Comfiest packs, and why?

[fatlander]

There’s two options, keep trying packs and maybe one will give you the ahah moment you’re chasing; or buy another quality pack (I’m a big fan of the rhino) and put a bunch of miles on it with the weight you’re planning to hunt with.

I’ve had a lot of running shoes over the years. None of them keep me from getting blisters. The only thing that prevents blisters during the race is putting a shitload of miles on the new pair. You’ll develop calluses over time. Your pack is no different.

You trained for a 5k and hit the mountains trying to run a marathon.


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[Highlands Hunter]

So after my debacle last year with my gen 1 exo, I’m in the market for a new pack. Let me fill you in

Me and 2 buddies did a 12 day back country elk hunt in Idaho last year. First time out west for me, I knew it was gunna be tough. To keep things short, I’ll summarize. My pack felt like it was eating through my back and shoulders by the time all was said and done. I tried adjusting it multiple different ways, but could never get it to feel totally comfortable. Total pack weight was 52#. That was with water and bow too.

So I guess my question is, am I asking too much from a pack? Is 12 days too long to carry around that much and it get uncomfortable? And before I get “that” comment. Yes, I did do pre season hikes. However, I never put my gear in the pack until we got out there. I just used a duct taped sack of cement. And it felt fine on my hikes. Not great, but not terribly uncomfortable.

So what’s everyone like when it comes to comfort? And why?

Btw, some info on me. 6’4”, 205#, 19” torso, 34” waste.

Thanks in advance guys


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I would give Seek Outside a call. The frame height on their packs adjusts easily, the lumbar pad is optional and adjustable if you choose to use one, and overall they are very comfortable. I have used one of their packs for one season, and found it to be a significant upgrade compared to my old Blacks Creek pack. so far, I've packed out a mountain goat, 1 elk, and 1 deer with my SO pack.

I have tried on Kifaru packs and Stone Glacier and both seem to be very nice packs. However, I have never packed anything with them.

 

[Jauwater]

Sounds to me like maybe the Exo wasnt fitting your torso length very well. Maybe to short of frame. Which would cause you to have shoulder and, back pain from the load lifters not being up high enough to help direct that load into your lumbar area. Assuming the pack was fitted correctly anyway, that sounds like it might of been an issue. Maybe try a pack with a longer frame.

I've been thru a plethora of packs over the past six years. I would have the same issue. Up to about 5-7 miles my back and, shoulders would be fine. But, if I start 10+ mile days I too would get shoulder pain and, my lumbar area would be all marked up and, tender. This still happens to me if I'm going 10+ miles for days on end. And I'm under a heavy pack just about every single week. 52lbs is alot of weight to carry around day in and, day out over mountains. Sounds to me you could definitely be more comfortable on the mountain but, no pack is gonna completely sort out back and shoulder pain when carrying 50+ pounds for days on end.

In my experience what has stood out the most for me between pack brands is the waist belt and, the harness. Those are typically the options that affect comfort the most for me. I prefer thin padding on the back rather then a thick padding. My lumbar gets far less damage with a thin lumbar pad. I tend to oversize my pack belts now as well. Its large enough I can still cinch it down tight around my waist. When cinched down tight, the two ends of the belt are almost touching. Really helps hold that pack in place. And definitely having a frame offering good height, in comparison to your torso length, will help the load lifters do their job. I also prefer aluminum stays in my packs. Bending the stay to fit your back is important to comfort.

Good luck with finding what's best for you. Its an expensive process.

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[KJStechly]

Sounds to me like maybe the Exo wasnt fitting your torso length very well. Maybe to short of frame. Which would cause you to have shoulder and, back pain from the load lifters not being up high enough to help direct that load into your lumbar area. Assuming the pack was fitted correctly anyway, that sounds like it might of been an issue. Maybe try a pack with a longer frame.

I've been thru a plethora of packs over the past six years. I would have the same issue. Up to about 5-7 miles my back and, shoulders would be fine. But, if I start 10+ mile days I too would get shoulder pain and, my lumbar area would be all marked up and, tender. This still happens to me if I'm going 10+ miles for days on end. And I'm under a heavy pack just about every single week. 52lbs is alot of weight to carry around day in and, day out over mountains. Sounds to me you could definitely be more comfortable on the mountain but, no pack is gonna completely sort out back and shoulder pain when carrying 50+ pounds for days on end.

