i'm thinking of buying a MR longbow. questions.

[boom]

i destroyed my Badlands 2800. last year, i brought out multiple elk quarters..(dont know how i always seem to get a rear quarter)

my recent AZ trip pushed it over the top. zippers/straps/seams..failed. i'll get it fixed under warranty..i'll give it away after that. i cant sell it. hehe.

i'm looking for a "daypack" to handle the trips that the Kifaru stays home. summer scout trips, day hunts from truck camp, etc. it needs to be able to carry my bow, my spotting scope/tripod, day gear..and hopefully animal quarters. except for the price (and weight?, my BL was no lightweight either), i think the longbow seems to fit the bill.

i love the packs cleanliness in terms of straps and panels. i love how it appears narrow and shouldnt affect my bow shots while wearing it.

any inputs? any reviews?

i'll keep an eye out for a used one, of course!!

 

[realunlucky]

Your looking for a stand alone day pack that will pack meat or your wanting to use your kifaru frame and attach a smaller bag?

 

[boom]

stand alone. good question.

 

[todd kelly]

Have a look at the dragon slayer as well. Same layout, but a bit lighter and smaller package with the same cu/in. I've used mine to haul out bear quarters a few time and it works really well. Not as nice as the NICE frame but as far as day packs go your not going to find anything tougher. Although with the longbow you do have the ability to put meat in between the frame and bag.

 

[boom]

Have a look at the dragon slayer as well. Same layout, but a bit lighter and smaller package with the same cu/in. I've used mine to haul out bear quarters a few time and it works really well. Not as nice as the NICE frame but as far as day packs go your not going to find anything tougher. Although with the longbow you do have the ability to put meat in between the frame and bag.

todd. that was actually the direction i was headed. i called MR to ask about the dragon slayer (hydration pack and spotting scope ques) ..and some hunting woman, kinda up-sold me

she said the NICE frame would carry meat better...the lady had an awesome voice and she hunts! i should have gotten a job in montana. haha.

 

[Nick Muche]

Basically a 7lb pack for 2400 CI. I think you can do better with several options from Kifaru. Just my thoughts.

 

[boom]

kinda over wading thru the kifaru options. just want to buy a pack and be done. no shopping pods/pockets/pouches..
the spike camp is nice. at 4 lbs too!

i dont think 3 lbs makes or breaks a daypack. if a MR is anything like our old Dana pack..it will be a tank!

 

[bbrown]

The dragonslayer is just over 4lbs for what its worth and makes a damn nice day pack.

 

[todd kelly]

Depends on what your looking for. The longbow does give you more options on packing out larger loads in between the frame and bag, and with the addition of the lift kit you'll get the lift the dragon slayer lacks. The dragon slayer feels more like a day pack where as the longbow feels like a serious meat/gear hauler.

I used my dragon slayer for years as my main day pack and would load as much meat into it as possible for the first trip out, and then would return with my NICE frame for the rest of the meat.

With the longbow, you should be able to get the better part of a deer, if not all out in your first trip.

 

[Shrek]

Why would the Kifaru stay home ? I don't know what you already have but if you're going to haul meat then you need a decent frame and you already have the best all around frame unless you have a timberline internal so why another frame ? All the big Kiaru bags will collapse down well so I'm trying to understand. Day pack that needs to haul heavy loads is a Bikini or Duplex with an appropriate bag hanging on it imo.

 

[boom]

Depends on what your looking for. The longbow does give you more options on packing out larger loads in between the frame and bag, and with the addition of the lift kit you'll get the lift the dragon slayer lacks. The dragon slayer feels more like a day pack where as the longbow feels like a serious meat/gear hauler.

I used my dragon slayer for years as my main day pack and would load as much meat into it as possible for the first trip out, and then would return with my NICE frame for the rest of the meat.

With the longbow, you should be able to get the better part of a deer, if not all out in your first trip.

this is great info!! thanks. i am leaning back towards the Dragon slayer. haha. i am however in negotiations with a seller over at AT about his longbow. (exact color and size i would buy)..the highlighted sentence above..is great info. damn. choices!!

