Granite Gear

[Brandon Pattison]

Considering a lower cost freighter type frame for a trapping packbasket. How well are they made? I'd prefer a Duplex but need two and cannot justify the cost to the amount of use it will get.

 

[Take-a-knee]

I had an UL Granite Gear pack fall apart with about 300 trail miles on it. YMMV. Luckily I bought it at REI. A Duplex can often be found used reasonably. I picked up a G1 cheap.

 

[mtnkid85]

I own and enjoy the vapor trail, I believe its called. It is my go to 35lb and under backpacking pack. But I like minimialist packs. It has too light of a frame to carry much more though.

I wouldn't take it for general labor type of pack.

You should really take a look at Cilogear packs. I own several of there packs and absolutely love them. I have just the regular worksacks, but the guide series worksacks are Super burly! Would make for a great bag to throw traps in Id say.

Ive been using a regular 45l worksack for my main climbing and hunting pack for... 8-9 years. Its holding up really well, just normal wear and tear on it.

 

[airlocksniffer]

I also have the GG Vapor Trail. 25-35lbs is the sweet spot for this pack. It doesn't have much of a frame though and I would never consider it for packing out an animal. Nice light summer backpacking pack.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Kelty makes a pretty good frame pack. You should be able to easily find a decent frame at a yard sale or online somewhere.

 

[Take-a-knee]

A Vapor Trail was the pack I had that fell apart. I replaced it with a ULA Catalyst. Best hiking pack ever made, hands down. My KU 3700 has superior suspension, but it is overkill for a hiker's load, unless he's trying to carry two weeks food.

 

[lab-roamer]

IMO I would pick up a used bul-pac frame.

 

[Take-a-knee]

Kelty makes a pretty good frame pack. You should be able to easily find a decent frame at a yard sale or online somewhere.

I just got my Dana Shortbed pimped out and I gave my Kelty Tioga away.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Every once in a while an old Dana frame pack makes it way to Ebay or Craigslist. Heck, a Cabela's Alaskan Freighter could probably be found for a pretty decent price too.

 

[Brandon Pattison]

Did I miss something, are Granite Gear packs made by Dana Designs? They are far from cheap too.

 

[Take-a-knee]

Did I miss something, are Granite Gear packs made by Dana Designs? They are far from cheap too.

No, the thread drifted into cheaper/viable alternatives, and the Kelty frame pack came up, because they fit the bill.

 

[Brandon Pattison]

This is kind of off topic but I wondered what your experiences are. I have two pack frames. One is two milk crates stacked (the upper one has the bottom cut out) and they are both bolted and Ty-Wrapped (heavy-duty type) to each other and my ALICE pack frame. The other one is a 15-gallon drum with the top cut off and bolted to my other ALICE pack frame. How does the Kelty and/or Barney's type compare to an ALICE pack frame?

 

[Take-a-knee]

This is kind of off topic but I wondered what your experiences are......... How does the Kelty and/or Barney's type compare to an ALICE pack frame?

21yr in the Army, 11B/18B/18D. I'm "ALICE" qualified. That POS was designed by the Marquis DeSade himself, and I have the cervical X-ray to prove it. I carried a Kelty Tioga all over McKinley Park and the Talkeetnas when I was stationed up there. Loved that pack, but a Dana frame pack carries better.

The ALICE, and its devil-spawn the NICE frame, are too short to give shoulder lift, that is, weight transfer to the hips. Having said that an ALICE is still better than a "sack" pack, like some of the cheap so-called day/hunting packs. It will carry substantial weight, just not comfortably.

 

[Brandon Pattison]

Yeah, 4 years in the grunts too. Hilarious analogies btw. Camp Trails, how do they stack up?

 

[Take-a-knee]

Yeah, 4 years in the grunts too. Hilarious analogies btw. Camp Trails, how do they stack up?

Never used one. They looked like a Kelty clone IIRC. I think they had a wrap-around waistbelt though, which doesn't work for some, though others like them. If your budget is tight, you might consider one of the surplus MOLLE frames. They were being issued as I retired and I never used one. They were a bit fragile and got a lot of hate from mil users, but if the price is right....

 

[Brandon Pattison]

Score!

$21

 

[Vance in AK]

That'll work!