Packs for women

[BuckSnort]

My wife is wanting to get into backpack hunting with me..Looking for options or experience with any packs would be great..Looking for size suggestions as well.. Thinking a Reckoning or Woodsman would probably be enough pack to haul more than she could ever handle, other brands/models are optioal as well just looking for a starting point..

 

[dble07]

IMO packs are one of the pieces of gear that aren't gender specific. My girlfriend runs a 24" inch Kifaru ultralight frame with a Mountain Warrior bag. It seems to fit her well and she does well with heavy loads. If doing more than 2-3 night trips you might look at getting her something with room to spare so you don't end up carrying all the extra clothes they like to bring

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[MuleyFever]

Got my wife a KUIU with the small frame/belt. Fits her great and comfy for her and what she will carry. Considering the weight she will carry I didn't see any benefit in spending a bunch. I would guess when most guys get their wives involved they don't expect them to haul 100lbs. I pretty much carry everything but her clothing and food.

 

[Jordan Budd]

IMO packs are one of the pieces of gear that aren't gender specific. My girlfriend runs a 24" inch Kifaru ultralight frame with a Mountain Warrior bag. It seems to fit her well and she does well with heavy loads. If doing more than 2-3 night trips you might look at getting her something with room to spare so you don't end up carrying all the extra clothes they like to bring

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

X2 on this. I've tried a few different high end packs and I wasn't able to get any to fit the way that my kifaru does. Being able to choose the frame size definitely helps. If she's a shorter torso, the top of most other packs will hit her in the back of the head even though the suspension is adjusted right. I have an average torso and I even ran into that problem with a couple. I'm 5' 10" and 33 in-seam. At least you have that option with Kifaru.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[oldgoat]

My wife has the 22" Kifaru UL and it's been a real game changer, she's 5'8"ish but has a very short torso for her height. I think you are on the right track with the Woodsman, I'm thinking about getting Judy one for her frame. I carry most of the gear, she carries her clothes, personal hunting gear and the light weight food items, ends up being about thirty pounds including pack. You should call Kifaru and ask what they think taking into account her height etc, even the taller frame packs can be adjusted to a short person's height. Spending good money on a hunting wife's gear is probably even more important than for our gear a lot of the time, they just don't usually handle the suck factor of lesser hunting gear as well as we do! Happy wife is a happy hunting trip!

 

[chasewild]

My wife has the SG Sky 5100. The small belt worked for her 26" waist and the frame fit her well at a 32" inseam. I think a kifaru would probably give you the most adjustment, but the SG worked for us.

 

[couesarizona]

I've ordered a kifaru pack for my girlfriend but after one season and packing out animals it wasn't for her. The main thing that was hurting her was the shoulder straps. She is 5'3" 125 lbs and has a narrow build. I was able to get ahold of a Kuiu pack for her to try and it fit her a lot better. We haven't packed heavy weight with it yet but she is comfortable so far and thats what matters most.

 

[Becca]

As a woman, my biggest priorities in a pack are that it is lightweight to start with (because my max capacity is going to be less than a mans due to my smaller stature) and that it adjusts to fit my body so that I can get some of the weight off of my shoulders and onto my hips. Pack fit is tremendously personal, so what works for me may not work as well for your wife. I have never found anything about pack fit that is gender specific, so I don't see the need for something "women's specific". I also haven't had any issues at all running longer stays than my stature would require...having too much lift is never a problem, but not having enough is miserable especially with heavy loads. I typically run 26" stays simply because it makes it easier for me to swap packs with taller users, and then I always have enough lift with heavy loads. In the last 10 years I have used a lot of packs, and more often than not Kifaru packs have carried best for me. The Kifaru small waist belt adjusts small enough for me at 5'3 and about 130lbs, and I know it could go even smaller than what I need it to. In the last year or two I have also spent a fair amount of time using the Kuiu Ultra 6000 upgraded with the Icon Pro Frame, and it has also worked well for me.

Packing out a Dall Sheep cape, horns and some of the meat in my Kifaru KU5200


Using a Kifaru Bikini Frame with Highcamp bag on a summer pack rafting trip (I am on the left)



Packing a load of caribou and misc gear, Bikini frame again but this time with the Rondevous bag



Most often for hunting anymore, I run an EMR2 on the lightweight hunting frame with arrow stays. It will haul more weight than I can, and the batwing design is great for securing meat loads
Hauling Deer in the EMR2



Hauling packrafting and camping gear on a Kodiak brown bear hunt with the EMR2



I used an Arcteryx Bora for several seasons, but it never fit me well enough to get the weight transferred to my waist, which made it uncomfortable at heavier loads. They are quality packs, and usually pretty reasonably priced. Just didn't fit me well, especially at weights above 40lbs.




