First released in 2019, Hill People Gear’s Decker Pack System Initially consisted of Decker Pocket, Decker Frame and Prairie Belt.
The Decker Frame shares the same frame and suspension elements as the Ute Pack.
The design of the Decker Frame allows it to accept any other pack bags which will fit within its compression straps which cradle the bag. In this photo, you can also see the hypalon capture flap that wraps around the bottom of a load and creates a shelf which is ideal for carrying out game meat from the backcountry or awkward loads.
Now they’ve added three new interchangeable packbag options, increasing the versatility of the system.
The small Decker Packbag is 45L / 2500ci and shares the same dimensions as the Decker Pocket. It is a stripped down version of the pocket that does away with the buckles and the sewn-in hypalon center yoke. The Small Decker Packbag is offered in 500d Cordura and a lightweight sil-nylon. This pack size is meant for day hikes/hunts, but can be used for summer overnights if packed accordingly.
The medium Decker Packbag is a slick version of the Ute pack with a 60L / 3600ci capacity. It will be available in March in 500d Cordura and a lightweight sil-nylon. This is a good all-around option that can handle summer multiday trips, winter overnights, or be compressed down to a large day-pack.
At 100 L / 6000 ci the large Decker Packbag is the largest packbag designed to be used with the Decker Frame. It shares the same Dimensions as the qui-Ya pack. This will handle winter multi-day trips but can still be compressed down to a fairly small size. Combine this with the small sil-nylon packbag so you can ditch the larger bag when you get to camp and run the small bag on your day hikes/hunts. It is available in 500d Cordura and a lightweight sil-nylon.
Neat. I love capitalism.
https://www.hillpeoplegear.com/Forum/forumid/23/threadid/8781/scope/posts
That’s my frame! I’d say the decker is quite a bit different than the Kifaru Bikini that I shamelessly ripped off to build that; especially the bottom width like we talked about in that thread.
What is funny is all the time and energy the Hills put into trying to talk people out of a system like this, but the people want what the people want! From a performance and efficiency standpoint an integrated pack bag is usually better; but people love modularity and versatility often more than they love efficiency. I almost exclusively use integrated pack bags nowadays, but separate bag and frame system are just too much fun to tinker with.
Thank you for commenting. The price point is harsh enough on its own, but knowing the design was ripped off is just added insult.
txJM
To be clear, the Decker is simply a bagless variant of the Ute, which is our pack design. We did not rip our design off from anyone.
Luke even points out that our design is different from “his”. He further states his design is a rip off of the Kifaru design. Just because he posted it on our forums doesn’t mean we have anything to do with his pack or his choice to rip it off from Kifaru.
An integral pack frame like the Decker, or Bikini frame for that matter, is not something that either HPG or Kifaru invented. It has been around longer than either, and I would be hard pressed to say where it first came from. Like a lot of things like that different companies are going to do their own take on the idea.
As to the price, we would love to sell it for a lower price, but we prefer to keep manufacturing and jobs in the United States, which drives the cost, well that and quality materials, quality manufacturing, and a fairly complex item to sew even though it looks simple.
/Our design is not a rip-off because he ripped it off first./
Hrm.
Pack frames with different kinds of bags is a concept that goes back at least as far as Otzi, the caveman who was found frozen in the ice. He had a wooden pack frame that he was using to carry his load. That history continues unbroken right up to the present. More recent examples include the Lowe Holubar series that came out around 1989 and the DeFrance framesheet with stay implementation that came out in the early 90s. DeFrance was a small Colorado company with a tremendous amount of innovation in their packs that anybody in the industry — certainly anybody from Colorado — would be well aware of. We’ve been experimenting with different frame and bag designs since the early 90s ourselves. There are no pack frame implementations on the current market that are particularly innovative or ground breaking. They all look more or less like things that have come before and they all have similarities with each other.
When you’re evaluating which frame system you would like to use, simply look at the details of each system to decide what will work best for you. In the case of the Decker, the differentiating factors are a widely regarded belt and harness system; full width and height plastic framesheet; integrated cargo shelf; 7000 series aluminum stays; extremely capable integrated lash system with multiple attachment points; 300lb chassis capacity. And of course as we always tell folks, specifications are irrelevant. Once you live with something on the trail for real, its relevance or irrelevance to your needs becomes obvious. Our heavy duty chassis system is a favorite of many professional users for a reason.
HPG…Thank you.