Stone Glacier Sky 5900 and Sky Guide 7900 Live Review

[SLDMTN]

Last fall Stone Glacier was generous enough to sponsor the Rokslide Sheep Photo Contest with their Xcurve Frame and Sky 5900 bag as the grand prize. Aubrey's limited entry ram from last year took top honors as voted by the membership.

When the box arrived, the first thing that caught me by surprise was how small it was.

The compressibility of the bag and frame is very impressive for a 5900ci combo.

Getting the pack in January meant that it would be used primarily as a ski pack until spring bear season kicked off.

When spring finally hit my youngest decided it was time to fire up the bait stand again. The load shelf on the Xcurve is absolutely perfect for hauling bags of dog food and the Sky 5900 compresses down so small it hardly takes up any space in the stand.

As much as I have grown to love the Sky 5900 as a 1-3 day and extended solo pack, it wasn't quite up to the task of my 7-10 hunts with family in tow. Insert the Sky Guide 7900, this pack is humongous!

This year is going to be another monster for us with everything from youth sheep season in early August to guiding in late September. Follow along as I'l be reviewing the frame in conjunction with the Sky 5900 and Sky Guide 7900.

Lastly, thank you to Stone Glacier for supplying the packs, great customer service and having killer shipping speeds!

 

[SLDMTN]

Equally disappointed and relieved that this bear bait season has come to a close. Despite not taking a bear this year it was one of the most enjoyable springs I’ve had running a bait stand.

The Sky 5900 is without a doubt my favorite setup that I’ve ever used for this style of baiting.

 

[SLDMTN]

Got a chance to stretch the legs on the Sky 5900 this weekend. It performed perfectly with the added weight for the return trip. We’re scouting for the coming season and trying to be as ready as possible for my mom’s draw tag.

Found a beauty dead head that measured 40”x14-1/4”. Avalanches claimed another stud ram

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[SLDMTN]

Maybe a little overkill for a day pack but the Sky 5900 is money for day shoots with the kids. Guns, tripod, spotter, all the warm gear, snacks, too easy.

 

[LWPost]

How many days could you get with the 5900? Deciding between that and the solo

 

[SLDMTN]

How many days could you get with the 5900? Deciding between that and the solo

With my setup if I’m going in without the kids I could do 5 days quite well. Once I hit 7 days solo or 5 days with kids, that’s when the 7900 will step in.


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[LWPost]

With my setup if I’m going in without the kids I could do 5 days quite well. Once I hit 7 days solo or 5 days with kids, that’s when the 7900 will step in.


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Awesome. Appreciate it

 

[CainGang]

Last fall Stone Glacier was generous enough to sponsor the Rokslide Sheep Photo Contest with their Xcurve Frame and Sky 5900 bag as the grand prize. Aubrey's limited entry ram from last year took top honors as voted by the membership.

When the box arrived, the first thing that caught me by surprise was how small it was.

The compressibility of the bag and frame is very impressive for a 5900ci combo.

Getting the pack in January meant that it would be used primarily as a ski pack until spring bear season kicked off.

When spring finally hit my youngest decided it was time to fire up the bait stand again. The load shelf on the Xcurve is absolutely perfect for hauling bags of dog food and the Sky 5900 compresses down so small it hardly takes up any space in the stand.

As much as I have grown to love the Sky 5900 as a 1-3 day and extended solo pack, it wasn't quite up to the task of my 7-10 hunts with family in tow. Insert the Sky Guide 7900, this pack is humongous!

This year is going to be another monster for us with everything from youth sheep season in early August to guiding in late September. Follow along as I'l be reviewing the frame in conjunction with the Sky 5900 and Sky Guide 7900.

Lastly, thank you to Stone Glacier for supplying the packs, great customer service and having killer shipping speeds!

Outstanding!

 

[handwerk]

Nice pics and write up, I've been very happy with my SG 5900.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I really like the 7900.

 

[SLDMTN]

I really like the 7900.

Glad to hear it. Most of my time this far has been with the 5900 and it’s my favorite pack that I’ve ever used. Just not quite big enough for what I need. It’s fixing to get beat on really hard in the next two months so we’ll see how it holds up.

 

[SLDMTN]

Yep I’m “that guy” at the gym with a pack on. Love the compressibility of the 5900. Zero wiggle with the weighted bag.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Glad to hear it. Most of my time this far has been with the 5900 and it’s my favorite pack that I’ve ever used. Just not quite big enough for what I need. It’s fixing to get beat on really hard in the next two months so we’ll see how it holds up.

I liked mine enough that I got one for my dad. I really like the layout of the bag and the weight is good. I’ve only used mine for ~ 30 days of hunting so far but it seems to be nearly perfect for me.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Yep I’m “that guy” at the gym with a pack on. Love the compressibility of the 5900. Zero wiggle with the weighted bag.

I do that too, people look but not as much as I’d have expected.

 

[SLDMTN]

I do that too, people look but not as much as I’d have expected.

Alaska Rock Gym. Plenty of Subaru’s in the parking lot of you know what I mean.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Alaska Rock Gym. Plenty of Subaru’s in the parking lot of you know what I mean.

Lol yup. Probably lots of decent looking females there though…

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

How many days could you get with the 5900? Deciding between that and the solo

For another reference, I have packed for 10 days solo with the 5900. I’m really minimalist though.


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[thinhorn_AK]

For another reference, I have packed for 10 days solo with the 5900. I’m really minimalist though.


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That’s pretty good. I got 5 days from a solo 3300 but I had a lid on it and some Stuff strapped to the outside of it.

 

[longjoshr]

What kind of pack did you run before? Any pros/cons?

 

[SLDMTN]

Had an old Camp Trails external frame growing up. It's a classic but needs to stay just that.

Ran a Barney's external frame with their Pinnacle Bag for several seasons. Great frame for hauling moose quarters but it never really rode right on my hips. On longer sheep/goat trips I would get awfully saddle sore.

From Barney's I went to a Kifaru Hunter with a borrowed EMRII bag. Loved the bag and the hip belt compared to what I was used to. Returned the bag to its owner and bought a Fulcrum which was supposed to be essentially an upgraded EMRII. The Fulcrum fell apart on me hauling a bison out when I grabbed ahold of one of the lifting handles and nearly ripped it off of the bag. Kifaru CS told me I was hauling too much weight but still warrantied the bag thankfully.

I sold the replacement Fulcrum bag when it arrived and switched to an Argali (discontinued) bag on my Hunter frame. I love the simple setup of the Argali but it wasn't really big enough. I looked like a hobo with stuff strapped all over the outside. With the Argali I never had bag issues but the Hunter frame started to fall apart. I went through three shoulder straps, several metal clips and two waist belts over the next few seasons. Again Kifaru warrantied the items, no complaints there.

After having issues with the aluminum stays bending when hauling heavy, I switched to a Tactical frame and used that last season. The thicker frame sheet seemed to help with the stays bending.

This is my first season with the SG setup and while the frame took some getting used to, I like it better than my Kifaru for most tasks. The Sky 5900 is the most versatile bag I've ever used. In the next few weeks I'll be hammering the 7900 and have much more input on that bag.

So far the SG is holding up strong without any failures. As a whole, I think people need to get away from the mindset of a pack being a lifetime purchase. If you're truly using the pack, it will wear out in a similar interval to a pair of boots which for me is 2-3 seasons.