So I was in this dilemma a few months ago. I had a trip planned to Missouri for Whitetail. I started looking at my packing list and the biggest items I had to pack and where my bib set. I ended up ordering in Easton ruck And went on my trip. In my pack I had my bibs, piss bottles, water, snacks, hot hands, grunt call, flash light, coffee cup, wipes, zip lock, beanie/neck gaiter, ammo and some other little things. It worked out perfect. I would walk close to a mile to my stand and the pack was comfy. I enjoyed using it
I've taken a fulcrum and an EMR2 up trees with me, and have been doing it all season with my 22 Mag which I love. This is often with climber or my saddle, I like to be able to carry in all my extra layers and have plenty of ability to lash stuff to the pack...
I run my lone wolf climber platform attached straight to my frame then I run a native with all my stuff in it. When I get to the tree I unclip my native, throw it on my back and up the tree I go. The frame beats the hell out of those sucky nylon straps that come with the stand. I have dropped the large pocket off the back of the native.
I haven't used the Eastern Ruck to transport any tree stands or in the whitetail woods yet, but I used it on my Kodiak Blacktail hunt this year and I loved the layout of the pack. So much so, that I think I'm going to remove the frame and use it as my primary pack attached to the hunter frame on my next trip to Kodiak for bear. It is much bigger than I thought and it carries a ton of gear.
I've thought about taking it with me to my whitetail camp just to use it as a straight bag to see how I like it. I am currently using the Badlands whitetail pack and it works fine for my application, but I can drive an ATV right up to my stands and just about anything would work in that scenario.
I’ve done pretty alright with an E&E as my whitetail hunting pack. I don’t carry much in, as my firstlite puffy packs into its own pocket, and I can bungie bulkier items to the back of the pack if necessary. I’ve switched to saddle hunting mostly so I’m only carrying a bow and a bundle of LW climbing sticks in now. Pretty streamlined.