k-way gear: packs and sleeping bags

Hi guys

can anyone give me some insite into the k-way gear, they are having some excellent specials at the moment and since I need some new gear, I thought it great to look at some of thier stuff.

Basically what I'm looking at and would appreciate some comments on are the venture 70

sorry, Issure with PC, here is the reminder of the question:
how comfortable is the pack when laden and over a distance. also does it maintain its comfort over time, or does the sponge thin out over time, if so how long?
also looking at the saffire cowl sleeping bag, any good? lower rating than my present pack and at the price, hard to resist!

any comments would be appreciated!

heath

Summary of my hiking equipment:
- K-Way Venture 70 pack
- K-Way Alpine Cowl sleeping bag
- K-Way hiking shirts
- K-Way trekking pole
- K-Way treklite III tent
- Some other random stuff from other companies

The venture 70 is actually a very big bag in spite of its 70 litre rating, I recently was able to get my entire requirements for a 3 day hike (including the half of my tent that Tony Marshal was not carrying) into it and probably could have added up to 2 days additional food before space would be an issue.

By contrast to other similar packs its fairly light (3.5kg), it has a splash cover, numerous compartments and compression straps. If I had a time machine, I would not change spending R900 on it in 2010 (even though its going for something like R700 at the moment).

I can't comment on the Saphire Cowl, but the Alpine Cowl is an amazing bag, the only reason I use a Mountain Hardware Pinole (which cost me 3 times the price of the Alpine Cowl) is that it is 400g lighter than the Alpine Cowl. The temperature ratings (-2 comfort on the Alpine Cowl and -7 on the Pinole) appear to be misleading as the Alpine Cowl seems to be warmer than the Pinole, its also better when the weather is hotter, so on every front other than weight, K-Way has outdone Mountain Hardware.

Ps. I do NOT work for Cape Union Mart, although the 5% discount I get for being a Mountain Backpackers member doesn't hurt

The equivalent Deuter pack is 3.8kg, so I don't think that is particularly bad. The K-Way pack high on my to-buy list is their Fast-n-lite one - 900g or so, 45 litre bag, for a 2-3 day hike with sleeping in caves or huts that must be awesome!

Thanks

I purchased the sleeping bag today, looking forward to using it and at only R200 and a comfort rating of +2, I am not complaining.

after the advice I think I will get the pack - i am a fan of larger packs, usually end up carrying a lot of gear as I try to take new guys to the berg and get them into it!

How has the pack lasted in terms of comfort?

It has been comfortable (well as comfortable as a backpack can be on the third day of a hike as you slog up Philips Folly), but I don't really have a comparison point as it is the only pack I have ever owned.

At the moment I hike with a traveller pack, so I think anything will be more comfortable.

I have been a bit silly and tried a Deuter pack which is phenomenal in terms of comfort, but it costs around 3 times the special price of the K-way, will have to settle with the K-way, dont have R2200 to spend on a pack!