I have the best backpack

[bobhunts]

Hand me down external of what brand I do not know? Kelty Red Cloud..REI XT85..3 different Badlands packs...The KUIU icon 1st gen..with two bags and the Kifuru Dt1 ..just bought the Hicamp.

 

[R Miller]

Sass Flex, Black Geyser, Whipsnake and FT Sidewinder Guide. Settled on Kifaru G1 Longhunter Guide or HC 7000

 

[muleman]

I knew the whipsnake would show up. For those who don't know this pack check it out on youtube. Steve Climber is awesome. I'm down with anything he endorses. Except the La Crevasse Wedge.

 

[husky390]

Numerous 80's vintage external frame packs.
Gerber Turkey hunting pack I bought at Cabela's. It was a great day pack but couldn't haul much. I sold it to a buddy who needed a pack but I wish I had bought two of them. Great little pack.
Badlands 2200, didn't like how it fit.
Badlands Monster Fanny, I wanted to light it on fire and throw it off a cliff.
Eberlestock Gunslinger, used it last year and it's a good day pack. I still have it
Kifaru T1, Still getting used to it but I like it so far. I wish it had a side zipper. I may upgrade to a Duplex frame and EMR II for next year.
I'd like to try out a Stone Glacier and Hill People Gear Ute pack someday.

 

[charvey9]

Had several camo no-name packs growing up, which had more in common with school packs than anything I've used since. I also had some time lugging around a few old cheap external frame packs as a kid on family camping trips. Wish I had pictures handy, but I don't.

First "real" pack was a North Face 150. Fairly light, had functioning load lifters, and decent waist belt and shoulder straps. Did a 48 mile hike across Isle Royale with it and about 40lbs of gear. I still use it some on non-hunting trips, but would say 40-50lbs was the comfortable limit for the pack.


Next I bought a Eberlestock Just One Dragonfly Pack with rifle scabbard. Good pack with nice belt and meat hauling compartment, packed out my first quartered blacktail with this pack, but it was heavy at about 9.5lbs empty. However, this was the pack that got me into the idea of backpack hunting more seriously.


My next pack was a Tenzing 6000. I was looking for something lighter than the Eberlestock, but had not yet committed to make the jump toward a high end meat hauler. I put a lot of miles under it bow and rifle hunting, and still think it was a good pack for the money. Very good for organizing stuff, lots of handy pockets which I miss. However, it still came in at 7.5lbs empty and the suspension system was lacking. 55lbs in this pack was a painful day.


This year I purchased a new Stone Glacer Sky 7400 and am thrilled with it. As you would expect, of the packs I've owned, it is proving to have the best suspension, loadlifters, and belt that I have worn and weighs in at 4.75lbs or so empty. I haven't fully tested the load hauling capabilities, but am pretty confident it will perform. With a huge push to cut weight out of my pack this year, I'm usually hauling around about 32lbs and have yet to pack more than 40lbs...but even that is more comfortable than any pack I've owned. The minimalist pack approach took a different strategy for packing, and I do miss the pockets on the Tenzing, but the comfort level more than makes up for the extra work with every step.


I think I'm done with packs for awhile, but would like to try a Kifaru sometime in the future.

 

[marc]

I started with a Tactical Tailor modified ALICE pack. Used it for all my time in the infantry and my first 4 or 5 years hunting the mountains. Moved on to Badlands after and have owned just about everything they made. Next was Osprey and I still own one of them. For some reason I can make any medium Osprey fit and be comfortable. Tried several Sitka packs with no luck. Really disliked the KUIU 1850. Picked up a Kifaru and like it but just got in an EXO and I have high hopes for it. If all goes well I will be selling a bunch of other packs.

 

[209hunter]

I started out with a cheap Big 5 frame pack and used that on my first 3 or 4 overnight backpacking trips. Then I bought a Crooked Horn day pack which was my first real hunting pack. Next was a Kelty Coyote 80 that I only used for a year or two.

This was all before I got into backpack hunting. I bought a Eberlestock J34 at the beginning of this year because I loved the concept and thought that $330 should get me a damn good pack lol. Well between a few 40lb overnight trips and discovering this forum Im starting to learn otherwise. I still think the J34 is a decent pack but if the new Exo 3500 turns out to be as good as advertised then that will probably be on my back next season.

Kelty Coyote 80



J34