I used a Mystery Ranch NICE frame with 6500 bag and really liked how it fit and carried weight, but it was like 10lbs empty. Since my max load is around 80lbs, and I prefer to carry more like 50-60lbs if it's for any longer distance, having the weight of the pack be 10lbs empty reduced the amount of weight I could put in it.

Packing a packraft and misc gear in my Mystery Ranch



Hauling a packraft and my half of our gear in the Kuiu Ultra for a weeklong summer trip


Quite a bit of footage in this video of the Kuiu in action last summer as well. We kept my load under 40lbs for this trip because I was 16 weeks pregnant.

http://www.rokslide.com/forums/gene...couting-2017-alaska-packraft-rondy-route.html

Lots of pack options available, and don't feel like you need to limit yourself to a women's specific pack. I would recommend erring on the side of a larger volume pack bag...you can always cinch up the extra space, but once you get an animal down you can't make a small pack larger. Even if she doesn't plan to carry many heavy loads, you can fill her pack with high volume stuff like sleeping bags and puffy gear.

 

[reaper]

Becca you are awesome
I am not a women but pretty small myself,5'4" and i run a kifaru 26 bikini frame+HC 7000 and now a 22 mag for lightweight backpacking trips

Envoyé de mon E6560C en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[Mckinnon]

I bought my wife a stone glacier, their frame seems to be a bit less pack boardish than my old duplex. Its also lighter to start with and can handle more than she will ever be able to pack...She has their original frame with a sky 5100...

 

[BuckSnort]

Thank you all for the replies, It's nice to know the packs are not gender specific.. There's not many options for womens backpacking clothing and I just assumed it would be the same with packs..

dble07, The mountain warrior is a great looking bag, I'll keep it in mind as well..And I hear ya about the extra clothing, I'm betting I end up carrying 10 lbs of handwarmers lol..

Jordan, I watched your review of the Reckoning a few days ago.. I'm leaning towards this pack cause it seems like it can be small enough or plenty big enough with the meat shelf system for when we get a critter down and she feels up to hauling more weight/bulk..

Becca, thanks for the helpful input, you were the first person I thought of when I was trying to figure out a pack for her, I even stalked you on FB and showed my wife pics of you and Luke on pack hunts lol.. About the lightweight frame, do you think the 5 ounces it saves is worth losing the ridgedness of the hunting frame? maybe the ultralight flexes better making it more comfortable for loads 60 lbs and less?

Again thank y'all for the input much appreciated.. I think when it gets time to order one we will do as suggested and give kifaru a call and see what they say..

 

[Becca]

Becca, thanks for the helpful input, you were the first person I thought of when I was trying to figure out a pack for her, I even stalked you on FB and showed my wife pics of you and Luke on pack hunts lol.. About the lightweight frame, do you think the 5 ounces it saves is worth losing the ridgedness of the hunting frame? maybe the ultralight flexes better making it more comfortable for loads 60 lbs and less?

Again thank y'all for the input much appreciated.. I think when it gets time to order one we will do as suggested and give kifaru a call and see what they say..

All I can offer is that it's plenty comfortable for me, at the loads I have packed with it. I think the most weight I have carried with it was in the 80-90lb range, but keep in mind that's far more than I typically carry. Most of my loads are 60lbs or less. I don't feel like the ridgidity suffered for me at even the high end weights (although packing 2/3 of my body weight is never what I would call "comfortable", just less miserable), but I understand some folks have experienced the arrow stays not being stiff enough under heavier (I would guess 100lb plus) loads. I have used a standard duplex frame previously and never found it too stiff so my guess is you could make a case either way. We got the arrow stays initially to try it out, and I haven't had any issues so I stuck with it. Luke runs the hunting frame, and we do sometimes swap back and forth.

 

[BuckSnort]

All I can offer is that it's plenty comfortable for me, at the loads I have packed with it. I think the most weight I have carried with it was in the 80-90lb range, but keep in mind that's far more than I typically carry. Most of my loads are 60lbs or less. I don't feel like the ridgidity suffered for me at even the high end weights (although packing 2/3 of my body weight is never what I would call "comfortable", just less miserable), but I understand some folks have experienced the arrow stays not being stiff enough under heavier (I would guess 100lb plus) loads. I have used a standard duplex frame previously and never found it too stiff so my guess is you could make a case either way. We got the arrow stays initially to try it out, and I haven't had any issues so I stuck with it. Luke runs the hunting frame, and we do sometimes swap back and forth.

Good to know.. Sounds like the lite frame is perfect for her.. I will be upgrading my pack as well this year and will probably get the AMR Hunter frame, I figure it will be big enough to carry any items that don't make it into her pack.. Thanks again for the help, we appreciate it!