your back is well padded and there’s some nice support for your lower back built in. Depending on your job it might be a little too militaristic looking but either way it’s a solid pack.
It was great to see the X-Ray in person. I’ve been looking at that pack for the past 3+ years and this is the first time I’ve been able to hold and wear one.
The Kifaru Zippy is a smaller offering that caters more to the EDC folk. The lack of webbing is nice especially if you’re planning on using it in a business environment. However, there are four small pieces of webbing on the pack which allows you to connect one of the Kifaru 500D organizers but that’s probably about it. The only other item I can think of that only takes up 1 piece of webbing would be a Steel Flame MOLLE Clip.
This was my first time seeing a Zippy in person and I was impressed. It’s larger than I expected it to be and I could definitely see it as being a great day or GORUCK event pack.
The newest Kifaru offering is the Antero which made its debut just prior to SHOT Show 2015. The pack is a great looking EDC bag and is something I would definitely wear. There’s just enough webbing on it to add a few pockets which would make it perfect for a business environment. Of all the Kifaru packs this is easily the one that I’m most excited about. One thing I do wish they would do is use a wider loop area on the pack for patches. I like the length but it just looks a little lopsided with that thin strip of Velcro. Something more like the Triple Aught Design EDC or Litespeed would be ideal I think.
The price on it is still TBA but hopefully it comes in at a competitive level. I’d love to pick one up eventually and put it through its paces. I believe they’ll be released online in March but we’ll see.
MPBM Meetup
The MPBM meetup was exactly what I expected it to be… a lot of people who love patches hanging out and trading patches.
We gathered at the Adams Arms booth which worked out perfectly. I’m glad someone coordinated this because I’m not sure how else I would have gotten the ADR SHOT Show patches out to the MPBM crew.
Tay had this idea to lay all of our badges out and snap some pictures… everyone knows that Tay Has Everything and I’m just glad that Tay didn’t run away with all our badges! Speaking of Tay Has Everything…
If you’re wondering how Tay gets everything you should check out the above pic. I apologize for the blur but I needed to make sure that his name tag was visible.
I’ve got to be honest… Tay is actually an amazing guy and was grabbing that Combat Swag patch for me. Here he is repping the ADR Seahawks Dog Eye patch because he knows we’re the better team.
Mystery Ranch Booth
What trip would be complete without stopping by the Mystery Ranch booth?
I had never seen the Mystery Ranch ASAP in person before and I must say I was impressed. It was larger than I expected it to be and seemed like a great pack.
It’s a bit busy for a work bag but it would be amazing for shorter day hikes. You don’t always need something as large as the 3 Day and I think this would be a very good alternative for those shorter adventures.
The Mystery Ranch 3 Day pack is as big and awesome as I remember it being. This is the pack that David Thomas passed GORUCK Selection with which should be a testament to its build quality.
Roaming Around
Wandering around the show room floor I bumped into Tay again and snapped a pic of an amazing Steel Flame MOLLE Clip he had on.
What better use for the outside pocket of a GORUCK Bullet than for an S.O. Tech bear?