Kifaru XTL Mods

When I got my very awesome Kifaru packs, I ordered the XTL to go with it. I find most top lids on packs are a bit of an afterthought, but the XTL is a very well thought out cherry on top of a sweet pack. Or several packs in this case, as it’s interchangeable between many of their packs.

As much as I like it though, I made some additions and alterations to it to better suit it to my needs.

The first thing I did was to add some side release buckles near the tri-glides. I wanted the XTL to be truly quick release, and I found trying to get the webbing out of the tri-glides way too finicky. 

I know some have mounted the surface mount SRBs, but I didn’t for two reasons. First, I opted to go with all black Stealth buckles on all my stuff. I have a few Stealth surface mounts, but I think at most they can handle about 1 layer of Cordura, maybe 2 layers. I figured I would be dealing with more in the XTL. The other type of surface mount SRB seems capable of handling a bit more cordura. And secondly, I’m a chicken. If I punched holes in the material, and made a mistake, whoops. Not so easy to mend. Instead I just sewed some buckles on. If I screwed that up, I could remove them and no real harm done. Sewed them by hand. Not perfect, but good enough.

 Before too long I realized that if I was using the XTL in a separate bag on a shoulder strap mode, I wanted to get the skirt out of the way. I have two ways of doing that.

 The one with the male buckle and the siamese clip, can be attached to the webbing loop that holds the tri-glide and onto the female buckles that attach the XTL to the front compression straps. The one with the double male buckles can be attached to the female buckle I sewed on, and the female buckles that attach the XTL to the front compression straps. (Yes, yes, I know the sewing is brutal. I just quickly did them to see if it was feasible, and did a much better job after taking these photos.)

For the most part I use the male-siamese combo. Generally I use the two SRB's I sewed on, to clip in the padded shoulder sling. If I was to use the shoulder strap that came with the XTL, I would use the tri-glides it came with to weave it through. The stock shoulder strap is about the only underwhelming piece of Kifaru gear I own, so it doesn't get used so much.

I’m thinking of doing away with the male-siamese one though and just using a quick attach male Stealth buckle. Much simpler, and I think it would also make the distance spanned much shorter.

Here are the two different set ups. The pouches I have mounted to the underside of the lid are Emdom Small Utili-shingles. 

 I can just jack the padded shoulder sling buckles in and off I go.

 A better view of the Emdom Small Utili-shingles. Really versatile pouches.

 Some more views.

And a front view, all wrapped up. The pouch on the front is a Maxpedition Volta battery case.

Now after using this a while, I found that the sides of the skirt still had a tendency to wiggle out. I got in a new shipment of hardware samples, and I thought these might be a solution. (And again, I just used some 550 to connect them to see if this was feasible. I've sewed some webbing between them for a better connector.) I wish they were both like the one on the right, but I'll use what I have.

Another simple additions I made to the XTL was to add some bungee cord to the bottom. This allows me to lash in a rain jacket, or quickly stash a layer I've taken off.

This photo shows another change I've made to this item, and virtually all my packs and pouches – replacing the stock zipper pulls with a variety of sinnets. The different kinds provide a tactile way of distinguishing between the different zippers. I'm surprised at how often I have to reach for something in the dark or at a really awkward angle. With as many zippers as can sometimes be found on a fully tricked out Kifaru pack, I figured I may as well have as many different ones as possible on there.

Besides the different types of sinnets, I also use different colours. With two distinct colours, I can tell at a quick glance if both of them are together, meaning the compartment is closed. Only one colour visible - Hey is it open? It may be that the sinnet is inside the compartment, or it may mean that it is on the other side of the compartment, meaning stuff can fall out. These are the zipper pulls for the main compartment.

I braided a good length of para cord around the handle, so that any time I need a piece it can be easily gotten at.

I wanted more loops for hanging chambers and such, so I just sewed some in.

The one in the back is the chamber pocket that comes with the XTL, but the one at the front is the one that is attached to the loops I added. The chamber pockets are great for organizing small items. It looks crowded in there, but there is actually a lot of room left in there.