Hey Guys, Hoping to get some feedback and help from the community.
To start I bought an Alps OutdoorZ Traverse backpack when I 1st got into hunting as a budget option as I wasn't sure hunting was going to be a long term hobby. For the most part the pack has been OK for day trips and carrying my gear but is lacking in a few features. This was the 1st year I got into back country hunting where I am packing in 1-3 days of gear and hunted miles away from my house for a few days at a time.
I shot my 1st deer where I had to pack it out on my back and this is where I realized that there has to be a better system. I've found that where I hunt there is a much larger population of deer 3-7 miles back and want to be able to hunt them moving forward.
I am looking for a pack where I can easily pack in 1-3 days of gear and be able to pack out an animal if I am successful. I am hooked when it comes to hunting and now realize I will be doing it for the rest of my life and would like a pack that will last a long time and be a lot more comfortable in these situations.
I've spend the past few weeks researching backpacks and think I have it narrowed down some.
I have heard nothing but good things from the Kifaru Stryker XL, Helbender or the Exo Mtn K3 system.
I've read through a lot of reviews and threads here on the site.
It sounds like I can't really go wrong with either choice, but want to get some feedback from you guys that have used these packs or if there is anything else I should be considering.
When I shot my deer this year, with 2 nights of gear as well the packout ended up being roughly 95 lbs which was brutal by the end of it. The weak link was 100% my pack, my legs and back weren't sore at all but I had a ton of pain on my shoulders the last few miles as I couldn't get the pack to stay tight around my waste with that much weight.
Looking forward to any feedback or advice you guys can give as I finish out the research phase of this process.
Picture of my pack-out this year, total noob but we made it work. I realize now after the fact, there is more that I could have done with the load itself to make it a bit easier but not a ton of adjustability with this pack to help out.
To start I bought an Alps OutdoorZ Traverse backpack when I 1st got into hunting as a budget option as I wasn't sure hunting was going to be a long term hobby. For the most part the pack has been OK for day trips and carrying my gear but is lacking in a few features. This was the 1st year I got into back country hunting where I am packing in 1-3 days of gear and hunted miles away from my house for a few days at a time.
I shot my 1st deer where I had to pack it out on my back and this is where I realized that there has to be a better system. I've found that where I hunt there is a much larger population of deer 3-7 miles back and want to be able to hunt them moving forward.
I am looking for a pack where I can easily pack in 1-3 days of gear and be able to pack out an animal if I am successful. I am hooked when it comes to hunting and now realize I will be doing it for the rest of my life and would like a pack that will last a long time and be a lot more comfortable in these situations.
I've spend the past few weeks researching backpacks and think I have it narrowed down some.
I have heard nothing but good things from the Kifaru Stryker XL, Helbender or the Exo Mtn K3 system.
I've read through a lot of reviews and threads here on the site.
It sounds like I can't really go wrong with either choice, but want to get some feedback from you guys that have used these packs or if there is anything else I should be considering.
When I shot my deer this year, with 2 nights of gear as well the packout ended up being roughly 95 lbs which was brutal by the end of it. The weak link was 100% my pack, my legs and back weren't sore at all but I had a ton of pain on my shoulders the last few miles as I couldn't get the pack to stay tight around my waste with that much weight.
Looking forward to any feedback or advice you guys can give as I finish out the research phase of this process.
Picture of my pack-out this year, total noob but we made it work. I realize now after the fact, there is more that I could have done with the load itself to make it a bit easier but not a ton of adjustability with this pack to help out.
