Bmoore
Lil-Rokslider
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2019
- Messages
- 132
New to the site. Sorry in advance for the long post but I really looking forward to some good dialogue. I’m an eastern whitetail hunter with no experience with backpacking of any kind. I was lucky enough to be invited to do my first western elk hunt next October. I’m very excited to try this out.
I’ve been told that the plan is to set up a base camp next to the trucks and then hike to the elk and if successful, haul all the meat back to camp on our backs. So I’m in the market for my first pack. Something that I can pack with some rain gear and insulating layer and also pack out some elk meat.
I have been starting to get ideas from forums on this site and elsewhere and know that good packs are worth the money but I have a hard 300 dollar cap for this purchase. There’s just no way I can spend anymore and still make the trip next year. That all being said, in looking over packs I’ve found all the information to be mostly confusing. First, packs come in a wide variety of different sizes. How big a pack would I need to pack some outerwear in on the way up the mountain and an elk quarter on the way down? With no experience the cubic foot ratings associated with packs don’t really mean anything to me. I just don’t have anything experience to know what 2000 or 6000 cubic feet really is.
Also, theres external frames and internal frames. What is best for this style of hunt? I’ve seen some with a meat shelf and others with no external frame at all.
Thirdly, I have been looking at used as an option but so many have different sizes waist bands and such. How would I know what size waist band I would need? How can I tell that the pack will fit me?
Mostly, with the wide range of options and so many different opinions on what to do I’ve gotten more confused than I was when I didn’t know anything about packs. I’m looking for some solid information that can help get me into the backcountry hunting world. Any and all advice is appreciated. Like I said, this is all very outside my usual hunting and the overwhelming amount of options has really got me confused.
Thanks for any help you guys can give. I hope this first trip will not be my last out west, but for now, I just need to piece together some gear to get the first one under my belt.
I’ve been told that the plan is to set up a base camp next to the trucks and then hike to the elk and if successful, haul all the meat back to camp on our backs. So I’m in the market for my first pack. Something that I can pack with some rain gear and insulating layer and also pack out some elk meat.
I have been starting to get ideas from forums on this site and elsewhere and know that good packs are worth the money but I have a hard 300 dollar cap for this purchase. There’s just no way I can spend anymore and still make the trip next year. That all being said, in looking over packs I’ve found all the information to be mostly confusing. First, packs come in a wide variety of different sizes. How big a pack would I need to pack some outerwear in on the way up the mountain and an elk quarter on the way down? With no experience the cubic foot ratings associated with packs don’t really mean anything to me. I just don’t have anything experience to know what 2000 or 6000 cubic feet really is.
Also, theres external frames and internal frames. What is best for this style of hunt? I’ve seen some with a meat shelf and others with no external frame at all.
Thirdly, I have been looking at used as an option but so many have different sizes waist bands and such. How would I know what size waist band I would need? How can I tell that the pack will fit me?
Mostly, with the wide range of options and so many different opinions on what to do I’ve gotten more confused than I was when I didn’t know anything about packs. I’m looking for some solid information that can help get me into the backcountry hunting world. Any and all advice is appreciated. Like I said, this is all very outside my usual hunting and the overwhelming amount of options has really got me confused.
Thanks for any help you guys can give. I hope this first trip will not be my last out west, but for now, I just need to piece together some gear to get the first one under my belt.