Help me pick a pack

[pontoon]

First off, I'm a total weight weenie. I've been reading up on packs but I don't know enough about the options, and I've never backpack hunted. I'll be hunting with a rifle, a spotting scope, a tripod, binos on front harness. Rest of the gear can go in the main pack. Nice to have: little pocket somewhere for headlamp and other little convenient things. I'm looking for a 4 lbs 0 ounce total pack weight or lighter. Here are the packs I've looked at:

Kifaru: "Ultralight" frame is 2 lbs 12 ounces. Not the lightest, and quite expensive. Their packs are too heavy to consider. Edit: to clarify, the suspension itself is not out of consideration.

Stone Glacier: Solo (3.6 lbs) or Minimalist might work. Solo has no external water bottle pocket, pocket for the bottom of the tripod, no extra zipper pocket for the spotting scope. Good rifle attachment, good little pocket for headlamp and little things. No camo. Minimalist is even more minimal, so probably not practical enough unless I want to do the patented "bunch of stuff sacks lashed onto a frame" strategy.

Seek outside: Revolution frame looks good at 2 lbs 10 ounces. Not sure if their Exposure pack could fit a spotting scope. I kind of doubt it. The Fortress looks good. Would the Talon Base Hydro fit a spotting scope? It looks like it might crush the spotting scope because the talon is used for compression. Talon daypack or mesh would work, but adds weight. Waterproof in some fabrics which is a plus. Downside is the camo is the color I like but not waterproof.

KUIU: not well known for packs historically, but the ULTRA 3000 combined with the Icon Pro suspension (heavier, but better suspension from what I read) looks appealing. Icon Pro frame and suspension is 2 lbs 10 ounces. Upsides of this combo are great pocket configuration (could maybe use one more side pocket, or maybe not if the rifle would interfere with it), possibly the lightest pack I've found. Downsides are the straps interfere with the main zipper (minor downside), the pack is not waterproof, fabric is less durable, 3000 ci means the load shelf would have to be used for longer trips.

Any other lightweight pack options I'm missing? I would make a custom pack or pay someone to if all else fails.

 

[zman]

Check out exo mountain. Big thread on here about them. Pretty much why I ended up with one.

 

[pontoon]

Check out exo mountain. Big thread on here about them. Pretty much why I ended up with one.

Too heavy =/

 

[tttoadman]

Don't get too hung up on empty pack weight. A pound or 2 of empty pack weight is pretty insignificant when we usually have about 15# minimum just in our day pack mode. Find a pack from all the main players if you can, and see what fits the best. Check out the Alaska Guide Creations bino packs. It has pockets and small storage that helps organize small items. This helps when going ultralight on the pack and giving up some pockets.

 

[Beastmode]

Don't get too hung up on empty pack weight. A pound or 2 of empty pack weight is pretty insignificant when we usually have about 15# minimum just in our day pack mode. Find a pack from all the main players if you can, and see what fits the best. Check out the Alaska Guide Creations bino packs. It has pockets and small storage that helps organize small items. This helps when going ultralight on the pack and giving up some pockets.

Agreed. Too many people are concerned about the weight of a pack. We are hunters not thru hikers. We carry weights that most backpackers cringe at. A 20 lb pack that fits awesome is going to feel better while hiking around than a 15 lb pack that doesn't. Get a pack that is going to fit YOU and do what you need it to do. If it's lightweight as well great but don't get too caught up in it.

 

[Rizzy]

There is not many sub 4# hunting pack options because they lack in one way or another when it comes to durability and packing heavy loads. The Kifaru KU line of packs fit's your weight requirements, but they are not made anymore. You can find one used once in a great while. Mchale makes custom packs, but I don't know how much they weigh.

 

[LostArra]

pontoon: what critter are you planning to hunt?
if weight is that much of a consideration I'd dump the spotter/tripod in a heartbeat and use any of the packs mentioned above.
A ULA Catalyst might meet your weight requirement but good luck hauling meat or dragging it across rocks.

 

[aclawrence]

I have a ULA Catalyst and can't wait to order a new Kifaru. I just want a pack that's comfortable carrying whatever I decide to throw in it.

 

[Kevin_t]

The Seekoutside Fortress with Talon , the Talon will fit a 65 mm spotter fine and the bottle pocket a tripod . The Unaweep version is lighter . I might mention the Divide 4500 fits a 65 mm spotter in the mesh pocket fine and a tripod on the side as well. Alpine gray 2 lbs 12 ounces . The only downside to the Divide is meat is in the bag top loaded , but people have done that for years anyway.

The revolution will work well but the peregrine will be the best pack bag for day style hunting.

Here is a photo of the Divide 4500 , put a spotter where the shovel is and a tripod in a side pocket

 

[pontoon]

LostArra: next year deer in the Sierra Mountains, Elk elsewhere, future who knows. Elk will be guided, deer will not.

