I need recommendations for a good pack for my wife.

[thinhorn_AK]

Hello all, Im back again.

I want to get my wife a good pack set up for tagging along with me on a few trips and probably just general backpacking trips from 1-3 days. There are a few special needs here though. Firstly, she is small, 5'2 and about 120lbs so Im not sure what will fit her. Secondly, I need this pack to really get the weight on the hips, she is recovering from a herniated disc in her back so Im ready to spend a bit of extra $$$ to get something that will keep that weight where it needs to be.

Ill carry most of the heavier stuff but Basically, Id like her to carry her sleeping bag, pad and some clothing so maybe 20-30lbs at the most. I know usually this wouldn't require a high end pack but with her injured back and 30 lbs being a large chunk of her bodyweight % id like to get the right set up for her.

I was sort of considering getting her a 22" kifaru frame and either throwing my Tahr on it or maybe getting her a 22mag. Have any of you seen or set up a Kifaru pack for somebody that size? That being said, id consider another company as well for her like a SG, EXO, SO or even a KUIU if it would fit her well and keep the weight from compressing her spine. Im sure there are backpacking packs out there that could work but Id like to support a smaller hunting company if possible, also I just haven't come across a modern backpacking pack that I'd want to use for hunting.

Thanks!!!

 

[boom]

my wife didnt even include me in the decision. she found a local independent outdoor shop and got fitted. they didnt have one she liked, so they sent her out with her measurements. she bought a Gregory i think. she loves it.

we both felt she didnt need a hunting pack..hell, I'm carrying most of the stuff anyways here in the beginning.

 

[Topo_trekker]

I would consider looking for a women's specific pack, especially if she is small. Depending on her waist size, she probably won't be able to get the belt tight enough. My wife is about the same size and got a Deuter ACT Lite 45+10 SL. The ACT Lite SL is designed for women with a short torso and narrow dimensions. She carries about 25-30lbs really easily. IMO it's more about a correct fit than a heavy duty hunting frame.


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[thinhorn_AK]

I would consider looking for a women's specific pack, especially if she is small. Depending on her waist size, she probably won't be able to get the belt tight enough. My wife is about the same size and got a Deuter ACT Lite 45+10 SL. The ACT Lite SL is designed for women with a short torso and narrow dimensions. She carries about 25-30lbs really easily. IMO it's more about a correct fit than a heavy duty hunting frame.

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For sure, after more browsing, I don't really think Ill be able to find a pack from one of the major hunting companies that will work all that well for her, I was just hoping to go that way so down the road, she can come on some more serious hunts. Ill check out the dexter, thanks for that advice.

 

[WesternBounty]

I run kifaru. I am definitely taller than your wife at 5’7” but I know of other women who are shorter that also run kifaru like Kristy Titus and Tanya Avery. Kifaru does a great job at putting the weight on your hips in my opinion but I’ve only ever ran them and KUIU which over those two Kifaru was more comfortable. If you live in or near CO make a trip down and take your wife and go into kifaru let her try some packs on!


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[boom]

yea..that strap that goes across your chest is higher on a woman's pack.

 

[Lawnboi]

My wife is similar size. Has no problems using my packs, and chose the Kifaru 14r over some other backpacking brand packs. It wasn't long after I let her try it, I knew I wouldn't be getting it back.

Now I need to talk her into a frame as she wants to hunt and stay out a little longer.

That said she has no problem carrying over 20-30lbs. But the 14r with some pockets did her good for a weekender sized pack in mild conditions.

 

[LongWayAround]

I bought my lady an osprey pack that was on sale because they came out with a newer model. It's a nice pack that she hasn't had a lot of time to use. It will certainly be able to comfortably carry the amount of weight you described.

 

[rlg5]

I'll was going to suggest the Osprey as well. My wife is 5'1" and using the sirrus 24 for day hikes and it is working really well for her. it is a women specific design, and has some good thought put into it. The 24L is smaller than what you are looking for, but there are several with larger capacities in that series. I'm buying a 36L for myself if they ever go on sale.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

My wife is similar size. Has no problems using my packs, and chose the Kifaru 14r over some other backpacking brand packs. It wasn't long after I let her try it, I knew I wouldn't be getting it back.

