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Kifaru Pointman Pack
| The Pointman is designed
as a midsized, top-loading (with bottom access), 3 day/patrol pack with
a capacity of 3000 ci. Like all of the Kifaru military packs, it is
covered in PALS webbing. The Pointman holds more than the Marauder for
a more streamlined profile. It also has a more sophisticated, fully-adjustable
suspension system. All the Kifaru accessories that fit on the Marauder
(or any other Kifaru ruck) will attach to it. The Military Omni belt is completely removable. For more info on this pack, visit the official Kifaru Pointman page. |
 Overall front quarter. The pack has 4 side compression straps and 2 bottom ones. |
 Back quarter view |
 It has full top and bottom access |
| How does it compare
in size to the Marauder? |
 It's not much wider, |
 but it's taller... |
 and deeper. |
|
The suspension system is fully adjustable.
The shoulder straps can lengthened and shortened to suit the user.
The back pads are covered in Drilex and form a channel between them
for air circulation and relief for the spine. The Omni belt is removable
as seen below. |
 The Military Omni belt is removable. You can see the twin aluminum spars, which then fit into the bottom pad/cover. |
 Without the belt, the bottom cover folds up. You can clearly see the two back pads and the channel in between them. They're very comfortable. |
 The entire bottom lid zips open, and has internal attach points for straps. You can also use quick-detach fastex buckles... |
 and lash a sleeping bag into the lid, or a Kifaru long pocket so it doesn't fall out when you open the bottom. |
 Access from the top is via the top lid, or top zipper which gives access to the hydrations pouch, small utility pouch or radio. |
 The top lid flips over out of the way and stays put when you open it. |
 A view of the top lid flipped over, the small utility pouch hung inside (removable) and the cavernous main compartment. |
 The internal hydration pouch will hold a 100 oz camelback reservoir. Note that this is an early one - current models have a seam to seam width pouch. |
| The cargo chair attaches
to the bottom of the pack and allows large, awkward loads to be strapped
in and carried. It can also be used to carry a person. Moron J almost
broke my back since he's 30 lbs heavier than I am and I'm a weakling.
You can also attach a gun-bearer to the pack for hands-free weapons
carrying. It keeps your rifle out of the way, but quickly accessible.
I mounted it canted forward to the muzzle was a distance away from my
face. |
 The start of my back problems |
 Gunbearer |
 For better support of the side pockets, I added quik-attach buckles (top one) to augment the compression straps |
| Wearing the pack -
the pack is donned in the same sequence as the other Kifaru rucks. The
shoulder straps are snugged and then the waist belt. The waistbelt delta
strap is then tightened, followed by the side deltas. The side delta
straps pull the pack into the back, and prevent it from flopping over
backwards. The top shoulder adjustment straps are then tightened for
a bit of lift. The pictures below show the pack with the Omni belt removed,
and used in conjunction with pistol belt and Molle II FLC vest. Also
attached are two Kifaru long pockets and a back pouch. I did not find
it uncomfortable to wear the ruck with a vest. The drawback to ditching
the waistbelt, of course is that all the weight is on by the shoulders.
|
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| Which to get - Marauder
or Pointman? I guess it depends on how much capacity you need and how
heavy the load is going to be. The Pointman will carry a heavier load
more comfortably - the back pads make the difference. It also feels
like I can carry the load a bit higher up. This is due to the height
of the Pointman. How high the packs are carried depends on the height
of your torso. The starting point for both packs is the waistbelt -
that determines where the bottom of the pack will be. Because the Marauder
is a shorter pack, it carries the load lower. However, the Marauder
has easier access to the contents, being a panel loader. Internal PALS
webbing allows you to use MOLLE pouches to organize you load and prevent
shifting of items in the pack. With the add-on pockets, the capacity
of the Marauder can exceed that of the Pointman. However the Pointman
will carry the same load in a more streamlined package. I bet that doesn't
help much in making up your mind :-) It all boils down to personal preference.
But after owning a few different packs, one thing I'm sure of is that
from now on, my personal preference is Kifaru. |
| Woohoo! Here are some
quickly taken pics of my new DTS Pointman - thanks to all at Kifaru,
Mel and Patrick. My pack came with webbing of a lighter colour than
the 'preview' DTS Pointman, which used more of a coyote brown webbing.
Changing the colour of the webbing can change the colour of the whole
pack because almost half its surface area is covered with the
PALS webbing. In my AO, a lighter coloured pack works better, so it
actually worked out better. However, The binding tape used was also
a chocolate brown (sen above in the 'review' pics), which was visually
appealing, but contrasted a bit too much with the rest of the pack.
I also wanted to break up the outline of the horizontal PALS webbing
even more so I decided to give it a camo spray paint job. I made a cardboard
template in a tiger stripe pattern and followed the pattern of the cordura
as closely as possible, using Sand and Earth Brown colours. I also painted
the buckles and straps (yeah, I know...once I get going - everything
gets camo'd). The result is that the binding tape is more subdued and
the PALS webbing is broken up now. Stay tuned - I'll update this section
when I get my pocket set and take it out to the desert. |
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 2 long/side pockets and 1 back pouch |
 View of quik attach buckles to further support the long pockets at the top, to augment the compression straps |
 Blackhawk STRIKE utility pouch attached to the lid |
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