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View Full Version : Wilderness Wanderer-put to the test



Krico
09-16-2006, 10:06 AM
Returned from a 10 day trip in the mountains last weekend, had taken along my bro's Wilderness Wanderer pack. Here's my take.
The good:
The fit is nice
Lots of storage on the sides for all those little items

The bad:
Some of the clips used are too small and weak
The bags are held on by a single pin on each side-with a little abuse they become bent and almost impossible to remove
The D shaped section on the bottom of the frame which extends forwards on the sides of your hips constantly hit and catch on rocks, trees etc. This is noisy when trying to put the sneak on game but worse it is dangerous when creeping along steep slopes.

The ugly:
The price!

While I'm sure this pack would be great in some settings, I found that the clips broke easily, it was a pain to use and even dangerous at times. For the price these things demand a much better pack should be delivered IN MY OPINION.

BTW-It was a great hunt, will try to post pics and a story over the coming week. Things are crazy at home and work since my return...

Will
09-16-2006, 12:21 PM
Interesting.....Nice to hear some Honest reports.
I've heard nothing but Good about WW's ? :|

I have a BulPac myself....Strong, lightweight, fairly comfy, cheap......
....and did I mention Strong ? :lol: :lol:
http://www.bullpacs.com/stories/images/mtaylor-lg.jpg

Ozone
09-16-2006, 12:32 PM
Good report and nice pic Will

Will
09-16-2006, 12:48 PM
nice pic Will
Thanks, I stole it from BullPac's site :wink:

But I did carry the wife around the House with it when it showed up:lol: :lol:
Not a True reliability test but at a 105 LBS she's more then I'd like to pack off a Mountain anyways:|

Ozone
09-16-2006, 01:09 PM
What model, how much and were can you buy them?

huntcoop
09-16-2006, 02:05 PM
www.bullpacs.com (http://www.bullpacs.com)

You buy directly from the manufacturer.

kutenay
09-16-2006, 02:21 PM
I have a Bullpac Alaskan and it is the best hard frame pack I have ever used and I have owned a whack of them. I also recommend Kifaru Longhauler/hunter packs and Mystery Ranch NICE or G-packs for hunting.

These will cost you serious coin, but, once you use one, anything else is just a board on your sore back. At 60, I can still backpack for game and these packs are a large part of why I can do that.

Check out:

www.kifaru.net (http://www.kifaru.net)

www.mysteryranch.com (http://www.mysteryranch.com)

The MR NICE frame, Crewcab and 6500 bag plus two longpockets and two fliptop pockets and a Kifaru Gunbearer is THE BEST hunting pack I have ever had, just superb. My partner tried mine on, pitched his Wilderness Wanderer and borrowed it for our Goat trip, I am using my MR BDSB and we are packing today and tomorrow, again, this is THE pack, but, $$$$$$$.

Marc
09-16-2006, 10:57 PM
Thanks, I stole it from BullPac's site :wink:

But I did carry the wife around the House with it when it showed up:lol: :lol:
Not a True reliability test but at a 105 LBS she's more then I'd like to pack off a Mountain anyways:|

If I'm not mistaken that's a picture of Thunderstix from this site. He shot a blacktail and humped it out whole and they posted his picture on their site.

Marc.

Stone Sheep Steve
09-17-2006, 04:37 PM
I've love my WW, BUT i bought it used and had to update a couple of things. The main thing was the plastic clips(fittings) that supported all the weight from the hip belt kept breaking. I sent it off and had them changed over to their newer "ladder-lock" style clips. No problems since. If I didn't train rigorously I may not have found out until I was on a hunt where it could have been disasterous. That's one of the reasons I test new gear BEFORE I'm on a hunt. You need to work out all the bugs and glitches.
Can't wait for you hunt report, Krico!

SSS

Deaddog
10-14-2006, 02:44 PM
Well I purchased my WW this spring, took it on several backpack trips and was happy with it, took it on my caribou hunt and just about burnt it in the fire, straps let go, I couldn't get it set up to get the weight on my hips, the main complaint was that with serious weight the main belting buckle that holds the shoulder straps on would let go, after this hunt I messed around with the pack reset it to fit me , fixed the buckle up, on my sheep/elk hunt we had three WW packs, all worked extremely well and took some serious weight for lengthy periods of time, I believe this pack allows me to pack more weight for longer periods of time. I am not advocating that it is the only pack out there, just that after a lot of "working" on it ie. setting it up it works extremely well for me

BCrams
10-20-2006, 09:19 AM
Straps breaking, buckles breaking ........thats why I own a "Barney" pack.

The Barney is among the best of the best for backpack hunting and we have yet to see any problems from any straps, pins, buckles breaking etc. The "hunter" is all you need for your hunts.