In my experience what has stood out the most for me between pack brands is the waist belt and, the harness. Those are typically the options that affect comfort the most for me. I prefer thin padding on the back rather then a thick padding. My lumbar gets far less damage with a thin lumbar pad. I tend to oversize my pack belts now as well. Its large enough I can still cinch it down tight around my waist. When cinched down tight, the two ends of the belt are almost touching. Really helps hold that pack in place. And definitely having a frame offering good height, in comparison to your torso length, will help the load lifters do their job. I also prefer aluminum stays in my packs. Bending the stay to fit your back is important to comfort.

Good luck with finding what's best for you. Its an expensive process.

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I’m just glad I’m not the only one that has trouble finding packs that they absolutely love


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[Jauwater]

I’m just glad I’m not the only one that has trouble finding packs that they absolutely love


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Oh......well.........Hill People Gear...........

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[eaglemountainman]

That's about 20# more than I'd want to be carrying 8-10 on an extended daily basis in the mountains.

Pardon the obvious question, but are you also wearing a belt on your pants?

 

[TC406]

Try lots of good packs on. Put lots of weight in them. Pick the one that is the most comfortable!

 

[hikenhunt]

Do you have any pictures of you wearing the pack? Might help in trying to troubleshoot what the issue was.

 

[KJStechly]

Do you have any pictures of you wearing the pack? Might help in trying to troubleshoot what the issue was.

I don’t. I’m really looking for peoples opinions on packs. Not on how I wearing mine. The exo is long gone so I’m looking at what people’s opinions are on different brands of new packs. Yes I know how you wear a pack matters. But I’ve watched all of exos videos on how to properly fit their packs to you. Mine was fitted, but still not entirely comfortable


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[LaHunter]

8 miles / day average for 10+ days in a row, with 52 lbs in the mountains on your first hunt in the Rockies? There's not many people that can do that. Was the 52 lbs your starting wt? I would think you would be dropping maybe 2 lbs / day just for food consumption? I'm assuming this was an early season archery hunt. Heat and sweat over that period of time with that wt, could be that any pack would give you hot spot / rubbing issues over a 12 day hunt like you describe. Did the pack work well for the first few/several days then the issues started later in the hunt? I have to assume the pack worked well for you during your training with 50+ lbs in it. I have used a Kuiu Icon Pro for the past 6 years and it has worked great for me, but I have never done the type of hunt that you are describing, nor have most of the folks on this site I am betting. Most people that are moving camp every day run a pack that is much lighter than yours and are not going in for 12 days straight.

 

[CAVEBEAR]

I run a SG Solo and that pack has exceeded my expectations in comfort and durability from 25-120lbs. Granted nothing is truly comfortable once you get over 80lbs, but it shouldn't be painful. I ruck / train with my bag configured how I'll hunt, it's the only way you'll find problem areas with your kit.

 

[KJStechly]

8 miles / day average for 10+ days in a row, with 52 lbs in the mountains on your first hunt in the Rockies? There's not many people that can do that. Was the 52 lbs your starting wt? I would think you would be dropping maybe 2 lbs / day just for food consumption? I'm assuming this was an early season archery hunt. Heat and sweat over that period of time with that wt, could be that any pack would give you hot spot / rubbing issues over a 12 day hunt like you describe. Did the pack work well for the first few/several days then the issues started later in the hunt? I have to assume the pack worked well for you during your training with 50+ lbs in it. I have used a Kuiu Icon Pro for the past 6 years and it has worked great for me, but I have never done the type of hunt that you are describing, nor have most of the folks on this site I am betting. Most people that are moving camp every day run a pack that is much lighter than yours and are not going in for 12 days straight.

Yes, 52# was my starting weight on the pack. And you’re correct, I would lose weight daily because of food consumption. And I’ll elaborate. We hunted for 5 days, went into Challis on the 5th evening, got a hot shower and motel, spent the 6th day fishing the salmon river. Spent the 7th day fishing and organizing, headed back out on the 8th day morning. And to your question about the pack being comfortable to begin with, yes and no. It wasn’t what I would call uncomfortable, but it just seemed like I had a wide board strapped to my back. Like it didn’t contour to my body the way I thought it should. Yes I know a frame pack is supposed to be stiff. But from using trekking poles the shoulder straps chafed the front of my shoulders, the lumbar pad literally rubbed through my shirt tail, the hip belt never felt comfortable, basically felt like there was no padding, same with the part of the yoke that’s between your shoulders. And yeah, not a lot of people do it, but that’s how we hunted. Wherever we ended up that evening is where we camped. And yeah, it was a lot of weight to move every day, but I didn’t have the money to spend on ultralight everything. And I should also add that we didn’t haul our packs absolutely everywhere. If we got to a big basin or something, we’d drop our packs, I’d take my slurpy stalker, kill kit, and whatever lunch was that day and we’d hunt the basin and come back to our packs and move on


