Lightest game bags??

antlerz

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 23, 2021
Messages
110
Microfibre sleeping bag liners can be got cheap. 8oz and does the job for keeping meat clean when hanging in the trees.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Nov 6, 2017
Messages
540
Location
WA
I know this is the Lightweight Zone so most aren't packing out bone-in, but I wanted to say that the Kuiu bags work fantastic for that as well.

We've used them for several years now and have had zero issues.
 
Joined
Jul 9, 2019
Messages
337
Location
Washington State
I’ve had the Black Ovis bags for a few years they have held up well and are easy to get clean. Just last winter I got a set of the argali game bags. The argali bags are significantly lighter and pack down smaller. Are they the lightest? No, probably not. But they are pretty light.
 

Hoghead

WKR
Joined
Jun 20, 2019
Messages
705
Location
Turlock California
I'm curious how those holes got in the Kuiu. They don't look like material defects or a warranty issue to me. They look like wear or chew holes. Just curious, I have Kuiu, TAG, Caribou, Black Ovis and Allen backcountry and have never seen a hole like that in one of them. Come to think of it none of them have any holes and been using them since 2012 with 2-7 animals per year packed. Kuiu did warranty one of the zippered bags that ripped where the top of the handle attaches, let me keep the old bag too.
I haven't tried the Argalli but I am interested in them whenever I need more bags.
They aren't chewed holes they would be more open and sharper edges [ask me how I know]. I hand wash all my game bags I noticed some fraying then the next time it had opened up. I haul bone in and boneless. I don't know if a shoulder blade was on an aera where the strap upt pressure or what happened. I am currently using the aragali game bags. Have only hauled 2 hogs so far but they are holding up well so far. To me a 50$ game bag should last more than 6 months.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 

Maverick1

WKR
Joined
Jun 1, 2013
Messages
1,577
Been chasing this one for a few years. The best combination I have found for back country meat care is the following:

Citrus spray granules and pump bottle (Caribou Gear)

Women’s 5x-6x size panty hose. (Yes, you read that right....women’s panty hose.....vacuum sealed down, a set of 4 ends up the size of a tennis ball/softball, and weighs considerably less than comparable game bags).

Been using this system for 10+ years. Works great! (And, yes, sometimes the looks and comments along the way are priceless! From the unknowing, yet sympathetic looks I get from the cashier at the store when I buy them - “oh, you poor ba$tard” - to the looks I get at the meat locker “WTF?!?!??!”......)

Gives me a good chuckle when I’m slipping them over a big meaty hindquarter, late at night, solo, in the middle of the backcountry, bloody, and wiped out, wearing a headlamp. “I wonder what someone would say if they walked up on this scene right now?!”

“You ain’t right!”
 

elkliver

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Dec 25, 2018
Messages
227
Location
Oregon
Rawhide Gear makes an extemely lightweight durable set of bags. Its all i use anymore. Small company so not super well known but legit gear
 

Jdw901

FNG
Joined
Oct 19, 2016
Messages
12
I used the Grakksaw bags last year. Worked great on an elk, 2 mule deer, and 2 blacktail (between me and my son). After use, I hose them off, then wash them. Definitely recommend. Good size for pack outs, super light and durable
 

mlgc20

WKR
Joined
Oct 29, 2018
Messages
1,192
Location
DFW, TX
Been chasing this one for a few years. The best combination I have found for back country meat care is the following:

Citrus spray granules and pump bottle (Caribou Gear)

Women’s 5x-6x size panty hose. (Yes, you read that right....women’s panty hose.....vacuum sealed down, a set of 4 ends up the size of a tennis ball/softball, and weighs considerably less than comparable game bags).

Been using this system for 10+ years. Works great! (And, yes, sometimes the looks and comments along the way are priceless! From the unknowing, yet sympathetic looks I get from the cashier at the store when I buy them - “oh, you poor ba$tard” - to the looks I get at the meat locker “WTF?!?!??!”......)

Gives me a good chuckle when I’m slipping them over a big meaty hindquarter, late at night, solo, in the middle of the backcountry, bloody, and wiped out, wearing a headlamp. “I wonder what someone would say if they walked up on this scene right now?!”

