review: kifaru g2 woobie.

[JV3]

Very nice, thanks for the pics! Just got my coyote/MC woobie a couple weeks ago, and I haven't had a chance to try it out outside, but I often find it too warm for just lying around in bed. It's a weird feeling because it's so lightweight but provides so much warmth, quite different from a regular blanket. It compresses down really well, which I like, I can get it into a Snugpak jungle bag compression sack, and compress it further using the straps if I ever needed to.

Definitely a solid piece of kit, I think it'll become a mainstay for warmish-weather nights out, especially as I try and drop my base pack weight down:thumbup:

you're welcome! i have a down comforter but i actually use the woobie and now the doobie even at home since it feels so nice.

great review sir. I been looking at picking up a doobie for a minute now.

thanks. as a head's up, these are usually made to order so you'll have to wait about 2 weeks or so before it ships out.

Good update JV3! Quite timely as well...I sit here typing up some SITREPs and the "mail man" just dropped off my new multicam Woobie (it's still in the box and I haven't had a chance to open it). I also have the 20 degree Slick bag on order, so that will get some use before it heats up too much here in A'stan and I return home. That Doobie is much larger and would make sense being at a simlar rating to the 20 degree bag.

On a side note, our OCP uniforms have a very muted multicam pattern. I think it's in large part to the fire-retardent material, but they almost looked faded yet they're brand new. They also have been treated with permethrin to last a dozen washes or so. I've been sold on muticam for a long time. It's effective just about anywhere...including in jungle-like environments like rain forests or down in the SE and swampy areas...especially in the winter. It's much like the muted brown of a deer...quite effective here in A'Stan and most definately in the city where smoke, smog and piles of trash provide concealment:barf:

ROCK6

thanks! see if yours is wrapped in an orange plastic bag too - i saved mine please let me know how you like the 20 degree bag. i'm thinking of getting either that or the 0 degree bag for next winter if a doobie & woobie isn't warm enough in the 20s for me.

 

[Diomedes Industries]

Nice review. Is that a Fiddleback Arete I spy?

TF

 

[Rotte]

The kifaru is pricey, but I have really enjoyed mine (G1). I keep it in the car in the winter, take it on road trips, and use it for warm weather camping. I can't say it is 500% better than the GI version, but the little bit better utility makes it worth it...I guess. I'd get another one should this one quit on me.

 

[JV3]

Nice review. Is that a Fiddleback Arete I spy?

TF

thanks! it's indeed an arete. tonym was nice enough to bring it for me when we did an overnighter last year. you did great on that knife's design! it's one of the few knives in my very short list of must have's.

 

[RoyalM]

Very thorough and well documented review. I go back and forward on buying one of these but reviews like this are pushing me firmly into the 'when' not 'if' camp.

 

[Starlight1967]

My only problems are a) they didn't have the cool multi cam colour when I got mine, and b) I find it's almost too warm- it doesn't feel like it should be as warm as it is.

 

[JV3]

Very thorough and well documented review. I go back and forward on buying one of these but reviews like this are pushing me firmly into the 'when' not 'if' camp.

happy to hear you find it useful. the doobie is huge so i already ordered the compression stuff sack for both and will update this page with before and after when i get it - shipment is in two weeks.

My only problems are a) they didn't have the cool multi cam colour when I got mine, and b) I find it's almost too warm- it doesn't feel like it should be as warm as it is.

easy fixes: krylon and sleep in your undies

 

[JV3]

the doobie is a lot fluffier than i was expecting, even when stuffed in it's sack, so i bought the regulator #1 compression sack for it and the 3-string large for the woobie. product page: https://kifaru.net/stuffsack.html...3-string on top of the regulator:

g2 doobie compressed on the left (i didn't stuff it in it's sack before putting it inside the compression sack) and g2 woobie in it's stuff sack on the right:

built-in pocket for the compression strings:

the regulator's compression strings have built-in finger pull loops:

tie-down loops on the back:

...and on the front:

itw line loc buckles - it actually works just as well as the ladder-type, flat webbing. no slipping at all (i cranked it down as tight as i can!) and it's very easy to release the pressure.

the compressed doobie fits perfectly in the bottom of my zxr:

 

[JV3]

g2 woobie inside the 3-string large:

it only has the tie down loops on the back:

my only beef with kifaru - the 3-string sacks don't have finger loops. i'll sew my own loops later since it does help a lot when cranking it down tight. their reason for eliminating it is to save weight and bulk but that's b.s. they're nickle and diming customers on an already pricey item...sigh.

field expedient fix is to carve a notch on a piece of wood:

...works well as a pull knob!

the compressed woobie gives enough room for my canteen at the bottom of the zxr:

both have grab handles:

another i'd like to compress is the rei camp pillows:

there's two of them inside...sweetness.

one pillow compressed compared to it's original bulk:

the compression sacks are actually a good test of kifaru's fabric and stitching durability since it's being stretched to the limit on every use. i cranked them down tight but so far no damage.

 

[DevilsKnob]

I'm actually surprised the Woobie didn't go down smaller than that. Someone else here said you could fit a Woobie into the compression sack for a Snugpak Jungle Bag, which I have, and I think that sack gets smaller than the Kifaru three pull did in your pictures. The Jungle Bag sack does compress from the top and bottom, and is pretty narrow, though.

 

[JV3]

I'm actually surprised the Woobie didn't go down smaller than that. Someone else here said you could fit a Woobie into the compression sack for a Snugpak Jungle Bag, which I have, and I think that sack gets smaller than the Kifaru three pull did in your pictures. The Jungle Bag sack does compress from the top and bottom, and is pretty narrow, though.

it got compressed roughly about 50% (the pic on the previous page shows the original height). i'm happy with that since the woobie isn't that bulky to begin with and i'm fine without the compression sack for it actually. on the other hand, the doobie definitely needs a compression sack since it's almost as big as my 20 degree bag. both of them takes up almost all my pack space (it's too late in the season for me to buy a 0 degree bag so i'm using the doobie for now to stretch my sleeping bag's capability).

 

[ROCK6]

thanks! see if yours is wrapped in an orange plastic bag too - i saved mine please let me know how you like the 20 degree bag. i'm thinking of getting either that or the 0 degree bag for next winter if a doobie & woobie isn't warm enough in the 20s for me.

Will do; I figured the 20 degree bag will work for me for the more extreme temperatures in the SE. If we head up into the mountains, the Gore-Tex bivi bag and added Woobie will get me comfortably down to 0 degrees.

I'm actually surprised the Woobie didn't go down smaller than that. Someone else here said you could fit a Woobie into the compression sack for a Snugpak Jungle Bag, which I have, and I think that sack gets smaller than the Kifaru three pull did in your pictures. The Jungle Bag sack does compress from the top and bottom, and is pretty narrow, though.

Yes, my G1 Woobie fit inside a the Jungle Bag compression sack…it’s a tight fit though. I have s lightly larger compression bag (Sea to Summit extra small) and it works like a charm.

ROCK6