Quality Lumbar Pack With Decent Suspension / Yoke?

[LTC406]

Howdy,
I primarily hunt Elk & Mule Deer in Montana. Typically the latter part of rifle season (last 1/2 of Nov).
For my main pack setup, I have a Kuiu rig with a few different bags. I will keep this as I am pretty happy with its overall performance & capabilities for a main pack.
I currently have a cheaper, lesser quality lumbar pack that I use when conditions & hunt type allow it. There is nothing better than staying light and agile while putting on the miles. However, it’s a problem when you get an animal down and want to make some headway on getting part of it out that day. In the past I have made it work by taping and lashing the heck out of a quarter to the pack but it’s not a great experience.
I have been looking for a decent Fanny / lumbar pack with adequate suspension / yoke system / load shelf that would be capable of packing out an elk quarter?

Does anyone out there know of anything that fits this bill? I have seen that kifaru used to produce a quality, worthwhile lumbar setup but no longer does. Thanks in advance for sharing. Cheers!

 

[croben]

This might not be what you’re looking for, but I sometimes run just my frame and lid. Ive done the lumbar pack in the past and I regretted not having a frame with me. It led to a brutal pack out. My frame weighs about 3lbs and the lid is about 8oz. At that weight, I can’t justify not having them.

 

[Obsessed1]

When I want to go light but still able to pack out I run tthree different options. Frame with lid only type deal.
A lumbar pack with pack out bags painer in it or strapped to the underside of it.
The pack out bags almost fit into a cargo pant pocket but allow you to carry two quarters at a time with reasonable comfort. The third option I use when it's really snowy. I pack a modified extra large crazy carpet that gets rolled/ folded into a ultralight sled. Makes dragging quarters fairly easy if there's snow on the ground. In deep snow is easier to drag a sled than packing quaters on your back especially if your needing to snowshoe it.

 

[Jpsmith1]

I had a Kifaru Hellcat for a year or so and I don't think I'd want more than 25-35 pounds in it.

 

[LTC406]

When I want to go light but still able to pack out I run tthree different options. Frame with lid only type deal.
A lumbar pack with pack out bags painer in it or strapped to the underside of it.
The pack out bags almost fit into a cargo pant pocket but allow you to carry two quarters at a time with reasonable comfort. The third option I use when it's really snowy. I pack a modified extra large crazy carpet that gets rolled/ folded into a ultralight sled. Makes dragging quarters fairly easy if there's snow on the ground. In deep snow is easier to drag a sled than packing quaters on your back especially if your needing to snowshoe it.

I did not have these pack out bags on my radar. I just took a quick look at them and I am pretty excited about that option. It should pair nicely with my existing lumbar pack. Thanks!

For your ltwt snow setup, The crazy carpet is a sled that you attach to your pack? Is crazy carpet a brand or just a type of sled? What type of mods have you done to it? Thanks a bunch!

 

[LTC406]

I had a Kifaru Hellcat for a year or so and I don't think I'd want more than 25-35 pounds in it.

Good to know, thanks!

 

[roosiebull]

Howdy,
I primarily hunt Elk & Mule Deer in Montana. Typically the latter part of rifle season (last 1/2 of Nov).
For my main pack setup, I have a Kuiu rig with a few different bags. I will keep this as I am pretty happy with its overall performance & capabilities for a main pack.
I currently have a cheaper, lesser quality lumbar pack that I use when conditions & hunt type allow it. There is nothing better than staying light and agile while putting on the miles. However, it’s a problem when you get an animal down and want to make some headway on getting part of it out that day. In the past I have made it work by taping and lashing the heck out of a quarter to the pack but it’s not a great experience.
I have been looking for a decent Fanny / lumbar pack with adequate suspension / yoke system / load shelf that would be capable of packing out an elk quarter?

Does anyone out there know of anything that fits this bill? I have seen that kifaru used to produce a quality, worthwhile lumbar setup but no longer does. Thanks in advance for sharing. Cheers!

Find a used mystery ranch pop up 18, it’s the only thing I can think of that fits the description, I have one and have used it a lot, and have had a lot of weight on it a lot of times.

For me, it was more pleasant with a heavy load than my kuiu pack I had for a short time, mine was an early kuiu pack but I updated the suspension when the new suspension came out, and it was still awful to me, and liked the pop up way more… I won’t get into a kuiu pack rant, but I hated that thing… pop up 18 is a very cool pack and can probably be had pretty cheap

I miss hunting with it at times, but I just stick to the k4 for everything now, because my best option would be to leave my k4 in my pickup (elk) take a hind with me on the pop up the first load, then switch packs… I just don’t like leaving anything of value in my pickup when I’m hunting

I have packed out a few bulls with my pop up, and several whole bucks, etc… the biggest downside to the pop up is lack of suspension, another compression strap per side would help, but it’s still plenty doable, just a little more difficult to lock in a load if it’s not one solid piece (4 deer quarters, loose meat, and head is a little more difficult to get a load to stay put… elk quarters are easy)

Very capable pack for what it is. Very tough too, I bought mine when it first came out, and have used it quite a bit every year, the past few it’s been my steelhead pack, and it is still in perfect condition

When I got it, I figured I could pack half of a deer in it, or a front elk quarter, but it’s more capable than that… not as comfortable with 100# as a kifaru or k4, but it’s certainly doable, and not that bad.. like it with a heavy load better than the kuiu I had, as well as the seek outside I had