$300 for a pack?

Owenst7

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Jun 19, 2017
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Reno
Buddy of mine messaged me asking about packs. He has $300 to spend. I'm not sure what to tell him honestly. I had badlands and horn hunters before getting a kifaru and I have a hard time recommending those after my upgrade.

He's tall and skinny and probably has no interest in packing huge weight, but would still like to carry 70 lbs relatively comfortably. I'm thinking a pack that can handle 3/4 day trips and pack meat in the bag or on a shelf. I told him to just pony up, but he wants to stick with $300 limit.

Suggestions?


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I've never used any of the modern hunting packs, just old aluminum external frames.

I took my Osprey Aether 85 (2016 model) on a 34 mile/3 day backpack through the Jarbidge Wilderness over the 4th of July with 64 lbs in it. I was intentionally being lazy with weight (carrying a lot of extra water) to get an idea of how my body and the pack would handle things. I had zero issues with how the pack handled that load. I wouldn't be concerned at all with the pack's ability to handle 70 lbs based on my experience. I bought this pack in the spring from REI for about $175 as a clearance/last year's model. Looking at the newer ones in the store, I think they have made the pack less capable of handling heavier weights. Osprey advertises the pack for up to 60 lbs, and I'd suspect the 2017 model is probably rated less conservatively than mine.

I don't feel that my knees can handle much more than this pack if I'm on any sort of rough terrain. I'm in decent shape, but I just don't see it as wise to risk injuring myself while alone in a remote area and with a downed animal. I'd rather make an extra trip than risk an injury. If I'm fortunate enough to be packing meat out of flatter terrain than I typically deal with here in Northern Nevada, I'll probably be able to bring the truck closer, hike faster, etc. I'm not going to attempt scaling cliffs with over 2/3 of my body weight on my back though. I don't doubt that I'll end up buying a dedicated hunting pack at some point in the future, but I'll probably wait until I know that I'll be packing out something bigger than a deer for a long distance. I think my money is better spent on other gear, scouting, etc right now.

Osprey makes another model above the Aether that's supposed to handle more weight, but I haven't found one locally to look at myself. I also looked at some Gregory packs and liked them, but the sale price on the Aether caught me. The larger REI packs I looked at had the stiffest stays of anything, but I didn't think the waist belt would transfer weight as well. I haven't had any issues with the stays collapsing on my Aether under the loads I've had, but I don't think I'd want them any more flexible than they are. The REI XT85 has a lot of good reviews on hunting forums from what I've seen, but they've been discontinued for a few years now. The Kelty Red Cloud I looked at in stores looks like a pretty decent pack for the money too.

The ILBE and MOLLE surplus packs look interesting to me for the price since I've started reading threads about them here and on a couple other forums.
 
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P Carter

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Nov 4, 2016
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Sierra Designs flex capacitor. $179 on moosejaw if you use the 10% discount code for first-time buyers. It weighs 2 pounds, 11 ounces. Rated at 50 pounds but I've been training with 60. Carries 60 pounds extremely well. The designer packed out an elk w/70 pounds and it worked fine. I put 80 pounds in it for a few miles and was heavy but fine. Took it backpacking the other weekend and it was phenomenal.

Can it handle 120 pounds? Probably not. But I'm just flat-out not going to haul loads over 70 pounds. I'd rather do another trip. So something that can pack over 100 is overbuilt for me anyway.

Plus, there's simply no way I can justify $400, much less $500 or $600 or $700, on a backpack.
 

aion2come

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Jul 31, 2013
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Joplin, MO
Do NOT get him an older model Kifaru frame - bikini or otherwise - until he has tried them on. Lots of us tall guys had problems with some of the ladder locks digging into our back until they came out with their latest frame.

Lots of good suggestions on here though. Used Seek Outside Revolution frame for $210 that was mentioned earlier seems like a steal.
 

Owenst7

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Jun 19, 2017
Messages
513
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Reno
Sierra Designs flex capacitor. $179 on moosejaw if you use the 10% discount code for first-time buyers. It weighs 2 pounds, 11 ounces. Rated at 50 pounds but I've been training with 60. Carries 60 pounds extremely well. The designer packed out an elk w/70 pounds and it worked fine. I put 80 pounds in it for a few miles and was heavy but fine. Took it backpacking the other weekend and it was phenomenal.

Can it handle 120 pounds? Probably not. But I'm just flat-out not going to haul loads over 70 pounds. I'd rather do another trip. So something that can pack over 100 is overbuilt for me anyway.

Plus, there's simply no way I can justify $400, much less $500 or $600 or $700, on a backpack.

I wonder how the rigidity of the frame compares to other packs I've handled. That looks like a killer pack with a lot of versatility. I'm going to have to keep my eyes open for one in person so I can check them out.

Even if it was limited to 50 lbs, I'd be interested in that pack just for scouting trips or day hunting for that price.
 

P Carter

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Nov 4, 2016
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It's certainly the best pack I've had. (But then again I've been using a Kelty I bought off ebay in 2006. Back when I had less gear and more go that got me up to 18k feet in the Andes.) There is an aluminum tent-pole-like frame in a "y" shape down the back of the pack. I can feel a bit of flexing at 80 pounds but it's pretty rigid below that weight.

I've enjoyed it, worth a look at least.
 

Owenst7

WKR
Joined
Jun 19, 2017
Messages
513
Location
Reno
It's certainly the best pack I've had. (But then again I've been using a Kelty I bought off ebay in 2006. Back when I had less gear and more go that got me up to 18k feet in the Andes.) There is an aluminum tent-pole-like frame in a "y" shape down the back of the pack. I can feel a bit of flexing at 80 pounds but it's pretty rigid below that weight.

I've enjoyed it, worth a look at least.

Yeah, I saw that in the videos on their site. I'd have to see numbers to determine if that frame would be stiffer/lbs than two full length stays, but I don't see any reason you couldn't make it work. The weakness in that design that I see would be torsional rigidity down the frame vertically. It looks like that's relatively large diameter tube though, so I don't doubt that they could have made up for it with the little disc shaped yoke/gusset. I suppose the connection at the hip belt would be totally different than traditional stays too, so maybe they saved some weight there too.

I'd love to handle one in person.
 

thinhorn_AK

"DADDY"
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Jul 2, 2016
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Alaska
I used osprey packs for a long time, they did fine but after recently getting my kifaru, I can really tell the difference.

That being said, I still have an osprey that I think is ~ 5500ci I'd hook your buddy up with for cheap if he wants it.
 

Btaylor

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Jun 3, 2017
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I went with a Molle II. It was like $60 on eBay. Finally made that decision because I am only going to hunt out west for a week but will be chasing deer for for 4 months every year and I can take the waist belt and straps off the pack and put them on my treestand. Can also bungee a bag on there and bring a deer out a lot more comfortably than with the little thin straps on most stands. Heaviest I have trained with in this pack is 75 lbs and it was not bad at all. That said I have never used a really nice pack so the bliss of ignorance should be kept in mind.
 

Sapper

Lil-Rokslider
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Mar 6, 2014
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If he has access to govx.com, the Alps Outdoorz Extreme Commander (not the old school external frame commander) is pretty decent for the money. I snagged one for like 230 on sale on govx. Would I pay retail? No way, but so far with 50lbs its super comfy, and pretty modular.
Check out the price and reviews on Amazon of the Alps Outdoorz Commander (with external frame). I'm putting some serious thought into taking this pack for a ride myself.
 
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