Frontier Gear Frame

ChadS

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 1, 2014
Location
Elizabeth, Colorado
Guys I have this pack

http://barneyssports.com/backpacks/frontier-gear-of-alaska-frieghter-frame-pinnacle-pack.html

Its a sweet LIGHt frame and the bag option is nice too, but the bag is heavy.

I want to find a way to use the frame, but devise a different bag system. Something lighter. I'm thinking some water proof stuff sacks where necessary and maybe a game bag as the main container area then using some light weight lashing straps to hold the whole thing together. If I can put everything together using stuff that also serves an alternate camp purpose I figured I might be able to get things reasonable in the weight area. The biggest problem I havent been able to think around is a day pack as I am not sure carrying the whole frame around hunting is a practical idea.

Any good ideas?

It seems I should take this route before hauling off and buying a new EMR II.
 
For the amount of pockets and cubic inches that packbag is its need that bad for the weight. You can get modify it similar to what Yellowknife here on the forum did to his Pinnacle packbag to lighten it up some as well. Maybe PM him. That setup is a hauling machine for certain I've hauled several animals off the mountain with that very setup. IMO a sub 8 pound pack is plenty acceptable given what that pack/packbag is capable of hauling.
 
I have been day hunting for decades with a old camp trails frame - grandpa to your frame - using a roll top dry bag to hold my gear. Walking through all kinds of AK brush. It's not that big of an issue. Granted, I've never carried it in the dry oak brush of southern CO. That stuff could be more difficult than AK alders due to their stiffness.

Until you take up sewing there are not a lot of options for modifying a bag to fit a large frame. Lashing a dry bag or two is very workable.
 
I too have the Barney's frame and pinnacle bag, and have been thinking another bag setup would be more beneficial. I've been wondering about the bag offerings from stone glacier and kifaru, as they are a bit more trim than the mondo pinnacle. Another option I may try first is the MR Metcalf. I already have a NICE frame as well, so if it doesn't pan out with the freighter frame, I still have a nice smaller pack to use for caribou, deer, and black bears. I'll be following this thread for sure!!!
 
Pretty much every single Alaska guide I've met was using that frame and bag for day hunting, so it's certainly possible. However, it's not the most handy for sure. I've seen it used with the bag detached and a couple fairly heavy duty dry bags bungeed to the frame, and it works... but gets quickly un-handy, and I've don't personally know anybody that has done that long term.


Several other options that I know of a lighter and/or more compact bag:

1. Switch the bag out for a Camptrails or similar bag. Camptrails was a the OEM for Barneys originally, as well as several other companies like REI. Any one of those brands will replace the big Pinnacle bag for shorter trips. The Moose, Super Moose, and some of the other Camptrails bags are MUCH lighter and will be a direct replacement. They aren't nearly as durable (made of a nylon material), but the lighter ones weigh just over a lb and are a smaller more streamlined shape. A local shop actually still has Moose bags on the shelf for $40. No idea where they got them, since I don't think Camptrails has been around for many years. Otherwise, ebay, garage sales, you father-in-laws garage, etc are good places to find them.

As a side note, the aluminum portion of an Camptrails/REI frame will switch right into the place of a Barneys frame and save about 1/2 lb if you happen to run across one at a garage sale.

2. Cut down your existing bag. I don't recommend this unless you plan on permanently keeping your bag as it will wreck the re-sale, but you can cut about a pound off pretty easily.

3. Strap a lightweight daypack to the frame for the trip in and use that to hunt out of camp.


Alternatively the Hunter or Moose bags sold by Barneys for that frame are a little lighter, but quite a bit more compact which is really nice for day hunting. My Pinnacle has been modified to the point where it's now sub-7 lbs and is a little more trim. I like it, but I'm also not planning on selling it.

Yk
 
Yellowknife hit it on the head. I spent many years as an Alaskan guide and yes you would be hard pressed to find a thing else besides a Barney's pack in the hands of a packer or guide. They are the real deal and I can not think of a single pack that is comparable. They are designed with rigors of guiding in Alaska. You can haul insane amounts of weight and depending on bag choices they are bullet proof in the alder. I have had my pack since the mid 90's and can't count the amount of moose quarters, sheep, goat, bear that have been in it including some loads of camp and meat pushing the 200 mark. You can squeeze a 10' kodiak brown bear in them or a hind from a 1500pound moose. When I was a packer on the peninsula I tried several other options with complete failure and broken Frames.
I never leave cAmp with out my pack simply because there is always the chance of having to fill it before I return to camp.
I have seen guys do just about everything to cut weight from the dry bag thing to swapping bags but personally I love all the pockets and such and would rather save weight elsewhere. I think it just boils down to style and type of hunting.
 
I am another barneys guy, and agree with the previous 2 posters.

