MtnBoy
02-13-2012, 01:34 AM
On the request of a lot of HBC'ers I put together a bit of info and opinion on McHale Packs.
This comes with a disclaimer...this is what works for me...
I am a gear-freak (like the “trim your shoelaces kind”) and selecting my ultimate long-haul sheep pack for me has brought me to Dan McHale. Not too much info out there on McHale Packs (get a new website Dan!) as Dan sews only a few packs a year for customers.
Here's bit of info on these...
One of my sheep clients (and a fellow gear freak) showed up last year with a McHales. I noticed many little things that I always wished I had (and didn't have). Please remember this is what works for me and my style of hunting...not interested starting any fires.
The M.R packs have great construction. And so do the Barneys. For my use, strictly long-haul sheep backpack hunts, both of these packs have some things that could be improved on:
The padding on the Barneys shoulder and waist belt is very thick...too thick. (yes, i've owned one) Dan pointed out this is the most common solution manufacturers come up with to increase comfort. Under heavy loads, this causes one to really tighten the waistbelt to get it to seat properly on the iliac crest. Too tight of a waistbelt will lead to its own set of issues. The Barneys is also big...reallllly big and unwieldy. When I was brush-bustin' it sticks out on both sides of me so it felt like trying to drag a sheet of plywood through the thick bush. If I'm getting eaten by a grizzly bear this is the pack to hide under (or in, cuz you can fit)...
Looking at the M.Ranch...the main thing that bothered me was the tiny Dora-the-Explorer daypack lid. This was just extra weight for me. Both aformentioned packs are not custom packs just factory packs with an adjustable yoke (M.R). Don’t bother trying to order a MR Kodiak with a built in possibles pouch on the waist belt…you can’t. And why couldn’t they do that anyways? This pack has packed out lots of sheep and their associated parts and I like it for the price.
My Kifaru Longhunter was very narrow so it packed really high…as I never have things ‘hanging’ on to the outside of the pack. I wore it out literally (as well as the skin in my lumbar region).
So...I phoned Dan McHale and began my McHale Experience: First off, you speak with Dan himself! Every single time I've dealt with this company you deal with Dan himself...emails, phone messages, showing up in person...solely Dan. And fitting is not a 10 minute ordeal...its like 2 hours! This guy has more attention to gear detail than me! It makes you appreciate how custom one of these packs really is. You send him a bunch of your body measurements, he sends you a demo pack to use and a DVD on how to fit it properly. Then you test it, send it back down and he sews the pack to your specs. I was down in Seattle so I stopped in at Dans guerilla-style ‘factory’. I asked him what sets his packs apart from the others…ah…big mistake…An hour later he was still going on about the stitching thread/buckles/bypass harness/foams/fillers/materials. I was impressed and humbled in his knowledge these things.
Pack building with McHale can be overwhelming…I chose different materials for different parts of the pack. I went with Dyneema/Spectra/Cuben materials to keep the pack light yet bombproof. Also you can choose shoulder strap widths/materials, any color combo, pockets, lids and different pack configurations. Fortunately I have used many of the ‘top’ brands and know exactly what works and what doesn’t for me. You want extra loops here and there no prob. A pocket sewn ½ inch to the left, no prob etc…
I ended up ordering a CMII with bayonettes, Dyneema/Spectra dyed green (sorry T), with double waistbelt cams. The expectation is to have a 7 pound pack (I had originally budgeted 8.5 but it looks like it will come in lighter than the MR Kodiak) with capabilities to go big or small (remove bayonettes).
In the end my 12-day fully rigged pack with gun/shells will be 51 Lbs. It will allow me to change the pack to match the conditions, carry meat loads boned in/out and shrink it down to a large daypack for motoring up top.
Oh, I forgot to add: Do not tell your wife the cost of this pack. That is a no no.
This comes with a disclaimer...this is what works for me...
I am a gear-freak (like the “trim your shoelaces kind”) and selecting my ultimate long-haul sheep pack for me has brought me to Dan McHale. Not too much info out there on McHale Packs (get a new website Dan!) as Dan sews only a few packs a year for customers.
Here's bit of info on these...
One of my sheep clients (and a fellow gear freak) showed up last year with a McHales. I noticed many little things that I always wished I had (and didn't have). Please remember this is what works for me and my style of hunting...not interested starting any fires.
The M.R packs have great construction. And so do the Barneys. For my use, strictly long-haul sheep backpack hunts, both of these packs have some things that could be improved on:
The padding on the Barneys shoulder and waist belt is very thick...too thick. (yes, i've owned one) Dan pointed out this is the most common solution manufacturers come up with to increase comfort. Under heavy loads, this causes one to really tighten the waistbelt to get it to seat properly on the iliac crest. Too tight of a waistbelt will lead to its own set of issues. The Barneys is also big...reallllly big and unwieldy. When I was brush-bustin' it sticks out on both sides of me so it felt like trying to drag a sheet of plywood through the thick bush. If I'm getting eaten by a grizzly bear this is the pack to hide under (or in, cuz you can fit)...
Looking at the M.Ranch...the main thing that bothered me was the tiny Dora-the-Explorer daypack lid. This was just extra weight for me. Both aformentioned packs are not custom packs just factory packs with an adjustable yoke (M.R). Don’t bother trying to order a MR Kodiak with a built in possibles pouch on the waist belt…you can’t. And why couldn’t they do that anyways? This pack has packed out lots of sheep and their associated parts and I like it for the price.
My Kifaru Longhunter was very narrow so it packed really high…as I never have things ‘hanging’ on to the outside of the pack. I wore it out literally (as well as the skin in my lumbar region).
So...I phoned Dan McHale and began my McHale Experience: First off, you speak with Dan himself! Every single time I've dealt with this company you deal with Dan himself...emails, phone messages, showing up in person...solely Dan. And fitting is not a 10 minute ordeal...its like 2 hours! This guy has more attention to gear detail than me! It makes you appreciate how custom one of these packs really is. You send him a bunch of your body measurements, he sends you a demo pack to use and a DVD on how to fit it properly. Then you test it, send it back down and he sews the pack to your specs. I was down in Seattle so I stopped in at Dans guerilla-style ‘factory’. I asked him what sets his packs apart from the others…ah…big mistake…An hour later he was still going on about the stitching thread/buckles/bypass harness/foams/fillers/materials. I was impressed and humbled in his knowledge these things.
Pack building with McHale can be overwhelming…I chose different materials for different parts of the pack. I went with Dyneema/Spectra/Cuben materials to keep the pack light yet bombproof. Also you can choose shoulder strap widths/materials, any color combo, pockets, lids and different pack configurations. Fortunately I have used many of the ‘top’ brands and know exactly what works and what doesn’t for me. You want extra loops here and there no prob. A pocket sewn ½ inch to the left, no prob etc…
I ended up ordering a CMII with bayonettes, Dyneema/Spectra dyed green (sorry T), with double waistbelt cams. The expectation is to have a 7 pound pack (I had originally budgeted 8.5 but it looks like it will come in lighter than the MR Kodiak) with capabilities to go big or small (remove bayonettes).
In the end my 12-day fully rigged pack with gun/shells will be 51 Lbs. It will allow me to change the pack to match the conditions, carry meat loads boned in/out and shrink it down to a large daypack for motoring up top.
Oh, I forgot to add: Do not tell your wife the cost of this pack. That is a no no.