Now I need to talk her into a frame as she wants to hunt and stay out a little longer.

That said she has no problem carrying over 20-30lbs. But the 14r with some pockets did her good for a weekender sized pack in mild conditions.

This is sort of where Im at. My wife is very athletic but hasn't really done any hunting or backpacking however, she says she wants to get a caribou and some blackmails, thats why I was thinking of trying to get her in a 22" kifaru set up.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I'll was going to suggest the Osprey as well. My wife is 5'1" and using the sirrus 24 for day hikes and it is working really well for her. it is a women specific design, and has some good thought put into it. The 24L is smaller than what you are looking for, but there are several with larger capacities in that series. I'm buying a 36L for myself if they ever go on sale.

I might check those out, my only reservation is that she does want to start hunting hopefully next year when her back has had more recovery time, thats why I was thinking about a frame pack.

 

[oldgoat]

My wife is 5'8" but has there torso of a midget. This is 22" frame with the Woodsman and she's carrying pretty much exactly what you are looking for your gal to carry. I wouldn't do the 22Mag, I think the Woodsman and lid or your Tahr and a lid would be better. My wife has quite a bit of arthritis issues and the Kifaru frame was a real godsend for her!

 

[thinhorn_AK]

My wife is 5'8" but has there torso of a midget. This is 22" frame with the Woodsman and she's carrying pretty much exactly what you are looking for your gal to carry. I wouldn't do the 22Mag, I think the Woodsman and lid or your Tahr and a lid would be better. My wife has quite a bit of arthritis issues and the Kifaru frame was a real godsend for her!

Thats awesome, thats what I was looking for!!! Im starting to think a 22" frame might be perfect, I can just use my tahr and guide lid and she would end up with a relatively light pack that could very comfortably carry her 20-30lbs and still be capable of adding more once the time comes. I don't think she will ever be hauiling "big" weight with it but it would be nice if in the future, she could occasionally carry ~40-50lbs.

 

[luke moffat]

My wife Becca has used a number of Kifaru packbags and a couple pack frames and they certainly work well for her. That said the for as much as she carries usually (she's only packed 90 pounds once) which is mostly 60-70 pound max the Kuiu Ultra 6K works very well for her and is very adjustable. Bonus is its less money and only 3 pounds. I still use this pack for my summer hikes as its lighter than my Kifaru and does very well up to 75-80 pounds for me.

Wife with full Kuiu 6K:

Wife with compressed Kuiu 6K:

Wife sporting a 7K cu in Kifaru on a Kodiak goat hunt:

Wife hauling her dall ram off in a Kifaru pack as well:

Wife hauling some caribou meat and gear out and then come back for the little antlers of a caribou I shot she was kind enough to pack for me.

For the money and weight the Kuiu is def hard to beat especially given the max load many women carry. Its not that I am trying to cheap out on my wife cause we swap packs back and forth often to see how they both for us as its nice to be able to use her pack at times since it is lighter by a large margin for different applications.

Also don't fear the taller frames...its a lot easier to dial a taller frame down to fit a very small person (my 5'0 yes 60" tall father next to Becca in the one pic) is running a 26" frame with no issues. Not only does it make it easier to fit taller people if you need to loan her pack out or borrow it yourself, it usually helps in resale if you ever go to sell it as a 26" frame fits more people than a 24" frame.

 

[Owenst7]

Have her try an Osprey Ariel on at REI or something. I just bought one for my girlfriend because she like my Aether so much. The straps are shaped to fit their shoulders/chest properly and they have a different belt. Pretty sure she'd be right in the fitment for a small, but you need to measure her torso and stuff.

I took my Aether 85 on a DIY pack-in elk/mulie hunt in October about 8 miles from a road. We packed out an elk and a buck. I carried 1/3 of a large cow and 2/3 of a bone-in buck plus spike camp over steep terrain with no complaints. I had the belt carrying all the weight with the lifters holding the shoulder straps off my traps. The construction of the frame allows the load to sit a lot closer to your back than any hunting pack I've used. My pack is also like 3 lbs lighter than my buddy's kifaru. Kifaru probably carries a bit better, but 99% of my miles are done with about 35 lbs.