 

[dotman]

I think you should try the new EXO pack.

 

[Darren Best]

I had the NICE Longbow and very much disliked it. I sold it and bought a Stone Glacier Solo. In my opinion it is a much better pack in every way and at half the weight.

 

[tipsntails7]

Instead of the dragon slayer I would go with the bighorn, I absolutely hated te nice frame but loved the longbow, looked into the bighorn and to me it is a wonderful bag, a little bigger then the longbow, lighter and for me rides much better, I wouldn't pack 100 pounds out with it but scouting and and summer backpacking it is awesome. I've done 60-70 and it is quite doable.

 

[Riplip]

Elkhunter_241 - How's the solo treating you. I would think that bag offers the best of both worlds. Small enough for day use, but enough room for a few nights with excellent load hauling frame? I almost pulled the trigger on the DS but am now thinking about the SG Solo. Thoughts?

 

[Darren Best]

I love the Solo and honestly the NICE Longbow was miserable, I hated that pack. I know some guys love them, but I couldn't get to like it at all and at nearly 7 pounds empty, it wasn't inline with what I thought a light and fast pack should be.

The Solo comes in just a hair over 3.5 pounds, collapses down very nice as a day pack and yet also is a full backpack when you need one. My Solo, sleeping bag, pad and a tarp weigh less than a NICE 6500 weighed empty and just a little bit over a NICE Longbow empty.

I will warn you though, if you are a kitchen sink kind of guy, the Solo is not for you. Your gear list needs to be tight and you need to be using compact gear. You cannot throw everything from a 5000 ci pack and expect it to fit.

The icing on the cake is the customer service from Kurt, he is 100% behind you being happy with the pack and will go out of his way to make sure you are.

 

[hammer0419]

Longbow on a Kifaru Bikini frame is the ticket!!! Love it.

 

[bigeasygator]

Bikini and Longbow all the way.

 

[stephen b]

I had the NICE Longbow and very much disliked it. I sold it and bought a Stone Glacier Solo. In my opinion it is a much better pack in every way and at half the weight.

^^^ this.

I went through the same situation ( actually I have had a few different packs) and have finally figured out what works for me. And now I use a SG Solo 90% of the time.

I am in total agreement with what EH 241 is saying. I really tried to like a Nice frame for 3-4 years and had a Longbow bag for it. But... It did not work for me. Was OK for super light day load ( 15-20 lbs all up) even though bag and frame empty are heavy- a 1/3 of that. And for heavy meat loads the frame obviously handled it- but my back did not like it. Pack outs were less of a problem for me than the 35-40 lbs bivy loads that I would have on my back all the time compared to the time used packing meat. That Nice frame and its designed inflexibility was terrible on my back. I felt like my mid back was fighting against the shoulder harness and hipbelt like my midback was the center of a teeter totter. The center straight vertical and straight horizontal bar would hit right on my midback curve and there was no place for my back to settle into.

When I discussed this with MR CS ( who are great BTW) they said- "OH yeah- the Nice frame is not designed for 30 LB loads". They will tell you that.

I have, and have had other DD and MR packs and most of them have been great. But the Nice frame is not one of them for me. I bought my wife a 6.5 LB MR 4500 ci Glacier pack that has the same shoulder harness and Contour waistbelt has the Nice frame ( but different suspension- it is a guide lite I think) and the Glacier is a pleasure with the 29-32 lbs that I usually have her carry.

So FWIW- if I wanted a day pack from MR, I would get either a DS; Big Sky; or a Bighorn ( that are now on sale).

And if I wanted a day hunter and meat hauler in one- I would either get a SG pack or a Kifaru.

But that is just my opinion.

 

[bbrown]

So FWIW- if I wanted a day pack from MR, I would get either a DS; Big Sky; or a Bighorn ( that are now on sale).

He is onto something here with the Bighorn on sale for only $300...