complete heresy - one pack only

Joined
Nov 25, 2016
Messages
3,721
Location
Utah
So funny! Canteen on your belt, bdu pockets with snacks. Froze your butt off in the morning because you didn’t want too heavy of a jacket to lug later after it warmed up and when it did you tied the sleeves around your waist to carry it. 🤣
All true, I fell asleep in a snow drift one time as I made a cut out from the wind and woke up wet, cold and confused, at dark. Started heading out following the creek's direction of flowing. Problem was I was at an area where it curved 180 degrees in the wrong direction. I ended up several miles further away. I got chewed out by family when I finally made it back around 10:00 pm. I was 15.
 
Joined
Nov 25, 2016
Messages
3,721
Location
Utah
Yeah but packing out the meat in your pockets is a bit tedious.
heresy, we drug our white tails .
lol
I even thru a little guy and my shoulders once and carried it to my dirt bike where I set it on seat and sat on him the whole ride back to the cabin. Don't need no stinking packs. packs are for sissies. Don't be a sissy.
Wait.......... I have several packs now. But I am hunting elk. I did drag 1 spike elk with a buddy. Never again.
 

Geronibro

FNG
Joined
Dec 3, 2020
Messages
34
Location
CT
I love this thread @mtwarden. I’m new to western hunting but I am a minimalist by nature. A do it all pack that would work for backpacking here in the east with friends and backpack hunting out west is something I’ve been thinking about for a while.

I currently have a Kifaru 14’R for overnight camping in CT but I’ve been looking at the SO packs because of your decision to keep the divide.
 

WyoKid

WKR
Joined
Aug 6, 2019
Messages
312
Funny, that is exactly the same rifle I have. Gifted to me, used, as my first “big” (non-.22) rifle. I’ve looked around but haven’t found any reason to expand beyond that…
That is cool - I don't find many folks with the old Ruger M77s. Other than a trigger job to 2.75 lbs and putting a featherweight stock, it has never let me down. I've shot everything from prairie dogs to moose with it. And, I like the tang safety as it sits conveniently at my thumb for quick shots. Over the years I toyed around with the thoughts of a new rifle, a custom Tikka, Weatherby, Nosler or Christian Arms or going to a .300 Win or 6.5 Creedmore but there just was no real good reason to do so.
 

wceatmon

FNG
Joined
Nov 18, 2020
Messages
11
I love this thread @mtwarden. I’m new to western hunting but I am a minimalist by nature. A do it all pack that would work for backpacking here in the east with friends and backpack hunting out west is something I’ve been thinking about for a while.

I currently have a Kifaru 14’R for overnight camping in CT but I’ve been looking at the SO packs because of your decision to keep the divide.
Agreed, super fun thread. I ended up going with the SO Lanner when I was still living in NC. I've put more backpacking miles on the pack than hunting miles and have zero regrets. Decided to pair down the guns too before moving west and now just stick with the trusty .270 for everything. About the only place I don't use the SO pack is on the ski hill lol
 

Kevin_t

WKR
Rokslide Sponsor
Joined
Dec 2, 2012
Messages
1,162
Location
Colorado
Agreed, super fun thread. I ended up going with the SO Lanner when I was still living in NC. I've put more backpacking miles on the pack than hunting miles and have zero regrets. Decided to pair down the guns too before moving west and now just stick with the trusty .270 for everything. About the only place I don't use the SO pack is on the ski hill lol
That is what the Flight is for :) .. I actually use them Ski touring a lot .. but I respect your one pack desires so no worries .
 

wceatmon

FNG
Joined
Nov 18, 2020
Messages
11
That is what the Flight is for :) .. I actually use them Ski touring a lot .. but I respect your one pack desires so no worries .
Send a Flight my way and I'll rock it at Mammoth every weekend this season! 😜

Love your pack, thanks for a quality product!
 

Hippie Steve

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jul 8, 2022
Messages
202
Location
Montana
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 :D, 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 :ROFLMAO:
I ran into the same situation. I run one pack all the time. A Stone Glacier Sky Guide 7900. My hunts are no less than 7 days to 14 days and it will handle anything the horses and I can throw at it. Less is more when you are deep in my experience.
 