“You ain’t right!”
I'm intrigued. Tell me more. You use panty hose on elk quarters? And yes, WTF? But, I need more on this. Do you have any pics? This might be the idea of the year.
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2015
Messages
2,304
Has anyone seen an update on the born and raised ones with the side zipper?

I often hunt solo and it looks lik it would be an easier way to load bone-in quarters.
 

Maverick1

WKR
Joined
Jun 1, 2013
Messages
1,577
I'm intrigued. Tell me more. You use panty hose on elk quarters? And yes, WTF? But, I need more on this. Do you have any pics? This might be the idea of the year.
Yes, I am serious.

Here is a youtube video that can give some additional information:
Note, the process that I use is similar to this video, with a couple of exceptions.
  • One: I hang the elk quarters in the tree and THEN I put on the panty hose. The panty hose by themselves are NOT strong enough to hold the entire weight of the quarter. You have to first hang up the elk quarter using paracord, and then put on the panty hose.
  • Two, I put the panty hose on the opposite direction as Jeff does in this video: he starts on the knuckle/hock end, I start on the thicker quarter end. Probably makes no difference and would work either way.

I use the panty hose because they are lightweight and compress down really well when vacuum sealed. Before going this direction I used Alaska Game bags, which are heavy and bulky in comparison and take up quite a bit of room in the backpack. (Since I started using this system, additional options have come on the market which are really well reviewed, including Caribou Gear, TAG, BlackOvis, etc.)

My general process is this:
  1. Shoot animal,
  2. Tag animal,
  3. Take copious amounts of pictures,
  4. Quarter using the gutless method,
  5. Hang meat in tree using paracord/camjam/pulley system
  6. Put pantyhose on quarters and trimmings,
  7. Apply citrus spray onto the pantyhose covering the meat in the tree,
  8. Put one quarter into pack along with backstraps and trimmings
  9. Hike with first load down to the vehicle,
  10. Drop off first load of meat in vehicle,
  11. Grab pack frame and Alaska game bags,
  12. Hike back to meat pole,
  13. Apply Alaska Game Bags to remaining 3 quarters,
  14. Pack the rest of the meat out.

So, the thing to highlight in the process above is the pantyhose are only used for a short period of time (a day at most) while I am going back to the vehicle to get the more robust game bags. And, the I supplement them using Caribou Gear's game bag spray. (I am still using the Alaska Game bags because I have a number of them from a friend and have been washing them/reusing. Once they are gone or beyond their useful life I plan to continue using the pantyhose system above, but will transition to another brand for packing out the rest of the meat..)

Additional information: my most recent purchases have been with the Silky Toes on Amazon, 8X size, rated for 5'5"-6', 300-375 lbs. That's the biggest size they have. (And, no, I am not sponsored or affiliated with this manufacturer! LOL.) In previous years I have used 3-4X sizes from Wal-Mart and they have weighed less; I just wanted to try a larger size.)

The weight of this setup:
(4) 8x Panthose, vacuum-sealed: 6.4 oz.
(1) spray bottle and citrus granules: 2.8 oz.

Here is a link to a previous thread here on Rokslide.

This system has worked reasonably well, with a few lessons learned along the way. The first year I tried it I experienced no problems. The second year was a year with a lot of bees, and they chewed a small hole in one of the pantyhose and got at some of the meat (about the size of a deck of cards had to be cut off and left behind). I was kind of disappointed in that experience, so the third year I implemented the citrus spray and have not had any issues in the 5-6 seasons since.

Hope this helps! Never thought I'd be writing so much about 8X pantyhose! LOL.
 

j33

WKR
Joined
Jun 11, 2020
Messages
428
Location
Calgary, AB
Argali are one of the lightest bone in game bags, I own the 3 bags below:

Argali 17x29”: 1.8oz
Cariboo 16x30”: 2.6oz
Argali 24x40”: 3.1oz
 

mlgc20

WKR
Joined
Oct 29, 2018
Messages
1,192
Location
DFW, TX
Yes, I am serious.

Here is a youtube video that can give some additional information:
Note, the process that I use is similar to this video, with a couple of exceptions.
  • One: I hang the elk quarters in the tree and THEN I put on the panty hose. The panty hose by themselves are NOT strong enough to hold the entire weight of the quarter. You have to first hang up the elk quarter using paracord, and then put on the panty hose.
  • Two, I put the panty hose on the opposite direction as Jeff does in this video: he starts on the knuckle/hock end, I start on the thicker quarter end. Probably makes no difference and would work either way.

