KUIU Venture Divide 2000 Review - SPIKA Pack Instead?

 

Is the KUIU Venture Divide The Right Pack For You? I was looking for a day hiking pack to take scouting, hanging trail cameras, shed hunting, or all the other things us outdoor enthusiasts find ourselves needing a backpack for. I did a lot of research looking at multiple packs until I ultimately decided on the Venture Divide. When I received it in the mail and tried it out for the first time, I quickly realized it was not what I was expecting.

My first impression was the pack looked sweet and had all the features I was looking for. It also appeared to be very well made and durable. It is compatible for hydration system, has pockets and compartments on the exterior of the bag that allows you to store a wet jacket, spotting scope, fly rod, potentially small tripod. The pack is light-weight but yet still has 2,000 cubic inches for squeezing in a good amount of gear for a day's adventure. 

However, the pack also felt very small. I made the adjustment to move the shoulder straps up as high as they could go. But the waist buckle was above my belly button. The shoulder straps on the back also seemed to narrow or skinny and were riding right next to my next. As I moved and walked, the shoulder straps rubbed and dug into my next.

I knew this pack would be uncomfortable for hiking, or taking long walks. Although I liked the appearance and how the pack looked, I decided to return it. The return process was very simple with KUIU and they returned the item without any difficulty or restocking fees. I was just on the hook for shipping.

I decided instead to buy a SPIKA 25L hunting pack. It had all the features of the KUIU Venture Divide minus the compartment on the back of the pack to stuff a wet jacket in. I have been using the pack for one season. It fits my body build much better, is more comfortable, and was also much cheaper. I actually banked some money after losing return shipping to KUIU. I'll post an affiliate link to Amazon below if you want to check it out. You could potentially use this pack for saddle hunting. I had it set up to do so but ended up using its bigger brother all season. The SPIKA Drover 40L. 

https://amzn.to/3wbLHB2

SPIKA Backpack

If you would like to checkout my short YouTube video, it is here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZFm9gkhj_8