nevadabugle
WKR
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2013
- Messages
- 737
Like most people out there over 4 feet tall the Mystery Ranch NICE frame is too short to provide much lift off my shoulders. So, instead of selling the frame I just modified it to become a 23-24" frame. The mod is basically temporary and you can remove the extra height at any time. For a recent trip to Alaska I removed the extra stays and packed them in my bow case so the NICE frame was short enough to carry on. Once on the ground I reinstalled the extra stays and the pack was ready to hunt at 24" height.
Picture 1 shows the buckles and webbing that I built to attach the stays to the frame. Picture 2 shows the buckles and one of the stays. The stays are a piece of aluminum tubing with some webbing and a ladder lock attached. I also JB welded a male buckle to the bottom of the stay. Picture 3 shows one of the buckles attached to the cross member. Picture 4 is both stays attached and Picture 5 shows the amount of lift I can now get with the upgrade.
If you never plan on using the NICE frame buckles that are intended for the load sling you do not need to sew the buckles on like I did. You can simply flip the origional buckles up between the frame and the cross bar. Infact, I used my stays this way for years before adding the new buckles.
Does this carry as well as a 26" Longhunter Frame....NO. Does it carry better than the standard NICE.....HELL YES!!





Picture 1 shows the buckles and webbing that I built to attach the stays to the frame. Picture 2 shows the buckles and one of the stays. The stays are a piece of aluminum tubing with some webbing and a ladder lock attached. I also JB welded a male buckle to the bottom of the stay. Picture 3 shows one of the buckles attached to the cross member. Picture 4 is both stays attached and Picture 5 shows the amount of lift I can now get with the upgrade.
If you never plan on using the NICE frame buckles that are intended for the load sling you do not need to sew the buckles on like I did. You can simply flip the origional buckles up between the frame and the cross bar. Infact, I used my stays this way for years before adding the new buckles.
Does this carry as well as a 26" Longhunter Frame....NO. Does it carry better than the standard NICE.....HELL YES!!




