I'm not sure what prompted me to get down to a single pack- too many in the garage, striving towards some kind of minimalism, the "boss" telling I had too many packs 
, not really sure. But I am now the owner of a single pack.
The packs I owned I liked and they worked. I had a couple of very ultralight packs (sub 16 oz) for short/fast backpacking trips. But I'm finding myself doing less of those type trips, they were the first to get cut.
It got more difficult from that point.
I owned a couple of different "normal" backpacking packs- most in the 40-50-ish liter range. These were still pretty light packs, but had frames of some sort and carried typical backpacking loads much better than the frameless ones above. After several different packs, I finally settled on a Seek Outside Flight for "general" backpacking duty. Great pack.
I've been rocking a Stone Glacier frame (and a few different bags) for almost 8 years. I never even considered another hunting frame/bag they performed so well.
A couple of years ago I purchased a Seek Outside Divide for use outside of hunting season for winter trips (where I typically need more volume) and longer backpacking trips. I was very impressed with this pack, not ultralight, but light and carried really well.
The Seek Outside Flight while perfect for what I intended for it, wouldn't work for hunting and didn't have enough volume for winter & longer trips. It went.
So now did I have a pack remaining that I could use year round, including hauling meat when needed.
I know several guys that run SO frames/bags for hunting. I conferred with them, as well as several folks on this site. At the end of the day, I was convinced that my Divide could work for hunting.
My other option was to keep rocking the SG and use it year round. I know for a fact that it would have worked.
In the end, I gave the Divide the nod as it's closing in on a couple of pounds lighter.
Will I be regretting thinning the herd down to one pack, very possibly, but in the name of science I'm going to give it a go
Now I find myself eyeballing the gun safe- beware the man with one rifle
, not really sure. But I am now the owner of a single pack. The packs I owned I liked and they worked. I had a couple of very ultralight packs (sub 16 oz) for short/fast backpacking trips. But I'm finding myself doing less of those type trips, they were the first to get cut.
It got more difficult from that point.
I owned a couple of different "normal" backpacking packs- most in the 40-50-ish liter range. These were still pretty light packs, but had frames of some sort and carried typical backpacking loads much better than the frameless ones above. After several different packs, I finally settled on a Seek Outside Flight for "general" backpacking duty. Great pack.
I've been rocking a Stone Glacier frame (and a few different bags) for almost 8 years. I never even considered another hunting frame/bag they performed so well.
A couple of years ago I purchased a Seek Outside Divide for use outside of hunting season for winter trips (where I typically need more volume) and longer backpacking trips. I was very impressed with this pack, not ultralight, but light and carried really well.
The Seek Outside Flight while perfect for what I intended for it, wouldn't work for hunting and didn't have enough volume for winter & longer trips. It went.
So now did I have a pack remaining that I could use year round, including hauling meat when needed.
I know several guys that run SO frames/bags for hunting. I conferred with them, as well as several folks on this site. At the end of the day, I was convinced that my Divide could work for hunting.
My other option was to keep rocking the SG and use it year round. I know for a fact that it would have worked.
In the end, I gave the Divide the nod as it's closing in on a couple of pounds lighter.
Will I be regretting thinning the herd down to one pack, very possibly, but in the name of science I'm going to give it a go
Now I find myself eyeballing the gun safe- beware the man with one rifle