For extreme weight hauling, tough to beat a barneys set up.
 
This whole "day hunting" thing has me hung up a little. I know as a kid in NV we did not have real packs and hunted from camp daily. If a deer was taken, dad would just pick it up and carry it down the hill over his shoulder. My first deer I dragged down the mountain to camp since I am not a giant farm boy like my dad.

Now that I have been in AK for over 30 years there is no way I am going to leave camp without a way to carry 100 or so pounds of meat back to camp if I get something down. I made the mistake years ago of only having a day pack and the two mile walk to the truck to get the frame was a huge waste of time and energy in the brush. Lord was I stupid that day. I carried one hair-on front leg on my shoulder, that wore me out fighting the brush and having that leg constantly slip off due to the hair. Covered in carbou blood and hair the walk back to the kill site sucked. Never again leave camp without a tarp, game bags, and a pack frame.
 
Yep, Ray and 60x nailed it. It took me many years to hammer that lesson in my hard head but I never go anywhere without my pack and assorted gear items to stay alive and/or take care of a downed animal.

J
 
I kinda like the pack as is. It is the standard against which everything else is judged.

I have run it with a drybag tied on with cord. It got to be a PITA, but was somewhat lighter I guess.
 
I am going to revisit this thing again. Dont get me wrong I love the whole set up as well, but at times I would almost like to leave it in camp and haul the necessities in a smaller backpack while hunting during the day. Up until this point i have been hauling my badlands superday around and just having two different packs, one to wear for hunting and one for packing. I just wanted to streamline it and explore options. I knew guys were doing the dry bag deal in AK but what I didnt know was how or if it was working. Thanks for all this good info fellas
 
If you want to do the lightweight run and gun approach I have a Kuiu 3000 bag that I picked up when they had on sale that I have not used and probably will not be using if you want to try that. I know for sure that it fits on easily on the Barney's frame that I have. It weighs 1.8 pounds and would be easy to load meat on the shelf below it, or use a light weight load sling ( Handi-pak from WPS) underneath the 3000 bag when you connect.
 
I too have a large external freighter and for shorter trips, day huts, etc.
I have just "shoe laced" dry bags or large stuff sacks on the back.
But mine has nubs welded on the tubes which make it easier.

Like stephenb suggested, a Wilderness Pack Specialties "Handi-Pak" meat harness adapted to the Barney frame would make securing ultra-light dry bags easier. Might even allow you to remove the bar for the load shelf from your Barney.
For idea's, here's a couple pics of the WPS Handi-Pak on their frame.
Hunt'nFish

 
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I am going to revisit this thing again. Dont get me wrong I love the whole set up as well, but at times I would almost like to leave it in camp and haul the necessities in a smaller backpack while hunting during the day. Up until this point i have been hauling my badlands superday around and just having two different packs, one to wear for hunting and one for packing. I just wanted to streamline it and explore options. I knew guys were doing the dry bag deal in AK but what I didnt know was how or if it was working. Thanks for all this good info fellas
I here ya. My solution was to marry a Nimrod Harness to a WPS frame.
That way I could pop the frame off and leave it & the large bag in camp & hunt with just the Base Belt Harness and their lumbar bag (also called the Pinnacle). Because the harness uses a buckle system, you can buckle on a hydro bladder bag and/or meat straps to haul out a first load to camp. Problem w/ my setup is the frame is not tall enough and their is no real functional load lifters, so although you can put really heavy loads on it, it's painful over long distances.

IMO, a Barney frame with a harness system that could detach and be used separating with the ability to "buckle" on a lumbar bag or hydro bladders would be very useful.
anyway sorry for going way off topic.
Hunt'nFish
 
No thats right on topic! There is a good solution to this, but I think its going to involve sewing in one way or another. Brainstorming time
 
No thats right on topic! There is a good solution to this, but I think its going to involve sewing in one way or another. Brainstorming time

Whatever storms you come across or through, please update this thread with it all, as I am really trying to do the same thing by late summer.
 
@ChadS,
I know this post thread is old, but I have been sewing some new designs for a bag that fits on the Camp trails (Barney’s) frame. Did you ever come up with a solution for a better bag for your frame?

It would be pretty cool to hear your and @Yellowknife ‘s thoughts on the bags and meat slings I have been sewing to meet the needs you mentioned when you created this thread!
 

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@ChadS,
I know this post thread is old, but I have been sewing some new designs for a bag that fits on the Camp trails (Barney’s) frame. Did you ever come up with a solution for a better bag for your frame?

It would be pretty cool to hear your and @Yellowknife ‘s thoughts on the bags and meat slings I have been sewing to meet the needs you mentioned when you created this thread!
Really interested in what you've come up with here. Do you have some more pictures and information on your custom made pack setup?
 
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