Blue Widow ???

[mtbshark]

Hey all new to the forum and pretty new to hunting and especially with a bow.

So i heard good things about the blue widow pack, but since it seems like they are not to liked.
Why is this, what is wrong with it?
I have tried it out and it seems real comfortable, now I know that it is not a carry 300lbs weighing in at 3oz pack. Is that why every one seems to want to get rid of or talk out of getting.

thanks

 

[Yukondog]

I had a j34 which is similar to the blue widow. For me the belt was horrible and it had zero shoulder lift. With anything greater than 40lbs it was not pleasant to carry. The idea behind the packs is great but the function of the pack under a load lacked for me.

Matt

 

[mtbshark]

explain shoulder lift please.

I did notice that the one i tried with med shoulder straps set in lowest position it still felt like i was sandwiched between the bag and straps.

all my backpacking packs are med in size.

 

[littlebuf]

eberlestocks in general don't handle really heavy loads very well.they can be decent packs but when its time for some heavy work it puts it all on your shoulders and wears you out fast.not to mention hurts.my experience any way

 

[Yukondog]

For me shoulder lift is the packs ability to remove the heavy weight from your shoulders and place it all on your hips. Hence the need for a good fitting belt and functional load lifters. Doing a 80lb + shrug while walking thru the wilderness gets extremely tiresome to me.

Matt

 

[tradair1980]

From my experience with the Blue widow is the only thing it is good for is heavy hauling. It was a super stiff pack felt like a frame pack . But man can haul the wieght!

 

[ohhiitznik]

My blue widow didn't have functional load lifters for me even adjusted for the longest torso length. My torso is 20 inches.

 

[Brandon Pattison]

I had a Blue Widow, sold it. I ordered a DT1. For the price used it is a good pack unless you are lucky enough to get ahold of a used Kifaru. I never loaded it with meat so I don't know about the limitations of it being inadequate with a lot of weight. The quality of the pack was lacking compared to ALICE packs that I was accustomed to. To me, it looked liked a beginner welded it up vs. someone that did it for the past 5 years. The tightness of the stitching was loose. The idea of the pack is great but when you put it all together it is heavy. It is a bit wide but actually the weight laid out like this is closer to your back vs. the 'barreled' type.

 

[Ryan Avery]

The Blue Widow is a very tough pack. Its not very comfortable past 50 pound, but it will get you up and down the mountain with your load! I had a blue widow and sold it to a friend. The pack has taken a beating. It on elk number 7. The pack gets really wide when you stuff it full. I felt like a mutant ninja turtle

 

[Lawnboi]

Ill throw in my 2 cents on this.

The blue widow is a very well built pack for the price, but imo its got limitations.

A few things i liked about it was the layout for a daypack, along with its build quality. I did get some functional lift out of it since im so short.

A few things i didnt like about it was the suspension. The hipbelt felt really stiff to me, and that caused my hip bones to get pretty roughed up (it may be my lack of padding around the waist) Iv since gotten kifaru and thier waist belt fixed that problem. It also bruised up my back some because of the lack of padding. Next thing i didnt like about the BW was the way it expanded, all around it made things feel akward. Along with that the space availiable to use was kind of limiting to me with all the different compartments.

If your planning on using this for a daypack w/ the occasional packout, i think its a great pack. I wouldnt reccomend it to be used as a backpack hunting pack though where your carrying alot of gear for miles. To me it lost all its comfort after about 40lbs. It was even uncomfortable with your average backpacking load.

 

[dotman]

Pick up or order the latest issue of Extreme Elk, Aron just did a pack review that might help you decide on a pack. I had a blue widow and my only complaint was non functional lifters but I also have a 20" torso. Other then that it was great but almost 3 times heavier then my new pack (kifaru ku5200) that is larger then the blue widow.

On another note once you get all the acccesories for another $100 or so you can get into a kifaru, not a T1 but a good pack of similar size.

