Finally Found My Ideal Blaze Orange Day Pack! Updated With Review and Photos.

[mxgsfmdpx]

After moving away from Osprey, who I used for backpacking and light hunting hauls for over 25 years, I'm back to owning one of their packs.

A little bit of history... I've been backpacking and hunting for over 25 years now. I used to exclusively use Osprey packs for backpacking and light loads, and would switch to my big aluminum frame pack for packing out animals. I finally moved to Kifaru a few years ago and never looked back. Love them.

Fast forward to this year and I was shot at from behind for the first time ever wearing green pants, long sleeve brown merino, camo ball cap, and my ranger green 22 Mag on a scouting trip. Couldn't believe I had been shot at and honestly didn't even realize it at first. Luckily I was in the tree line and the shot was from a long ways off and they missed. I immediately ran and hid behind a large tree and then quickly fastened my orange Kifaru "grab-it" to the pack. Stayed on the other side of the ridge from where the shot sounded like it came from and got back to the truck...

This began my search for an orange day pack. My wife sewed me up an orange, water proof pack cover that I'll always wear from now on over my Ma Deuce and 22 Mag packs. I'll also always be wearing a light weight orange vest from now on and my bino harness is orange now as well.

I do a TON of scouting and day trips so I wanted a dedicated 1,500 cubic inch pack that came in orange. Needless to say the options were limited and then I remembered some of my favorite Osprey's used to come in bright orange. I wanted to make sure the pack was suitable for scouting trips... Quick access puffy stuff pouch, nalgene bottle holder (hate bladders), side compression straps for trekking poles and tripod, and enough space for rain gear, snacks, 15 power binos, big agnes glassing chair, spotting scope if needed, emergency kit, Garmin sat phone, etc.

I ended up buying the Osprey Hikelite 26 in their Orange color. I'll be loading it up and taking it on it's first scouting trip here real soon. I'll post some photos and a review if there is any interest here. Let me know.

Here is a quick video on the pack...

 

[pc3]

Looks great. I actually purchased a blaze Sherman from Kifaru while the sale was on.....for $78.00 I thought it pretty cheap insurance against copping a 30/06 (or 6.5 manbun) round through the back

 

[woods89]

That's a rather scary situation you had with getting shot at.

That pack looks like a great option for rifle day hunting. I've been using the FHF blaze panel for the back of mine, which works well, but I'd be interested in your review.

 

[FLATHEAD]

Unless they shot at you on purpose, which would make the orange a bad idea.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Unless they shot at you on purpose, which would make the orange a bad idea.

Yeah I thought about that too honestly. I grew up hunting CA which has no orange requirement but my grandpa always wore orange anyway.

Probably a once in a lifetime occurrence and I could probably live and hunt another 30 lifetimes and never have it happen again. I like orange anyway so I’m gonna stick with it for the rest of my field days.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

That pack looks like a great option for rifle day hunting.

Yeah that’s pretty much the plan for this pack. Day trips, scouting trips, etc. I can actually fit my western mountaineering might lite bag, tyvek sheet, rain gear, food, plus all my glassing equipment and water in this little pack. I’ll get some photos up this weekend of it all loaded up.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

If all goes according to plan I’ll be heading out early on Friday morning for a 3 day 2 night scouting trip. Going to take the new Osprey out, and I had some time this evening to get it packed up way earlier than I normally do.

Here is everything I will be taking other than the clothes on my body and a head lamp that I wear all the time when hiking. I’ll also have the G20 on my hip as per usual and a knife in the pocket.

Weather looks beautiful mid 60s during the day, low 40s at night. No rain forecasted. I’ll be near water so I don’t need to carry any water other than 2 full Nalgenes. Using water filtering tablets to keep it light weight and no pack space used.

Everything will go in the pack and the bino harness. Here’s the gear list.

.Osprey Hikelite 26 Pack
.Marsupial Medium Bino Harness
.WM Quilt/Pillow/Tyvek Sheet In Stuff Sack
.Emergency Kit/TP/String/etc. in Kifaru Pouch
.Tripod/Pan Head/Adapters/Glass Wipes
.Glassing Chair
.15 Power Binos
.8 Power RF Binos
.Emergency Headlamp/Batteries
.Fire Starting Stuff
.Garmin Sat Phone
.Food in Kifaru Pouch
.Water Bottles/Filtering Tabs
.Swazi Fleece

Normally I’d use my Kifaru 22 Mag bag for this trip but I wanted to try out the new pack. This would def be the most stuff I’d take in this pack. It is absolutely maxed out with all this stuff in it and it’s probably not suited for a 3 day trip but oh well. There is some room in the side pocket to put the pan head next to the chair. Will probably end up moving it there.