I use the panty hose because they are lightweight and compress down really well when vacuum sealed. Before going this direction I used Alaska Game bags, which are heavy and bulky in comparison and take up quite a bit of room in the backpack. (Since I started using this system, additional options have come on the market which are really well reviewed, including Caribou Gear, TAG, BlackOvis, etc.)

My general process is this:
  1. Shoot animal,
  2. Tag animal,
  3. Take copious amounts of pictures,
  4. Quarter using the gutless method,
  5. Hang meat in tree using paracord/camjam/pulley system
  6. Put pantyhose on quarters and trimmings,
  7. Apply citrus spray onto the pantyhose covering the meat in the tree,
  8. Put one quarter into pack along with backstraps and trimmings
  9. Hike with first load down to the vehicle,
  10. Drop off first load of meat in vehicle,
  11. Grab pack frame and Alaska game bags,
  12. Hike back to meat pole,
  13. Apply Alaska Game Bags to remaining 3 quarters,
  14. Pack the rest of the meat out.

So, the thing to highlight in the process above is the pantyhose are only used for a short period of time (a day at most) while I am going back to the vehicle to get the more robust game bags. And, the I supplement them using Caribou Gear's game bag spray. (I am still using the Alaska Game bags because I have a number of them from a friend and have been washing them/reusing. Once they are gone or beyond their useful life I plan to continue using the pantyhose system above, but will transition to another brand for packing out the rest of the meat..)

Additional information: my most recent purchases have been with the Silky Toes on Amazon, 8X size, rated for 5'5"-6', 300-375 lbs. That's the biggest size they have. (And, no, I am not sponsored or affiliated with this manufacturer! LOL.) In previous years I have used 3-4X sizes from Wal-Mart and they have weighed less; I just wanted to try a larger size.)

The weight of this setup:
(4) 8x Panthose, vacuum-sealed: 6.4 oz.
(1) spray bottle and citrus granules: 2.8 oz.

Here is a link to a previous thread here on Rokslide.

This system has worked reasonably well, with a few lessons learned along the way. The first year I tried it I experienced no problems. The second year was a year with a lot of bees, and they chewed a small hole in one of the pantyhose and got at some of the meat (about the size of a deck of cards had to be cut off and left behind). I was kind of disappointed in that experience, so the third year I implemented the citrus spray and have not had any issues in the 5-6 seasons since.

Hope this helps! Never thought I'd be writing so much about 8X pantyhose! LOL.
Thanks for the detailed response. This makes a lot of sense to me. I really like to go ultralight when I’m out hunting during the day. And hate carrying around game bags. I like the idea of the pantyhose as a stop gap until you get back to camp and get the “real” game bags. I’m going to give this a try this Fall. Thanks again.
 

MR5X5

FNG
Joined
Jan 6, 2021
Messages
56
Location
Wetside of WA
I run woven plastic grain bags from the local grange or brewing supply co. Extremely light, strong breathable and free!
 

sargent

WKR
Joined
Mar 7, 2017
Messages
1,105
Location
Pennsylvania
I just finished making up my kill kit for this fall's elk hunt with some ideas from this thread. It includes:
4- 8x pantyhose
citric spray granules and bottle
Esee Izula knife
30"x50" housewrap
Kitchen trash bag
nitrile gloves
25' electrician's pulling twine

The whole thing weighs 1# 1/2 oz. and vacuumed seals to the size of a mountain house. Hopefully I get a chance to use it this year.
 

tdot

WKR
Joined
Aug 18, 2014
Messages
1,888
Location
BC
Just a note for the guys using the Argali bags. I used a set of the High Country on a couple of animals and was very happy. Washed them on a normal cycle in the front load washing machine and 75% of the reflective "Argali" logo peeled off. Argali was great about replacing them under warranty, but they did say they recommend a gentle cycle on the washing machine.
 

Marbles

WKR
Classified Approved
Joined
May 16, 2020
Messages
3,711
Location
AK
I'm happy with Argali bags, they are lighter than the Caribou Gear bags they replaced and also dry faster. Ther are not the lightest though, that goes to something closer to Grakksaw.
 
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