Is a "meat shelf" what you want in a pack?

[HookUp]

Currently running an EMR 2 and looking at the new Kifaru reckoning pack which has a meat shelf.

If I get the Reckoning can I just put the meat in my bag or do I need to use the meat shelf? If I bone out a mule deer and have a bag of meat will it ride on the meat shelf without coming out? How about multiple bags of boned out elk in a meat shelf? I don't want to find out the hard way what works and doesn't work with the shelf.

What do you prefer? any advice on this appreciated.

 

[geriggs]

Either bag should hold quarters or boned out meat. I'm assuming the reckoning is like that cause A Aron runs it and he is not a meat shelf guy. Plus it's a center zip just like the emr and looks like it has a lot of space. With all the compression straps nothing should come loose if u got it cinched up good and tight. I'm waiting on the reckoning. I have a cargo panel for big quarters and exo for smaller day hunts. I like both

 

[geriggs]

Reckoning should be able to do anything I want....big or small

 

[tttoadman]

Open meat shelf keeps the meat a little cooler from what I have seen. I have used the SG shelf and i have loaded meat in a 55L bag in a Kifaru MT warrior. I noticed a difference in how warm the meat was from packing in the Kifaru and the 55L closed bag compared to the open meat bag on the SG. Don't know if it would ever make a difference, but I thought I would share. This is the first year I used the Kifaru and the big dry bag. We were unloading immediately into a freezer powered by a generator. Everything worked out fine.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

I have several bags that do not have a meat shelf and one (Kifaru Tahr) that does. I do not ever use the meat shelf.

 

[Beendare]

No shelf for me.
I want a pack that holds the load in the right spot...and the right spot is more toward the middle of you back not low on a shelf.

Pack purchase is one of those things that has no right or wrong answer due to personal preference but knowing a few things might help you decide

When hauling boned out meat you discover a few different things;
1. Over time the blood rots out the fabric and seams in your pack from the inevitable leakage
2. Boned out meat acts almost like sand in your pack. If you don't have a system for controlling it you will end up with a big ball in the bottom or on your shelf with that 'sack of potatoes' feeling.

3. Pack fit is crucial...and poor fit usually doesn't rear its ugly head until you are loaded....thus testing them with a load is critical as there are no one size fits all packs. There are adjustable packs like Kifaru, MR, Exo, Stone Glacier, etc that fit a wide range of guys...or you can get a truly custom pack like my McHale. I told Dan McHale about the issues I've had with boned out meat loads and he designed a unique sling system that makes 80# loads feel like 50#. It doesn't hurt that my McHale feels like putting on a pair of Bierkenstocks....fit is everything so be sure to try these packs before buying....or get a money back guarantee.

Strapping game bags to a frame or use a compactor bag in your pack bag to keep blood from doing its thing is what most guys I know do to solve the blood thing. The problem with the compactor bag or any plastic is its slippery...so to combat the sack of potaotes thing you need a good strap system and/or a good tight meat bag that controls the load so it keeps the shape you want.

There are many ways to skin a cat on the pack/ meat hauler thing......but keep those 3 things in mind when buying

 

[jtw]

I like a meat shelf for smaller packs that you can't fit the meat inside. However, I like the shelf up higher like the exo shelf. A shelf at the bottom is no good, especially, as previously mentioned, for boned out meat. For larger bags, I prefer to haul the meat inside the bag.

 

[Kevin Dill]

Not the first time I've related this:

I like the concept of Kifaru's hanging (and tapered) meat bag, but I wanted a different bag to use with my meat-shelf pack...a Mystery Ranch Pintler. I got some dimensions together and called Jim Dean (Jimmy Tarps) to discuss. It ended with him crafting me a tapered meat transport bag made of sil-poly. It measures 18" wide at the opening, 13" wide at the bottom and is 30" in total length. I take a regular bag of meat and slide it into this transport/packing bag. The tapered shape keeps meat from doing the slip/slide/bulge deal. I lay the loaded meat bag between pack and frame, then fasten in all straps. The pack serves as a load sling/cargo panel. The meat shelf has some adjustability to ride high or low. With the meat load held in a more vertical position the shelf does an excellent job keeping meat up between my scapulae. That meat bag is a SUPER piece of gear to me and I think Jim has made several iterations of it by now. I carried 10 loads of moose meat on this day last month, plus the head/antlers. Nothing went inside my pack bag. I got exactly no blood on or in my pack anywhere during those 11 total pack loads. That amazed me.