Some of you seem to be operating under the misconception that I'll be suffering under heavy load with one of these "lightweight" frames/suspensions. Each of the KUIU, Icon Pro, and Revolution suspensions are regarded as very comfortable from what I've been reading. They're adjustable and very well padded and can carry 150 pounds or more. If the frame and suspension weigh 2 pounds 10 ounces, I have 22 ounces to play with for pack design. A 50 liter (3000 ci) dry bag of 200 denier nylon (strong enough) drybag twice coated weighs .6 pounds. That leaves me 10 more ounces to figure out the pocket situation and method of attaching straps. I'm not a pack designer but it should be possible. When looking at the Seek Outside Revolution + Fortress combo at 4 pounds, clearly something more or less what I want is possible. When using lighter fabrics like the Ultra 3000, sub 4 pounds is possible. If I were to use cuben fiber, a pack barely over 3 pounds should be possible.

 

[COlineman78]

There is a Kifaru KU3700 available on the classifieds that may fit your needs if you can fit in the small belt. Another possibility is combining the Kuiu Ultra pack with the Kifaru UL frame (see SHTF's thread, uses Icon Pro packs but should be about the same).

 

[pontoon]

Kevin_t, I assumed since the talon looks thin that it's more suitable for a bladder than a spotting scope. Can I put a spotting scope in there without the spotting scope getting crushed/bent by the force produced by the compression straps?

 

[Kevin_t]

Kevin_t, I assumed since the talon looks thin that it's more suitable for a bladder than a spotting scope. Can I put a spotting scope in there without the spotting scope getting crushed/bent by the force produced by the compression straps?

Yes, the compression is on the pack side and the talon has gussets.

Our suspension, is not really limited by how much it weighs. It is a limitation of torso size vs frame height. The Divide which is designed for a 24 inch , will carry 100 lbs for most people with a 17 - 18 inch torso. Add 2 inch extension (about 1 ounce) and a 20 - 21 inch torso has the same load carriage. Change to 4 inch extensions (about .5 ounce more) , and a longer torso can carry 100 lbs or more.

We do have two frame weights a standard and guide. They weigh about 2 ounces difference.

 

[PathFinder]

I went from a kuiu ultra, to an Exo, to a Kifaru UL frame. I packed 80+ lbs out with each system. Both were heads ands shoulders above the kuiu frame and suspension. A short video in a weight room means nothing.

 

[pontoon]

I haven't measured my torso in a while so I forgot, but I'm 5'7" so it's probably pretty short. My size is part of why I want to minimize the weight. If a guy is 240 pounds, carrying a 60 pound pack, that's 25% pack compared to bodyweight. If I'm carrying 60 pounds, 46% pack compared to bodyweight. The base weight for my pack is going to be about 26 pounds, and that includes the bino harness and binos, rifle, spotting scope, and tripod. Also for some of you guys talking about carrying 150 pounds, if I'm being realistic with myself, I'm not going to carry over 100% of my bodyweight, so I'll have to make more trips out if the distance is far.

Thanks for the info. I'm definitely leaning towards Revolution + Fortress + Talon combo. 4 pounds for a flexible setup that gives me everything except waterproof camo is not so bad. I guess solid green will blend in well enough? Maybe I can use a camo talon with the green bag and at least get part camo.

 

[pontoon]

I went from a kuiu ultra, to an Exo, to a Kifaru UL frame. I packed 80+ lbs out with each system. Both were heads ands shoulders above the kuiu frame and suspension. A short video in a weight room means nothing.

Which KUIU suspension did you use? They've had at least 3 and I'm contemplating using the newest--the Icon Pro. I'm not considering the ULTRA 3000 suspension--just the pack. I've read that the ULTRA 3000 suspension was lacking.

 

[PathFinder]

Yeah I had the Ultra 6000. The bag struggled to compress and control loads as well. The SO packs will control a load much more effectively.

 

[COlineman78]

I tried the Kuiu Icon Pro first as well as I wasn't sure I wanted to spend $600+. It was enough to show me what a high end pack would give me, but I didn't feel like I was getting my money's worth as it couldn't be correctly adjusted to fit me. That being said, I also never carry a pack under 50lbs (except day hunting muzzleloader), so obviously not a weight weenie. I switched to a Kifaru and was up above 70lbs before I even noticed the weight.

As far as the different suspensions, the original Icon was crap. The Ultra is thinner and will break under heavy load. The Icon Pro is good, but has some weak spots in the design IMO and will eventually break if used with heavy loads. If you don't plan on ever carrying more than say 80lbs then this most likely won't be a problem.

With regards to your comment about wanting a pack under 3lbs using UL materials is something you really wanted, you should really consider the Kifaru KU3700 that I mentioned earlier as it's under 3lbs.

Also, a possibility for camo you could consider a camo rain cover or just make one by spray painting a non-camo one from Kuiu.

 

[Weekender]

I use the Kuiu pro with 6000 bag. I also have the 3200 bag which is a nicely laid out day pack but I'm going back to just using the 6000 without the lid for day pack. It's less weight no difference in size when compressed easy to stuff meat into it. Mostly heavy loads for me are 1 way trips not much more then 5 miles not really that big of deal. For me the Kuiu pack works but packs fit everyone different and I'm sure a kirafu would fit me good to. Good luck

 

[bbrown]

Picking a pack based entirely on weight is a bad idea. I would either order the front runners and get your hands on them or find someone local with the frames you are considering and give them a run and see what works best for you