 

[hunting1]

Heavy day pack, well made, carries like a drunk hooker on your back with any weight over 50-lbs. If you have a short torso it will work well. I owned a J104 1st gen, second gen, 105, and a Blue widow. Results were about the same with all. Good luck and i hope it works for you, but in my opinion if cost is the issue the Horn Hunter Full Curl is a great pack!

 

[JG358]

All in all, mine wasnt a bad pack. I liked the overall design, bit on the heavy side for its size and it sucked when the framsheet(if you can really call it that) buckled on me when I had about 50 lbs in the pack.

 

[ozyclint]

i've got one and like it now that i've done some mods to it. this pack NEEDS to have some straps from the lower pack body to the waist belt. soon as i made some for it it stops the swaying under load. a few other minor personal preference things and it suits me for my daypack/short tripper that carries out meat. i would not use it on extended trips though. it gets too wide when loaded with heaps of gear.

 

[hflier]

You will find most went from the Blue Widow to a Kifaru pack because of the lack of load lifter on the shoulders and the hib belt comfort. Save money and spend more on a used Kifaru Longhunter or Timberline. You will never need another pack.

 

[Broken Arrow]

I love my widow. Hauls heavy loads well. I'm far from an expert but for the money I think it's a good deal. Sounds to me like it fits us short guys better (I'm 5.8")

 

[larryschwartz]

Shoulder Lifters...an explanation

mtbshark,

Here is the skinny on shoulder lifters or "load lifters". First off, they don't lift the load at all, they lift the shoulder straps off of your shoulders so that they don't press downward on your shoulders/trapezious. A more accurate name would be to call the shoulder strap lifters, but load lifter talks about the weight being lifted off of your shoulders since it is now resting on the waist belt instead.



The load lifters consist of a strap that runs from the top of your pack frame (either internal or external frame packs) and connects to the the top/front of your shoulder straps. They only work for you if 1) you have a good waist belt that will support the majority of weight in the pack, and 2) your pack is tall enough to position the end that is attached to the pack ABOVE your shoulders by a couple of inches or more so that they can pull the shoulder strap up a little bit and lift it off of your shoulders. The idea is to use the waist belt to support the weight of the pack and the shoulder straps to keep it snug against your body so that it doesn't fall backwards or move from side to side.

Here is a picture that illustrates what it looks like and the good range of angles for the load lifters. If you look at the pack fitting sections of the major pack manufacturers you will see a more detailed description of what load lifters are and how they work.



So, any discussion of load lifters also illustrates some important aspects of any pack selection. First, each pack is designed for a specific set of purposes and functions. It might be designed as a lightweight day pack, in which case it may not be good for regularly 0hauling out a game animal or be as rugged as you need for your type of hunting. Second, if you are going to be carrying more than say 20# in your pack for any period of time or over varied terrain you will probably want to have a pack with a good waist belt to help carry the weight. And, third, everyone has a different torso length (the distance from the top of your hipbone to the base of your neck, and two people who are the same height can have very different torso lengths, so knowing what your own measurement is important. If you want your load lifters to work you will need to use a pack whose top is above your shoulders by a couple of inches or more. This is why some people get great results from a Blue Widow (they have a shorter torso length) and others think it sucks (they have a longer torso length).

As you research packs you will see that most packs have this issue, that due to their length/height some people think they are great and others think they are terrible. The pack isn't necessarily bad, it just doesn't fit the owner properly.

 

[hunting1]

Great explanation Larry! 5'-8" you have alot more options than the 6'-2" person for sure. Some do not like their packs above the shoulder which is fine for a day pack, but I do not miss the sore shoulders!

 

[larryschwartz]

hunting1,

Like I said, each pack is designed for a specific set of purposes, so if you don't want to carry heavy weights then get one that is below your shoulders, if you do then you will likely want one that has the extra height (and room for all of that meat) anyway.

 

[hunting1]

Yep, I speak from owning mostr all the Ebers and run Kifaru's. I learned the expensive and hard way. Truth is most never carry meat, so about any pack will work for carrying gear,but why have sore shoulders. If the J107 works, then go with it. The worst for ME was the MR Crew Cab or the one in my signature!