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[KJStechly]

8 miles / day average for 10+ days in a row, with 52 lbs in the mountains on your first hunt in the Rockies? There's not many people that can do that. Was the 52 lbs your starting wt? I would think you would be dropping maybe 2 lbs / day just for food consumption? I'm assuming this was an early season archery hunt. Heat and sweat over that period of time with that wt, could be that any pack would give you hot spot / rubbing issues over a 12 day hunt like you describe. Did the pack work well for the first few/several days then the issues started later in the hunt? I have to assume the pack worked well for you during your training with 50+ lbs in it. I have used a Kuiu Icon Pro for the past 6 years and it has worked great for me, but I have never done the type of hunt that you are describing, nor have most of the folks on this site I am betting. Most people that are moving camp every day run a pack that is much lighter than yours and are not going in for 12 days straight.

I’ll also add that 8 miles a day was after the second day. Our first day we only did 4 just because we couldn’t breathe lol. Second day we did 6. And every day after that we did an average of 8. Definitely not the easiest thing I’ve ever done

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[NUGGET]

Did you guys kill an elk?

 

[LaHunter]

I have no experience with Exo packs, but have read many reports of people being really happy with them, especially how they allow you to turn and move. You will get lots of Kifaru recommendations along with a good bit of SG recommendations. Both of these packs / frames have a strong following on RS. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been 100% happy with my Kuiu Icon Pro for the past 6 years. I have hauled elk quarters and deer in it and it has done well. Also, I train with it year round with wts from 40 lbs up to the occasional 70+ lbs, so I have it dialed in to fit me perfectly. Getting the right pack is similar to boots, it has to work for YOU. There are several pack options to try, and most of them work well for many people. I guess you just have to sort through all of the 'best pack' recommendations and pick one and try it out this summer and really get it adjusted perfectly to your body.

Lastly, a pack should not cause shoulder strap rubbing issues. It sounds to me that you may not have had the pack fitted / worn correctly even though you may feel like you did. The waist belt rubbing holes in your shirt tail along with the shoulder strap issues sounds like you had your waist belt maybe a little too low and loose, which resulted in the shoulder straps bearing too much wt.
Good Luck

 

[KJStechly]

Did you guys kill an elk?

Yeah we did. I had an opportunity at 1 but I had his a*s to me at 25 yards and it would have been a really hard quartering away shot that I didn’t feel comfortable with. My buddy killed a cow. My other buddy tried sneaking in on one but ended up sneaking up on the wrong blowdown and the bull busted out

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[KJStechly]

I have no experience with Exo packs, but have read many reports of people being really happy with them, especially how they allow you to turn and move. You will get lots of Kifaru recommendations along with a good bit of SG recommendations. Both of these packs / frames have a strong following on RS. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been 100% happy with my Kuiu Icon Pro for the past 6 years. I have hauled elk quarters and deer in it and it has done well. Also, I train with it year round with wts from 40 lbs up to the occasional 70+ lbs, so I have it dialed in to fit me perfectly. Getting the right pack is similar to boots, it has to work for YOU. There are several pack options to try, and most of them work well for many people. I guess you just have to sort through all of the 'best pack' recommendations and pick one and try it out this summer and really get it adjusted perfectly to your body.

Lastly, a pack should not cause shoulder strap rubbing issues. It sounds to me that you may not have had the pack fitted / worn correctly even though you may feel like you did. The waist belt rubbing holes in your shirt tail along with the shoulder strap issues sounds like you had your waist belt maybe a little too low and loose, which resulted in the shoulder straps bearing too much wt.
Good Luck

The shoulder straps weren’t bearing hardly any weight. At least nowhere near what my hip belt was. The shoulder straps rubbed/ chafed the front of my shoulders if that makes sense when I had the load lifters cinched tight


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[WV Mountaineer]

That’s my problem. I’m in WV. Nobody sells serious mountain packs around here


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I’m in Princeton WV. I have a Kifaru lite frame and a tactical frame. I’d be willing to help get them in your hands so you could feel what they are like.

 

[trophyhill]

The first thing I’d do instead of asking a bunch of guys On Rokslide of all places telling you what they want you to hear, is call and talk to Exo and tell them about your “debacle” and my guess is they’d be happy to talk you thru adjusting the pack or ensuring proper fit.

 

[hammer0419]

Stone Glacier X-Curve is awesome. Not the krux! Seek Outside is very different than most but probably the most comfortable pack I have ever used. The list being HUGE. They changed their belts which I didn't like. But now informed they added forward pulls to the belts which should be awesome. So much so I will probably order one this week.