Eberlestock greatness

[spdcrazy]

Hey all. I recently purchased the Mainframe. Found one in a nice shop in Ohio. The price was right so it left with me. Really liking it so far. One question. I ordered the Super Spike Duffel for it to get the ball rolling. On the right side of the frame the zipper has a nice hook on the pull. It engages the little loop at the top of the frame nice and securely. The bag zipper for the left side of the frame has two loop pulls. With no way to secure it to the top of the frame,it likes to slide down. I improvised a solution,but not my idea of a fix. Eberlestock sent me a short and sweet reply to my email. Basically,quit bothering us. So,what say you fellers that have these frames? I'm thinking I'll pick up a small carabiner to secure the left side zipper. It's also entirely possible I don't know what I'm doing in the first place,lol.

I know I am way behind on getting back here. But I did exactly what you mentioned. I have an extra carabineer to keep the zipper up.

Still Loving this pack. And excited to use it this fall

 

[dustinnutter]

I know I am way behind on getting back here. But I did exactly what you mentioned. I have an extra carabineer to keep the zipper up.

Still Loving this pack. And excited to use it this fall

I had an eberlestock f1 mainframe with the littlebig top and the zip dry bag. Loved this system and how it worked but I had two problems that I couldn't get over. First one being that the load lifters didn't seem to help me out all that much. The other, which is ultimately why I upgraded, was the belt, it seemed narrow but the webbing when tightened down with a heavy load would dig into my side and rub me raw. I assume its just because they use a rope style belt cushion? Im curious to see if anyone else had this problem or it was just me? I mitigated it with luekotape, but even so I don't think I should have to tape up my sides just to wear a pack. I quoted the last post because I used a Nite Ize twist tie to hold the other zipper up, worked flawlessly and added almost no weight.

 

[EastMT]

I had an eberlestock f1 mainframe with the littlebig top and the zip dry bag. Loved this system and how it worked but I had two problems that I couldn't get over. First one being that the load lifters didn't seem to help me out all that much. The other, which is ultimately why I upgraded, was the belt, it seemed narrow but the webbing when tightened down with a heavy load would dig into my side and rub me raw. I assume its just because they use a rope style belt cushion? Im curious to see if anyone else had this problem or it was just me? I mitigated it with luekotape, but even so I don't think I should have to tape up my sides just to wear a pack. I quoted the last post because I used a Nite Ize twist tie to hold the other zipper up, worked flawlessly and added almost no weight.

No rubbing for me but yeah, eberlestock hasn't discovered load lifters yet. I'm pretty sure they are designed by 2 marines and a navy seal.....suffer or upgrade is about only option. I have 2 of their packs I use, mainframe and just one. I prefer my Barneys for heavy loads but for a day pack spring bear hunting, I wouldn't use any other. Rifle sleeve is amazing when fighting alders, nothing sticking up to get caught.

 

[LASTINLINE]

i recently upgraded to the large belt.its got more wrap around padding. initial thoughts are way more comfort for sure. hoping the weight transfer improve too but i havent had any rub issues.

 

[dustinnutter]

It could be that I cinch it to tight to keep it off my shoulders, not sure, did love it as a day pack.

 

[Elkeater]

Hi All, I have been lurking on here for quite a while reading as much as I can before buying new gear. Had the Eberlestock Team Elk pack for several years and while it is a bomber pack that successfully hauled more Elk than I should have been carrying, it was too heavy of a pack for my liking. Just ordered the mainframe with two batwings and shaved a couple pounds of pack weight in the process. Thanks for all the insight and gear knowledge!

 

[bruceleroy]

I run the same setup minus the scabbard. Ive hauled 3 elk and 2 mule deer out. The work great. I even just use my batwings for spike camps if it will only be a night. Pleanty of room if you pack right.

 

[Elkeater]

Well I got my new pack! Overall it looks and feels like a another well made product from Eberlestock. I am a little disappointed that I already had to modify the zipper pulls on the batwings at the top with a zip tie so they would stay up and not unzip. Saw someone else suggest that they should be built with the zippers upside down to prevent this from happening. I agree. We'll see how it holds up in the field.

 

[loggerchas]

Eberle Mainframe Upgrade

The biggest drawback people mention regarding Eberlestock are the non-functional load lifters. After helping a buddy pack elk quarters this winter I decided to work on solving this issue for my Mainframe. Yep - lots of better packs out there (SO/EXO/MR/Kif/Ku/SG/etc., but this pack happened to...

www.rokslide.com

This upgrade facilitated by @pods8 worked very well, is now my training pack and the pack my wife uses.

 

[Robinhood21]

Eberle Mainframe Upgrade

The biggest drawback people mention regarding Eberlestock are the non-functional load lifters. After helping a buddy pack elk quarters this winter I decided to work on solving this issue for my Mainframe. Yep - lots of better packs out there (SO/EXO/MR/Kif/Ku/SG/etc., but this pack happened to...

www.rokslide.com

This upgrade facilitated by @pods8 worked very well, is now my training pack and the pack my wife uses.

