Overview
The Kodiak is one of the largest internal frame bags made by Mystery Ranch and one of only two packs to use their Overkill Guide Frame. An evolution of the BDSB pack developed for Navy SEALs around 2003, the Kodiak features an improved frame system and a layout virtually identical to its SEAL-used counterpart.
Manufacturer: Mystery Ranch
Model: Kodiak
Capacity:
Manufacturer rating: 7000 cu-in / 114.7 L
Fabric:
Body: 500 denier CORDURA nylon, 500 denier DIMENSION-POLYANT X-Pac
Storm collar: 200 denier oxford nylon
Weight:
Manufacturer rating: 9 lbs 3 oz / 4167.4 g
Hardware: National Molding Duraflex buckles, YKK zippers
Country of manufacture: U.S.A.
Breakdown
This pack has a layout similar to the NICE 6500. For the sake of comparison, it's reasonable to consider the NICE 6500 an improved, hybrid frame variant of the Kodiak. Both packs feature two vertical long pockets on the back, the signature Speed Zip sleeping bag compartment, an optional main compartment divider with buckles for compressing the sleeping bag area when not in use, side zipper access, external water bottle pockets and an internal radio/hydration bladder pocket. Other features, such as external compression straps, PALS grids and the Daypack Lid, vary only slightly between the two packs.
The main body is largely constructed of a 500 denier X-Pac fabric (VX51 or similar) made by DIMENSION-POLYANT. This material features a 500 denier Cordura face with a laminate of thick strands of polyester and a thin PET film. Mystery Ranch states this material is used to give the bag "additional structure and load control properties." How effective it is at providing load control is debatable, but the material certainly affords a level of durability and waterproofness unparalleled by most other pack fabrics.
The Daypack Lid is of a slightly different design than that made for the NICE Frame, featuring a different taper and a lightweight, elastic-trimmed skirt on each side between the two zippered pockets. Capacity and function are the same between the two models.
The Kodiak's side compression straps are two in number on each side, versus the three found on the NICE 6500. They're of a different configuration as well, being routed through a plastic loop to produce a "V" shape. This means there will always be a strap in front of the side zippers, but this never proved to be an issue during use.
Perhaps the most aggravating difference between the Kodiak and NICE 6500 is the lack of lift handles on the side of the Kodiak. The upper carry handle on the Kodiak is positioned so high as to be useless for donning, and the instability of the yoke against the frame (discussed in detail below) makes putting on the pack with the shoulder straps alone a frustrating process. In my case, this issue was finally solved by the addition of custom side carry handles, but they should be a standard feature as they are on the NICE 6500 and Tactiplane packs.
The Frame
The Kodiak's Overkill Guide Frame is unique among MR's pack lineup (though it was used on the now discontinued Grizzly pack). Whereas the BDSB pack used the then-standard Outamatic X Frame, the Kodiak's frame is an overbuilt version of the modern Guide Frame used on the G7000 and similar packs, which features two full-length fiberglass rods coupled with a HDPE framesheet and a removable, contoured aluminum stay behind the lumbar pad. The "Overkill" element comes from the dual aluminum stay reinforced Overkill Futura Yoke, which is two inches wider than the standard Futura Yoke found on most other MR packs and designed to provide greater stability. The frame utilizes the Five Segmented Lumbar Wrap, a hipbelt system similar to the Contour Lumbar Wrap found on the NICE Frame but with a more pronounced and shaped lumbar region. A different shell is used to back the hip pads as well, and this backing clearly draws inspiration from the older Dana Design ArcFlex packs. (It's worth noting that the hip pads are not designed to be interchangeable with those used with the Contour Lumbar Wrap.)
