Badlands 2200 upgrade

[Neilbob]

I have a badlands 2200 and am thinking about upgrading soon. I’ve had it for a few years and it’s done okay. Mainly use it as a day pack, but have helped pack out two elk with it. I’ve read that it’s night and day hauling heavy loads between the badlands and higher quality packs. In what way specifically? General comfort, ability to haul more weight, etc.

My hips tend to be the first thing to bother me when carrying weight, so I’m constantly readjusting the belt to shift weight off my hips and to my shoulders. Then when the shoulders get sore, back to the hips. Would a higher quality pack help the hips, or do I just have bad hips? Thanks for any insight.

 

[Marble]

I have a badlands 2200 and am thinking about upgrading soon. I’ve had it for a few years and it’s done okay. Mainly use it as a day pack, but have helped pack out two elk with it. I’ve read that it’s night and day hauling heavy loads between the badlands and higher quality packs. In what way specifically? General comfort, ability to haul more weight, etc.

My hips tend to be the first thing to bother me when carrying weight, so I’m constantly readjusting the belt to shift weight off my hips and to my shoulders. Then when the shoulders get sore, back to the hips. Would a higher quality pack help the hips, or do I just have bad hips? Thanks for any insight.

The bigger badlands packs are not great for heavy loads. If you are uncomfortable with the weight on your hips, it's probably more a reflection of the belt quality. The higher end packs have better belts, frames and suspension systems that make heavy loads much more comfortable.

If you plan on packing out elk, or heavy loads, get something from Kifaru, stone glacier, Exo mystery ranch.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[Run13]

I have a mystery ranch metcalf and love it! Have packed some heavy loads it distributed the weight nicely. As a side note would make sure to have a good pair of trekking poles for pack outs

 

[Eastonsgrandpa]

My first "real" pack was a 2200. It was, as you say, ok. It wasn't great. It was heavy and cumbersome. One opening morning me and a friend got two elk down within fifteen minutes of daylight. Both elk, a cow and a spike, were within thirty feet of each other and we were cutting about a half hour later. He was a much better cutter so I got to hauling quarters. We were within 400 yards of the truck on the side of a steep, thick hill so I had to bust through a lot of trash on each trip. That pack almost ended me a couple times. It was never stable. It would swing on me when going down the first part of the mountain which was the steepest and then when going over deadfall, it was never balanced and I almost went down several times.

We got done with this about a half hour before closing time and I was absolutely done. Took about a week to recover.

That following week I bought my first EXO, a K2. They have steadily gotten better from there. Comfort, balance, and especially the K4 just sticks to your back. It rides where it is supposed to and feels like it is working with you, not against you.

Hauling heavy loads will always suck. But it can definitely suck less. Even just scouting and taking a bag full of cameras and batteries in is so much nicer with a pack that fits well.

 

[Neilbob]

Thanks for the reply’s, that’s helpful. I’m a sucker for a deal and bought a badlands mrk 6 on sale for ~$130 from field supply. Used it this year on a cow elk hunt. It was an improvement over my old 2200, mainly due to the adjustability and meat shelf, but still has plenty of flaws. I’ll upgrade one of these days, but it’ll get the job done for now.

 

[Coveyleader]

There are lots of options out there, but I have put my 2200 through hell and back from mountain goat hunts to many elk hunts. That pack is solid. I have more game packed out with that, than any other pack. Depending on how you hunt, and your future plans, keep running it, or the new one you bought, and get a Kelty frame for the big stuff.

Unless you're really doing pack in trips, what you have with a Kelty frame is all you need regardless of what the pack manufactures claim.