- Specialty
- K4 carbon-fibre frame and bag pack systems for backcountry hunting and meat hauling, lids, dry bags and pack accessories
- Category
- Hunting Packs
- Website
- exomtngear.com →
Our verdict
Exo Mtn Gear makes hunting packs for one job above all: getting an animal off the mountain. Its K4 frame — carbon-fibre stays, a load shelf and a big, well-shaped hipbelt — carries heavy, awkward loads onto your hips, and the bag swings away so meat can ride against your back. The packs are sewn in Boise by a small team, sold direct, and backed by a lifetime guarantee. They are not cheap and they reward careful sizing, but for backcountry hunters who intend to pack meat, Exo is one of the first brands we would look at.
Background
Exo Mtn Gear was founded in 2014 by two hunting partners, Steve Speck and Lenny Nelson. They wanted a pack that carried like a light internal-frame backpacking pack but hauled meat like an external frame, prototyped and field-tested it, and launched their first pack that year. Exo is still a small company — it says about seven full-time staff — and its packs are designed, built and shipped from Boise, Idaho. It sells direct to hunters rather than through stores, which it says keeps prices lower.
The K4 is the fourth generation of the Exo frame. Each K4 system pairs a bag with a carbon-fibre frame, chosen by height, and a hipbelt, chosen by measuring at the hip bone.
How we use Exo Mtn Gear
Our first Exo review is the K4 3600 Pack System in Ranger green — a 3,620 cu in bag plus a 650 cu in lid on the K4 frame, 5 lb 8 oz, US$679.99. It scored 4.8 out of 5. The review shows all 74 of our photos and includes interactive drawings of what fits inside, how it carries deer and elk quarters, antlers, a bow or a rifle on the side, and a meat pack-out planner. The pack is coming on our hunts this season, and you will see it in our upcoming hunting posts.
What sets Exo apart
The frame and belt. Owners and reviewers keep coming back to how the K4 carries heavy loads — onto the hips, close to the back, and stable on rough ground.
Meat hauling built in. The bag unbuckles and swings out so meat can sit on the load shelf against your back, or comes off entirely so a quarter can be strapped straight to the frame. The K4 Lid doubles as a compression panel for antlers.
Made by hunters, in the USA. A small team in Boise designs, sews and stands behind every pack.
What to know before buying
K4 systems are an investment, and sizing matters: frame height comes from your height, and the belt from a careful measurement at the iliac crest — Exo says not to round up or use your pant size. On light day hunts, a frame pack is more than you need.
Bottom line
Exo Mtn Gear earns its place here for building packs around the hardest part of a hunt — the walk out. The K4 3600 is the one we would choose for a three- or four-day backcountry hunt where we expect to carry meat.
Why we recommend them
A frame built for meat. Carbon-fibre stays and an integrated load shelf, rated by Exo for 150+ lb, with the bag unclipping so meat rides between bag and frame.
The hipbelt. Reviewers consistently single out the K4 belt — broad, well padded, with laser-cut MOLLE and a cam buckle — as the reason the packs carry so well.
Modular. One K4 frame takes bags from a daypack up to the 7200, with lids, dry bags, pouches, a crib panel and a rifle carrier.
Made in the USA. Designed, sewn and shipped from Boise, Idaho, with a lifetime guarantee for the original owner and a 30-day trial.
Highly rated. 239 of the 244 reviews of the K4 3600 on Exo's site are five stars.
Product lines
What they make.
K4 pack systems
Bag-and-frame systems on the carbon K4 frame, including the K4 3600 we reviewed, the larger 5000 and 7200, and smaller day-hunting bags.
K4 frames and hipbelts
Four frame heights and five hipbelt sizes, sold as systems or on their own.
Pack accessories
K4 Lid, dry bags, hipbelt pouches, insulated bottle holders, stash pockets, the Crib Load Panel and the Quick-Release Rifle Carrier.
Reviews