Re: Recommend Hunting Backpack
Originally Posted by
dak0ta
Main purpose is for day pack for packing out meat. Plan to hunt deer and moose.
Pretty much anything will work for a day pack, depending on your hunting terrain. The key questions will be 'What do you plan to pack out, where from and where to?" The reason for that is it determines how many 'shuttles' (trips back and forth between the kill site and the closest point you can get motorised transport to) you make and how much load is on each one. With a deer, unless its a monster mulie, you are probably on one trip. With a moose or elk, you will either need a few good buddies to help share the load (and they will also need capable packs) or you are doing a lot of shuttles with a lot of weight. That is where having a solid pack really makes a difference and when you've packed out a few loads, it also determines how you hunt and where/when you hunt.
Originally Posted by
dak0ta
Having a pack that can hold your gun, is that really a big deal? I like having my rifle/shotgun in my 2 hands at all times unless traversing a fence. Otherwise it's slung.
Yes, it is for me, but most packs with external straps will hold a rifle. Again, it depends on the type of terrain you hunt. For me, the elk terrain I hunt often requires both feet and hands to climb or descend. A slung rifle just smacks you in the head all the time. It's really an 'it depends' answer.
I've had the Eberlestock J107 which I liked and I also tried the Kifaru stuff which I also really likes but in the end I went with the EXO 5500. It is definitely comfortable for heavy loads but a wider, external frame freighter pack is looking likely after this years elk packouts just for the bulk. The EXO struggled to contain two boned-out rear elk quarters plus gear. Pack weight was 158lb (yes, I do have pics) but it was unstable although I doubt it was ever designed for those loads. It handled a bone-in rear quarter and boned-out front quarter (about 90lb) well though. I did a remote solo hunt where I had to pack in water and that was 102lb and it was flawless.
The EXO has just got updated to a K3 frame (I have the K2) and is adjustable to fit. It has a bunck of extras that you can get, I use the meat hauler shelf and the Slurpy Stalker water bladder so I can drop the bag and still be able to haul meat and have water available. The Kifaru depends on buying different backplates to adjust which was teh one thing that put me off it. If I lend a pack to a buddy, I want to adjust it quickly.
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