Is there one brand that is truly the best for carrying weight?

[Wrench]

When you say the internals all require adjustment as the load settles....

I would have to remove the load from my seek for example to re adjust the suspension by getting to the tri glides on the back of the frame. Are you saying you would have to remove the meat to get re adjusted?

Also, the Exo K4 for example, would that be considered an external frame? The bag removes from the frame, meant attaches to the frame and then the bag re attaches. Would that pack have the same benefits of an external like a barney's or old school Dana like you mentioned?

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You will not be able to keep meat in the same shape if it's off the bone or in an internal frame.....regardless of what brand.

 

[justin davis]

Kifaru for me

 

[sr80]

I absolutely think that is true, in that the way it rides on your body has to be set every time. The pack doesn't land in the same place, or return to your personal "zero" every time.

Loosen waist, shoulder straps, load lifters, and when you put it on, always do it in the same order/process setting those (belt, shoulder straps, load lifters). Load lifters can make very small adjustments in how much load hits the top of your back vs front of chest, with extremely small changes. By loosening every time, once the weight is set on your hips and your harnessing is in the right place, then you just bring that bag in towards your upper back. Fit can really change with small amounts of foam in the lumbar pad (and where in that pad) as well, and how that thing can stay parked as you move.

this right here, everytime you put your pack back on you need to readjust everything from scratch. This is why you see guys in pictures with the load lifters sucked up so tight to their frame with zero lift or adjustment left - they don't loosen anything and then when putting the pack on they reef on the load lifters again and start hiking.

 

[sndmn11]

It would be like zipping and buttoning your pants, and then trying to put them on.

 

[Alaska92]

Incorrect pack fit/adjustment is a major problem in the hunting realm. I see it constantly. A lot of the time it is visible in the pack manufacturers own marketing pictures. I believe a lot of the “issues with comfort” that many have, with this pack or that pack, are due to this issue. Discomfort from incorrect pack adjustment is magnified with increased weight in the pack as well as how the weight is distributed on/in the pack. Without a doubt, some frame/suspensions fit some people better than others based on anatomy. Nonetheless, a lot just suffer from incorrect suspension adjustment. Take the time to get educated on this. A few pack companies have some fairly good videos on this that can be helpful. Frame height is a thing. Load lifter angle is a thing. Weight distribution in/on the pack is a thing.

 

[fatlander]

Barney’s will carry weight better than everything that’s been listed in this thread. There’s a reason Alaskan guides tote them.


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[sr80]

Barney’s will carry weight better than everything that’s been listed in this thread. There’s a reason Alaskan guides tote them.


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ive never worn a barneys pack, i have seen one at a trade show once. I don't doubt theyre comfortable from what everyone says. But i dont understand how they are? They're belts do not look that great, there is no lumbar pad, someone let me in on the secret...

 

[grfox92]

ive never worn a barneys pack, i have seen one at a trade show once. I don't doubt theyre comfortable from what everyone says. But i dont understand how they are? They're belts do not look that great, there is no lumbar pad, someone let me in on the secret...

I don't know much about them but my huddy just got back from Alaska and it's what all the guides had.

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[Alaska92]

I’ve used multiple Barney’s packs for years. I currently have the newest version with the Hunter bag. I’ve had the Yukon and the Pinnacle bags. There is a lumbar pad as an accessory you can get now. They do carry heavy weight well. They are a bit bulky and noisy. Guides like them for their size, but primarily their robustness. They are built like a tank. I certainly prefer them for certain applications.

 

[bradmacmt]

The Barney's looks about as good as it gets for pure heavy load hauling. I've gone back to floating, full wrap-around hip belts. When I had more of a butt, a belt with a lumbar pad was fine, but I'm eating my words (and old opinion) - overall, a wraparound belt will stay cinched and not slip like a belt running behind a lumbar pad (provided the webbing doesn't slip). A lesson I'd sort of forgot when I abandoned wraparound belt packs in the early/mid 1980's. What's old is new again...

 

[bradmacmt]

Incorrect pack fit/adjustment is a major problem in the hunting realm. I see it constantly.

It's a thing, period. I see it backpacking constantly. I'd say 90-95% of the packs I see aren't fitted or worn (driven) correctly. It's one reason so many pack makers abandoned internals with tunable/bendable/shapeable stays and went to the fits-all, generic, trampoline frames. Even then, the average person has no idea what a proper fitting pack looks (or feels) like.

 

[roosiebull]

I’ve used multiple Barney’s packs for years. I currently have the newest version with the Hunter bag. I’ve had the Yukon and the Pinnacle bags. There is a lumbar pad as an accessory you can get now. They do carry heavy weight well. They are a bit bulky and noisy. Guides like them for their size, but primarily their robustness. They are built like a tank. I certainly prefer them for certain applications.

