Badlands ATX 25 Day Pack
The good folks from Badlands provided me with their new ATX 25 day pack to review. It is a 2500 cubic inch (40 liters) internal frame pack constructed of a two-layer fabric with a DWR coating. It’s available in two camo colors and a solid color—Mud, which is the one I was provided. The fabric is pretty quiet, much like Cordura 500d. It retails for $250. The stated weight is 3.85lbs, but my scale shows 3.5lbs—so it is well under their stated weight. The waist belt is removable if you want to use it as a travel bag or carry-on. The frame consists of two sturdy aluminum stays, 23” in length.
What Badlands says about the ATX 25
“At the top of the All-Terrain Xtreme (ATX) hunting pack hierarchy, you’ll find the head honcho. Leading the lineup with 2,500 cubic inches of storage, a lightweight, yet strong internal frame, comfort-focused, molded foam suspension and a built-in waistbelt, the ATX 25 pack is made for heavier loads and hauling your harvest home”.
The ATX 25 can be seen here.
Testing The Badlands ATX 25
I started using the pack in early July and have put roughly 250 miles on it. I have used it for a combination of single-track trails locally, some scouting, peak bagging, and even a few overnighters.
Badlands designed this first and foremost as a day hunting pack, but with the aluminum stays and padded waist belt/shoulder straps, it could also be used to carry some meat on a successful hunt. I tried out a variety of weights (up to 60 lbs) and found that it carries best when loaded with 35-40 lbs or less. It can be pushed higher, but comfort is going to drop off.
Meat Hauling
To facilitate its use for hauling meat, it has a hunter orange panel at the bottom zipped pocket of the pack. This panel (which attaches at the very top of the pack) can be used as a load shelf, and two cross straps secure it further.
I will add that I have a long torso (19-20”) and require a longer frame to haul weight efficiently. The frame measures 23”; if you have a shorter or even medium torso length, this pack could very well handle more weight for you. For the load lifters to work most efficiently, you need to get some height with the frame in relation to the shoulder strap—2” more frame would help a lot for folks with longer torsos.
Bag Volume and Pockets
Badlands listed the volume as 2500 cubic inches (40 liters). After using this pack a lot, I’m certain that it is for the main bag only. A large-ish zipped pocket on the front (what I would call the rear :)) easily adds another 10 liters of volume. This pocket also contains a zipped mesh pocket where I like to store stuff like a first aid kit, headlamp, etc.
Two roomy side stretch pockets allow storage of water bottles, trekking poles, tripod, etc.
It also is designed to handle a water bladder w/ a sleeve and two ports for the hose.
While not primarily designed for multi-day trips, I found there was plenty of room for 2-3 day trips.
Additional Storage and Lashing Straps
In addition to the two lashing straps on the front of the pack, there are two rows of daisy chains to give you more options for lashing. There are also two lashing straps on the bottom of the pack, where I like to keep my rain gear and a small sit pad.
Badlands also provided me with two waist belt pockets. I like having pockets that are handy and easy to reach for ammo/snacks/etc. The pockets were nicely constructed but could be larger. I use a small J-frame revolver as a general guide to determine if pockets are large enough; these were not.
I also think this pack would benefit greatly from using an inward pull setup for the belt; it is just much easier and more efficient to use with no downside.
Conclusion
In my opinion, this is a very nice little pack (in reality, not so little at ~ 50 liters). It wasn’t designed primarily as a meat hauler, but it could haul some of your meat (possibly all of it with something like a small deer or antelope). This is a day pack that could easily be used year-round and also do double duty as a carry-on/travel bag.
Comment or ask Mike questions here.
To note: Badlands is not a Rokslide advertiser