 

[camping1601]

I tried it once and it wasn't for me. In the pack for me.

 

[wasatchcomm]

i used the kifaru hanging meat bag on my duplex with my 22mag strapped to it, not a meat shelf, but the hanging meat bag is so awesome,
you can use it with any of the big bags as well. like others have stated with boned out meat, it is going to end up balled cup and at the bottom of the bag unless you have some straps that can close off its ability to go to the bottom
the hanging meat bag has two straps to compress the meat into the size you ideally want used also in conjunction with the BOMB bags the meat is in perfect shape for hauling inside or outside.
in a nutshell im ok with both ideas, but with the hanging meat bag i don't need a shelf
i prefer the hanging meat bag. plus i can use it without any bag as well if i really want to go light....
wonder why they quit making it

 

[Beendare]

The meat bags Kevin described are really the way to go almost no matter what pack you use- shelf or not. I think Kifaru sells one but they would be cheap and easy to make.

Game bags alone dont work as IMO a guy wants that meat packed loosely so it can be rotated and cooled.

 

[Kevin Dill]

I could have had Jim add hanging straps or connections to my bag but decided against it. That's mainly because I knew they would do nothing for me. I've packed enough meat to know the bag I used...sandwiched between frame and pack bag...stays high and upright without the straps. It simplifies the loading a bit. The meat bag rides directly against the frame and closer than using the main pack bag. I've done enough of this to tell you I've never carried multiple loads of meat with greater comfort than those 10 bags a month ago. My hunting friend is taking that same tapered bag to Kodiak in a week and I'm betting he will use it to handle one or two bucks.

 

[castandblast]

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I could have had Jim add hanging straps or connections to my bag but decided against it. That's mainly because I knew they would do nothing for me. I've packed enough meat to know the bag I used...sandwiched between frame and pack bag...stays high and upright without the straps. It simplifies the loading a bit. The meat bag rides directly against the frame and closer than using the main pack bag. I've done enough of this to tell you I've never carried multiple loads of meat with greater comfort than those 10 bags a month ago. My hunting friend is taking that same tapered bag to Kodiak in a week and I'm betting he will use it to handle one or two bucks.

You sold me. I now have a silpoly bag that I had Jimmy make to your same specs and it looks like the ticket. Also had him make a smaller cordura bag in the same tapered shape for my training sandbag. It holds the weight right up where I want it and there is no way the sand can settle or ball up. View attachment 41931

 

[Lockster]

Man that's some fast work!

 

[castandblast]

Man that's some fast work!

For sure, and he had to wait a few days for a fresh supply of the Cordura!

 

[Kevin Dill]

You sold me. I now have a silpoly bag that I had Jimmy make to your same specs and it looks like the ticket. Also had him make a smaller cordura bag in the same tapered shape for my training sandbag. It holds the weight right up where I want it and there is no way the sand can settle or ball up.

Nice. I'm not the kind to blare a trumpet for someone, but Jim has been supremely helpful to me. I'm pretty sure he'll be refining the tapered meat-transport bag design and offering a few options.

Quite honestly, I was a big skeptic regarding the whole idea of packs designed with meat shelves and the 'sandwich' concept. Once I understood the potential advantages and then tried it I was very surprised. From past years of packing meat I knew there would still be the likelihood of boned meat bulging toward the bottom unless something totally prevented it. Enter the tapered bag...and all due credit to Kifaru for thinking of it. I would have had their bag but didn't want the hanging design and wanted greater length/depth.

 

[hunting1]

I wish Kifaru would make the Badlands 2200 like pack but with Kifaru quality. Until then it's my Mountain Warrior and meat inside with bag. I packed a good bear out this year in a bag and it still stinks. Gave it a bath with scent soap.

 

[wasatchcomm]

castandblast
how big a sand bag will that carry

i want one of those

 

[castandblast]

castandblast
how big a sand bag will that carry

i want one of those

I was afraid someone would ask that, and I would be forced to admit that I'm the only guy on here that doesn't train with 100 lbs.

Mine is 15" tall, 12" wide at the top, 9" wide at the bottom, and I can get about 40 lbs of sand in it. You can easily spec it out to hold more or less.

 

[KMT]

No.