I have considered getting one for a dedicated pack frame for hauling meat or tree stands only… I just don’t know how much I’d actually use it… might be an excuse to go back to light/sleek for archery elk, but I hate walking out empty when there’s meat on the ground… especially if it’s a sucky walk to and from

I have been toying with the idea though

 

[Alaska92]

It's a thing, period. I see it backpacking constantly. I'd say 90-95% of the packs I see aren't fitted or worn (driven) correctly. It's one reason so many pack makers abandoned internals with tunable/bendable/shapeable stays and went to the fits-all, generic, trampoline frames. Even then, the average person has no idea what a proper fitting pack looks (or feels) like.

Absolutely! This can’t be stressed enough.

 

[Smcask100]

+1 for exos k4. The load distribution is even and transferred to your core/ lower extemities. I’ve found the lumbar support and hip belt to be most comfortable when compared to some of the other packs, although I haven’t carried weight and been on extended trips with others.

 

[plebe]

A SO is a very comfortable pack if you are carrying nothing more than your knife and a sack lunch, after that it is a no go.

The K4 is awesome, the SG is awesome but the 26” frame is to tall for me, the Kifaru is awesome but not quite on the same level as the K4 for me.

Perhaps a bit over the top there. Seek‘s Revo is a pretty capable frame. Maybe it’s not cut out for really brutal loads, but works for some. It’s still pretty darn good in it’s weight class, which truly is ultralight.

 

[Highlands Hunter]

Perhaps a bit over the top there. Seek‘s Revo is a pretty capable frame. Maybe it’s not cut out for really brutal loads, but works for some. It’s still pretty darn good in it’s weight class, which truly is ultralight.

I am only sharing my experience. It does works for some, just not for me.
I used one for 3 years and realized it’s just not comfortable for me when carry much more that the typical items need for day hunting.
I went on a 25 mile backpack trip through the mountains of Montana in 2021 and had around 43 lbs in my SO. That was the last time I used it. There a number of other reasons it doesn’t work for me as well. Anyway, if anyone likes SO and find their packs comfortable, good for you.
I really like the K3, I really like the Stone Glacier (it’s just to tall for me), I like the Kifaru Duplex 24” but it’s a bit to tall as well.
Now I have the K4 and it’s a great pack that carries weight well and it fits my torso.

 

[plebe]

I am only sharing my experience. It does works for some, just not for me.
I used one for 3 years and realized it’s just not comfortable for me when carry much more that the typical items need for day hunting.
I went on a 25 mile backpack trip through the mountains of Montana in 2021 and had around 43 lbs in my SO. That was the last time I used it. There a number of other reasons it doesn’t work for me as well. Anyway, if anyone likes SO and find their packs comfortable, good for you.
I really like the K3, I really like the Stone Glacier (it’s just to tall for me), I like the Kifaru Duplex 24” but it’s a bit to tall as well.
Now I have the K4 and it’s a great pack that carries weight well and it fits my torso.

I have the K4, DL, SO Revo, and recently got an R3. Had a Kuiu Pro and MR.

They are all high quality and capable, imo. I couldn’t tell anyone which brand will be truly best for carrying weight for them…nor which bag has the features they’ll like most. I’ve more than a few to choose from.

The K4 is incredibly well built and streamlined, but of all them, for whatever reason it’s the belt that moves on me the most of all. Under heavy loads it kind of settles down and finds it’s place. The bags are a bit narrow in my opinion, but that’s by design and I get why. Despite some belt wander, I‘ll enthusiastically recommend folks try the K4 because they might not have that issue with the belt and it could indeed be the best for them.

On the Revo, I think it isn’t the best choice for wider people. With how the tubular frame wraps around the hips, I could imagine it creating pressure. Also, it is super comfortable under lighter loads without the lumbar pad but adding the lumbar pad under heavier loads is beneficial, at lest for me. The frame extensions are nice for switching between day mode and haul mode. Idk, I find it pretty nice beyond a sack lunch or dayhunt load. It however has the least ventilation of all the frames I’ve used.

 

[prm]

Of course the answer will be unique to you. However, I have been carrying loads back to back with a Kifaru Ark, EXO K4, and a Mystery Ranch Mule. The Ark is clearly better for me. With ~40lbs, the EXO will settle just a bit until the straps pick up a portion of the load. At ~85-90lbs the straps end up with quite a bit of load. That is with the belt as tight as I can get it. The Ark belt will hold all weight at 40, and most at 85-90. I prefer the Kifaru bag (Stryker XL) to the K4 3600. Wish I would have tried the 2200 K4, might have suited me better. I have adjust the EXO extensively to ensure that wasn’t a contributor. Its a good pack, just not as good as the Ark for me.

 

[dlee56]

Seems like the key thing the OP mentioned is that it constantly needs adjusted. My brother had a kuiu pack that would just get loose and sloppy because of the crappy buckles and sliders. That was never an issue when we switched to kifaru with the auto-lock sliders

 

[Article 4]

The quality one that fits your body best.

Agree here. Kifaru, Stone Glacier and quite a few others will carry 150 lbs plus, which is a lot. Get fitted and then run the one that feels the best