 

[THBZN]

Hello all, Im back again.

I want to get my wife a good pack set up for tagging along with me on a few trips and probably just general backpacking trips from 1-3 days. There are a few special needs here though. Firstly, she is small, 5'2 and about 120lbs so Im not sure what will fit her. Secondly, I need this pack to really get the weight on the hips, she is recovering from a herniated disc in her back so Im ready to spend a bit of extra $$$ to get something that will keep that weight where it needs to be.

Ill carry most of the heavier stuff but Basically, Id like her to carry her sleeping bag, pad and some clothing so maybe 20-30lbs at the most. I know usually this wouldn't require a high end pack but with her injured back and 30 lbs being a large chunk of her bodyweight % id like to get the right set up for her.

I was sort of considering getting her a 22" kifaru frame and either throwing my Tahr on it or maybe getting her a 22mag. Have any of you seen or set up a Kifaru pack for somebody that size? That being said, id consider another company as well for her like a SG, EXO, SO or even a KUIU if it would fit her well and keep the weight from compressing her spine. Im sure there are backpacking packs out there that could work but Id like to support a smaller hunting company if possible, also I just haven't come across a modern backpacking pack that I'd want to use for hunting.

Thanks!!!

Mystery Ranch makes some great women's specific packs:
Women's Coulee 40 | Mystery Ranch Backpacks
Women's Stein 62 | Mystery Ranch Backpacks
Women's Glacier | Mystery Ranch Backpacks

Also, if you can wait until Jan/Feb, MR is launching women's specific harnessing for their Metcalf and Pintler models. Available in Sub Alpine, too for the full hunting pack option.

 

[TheTone]

Also, if you can wait until Jan/Feb, MR is launching women's specific harnessing for their Metcalf and Pintler models. Available in Sub Alpine, too for the full hunting pack option.

Thanks for that info! I've been considering getting my wife either a scapegoat 25 or a Stone Glacier Avail. The pintler with womens harnessing would be a pretty good choice as well

 

[Becca]

I was getting ready to reply, when I saw Luke beat me to it. I won’t rehash what he posted above because it’s accurate, at least for me. I will add that I am around the same size as your wife at 5’3 and 125-130lbs. I like the kuiu pack a lot for summer hiking trips, or occasions where I know I won’t have to pack a lot of weight (say less than 50lbs). I like Kifaru packs for times when I know I need to haul heavier/bulkier weights. I rarely pack over 65lbs if I can avoid it, but on the rare occasions I have had to haul 80 and the one time I did 90 having a quality pack made a big difference.

I would also encourage you to go for a larger capacity pack volume wise, even if you don’t plan for her to carry a lot of weight. The bulky items (sleeping bags, tents, puffy gear, etc) don’t weigh a lot but they take up a lot of space. Lots of times I take all the high volume stuff from Luke to make room for him to haul meat. I have never wished for a smaller volume pack, but have sometimes wished for a larger one. It’s easy to cinch down excess fabric but you can’t make more

Bottom line is, pack fit is individual. Best bet is to have her try on a few, with weight, and see what works best for her. An ill fitting pack can be uncomfortable with very minimal weight. I spent the summer trying to dial in our osprey kid carrier for hauling our infant daughter, and for whatever reason couldn’t get it to stop hurting my hips and shoulders, even with less than 25lbs in it. We ultimately ended up strapping it to a Kifaru duplex frame, and even though that added weight it has been far more comfortable for me that way.

 

[texag10]

It's worth checking out the see outside options that don't use the revolution frame. They weight around 2.5lbs IIRC and I can attest that their frame design does a great job transferring weight to your hips. They also allow for a good amount of torso flexibility while being very rigid vertically. Less money than a full kifaru setup too.

 

[E in CO]

Another thought if you want to test the waters before going full out with costs. You might check the classifieds for a used Spike Camp and call Kifaru to get a small or extra small belt made for her. When my daughter wanted to go for 2-nights with me, i got her set up with my SC and an extra small belt. It put the same type of weight you are talking about on her hips and she didn't notice it at all. I think we could've certainly put some more weight in the pack if it was a cold weather trip, hunting, etc. Now, it is "her pack" but that is cool and worth it. Best of luck getting her set up.