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

 

[TaperPin]

I also like having day pack weight down low like a lumbar pack, and wore a lumbar pack firefighting before they were popular. The main problem is they need a backbone to haul anything more than what’s in a daypack.

I really like a smallish wide bag on a flexible pack frame that doesn’t extend above the shoulders for the same weight distribution of a lumbar pack, with the ability to haul weight when needed.

 

[Obsessed1]

Pack out bags are awesome!
My crazy carpet sled is just an extra large crazy carpet (22"×70" ) that I sorced years ago and added grommets to create a pulk type sled ( kinda bullet nosed) i did notice amazon now sells such an item already to go.. mine is years old.. it rolls up into a tube that is 22" wide and gets slung either across my back or tied to my pack..it weighs next to nothing. Just unroll it and tie it together in it's shape and strap the critter/ quarters in and pull.. I have tried the blunter type of front end ( just roll it up and lash it to to the side rails) but it tends to snag on stuff in the timber more than a bullet shape does.. if you google pulk sled it will give you a bunch of ideas for how to fashion one.. I prefer an oversized crazy carpet for a slightly larger sled but a std size can get the job done.

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

 

[Ratamahatta]

Lumbar Pack

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Maybe something like that.

 

[HankMorgan]

You might have to do a little rigging to get a quarter onto it, but the Hill People Gear Prairie Belt with their buttpack is a pretty sweet setup and it uses the same belt as their load bearing packs, so loading it up heavy isn’t a problem. You can also set it up with their shoulder harness. If the pack is too small, it looks like they’re coming out with something a little bigger soon, too.


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[WV Mountaineer]

Nimrod makes a decent option. It’s called the apex system. It’s a Fanny pack with a deployable frame and pack bag. The frame and pack bag tote down rides in the Fanny pack. Once you kill something you assemble the frame and hook it into the suspension.


It actually works pretty good. It would work great on first loads for you guys out west killing elk and big bodies mule deer.


I’ve packed a decent bit in mine. It’s always held a whole deboned whitetail easily. And, Carrie’s the weight pretty dang good too. It’s not going to replace my Kifaru’s but, if if you are going to take multiple trips getting your animal out, it’s a serious contender.

 

[adamm88]

I would suggest a tight hugging pack with shorter internal frame that can be compressed down. I bought my 14r for that exact reason but use my duplex frame and is functional just as much. I have my 14r for sale on the classifieds, it doesn't get used.

 

[Kurts86]

The marsupial gear bird vest/lumbar pack system can definitely handle a good amount of weight but probably not above 30 lbs or so. The limit really would be where to attach the weight.

The mystery ranch pop up series, especially the discontinued 18L would probably be the heaviest capable lumbar pack good for 60 lbs or so.

 

[4090Sharps]

pop up 18 is a very cool pack and can probably be had pretty cheap

I really like the old style Pop Up. The 18 has held its value pretty well--still selling for $200 or more. I had plans to make one for myself about two years ago, but life's been busy and haven't gotten around to it.

A hybrid between an ultralight backpack (technical fabrics) and the Pop Up 18 to balance weight, profile, and capability for dayhunting would be pretty awesome.

 

[twall13]

I saw the title of this thread and jumped on to recommend a used Kifaru Hellcat or Scout lumbar pack. I also think you could do well with a Marsupial setup as mentioned above. That said, after reading the OP's intent I don't know that a lumbar pack is the best route to go. I own a Kifaru Hellcat and while the pack itself can probably handle an elk quarter without breaking, it isn't going to be a comfortable load at all without a frame to help transfer weight to your hips. If that doesn't concern you, Marsupial and Kifaru are both quality products. Otherwise a frame with a lid for lightweight days is a great option.

Here's an old photo of me carrying my daughter on a Kifaru Hellcat as we walked through the airports. No problem with the weight, but an elk quarter would be even heavier and more awkward to secure.

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[roosiebull]

I really like the old style Pop Up. The 18 has held its value pretty well--still selling for $200 or more. I had plans to make one for myself about two years ago, but life's been busy and haven't gotten around to it.

A hybrid between an ultralight backpack (technical fabrics) and the Pop Up 18 to balance weight, profile, and capability for dayhunting would be pretty awesome.

Mystery ranch came up with a great idea with the pop up, but they didn’t seem to understand why it was so genius. Hopefully someone picks up where mystery ranch left off and use the same basic idea. The 18 is a very cool pack, but it loses benefits with the bigger packs, at that point it doesn’t make sense to me, what makes the pop up great is the very low profile with the ability to turn it into a hauler

The bigger ones make zero sense to me, and that’s the direction they went, almost like they didn’t understand the niche the pop up fills

 

[-WARDOG-]

I have been looking for the same thing, but in a quiet material. I have a K4 which is very comfortable but with a couple of complaints. The K4 is ridiculously noisy and the shoulder pads are noisy and too thick. When hunting far back from the truck or camp I use the K4 for a pack out. This past season I was wanting a lumbar pack with quiet material. I handgun hunt so I have to get within 90 yds and at that close range every animal can hear nylon rubbing. The lumbar pack would be great for day hunts where I can get back to the truck within 20 minutes and grab a larger pack if I needed it for a pack out. I'm a 'wool' guy so I think I am looking for a lumbar that is as quiet as wool.

 

[Obsessed1]

Old timers used to hunt with a hank of rope in their pocket then just make a roycroft frame pack when needed.. 7f" of seat belt webbing and 25" of 550 cord is all that's needed to build a frame and strap a quarter to it.. I've done it once years ago to haul 1/2 a MD buck. it's not as nice as a top tier pack for sure but it does work. Since getting pack out bags I don't think I'll ever need to make a roycroft again, but it's good knowledge to have.

 

[Alaska92]

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