SO Broadwing

[Ranger185]

Hey all,

Been reading the forums and am looking for someone in the Denver area who owns a Broadwing. I'd like to take a look at it first-hand before making any decisions on a pack. I have another gentleman willing to show me the Fortress 6300.

Hoping someone else in the area is just as willing. Thanks all for the great posts and information. Choosing a pack is the single, most confusing decision I've encountered.

Ranger

 

[ellsworb]

May be worth a day trip over to Seek headquarters in Grand Junction...?

 

[sndmn11]

I have a saker and peregrine

 

[hikerhunter]

I have the broadwing. I am in Castle Rock and work in the DTC.


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[Laned]

I have a Precipice, the precursor to the Broadwing. I'm also in the Denver area. You could check out mine and hikerhunter's to get a good idea of the pack. There's not much of a difference, that I can see, beyond a material change for the external pockets.

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[sndmn11]

3 1/2 mule deer quarters IN THE BAG, and comfy as can be.

My day gear, head, and backstraps and loins.

 

[Ranger185]

Hey sndmn, thanks for sharing the pics. Is that the broadwing or the Brooks??? I couldn’t tell from the pictures but the side pockets looked like the brooks.

 

[Ranger185]

For you guys that have the broadwing, do you hunt with it? If so, what do you think about the zipper and the pockets? Are they worth it? Have you not bagged anything and it got wet inside the pack? Are the drawstring pockets good to have for what you’ve been using them for?

 

[sndmn11]

Hey sndmn, thanks for sharing the pics. Is that the broadwing or the Brooks??? I couldn’t tell from the pictures but the side pockets looked like the brooks.

Whoops, I was confused on models and thought you were asking about the Brooks. Those pictures are the Saker, which is the Revolution version of the Brooks.

If you are asking about things zipped in the main bag, I can't really picture a way for snow or rain to intrude into the bag. I think it would take a full submersion or I guess if you laid it down and let water pool on the zipper it eventually would weep through.

 

[Ranger185]

Ok so the supper area is pretty solid then? I like the thought of the broadwing. Just don’t know for sure. I’d like a talon and lid. Which I why I was pulled toward the fortress

 

[Laned]

I hunt with mine, and I've used it with a top lid and talon (personal preference, plus I like being able to put a water bladder down the mesh pocket of the talon). It's pretty versatile for carrying in everything, and then breaking it down to a day bag size. There are some good videos on SO's website that demonstrate that versatility with the Brooks that you can do the same with the Saker and the Broadwing. Having the 2-way zipper access to the main compartment is great with the top lid. I just set the zipper to the bottom so it doesn't get rolled up. The zipper is going to be the weak point in terms of water resistance. But, that's fine. The storm flap does a pretty good job of staying put over the zipper. However, anything in the external pockets will get wet with the drawstrings. So, if you're most concerned with keeping everything you have dry, a Brooks or Saker would be a better idea. If you're most concerned with just the main compartment staying dry, the fortress might be your way to go if you're in areas that get a ton of rain like the PNW or you're primarily packrafting. Anything I keep in the external pockets that I want to keep dry goes in a Ziploc bag. And, I haven't had any leakage through the zipper (the storm flap is pretty solid).

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[sndmn11]

Yes, there is an inch or so flap over the zipper. So when vertical, like when you are wearing it, it would be a non-issue because water is being shed. If you laid it down and the zipper was the low point it might happen after an hour or so. I think with the pliability of the cordura, the Broadwing pockets would lay down pretty flat if empty and there is no reason why you couldn't use a Talon and lid, or Merlin and lid, or whatever you want.