Gear Dump Photo (minus the Meopta 8x50 RF Binos that are in the harness):



All Packed (Squeeeeeeezed):

 

[Vaultman]

Glad you weren't hit. Scary as heck, I am sure.

Bonus on your new backpack... If you ever come to Portland you will fit in with the locals. All the hipster hikers have Osprey. I do a lot of hiking up here and cannot believe how large a percentage is Osprey. They must be good bags. I'll definitely check back for your review on it.

I have always wore orange while hunting. I cannot imagine getting shot at, or how helpless that feeling must be. I did it when I was young because Mom wanted me to, and I do it now because I have kids of my own. There is NO trophy worth a bullet hole!

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Glad you weren't hit. Scary as heck, I am sure.

Bonus on your new backpack... If you ever come to Portland you will fit in with the locals. All the hipster hikers have Osprey. I do a lot of hiking up here and cannot believe how large a percentage is Osprey. They must be good bags. I'll definitely check back for your review on it.

I have always wore orange while hunting. I cannot imagine getting shot at, or how helpless that feeling must be. I did it when I was young because Mom wanted me to, and I do it now because I have kids of my own. There is NO trophy worth a bullet hole!

Haha on that Portland deal! I grew up backpacking in the CA Sierras near Tahoe and Yosemite so I know those types of folks well. Honestly met some of the coolest people up there, they may be hippie and liberal about certain subjects but they are nice as heck and some of them have great backpacking knowledge and skills.

I am now an orange guy myself as well. I’ll always wear it from now on for every trip I take.

It honestly wasn’t scary when it happened but a few minutes after I really realized what had happened I did freak out and went straight to the truck and left.

I have a wife and two young boys of my own that need me. I’ll wear orange every day if it means I have a greater chance of making it home to them.

 

[11boo]

I am a firm believer in wearing some orange in our bow season, but I never thought I would need it in camp. I was standing in our pack in camp site midday watching two orange clad bear hunters come down the trail that went by our camp. About 30 yards out one of the idiots raises his gun at me. The Texan was alerted to my presence with a few choice words. There are definitely idiots out there and we need to acknowledge that. Cheap bear tags for non residents has definitely brought out a lot more gun hunters.

 

[Phaseolus]

“Drop your muzzle” followed by “I’ll shoot back“ will wake a person from their midday nap

 

[Strife21]

After moving away from Osprey, who I used for backpacking and light hunting hauls for over 25 years, I'm back to owning one of their packs.

A little bit of history... I've been backpacking and hunting for over 25 years now. I used to exclusively use Osprey packs for backpacking and light loads, and would switch to my big aluminum frame pack for packing out animals. I finally moved to Kifaru a few years ago and never looked back. Love them.

Fast forward to this year and I was shot at from behind for the first time ever wearing green pants, long sleeve brown merino, camo ball cap, and my ranger green 22 Mag on a scouting trip. Couldn't believe I had been shot at and honestly didn't even realize it at first. Luckily I was in the tree line and the shot was from a long ways off and they missed. I immediately ran and hid behind a large tree and then quickly fastened my orange Kifaru "grab-it" to the pack. Stayed on the other side of the ridge from where the shot sounded like it came from and got back to the truck...

This began my search for an orange day pack. My wife sewed me up an orange, water proof pack cover that I'll always wear from now on over my Ma Deuce and 22 Mag packs. I'll also always be wearing a light weight orange vest from now on and my bino harness is orange now as well.

I do a TON of scouting and day trips so I wanted a dedicated 1,500 cubic inch pack that came in orange. Needless to say the options were limited and then I remembered some of my favorite Osprey's used to come in bright orange. I wanted to make sure the pack was suitable for scouting trips... Quick access puffy stuff pouch, nalgene bottle holder (hate bladders), side compression straps for trekking poles and tripod, and enough space for rain gear, snacks, 15 power binos, big agnes glassing chair, spotting scope if needed, emergency kit, Garmin sat phone, etc.

I ended up buying the Osprey Hikelite 26 in their Orange color. I'll be loading it up and taking it on it's first scouting trip here real soon. I'll post some photos and a review if there is any interest here. Let me know.

Here is a quick video on the pack...

I am interested in this pack. How bright is the orange compared to blaze orange? Do you think its bright enough to be seen easily?

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

I am interested in this pack. How bright is the orange compared to blaze orange? Do you think its bright enough to be seen easily?

The bino harness in my photos is brighter than most blaze oranges out there. The pack is a touch darker than most blaze oranges. It’s still plenty bright for me.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

This pack is still going strong and has seen a ton of use. I’d highly recommend it as a small and super lightweight pack.