tactical military gear,airsoft tactical gear

Patrick Smith spent decades designing and building high-end equipment for climbers and backpackers under his Mountainsmith label.

Years later, after selling the company, the avid big-game hunter quickly re-established his reputation for crafting gear of unique design. His new brand, Kifaru, linguistically translates to rhinoceros in Swahili and practically translates to world-class semi-custom packs and other gear for outdoorsmen and soldiers.

As a fellow pack geek, I can attest that Kifarus, such as the Spike Camp G2 pictured here, have the versatility to go from rock scrambling on all fours—with a scoped rifle attached to the optional GunBearer accessory, no less—to comfortably strolling down a city street unnoticed. Two other Kifarus, a Long Hunter and a Late Season, have served me well for several years.

Accessories abound, with the CargoChair platform at the top of the list and capable, incredibly, of not only being retrofitted in seconds to any of the aforementioned packs but of providing a welcome rest in any terrain and of hauling loads as cumbersome as Jerry cans, cordwood or elk quarters. Such quality comes at a price, of course. But for those who require a truly world-class, tough-as-nails pack capable of lightening a load beyond any reasonable expectation while instilling confidence that it will stay where it’s supposed to throughout any adventure, Kifaru is more than up to the task.