MR Beartooth 80 vs Marshall

[dukesilver]

I had a Pintler and just sold it because I needed a bigger bag. The last couple of years I hunted CO 2nd and 3rd rifle season. We would hunt 3-4 nights before returning to the truck to get more food. I had to carry some stuff in a dry bag on the load shelf which was a PITA, so I would like to avoid that.

Right now I am between the Beartooth and the Marshall. I would like something that I could hunt for a week out of if need be but most trips would likely be 3-5 days. Right now, I am just paranoid that the Beartooth would be too small since my last bag was too small. My thought was buy the Marshall because it is a bigger bag and I can always cinch it down for shorter trips. Is the Marshall overkill and too much bag for 3-5 day trips?

I know it depends on how you pack but it be reasonable to think that I could do a week out of a Beartooth? The I know the Beartooth is probably the better size for 3-5 day trips but I'm just paranoid about buying a bag that is too small again. I would love to hear from people that actually own both bags and have more experience backcountry hunting than me. I have only been on 2 trips.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I swapped my Metcalf (70L) for a beartooth (80L). I like it better but I’d say a can get about the same amount of gear in both. I just find it harder to cram a panel loader. 3-5 days feels like a sweet spot for these bags.

The marshal is a monster bag. More than 2x your pintler. I was never filling mine up on short trips so I sold it. It could easily do 5 days or more. Easy enough to strap it down if you have less gear.

2-4 days in my beartooth is great. 5 or more is doable but might require some rigging of gear on the outside of the pack. If my trips were on the 4+ day end with some 5,6,7 or more days, I would think about a Marshal.

PS - I think a lot of people buy marshals and, like me, figure out they are too much bag. Watch the classifieds and they pop up often.

 

[fbhandler]

Selway is a solid choice for 3-4 days with decent gear

 

[Texastrouthunter]

Love my Beartooth I got this year, packed out 2 whitetail (whole) and couldn't be happier. I wouldn't have trouble packing a 5 day trip in it especially with the top pouch attached but it just depends on what gear you have and food. get a trash bag of similar size and see if you can fit your supplies in it, that's the easiest way to know for sure that it is what you need

 

[Texastrouthunter]

BTW the whitetail were Texas coastal deer weighing in at 90# each fielddressed and was able to pack each one out in the load shelf. When not loaded the pack also squeezes down super compact

 

[WyoWrangler]

Really enjoy my beartooth, helped pack out a friend’s elk with it. Had a hind quarter, backstraps, and loins, the pack performed awesome. There’s a lot of space in this bag with the lid and when removing the lid and tighten it down it compresses very nice. As someone who has got to compare the two frames MR has in there load hauling category I would definitely choose the beartooth or wait for the Marshall to come out with the new frame.

 

[dukesilver]

Thanks for the responses. It looks like the Beartooth gets a lot of love around here. I'm leaning in that direction. I'm thinking the Marshall will be too much for most of my trips. Plus the Beartooth will make me pack smarter. Can't bring junk I don't actually need. Talked to Mystery Ranch today and they said the website will be updated with the 2020 stuff by the end of the week. I'm going to wait until then to check it out.

Do you guys find the Beartooth 270 degree zip is actually more convenient than the top/side access of the Metcalf/Marshall? To me it looks like if you had a lot of gear crammed into the bag it would be really difficult to zip the Beartooth closed again.

 

[Crowmangler]

Curious as to the PITA comment about the dry bag on the load shelf. Was it because it didn't "ride" good or just the fact of having to deploy the shelf?
I just picked up the Sawtooth because I like a smaller pack while hunting & planned on putting "camp stuff" in the dry bag on the shelf if needed.
My other choice was the Beartooth
Thanks in advance for the response.

 

[dukesilver]

Yeah, first off just deploying and undeploying the load shelf on the guidelight frame is annoying and takes awhile. It is my understanding that with the new guidelight MT on the Beartooth it is actually easier to access the load shelf.

Second when you are hiking it is really hard to take something out of the bag and then put it back in the bag with something on the load shelf. When you have the main bag cinched down to hold the dry bag in place and you lose that space in the pack when you take something out because the bag gets sucked towards the dry bag and the frame. To get that space back you have to loosen all of the straps connecting the bag to the frame. Then you have to tighten them again. It just takes forever to get something out of your bag that way. I found myself just not getting anything I needed out of my bag in this situation because it was so annoying.

 

[dukesilver]

Ok so just pulled the trigger on the Beartooth. Thanks for all of the help guys.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Midnightmalloy]

I was thinking of running a beartooth without the lid and just compressing it for day hunts. That’s what I do now with my stone glacier.