Frame/bag setup

[Manosteel21]

Doing a 7-8 day archery elk trip this September. my dad and I are backpacking in. I am thinking about buying a freighter frame and strapping my daypack and a dry bag to it so I don't have to take a whole weeks worth of stuff with me everyday and have a smaller pack to carry while hunting. Anyone done this before?

 

[mtfallon]

Yes and unless you already have all of this I would recommend getting a frame pack (Kifaru/Stone Glacier/etc) and just leaving what you don't need at camp. Most of the bags shrink to nothing, and that way you don't waste a trip hauling meat if you knock something down. It's also a lot more comfortable to haul 2-4L of water and daypack supplies in a Kifaru then in a regular backpack. You forget it's there in the Kifaru!

 

[alexanderg23]

Doing a 7-8 day archery elk trip this September. my dad and I are backpacking in. I am thinking about buying a freighter frame and strapping my daypack and a dry bag to it so I don't have to take a whole weeks worth of stuff with me everyday and have a smaller pack to carry while hunting. Anyone done this before?

I started out with a Kifaru frame and just strapped bags to it with the grab-it and lash kit. It the best investment to start with a Kifaru frame instead of wasting $ on other options, because eventually you'll want the best..

 

[oldgoat]

High end packs are a tough pill to swallow till you do it, then you can't believe you drug your feet for so long! I use mine elk hunting, then hauling treestands etc whitetail hunting then in the spring I carry blinds and turkey decoys. Summer time I use it to go scouting!

 

[ColoradoHunterHiker]

Do you currently have a setup at all now? As stated by MtFallon, what you're describing is an "older way" of thinking. Today's bags shrink and compress nicely into daypack size and yet expand plenty to haul 5-7 days of gear. Look at Kifaru, Stone Glacier, Exo, etc. There are plenty of options out there.

I will say, I've done what you're talking about, Packed in my 5500 Icon Pro with my 1850 bag. I'd just get one bag and then cinch it down for a daypack. No real need for 2 packs in the back country.

 

[Flashmo]

I read your question and envisioned an aluminum external frame pack, not the Kifaru or Stone Glacier type.

Yes, been there, done that, works just fine and keeps the budget in line.

Right now, I am waiting for a new Kifaru frame. In the mean time, I have 55 pounds loaded in my external frame pack and hike with it at least 4 times a week. Not as comfortable, but works just fine.

 

[mrbillbrown]

OP, You need that Dana Design Longbed pack I just listed in he classifieds. It's an external frame pack with a 6100 ci bag. Several pockets for organizing gear and attaches and detaches quickly when going from hauling mode to small pack mode.

It was a top tier external frame pack back in its prime. Still hailed as an excellent hauler just not as super sexy as the newer packs. We bought it for a first time backpack hunter last year. Worked great and he didn't spend a ton of money for a quality hauling pack. Shoot me a pm if you're interested. Bill

 

[Manosteel21]

Thanks for the input. Being a whitetail guy I guess I am mainly just having a hard time wrapping my head around not having a "day pack" and basically carrying camp with me everyday(we will be in grizz country so the dry bag was going to be used to hang camp stuff while out). I guess I could bring a dry bag anyway. Sorry for the rambling, just thinking as I type

 

[mrbillbrown]

I feel your pain brother. Been hunting whitetails here in OK forever and just stumbled into backpack hunting elk a few years ago. Never understood the "big pack" idea because I always carried a smallish day pack. After many hours spent researching gear and a few Mtn trips I get the theory now and it's been really useful for me.

Big packs compress much easier than trying to squeeze extra room out of a pack that's too small or not capable of carrying heavy weight well. Most all the big bag makers design their giant packs to compress down into a day pack size for easier gear staorage and accessibility. Then once you get an animal down you open up the bag and load it up. You just need to get one in your hands and play with it a bit and it starts making sense.