Rwplummer

FNG
Joined
Jul 13, 2022
Messages
11
I have a few packs, but when it comes to use, I am effectively a one pack guy. Kifaru Stryker. I can haul ladder stands, pack in for elk or mule deer hunts, excellent for day hunts, hauling sand bags around my local area, etc. It does everything I want, and does it really well.
My Stryker works great for me for everything I need it to do.
 

Rokwiia

WKR
Joined
Nov 12, 2016
Messages
886
Location
In the mountains
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 :)

No you won't.

The good news, as you already know, is you can separately buy a bag. I have the SO Gila that I use as my daypack and for an overnight. I separately bought a Unaweep 6,300 (bag only) that I can swap in and use for an extended trip in cold weather or when I carry a lot of equipment.

My first SO pack was a Revolution 6,300 and I was content to use that on all of my hikes except quick day trips with almost no gear.

Your Divide rolls down into almost nothing, as does my Unaweep, and the weight penalty compared to a small pack is 2oz-4oz. I'll take that all day long as it simplifies life for me.

Best of luck with your Divide, it is a great pack.
 
Joined
Nov 6, 2017
Messages
540
Location
WA
I've been using one pack, one rifle for 7 years with no issues Antelope-Moose, kills them all. I will add though I do have a spare identical rifle, and an old pack as back up, just in case.
Got you beat -- over 8 years on my SG pack (bought it back when Schnee's was the place to buy them) and over 10 years on my Tikka T3X.

They do the job every season...why fix it if it ain't broken?
 
Joined
Dec 27, 2012
Messages
4,808
Location
Colorado
This past weekend I realized I needed to modify my one pack. I have a MR crew cab and those wings are driving me crazy. I find them to be useless in my travels and if I do try to use them they catch on everything. So, with this in mind I’m going to have them professionally removed.
 
Joined
Dec 3, 2017
Messages
311
Location
North Idaho
That is cool - I don't find many folks with the old Ruger M77s. Other than a trigger job to 2.75 lbs and putting a featherweight stock, it has never let me down. I've shot everything from prairie dogs to moose with it. And, I like the tang safety as it sits conveniently at my thumb for quick shots. Over the years I toyed around with the thoughts of a new rifle, a custom Tikka, Weatherby, Nosler or Christian Arms or going to a .300 Win or 6.5 Creedmore but there just was no real good reason to do so.
My dad has one, .300 win mag, killed my first decent buck with it. Paired with a Vari-X 6.5-20 its quite the rifle
 

Krem

FNG
Joined
Jul 18, 2021
Messages
73
I love looking at gear but I hate paying for it. I'm cheap bastard but I've learned the ol buy once cry once. Still debating on a bag, I'm just getting into back country hunting but seems like the sg 5900 checks all the boxes just $$$.
 
OP
mtwarden

mtwarden

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 18, 2016
Messages
9,487
Location
Montana
Put the Divide through it's paces on a tough eight day outing; lots of off-trail and scrambling that I'm sure an internal frame would have been better suited, but the pack did fine.

kWbErBt.jpg


2h6FimH.jpg
 
OP
mtwarden

mtwarden

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 18, 2016
Messages
9,487
Location
Montana
@mtwarden How has the Divide performed over the last two seasons?

I’m using the Divide mainly for winter and long backpacking trips.

I’ve since added their Revolution panel which converts the frame to a breakaway. I bought their biggest breakaway bag, the Goshawk 6300 and used that on a 10 day sheep hunt. Left it that way for deer/elk season.

I’m happy with it.




aL6g6qW.jpg
 
Joined
Aug 23, 2014
Messages
4,979
Location
oregon coast
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 :D, 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 :ROFLMAO:
I like streamlining things, but there has to be limitations! One rifle is certainly doable for me, but I’m not that practical, I like guns… especially new ones 😏

Packs, I have always been a one pack guy, even when I have owned several at once, I still only use one. Currently have a k2, pop up 18, and a k4, I like the k4 too much to use anything else. I plan to give my pop up to a friend, and there is just no reason to sell the k2, I would rather keep it than the money it would yield. I’m sure at some point I will meet some young hunter that’s not wealthy and give it away, but besides that, I’ll just hold onto it… don’t need a backup, but I guess that’s my justification

I only own one compound currently, and it’s 3-4yrs old, but I know a new bow is pointless, won’t be faster, won’t be more accurate, it will just be unfamiliar, and that’s more of a con than pro

I like simple and streamlined, but I also like guns… packs, one solid system is all I need/want
 
Top