The new tall version should fix that issue.

 

[Newtosavage]

Literally the ONLY thing I would change/improve about my Dragonfly is a set of pop-up (or flip up) load lifters. Otherwise, it's the most well designed, most comfortable pack I've ever used. Every single time I put it on I'm like "oh where have you been?" LOL It's just that comfortable to me. The spike duffel is brilliant as are the wings and top/bottom flaps. The construction is bomb proof and the gun scabbard is the bomb.

I know there are lighter packs out there, but if loving my Eberlestock is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

 

[00ski00]

I have a Eberlestock Just One pack and really like it. Im kind of a beginner when it comes to back country hunting, but it seems to be built well and does everything I need it to.

 

[jog]

I'm pretty sure they are designed by 2 marines and a navy seal.....suffer or upgrade is about only option.

My thoughts exactly. I am still running the mainframe but will be moving on soon. I can't bash the brand for a well made pack or some of its feature, but overall I usually am finding other systems and pack designs that offer features that are better thought through. I feel when Eberlestock misses the mark its due to lack of R&D

 

[EastMT]

My thoughts exactly. I am still running the mainframe but will be moving on soon. I can't bash the brand for a well made pack or some of its feature, but overall I usually am finding other systems and pack designs that offer features that are better thought through. I feel when Eberlestock misses the mark its due to lack of R&D

Yup I trained in mine all year for a goat hunt. Man when I put my Barney’s on for the hunt and coming out heavy, felt like a million bucks(except the 78 degrees!). But I do really love the compact size, putting a rifle sleeve on it for bears. So nice not to have all that extra junk on there. If they would just make the top longer for lifters, put a Barney’s suspension on it, could be amazing with the quality they build.


I have yet to be begin to procrastinate.

 

[Newtosavage]

Just got my F1 long mainframe yesterday. It has the lazer cut "molle" webbing on it instead of the sewn in loops. Man that thing is light! 4.5 lbs. on my fishing scale. Going to add a pair of batwings and the lid off my Dragonfly II for a day pack. I already have the spike duffel, so my camp will go in that between the batwings. I can already tell the extra lift is going to be sweet.

Agreed on the R&D with Eberle though. There are so many little tweaks that could just make their packs the best. Like, give me a standard length F1 with telescoping lifters. I can't imagine that would be so hard to do since they are already using aluminum tubing. Just put a length of smaller diameter tubing inside the tubing frame and have it pop up for lifters like the legs on a canopy tent. Oh well, a guy can dream.

I think I'm going to cut the "J" shelf off my frame and hinge it so it can fold flat. That will allow me to sit back against a hill and glass, which I will spend a lot more time doing than I will hauling things on that shelf. I'll post up pics if/when I do that mod.

 

[Newtosavage]

Well I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to go and add the lid and cut and hinge the "J" on the bottom of the frame. Wasn't hard to do but it did take some time and patience to sew on the buckles for the lid. Cutting and hinging the "J" frame was pretty straightforward. I just used aluminum pins from one of my other frame packs for the hinges after bending the shelf arms to fit inside the frame.

Now I can sit back against a hill when I'm in the day pack mode.

Still need a pair of batwings, but I'll get those soon enough.

I really think I'm going to like this setup. At first I wasn't sure if I needed the tall frame, but after loading 50# on this thing, I'm glad I got it. It's going to make a world of difference over my Dragonfly.

 

[JR Lewis]

NewtoSavage - exactly - I just took the plunge as well. My mainframe arrived last night and I had my son stand on it and moseyed around the house. Best I've had - of course it beats the heck out of Army issued... cheers.

 

[LeftOverChicken]

Really like the looks of your set up. I will probably do something similar for my next one.


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[Bendejo]

Quick update. I now have my F1 Mainframe and all the accessories I ordered. The setup I've decided to go with is the F1 Mainframe, 2 Batwings, a zip-in panel, an ES Saddle Bag for hydration, and a 1,900 ci BirdBag/utility bag. I've attached the Saddle Bag and BirdBag to the molly's on the F1 back panel and zipped in the Batwings. This configuration provides just over 3,000 ci and, fully loaded, and should allow me to pack out a full elk quarter either in the birdbag or in front of the collapsed bag, using the zip-in panel between the batwings. Fully loaded, with everything I need for my upcoming CO elk day hunt, it weighs in at just under 19 lbs including 2 liters of water. With the J-type Dry Bag zipped in, it easily becomes a 4 or 5 day pack.

Although I have been critical of the Kifaru Gunbearer in the past, I decided to try it on F1. Because the pack is so narrow, it works much better than on my other packs. To see how it performed with weight, I've loaded the pack with an additional 40 pounds (a bag of stove pellets) and it carried more comfortably than I ever expected. To qualify this, I only carried the pack for only about an hour or so around my home. I think I'm ready for my CO elk hunt in Nov.

I'm wondering if the zip in panel fits well between two batwings. Is it the right length and zipper orientation? Hoping I can add it for some more room in the main hold

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