Kuiu Karluk 1850 Review

In a world where excellence often involves laser-focus, it’s common to see entire companies dedicated to mastering a single purpose. While Kuiu deliver a broad product catalogue (offering packs, clothing and sleep systems), the remit is kept tight to a sole activity: hunting. Drawing on ultralight principles and developing unique camouflage patterns, Kuiu have built a serious reputation for performance. Their gear rivals that of any technical mountaineering brand, for users hoping to come back carrying more weight than when they set out.

For Kuiu’s ‘No Offseason’ philosophy to succeed, their gear needs to handle serious wet weather. The Karluk is a waterproof rolltop backpack for hunters working near the coastline, riding into their grounds on a boat or ATV, or spending brief periods in the water themselves. That said, it’s less strictly a hunting pack than some of Kuiu’s line, and could work for photographers or conservation workers with similar needs.

Who It Suits

Hunters, adventurers and outdoors professionals working around water.

Who It Doesn’t

Long distance backpackers. Tactical gear junkies who want a pocket for every single item.

Specifications

• 28 x 12 x 8.75 in / 71 x 31 x 22 cm
• 1850 cu in / 30 L
• 2 lb 7.1 oz / 1108g
• 840D Matte Nylon Ether-Type TPU, 840D Hypalon Reinforced Bottom Panelling, Duraflex Buckles, YKK Zipper 
• $179USD

Design

Just glancing at the Karluk, it’s obvious that water resistance is the priority. Even with modern waterproof zips and other technologies, the rolltop remains the simplest and best way to create a seal. I quickly learned to squeeze out excess air from the main compartment, or else it’d simply inflate like a balloon when I tried to close it. Kuiu’s seal sealing is really that good. 

The fabric pulls a lot of weight in this department as well. Although it has a tough, almost ballistic-looking woven look, none of that comes through in touch. Instead the TPU finish is slick and stiff, with water simply bouncing off. It’s also slightly translucent, which keeps the interior bright and contents visible, mercifully.

Between the high denier and the hypalon reinforcement at the base, I had no concerns about my Karluk handling whatever I threw at it, whether that was dragging over wet granite or bouncing around in the back of a Toyota Hilux.

Unboxing the Karluk, I was sceptical about the straps. They are slim and straightforward, with little in the way of adjustment. The simplicity of these straps belies Kuiu’s expertise – on my body they keep the pack high and close to my back, without cutting into my shoulders or wobbling around in movement. There’s a limit to how much weight I’d want to carry without a belt, but up to that point it rode without a problem.

Features

The Karluk is an utterly spartan design: it’s a rolltop with a big, empty space inside, making it perfect for large or odd-shaped gear. When filled up with a casual day’s load things tend to swim around. After a few hours walking, I opened the bag to gaze onto the worst case of ‘gear soup’ I’ve ever come across. Looking inside, the only feature you’ll find is a pair of female buckles, welded behind the shoulder straps. Even after scouring Kuiu’s website, I have no idea what these are for. They don’t seem to match any of the current pack accessories they have on sale, or correspond with any other features on the Karluk. 

Likewise, I couldn’t find much use for the external straps which run through the daisy-chain on the Karluk’s front panel. With the air-tight seal, compressing the pack once it’s closed up simply isn’t an option. The fabric’s slippery property acts as a downside here, since anything tucked behind those straps will slide out after a few steps

For small items, Kuiu have included one external pocket on the pack’s face side, closed with an Aquaguard zip. This is flat, with little volume to itself, and as such I found it hard to use with anything deeper than a notepad. Worse still, being zipped, this pocket isn’t as impermeable as the rest of the pack. After some particularly intense testing, I was disappointed to find that the wool hat I’d stowed inside had soaked.

Performance

Missing quick access might not be so bad for the core user, who will probably keep essentials at-hand using their clothing pockets, or one of Kuiu’s binocular harnesses. The Karluk’s pocketing lingers as a point of frustration for me. If I wanted to take a drink while hiking, I had to drop the pack and unfurl the rolltop to grab my bottle; compared with my friends who could take a draw from their bladder hoses without stopping, it slowed me up a touch. 

That said, when I finally reached a hide, or a spot where I wanted to stop and glass, the rolltop was perfect. The fabric isn’t totally silent, but it’s a world apart from the crinkle of dyneema or x-pac, and ditching any zips or hook-and-loop from the closure means the Karluk will open up quietly, and stay open by itself.

When sealed, the waterproofing on the main compartment is completely reliable. It kept my gear dry when floating in a river or dumped under a waterfall, so I know it’ll handle whatever my adventures might throw at it. 

With its simple straps and flat foam back panel, the suspension isn’t awful, but it’s not top-league either. Kuiu knows this: compare this pack to their super-technical DeltaStorm backpack, and the Karluk’s limitations are obvious. The difference is nearly 2lbs, and over $200, which means this isn’t a straightforward upgrade, but each user will need to decide what they need before buying.

Verdict

If your priority is waterproofing first and everything else second, the Kuiu Karluk is a great backpack. This is the unapologetic focus here, both in the Karluk 1850 and the larger Karluk 3000.

If not, the weak points might outweigh the positives: hunters require a more robust suspension, hikers favour low weight and compression, urbanites will want quicker access to their gear. The truth may be that laser-focus isn’t always the best approach after all.

This article was written by Jed Edwards. Based in east Scotland, Jed’s spent as many nights camping in the highlands as he has crashing on sofas with crusty punk bands. Whether it’s full of hiking gear or science fiction paperbacks, he always has a bag on his back.