Need serious pack help!

[Muley15]

New to the forum and overwhelmed with all the pack options out there. I hunt primarily the northwest corner of south dakota for mule deer and am looking for a lighter pack that would hold my day gear, 2 water bladders, spotting scope/tripod and mounts a bow sufficiently. I also need something that will be good for pack outs. We always set up camp and bike in as far as we can go. Last year I bought the Slumberjack Bounty and its a tank. Looking to lighten it up next year. Was looking at the Kuiu Ultra 3000 or 6000 but open to just about anything. Price don't matter as I want this to be my last pack purchase for this.

 

[Frito]

A much smaller pack than the 3000 and 6000 that I am running is a Kifaru 14'r. It's great for day hunting and what you describe. There are many better options for packing out, but it will definitely work in a pinch. My plan is to use mine day hunting and packing out, and I've used an external frame/load hauler up until now. I'm just shifting gears after a few 100lb pack outs that left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

New to the forum and overwhelmed with all the pack options out there. I hunt primarily the northwest corner of south dakota for mule deer and am looking for a lighter pack that would hold my day gear, 2 water bladders, spotting scope/tripod and mounts a bow sufficiently. I also need something that will be good for pack outs. We always set up camp and bike in as far as we can go. Last year I bought the Slumberjack Bounty and its a tank. Looking to lighten it up next year. Was looking at the Kuiu Ultra 3000 or 6000 but open to just about anything. Price don't matter as I want this to be my last pack purchase for this.

I just went through this same dilemma and did a ton of research. I narrowed it down to Kifaru and the KUIU 5200. I really like the KUIU features but then read about how they started making their clothing and parts of their packs in China. When I read that Kifaru was 100% American made, I was sold.

So I chose the Kifaru Reckoning. I was really sold with their meat shelf system and how well you can pack things out. But also it collapses down so much, you can pretty much turn it into a day pack. The other issue that I ran into with my Eberlestock pack was it did not have enough height for my long torso. The load lifters were actually below my shoulders. This did nothing to lift any load. I was looking at my mountaineering backpack and saw all of the features on the Kifaru that were on my Lowe Alpine. And the Lowe Alpine was purchased after YEARS of trial and error, so I knew what I was looking for in a pack that would do everything and do it comfortably.

If you are looking for the "one and done" choice, then get a Kifaru. I see very few people here regret their decision with the Kifaru.

 

[hammer0419]

Kifaru, Stone Glacier, Exo Mountain, Seek Outside. Stick to one of those four.

 

[CorbLand]

Kifaru, Stone Glacier, Exo Mountain, Seek Outside. Stick to one of those four.

Would also add Mystery Ranch to this.

 

[Muley15]

Leaning towards the Exo Mountain k2 3500.