Eberlestock

[huntbux]

I am going to purchase an Eberlestock Blue Widow pack. It just fits real nice and know many people that use Eberlestock and love them for the price. I was really looking at a Mystery Ranch Longbow but can justify the cost. I am 5'8" so I am shorter as many have said they fit us better. I plan on using the pack for my Nevada bull elk hunt this year and am switching from a Blacks Creek Canadian which i am not much of a fan of.

 

[rpm4463]

did they change the pack frame design and make them more adjustable since the earlier models?

 

[Outdoorsman3830]

I have the Eberlestock Just One and have found that to be the most comfortable pack out of the Badlands 2200, Badlands Sacrifice, Badlands 4500, and Mystery Ranch NICE Frame. I have not had any first hand experience with Kifaru, but I hear they make the most comfortable heavy hauler on the market. The Badlands Sacrifice was extremely comfortable under lighter loads. I love how the Just One fits and packs so well. I even sold my NICE Frame & 4500 so I could get a Dragonfly in the Military style, the military style is for both work and having a solid front panel instead of a mesh.

The Eberlestock J-Series packs seem to max out at about 18.5"-19" torso length in my opinion, but their waist-belts are amazing for people with smaller waists. I have about a 28" waist and the Eberlestock waist-belt is by far the best I have used. I would actually wrap that around under the Mystery Ranch and Badlands waist-belts to improve the fit. I also love the versatility of the J-Series type packs over traditional packs that stand a good height above your head. I like having the increased mobility of being able to crawl or climb up tough spots more comfortably. Yes its true, the lower riding design hurts it load hauling capabilities. Another advantage of the J-Series packs are that the aluminum stays double as splints, but that is not a huge deal since sticks are quite abundant in the backcountry.

In the End, choose the pack that best fits your body and your needs. When it comes down to weight-to-performance ratio, look no further than the Kifaru UL 3700 or 5200 packs. If at all possible, try out every style of pack you can before settling on one, even though it is very hard to get your hands on a Kifaru or Mystery Ranch. It would be great if there was a program setup that allowed people to rent packs, particularly Kifaru & Mystery Ranch, for a couple weeks so people could test out which one best fits their needs.

Good Luck & I hope you find the pack you were looking for.

 

[miller1]

Here is a pic of my blue widow with 2 40lb salt bags in it and a few other small items, total weight is 95lbs, i am 6' and have a 20 to 20 1/2" torso and the load lifters are funtional as you can see, for the price it is an awsome pack, i havent tried a kifaru or mr so i cant compare it to them.

 

[JNDEER]

Miller1 - that pack appears to be riding a little high? Is it on top of your hips?

 

[miller1]

The center of the waistbelt is at the top of my hip bone.

 

[Outdoorsman3830]

miller1,
I only have first hand experience with my Just One and will not receive my Dragonfly until tomorrow, but your Blue Widow appears to have less of a sag effect than my Just One. It appears to handle the 95 pound load better than I thought it would. I agree that you have the waist-belt centered on your hips.

I'm curious, are the shoulder straps pulling down on your shoulders with a fair amount of weight? Personally, I prefer to raise the harness up an extra notch to give a slight gap between the shoulder straps and my shoulders. The Mystery Ranch kept perfect contact like that over the contour of my shoulders, but made it feel like my shoulders were bearing a fair percentage of the weight. I'm not saying your doing anything wrong. Everyone has their preferences, but I was just curious of why prefer it to ride that way. Maybe there are benefits of that particular way that myself and a few others are unfamiliar with.

Thank You for sharing the Picture,

 

[miller1]

Outdoorsman, there isnt really any downward pressure on my shoulders, just on the front depending on how much i pull the lifter straps, i will keep playing with the adjustments, i do know im not in the kind of shape i need to be in for 95lbs on my back.

 

[Matt Cashell]

I also think the Blue Widow is fitting you miller1 much better than my Just One (J104) fits me. I also agree that a little gap between the shoulder and shoulder strap would show the load lifter functioning optimally.

 

[Outdoorsman3830]

I'm with Bitterroot, the Just One does not fit me that well either. I barely get enough of an angle to activate the load lifters properly.

 

[cmeier117]

I agree with everyone that your pack is riding better on you than most. But just out of curiosity why wouldn't eberlestock make the same pack but make it have a 24" frame? Just extend the pack up 4 inches or so? Glen, if you are hearing this make it happen for these guys!

 

[Lawnboi]

I think with longer stays. and a better hip belt, that the blue widow would hold its own. I really didnt care for it for a bivy or pack in type pack. Day pack it was great. But long hauls killed me with it. A little akward fully loaded as well but not as bad as others make it seem imo. My hips were bleeding, back bruised, shoulders about to fall off. I havnt put alot of miles on my timberline yet but i can tell you im glad i made the switch. Im short, this pack fit me, just wasnt comfortable to me.

I tried the ride it high thing. But that just lent to the pack slipping down constantly, and the belt interfering with my ribs. Both of which are tolerable for an hour or 2. But when your putting on 8+miles... forget about it.

 

[Kevin Root]

I have one of the older J series packs. It took a bit of getting used to load it with the spike duffle and all. I'm not fond of going away to far from my back with loads. It will carry as much as I can load it up with and I like the rifle scabbard. I fill mine up with 50 pounds of 2 liter water bottles to hike with as a training pack as well each day at lunch. It's held up well over the years with all the use I've put it through.

 

[Outdoorsman3830]

I just got a new Dragonfly on my hands and I now understand why the Blue Widow provided so much more of an angle on miller1 than my Just One does on me. The Dragonfly rises above my shoulders far more than my Just One providing far more effective load lifters. I will start loading it up with 75 pounds or so and walking/climbing stairs with it to test its performance and comfort. It rises about as high as my NICE 6500 did with the load lifters connected to the 6500 bag. I don't know if this is how the Dragonfly and Blue Widow always rode compared to the Just One, but I have no concerns about this pack having ineffective load lifters for people with fairly long torso's.

 

[wk93]

Does the Blue Widow have a rifle holder?

 

[Travis Bertrand]

Does the Blue Widow have a rifle holder?

The blue widow was designed as an archery pack however I do believe you can purchase one as an accessory.

 

[wk93]

Well what do you guys think wold be the best for carrying a rifle and being able to pack game out with having comfort at the same time? I'm looking at getting a pack through these guys just not sure which one... And I wil be out in the back country with it as well.

 

[wk93]

I have been looking at the x1

 

[Mike P]

Well what do you guys think wold be the best for carrying a rifle and being able to pack game out with having comfort at the same time? I'm looking at getting a pack through these guys just not sure which one... And I wil be out in the back country with it as well.

The Blue widow is what you are looking for then. You can add the scabbard to it and carry your rifle in the pack, then when you get a critter down take the scabbard out and the pack is nice and tight to your body. you can either carry your gun or strap it to the pack for the trip out. Any of the other E-stock packs really suck to carry large loads out with the built in scabbards cause you cannot get the pack tight to your back like you can with the Widow

I have use 4 different Eberlestock packs and the Blue Widow is hands down the best one of the bunch

 

[wk93]

The Blue widow is what you are looking for then. You can add the scabbard to it and carry your rifle in the pack, then when you get a critter down take the scabbard out and the pack is nice and tight to your body. you can either carry your gun or strap it to the pack for the trip out. Any of the other E-stock packs really suck to carry large loads out with the built in scabbards cause you cannot get the pack tight to your back like you can with the Widow

I have use 4 different Eberlestock packs and the Blue Widow is hands down the best one of the bunch

I'll have to look into it then.. Thanks!