HPG Umlindi

[gwl79902]

Anyone have a Umlindi ? What do you think about it? I am thinking about getting one for day hunts. It looks like I could strap an elk quarter to it and make the first pack out heavy but when hunting have a small stream lined pack. I have some of there other stuff and I like it but at 220 for the pack I want to try to make sure it will do what I want. Greg

 

[PJG]

I have an Umlindi, it's a great day pack that I use for my EDC pack. However, I would not want to try to pack out an elk quarter with it. The reasons for this are, 1) it's overall height being only 18 inches, and its width only being 12 inches, 2) it only has one vertical stay in it that is in the center of the pack, whereas the Ute has two vertical stays, 3) it would be a hell of a load on your shoulders if you are not going to use a waste belt, 4) I am not sure the straps are long enough to go around an entire elk quarter. I would email Evan and ask him his thoughts, I believe he is currently out of town, but will respond to your email ASAP. The Hills are no BS straight shooters, and will give you good honest advice.

I helped pack out two elk this year using the Ute. I was extremely happy with how the Ute handled the load that I carried this year. For me anyway, it's the Ute all the way for elk hunting.

 

[gwl79902]

I have a ute and have used it twice. Once on a three night trip with 40 pounds in it and it was nice. Second was on a overnight deer hunt. I took my camp and a small buck out in one shot. About 80 pounds. The pack did ok but not great. But it was not made to do that so in light of that it did great. If I got a umlindi I would use it with a belt. I have a tara and find it small for day hunts and you can not make a trip with meat it it. How much weight do you think you could carry with the umlinid if you pack the bag full of boned out meat and strapped your gear on the outside. I like th ute but it is tall for me and I am not sure I would like it on day hunts. I may just run it this season and find out then

 

[PJG]

Man that's a hard one for me to answer. I truly believe the pack is built well enough to handle just about any load. Just eyeballing the size of the pack I would probably guess the bag would fit 40 to 50 pounds of meat crammed in it and maybe another 20 pounds of supplies strapped to the outside. Please, keep in mind this is just me looking at the pack and guessing how much meat I could fit in it. A couple things to keep in mind are that the suspension and waste belt attach different on the Umlindi than they do on the Ute.
I ran a highlander on my Ute this year for day hunts and left the bag portion of the Ute empty just for meat carry. This worked pretty well for me.

 

[gwl79902]

PJG thanks for the info. I think I may just use my ute for my elk hunt. If I find a used umlindi for a steel I will get it

 

[PJG]

Your welcome, I personally feel that's the better setup. Goodluck with the season.