In the last year alone, I have had 2 Wilderness Wanderer owners convert to a Barney and a couple more buy a Barney after seeing my pack.

Like DD, I've heard guys that love their WW ..... but I'll take the Barney.

kutenay
10-20-2006, 09:37 AM
My partner had one, it hurt him last year on our Kootenay Elk hunt and so he borrowed my Mystery Ranch NICE combo to go Moose/Elk hunting on Robt. Yorkes ranch last month. He then bought his own MR NICE rig; these are the most comfortable pack under heavy load that I have used.

I have never seen a Barney's, I certainly have heard many good things about them and would like to try one. It is easier to move large, irregular items, like game quarters, with an external frame, although I find my MR packs best for most things.

I have tried on WWs, they just do not fit me and wiggle around too much, but, "different strokes for different folks".....

BCrams
10-20-2006, 10:33 AM
I have never seen a Barney's, I certainly have heard many good things about them and would like to try one. It is easier to move large, irregular items, like game quarters, with an external frame, although I find my MR packs best for most things.


Full bone in quarters off elk / caribou will fit inside the bags of the Barney pack with plenty of room to spare and there are outside straps to hug the bag / quarter tight to the back as well and fold out seat to support that weight.

They do come with a hefty price tag that exceeds that of the WW.

I have not seen the MR packs. Sounds pretty good.

Hunter's Dad
10-23-2006, 06:45 AM
Bought a Wanderer this year put it through 30 days of packing, several days of 10 plus Km of 80-100 +lbls. Seemed to work out good. Straps moved and needed to be re-adjusted but I also put that to not having it long enough. Overall, I'm impressed. Tried a different pack during the trip with a heavy load and it hurt. I'm glad to have it.

Sorry tried to upload a pic but could not. I was told my file was invalid.???

Thunderstix
10-23-2006, 07:10 AM
Dude! That guy below with the deer is me!! And I am not kidding!


Interesting.....Nice to hear some Honest reports.
I've heard nothing but Good about WW's ? :|

I have a BulPac myself....Strong, lightweight, fairly comfy, cheap......
....and did I mention Strong ? :lol: :lol:
http://www.bullpacs.com/stories/images/mtaylor-lg.jpg

Krico
10-23-2006, 06:48 PM
They do come with a hefty price tag that exceeds that of the WW.

How hefty? And who sells them? Got any pics? I am in the market for a new pack (amongst other things), and tend to research things to death before making a purchase.

reach
10-23-2006, 07:20 PM
Dude! That guy below with the deer is me!! And I am not kidding!
A word to the wise... if you're going to pack a deer like that you should put a bunch of flagging tape on the antlers in case you run into some trigger happy bozo. There are a lot of "shoot first, identify later" types out there...

Caveman
10-23-2006, 08:01 PM
Dude! That guy below with the deer is me!! And I am not kidding!


Thunderstix, I got one question. Why ? :eek: :eek: :eek:

jethrobuddy
10-23-2006, 08:27 PM
Those that can..........Do. Where did you get the pack?

Thunderstix
11-21-2006, 05:27 PM
Don't know where my post went, but I ordered it straight from Bull-Pac. Very nice people!

newhunterette
06-25-2008, 09:17 PM
Peter has had a WW and adds new pockets and attachments each year to it - but he loves the back board - very comfortable and holds out well to lots of weight and use

a man in training
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x185/ioarana/miscellaneous/DSC_0017.jpg
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x185/ioarana/miscellaneous/DSC_0018.jpg
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x185/ioarana/miscellaneous/DSC_0019.jpg

scoot
06-26-2008, 07:33 AM
newhunterette,


That last pic, looks like he stoped and is thinkin, "ah, stepped in Dog shit again!"

newhunterette
06-26-2008, 07:55 AM
newhunterette,


That last pic, looks like he stoped and is thinkin, "ah, stepped in Dog shit again!"

I sort of thought the same thing when I really looked at the pic - then I realized OMG is he ever bull-legged - "Yes I am married to a man with funny legs" the more I look at that pic the more I undertsand his highschool nickname and no I will not reveal it as I would like to live to be 45 hehehehehehe

he purchased a few new additions to attach to the pack since these pics as his has a very big sheep hunt this Septemeber and he wants to be well prepared for it

He had used cheaper packs and they only lasted 1/2 a season - this pack he has had now for about 7-8 years and has never had any trouble with it and finds it very very comfortable no matter what weight is being hauled on the board

tuchodi
06-26-2008, 08:40 AM
There are a few real good packs out there. I own a WW for 10 years and for the most part it has worked well. One thing I didn't like about it at first was there are to many differant adjustments and it took a few large packs with many sore spots before I got it adjusted to my specific body, after that it has been great.