Load carrying day pack+?

[Macintosh]

Thinking about getting my brother a new load carrying pack. He hunts a lot in northeastern wilderness areas as well as in the west, so he needs the ability to carry a broken down animal out, but its mainly a day pack with occasional use for shorter overnights. He is currently using an inexpensive Alps pack that doesnt appear to be made anymore—its like their commander lite but without the aluminum frame. He uses a big drybag to carry his stuff in it and uses that for both day and overnight hunting. He was looking at my mystery ranch gen-1 popup pack and allowed as how the 28l popup would probably work well for him for day trips.
What other similar-ish packs should I be looking at in the 28-38-ish liter size range?

 

[ZAK13]

I would go with bigger pop-up from Mystery Ranch, I think that one would be the better choice or even the Pintler would be another good choice.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Any exo and most stone glacier bags collapse down well enough for day pack use. I used a sky archer 6200 for several years, and now an exo 7200 for eastern day use and western expedition hunts.

 

[ropeup79]

The Mystery Ranch Sawtooth 45 would be a good option. Makes a great day pack and can handle 1-3 nights, maybe more depending on situation.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Echo the thoughts above.

pop up is my go to day pack for northeast hunts. The 28 fills fast even in daypack mode if you are carrying layers. I use a 38. It isn’t my first pack to grab for overnights but it works fine for that too.

I had an MR frame for my bigger pack so I got a pintler bag and that is my pack for shorter overnights and it works great as a daypack too, albeit a little buliker than the pop up.

 

[duckcarver]

I moved from a MR Pop Up to Kifaru--recommend the StrykerXL or Hellbender. Both compress down to almost nothing and handle heavy loads well. Great for multiple days with a dry bag on the load shelf.

 

[sndmn11]

K4 2200 Pack System

A smart and streamlined daypack for carrying essential gear; a capable and comfortable load-hauler with the included K4 Frame‚ the K4 2200 Pack System is the ultimate hunting day pack. Made in the USA.

exomtngear.com

Peregrine 3500

A small and versatile hunting pack suited to long days or weekend trips.

seekoutside.com

Approach 2800

Designed for the hunter who likes to go deep with a minimal amount of gear, the 2800 will get you where you want to be. And thanks to the increased volume over the Avail 2200, you can stay there for a multi-day hunt. The full-panel zipper allows easy access while two internal zippered pockets...

www.stoneglacier.com

Can't go wrong with any of these.

 

[Gone4Days]

Exo 2200

 

[Macintosh]

Thanks all. $600 isnt in the budget. Other than mystery ranch, any other brands I should check out?

 

[roosiebull]

For the price point, I don’t think there is anything that competes with the pop up for that niche, especially considering the current deals on mystery ranch… to get a better pack, the next step up is about double the cost

 

[herd90]

Seek outside flight. 3200 ci. Carries 30 -50lbs fine. 2.4lbs. Extremely water resistant. I've used one for day hunts and to travel with as a carry-on.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

 

[BASSFAN07]

I got a mystery ranch Terraframe 80 bigger than you’re looking but cheap. LMK if interested.

 

[*zap*]

The frame fitting his body type is much more important than the bag size/type.

 

[Bubblehide]

Stone Glacier makes minimalist packs, but may be out of your price range. Have you looked at Akek, they are sponsors here. Akek makes 2 packs, both have review threads.

 

[roosiebull]

Stone Glacier makes minimalist packs, but may be out of your price range. Have you looked at Akek, they are sponsors here. Akek makes 2 packs, both have review threads.

Good thing he isn’t asking about a bigger pack, could make some awkward post holiday conversations

“What did you get for Christmas?”

“My brother got me a climax”

 

[sbaker0029]

I'll through my vote in for the pintler it's great for a day pack and can definitely use for an overnight. The load shelf is pretty handy for meat or just expanding the pack.

If he doesn't care about organization pockets I would definitely take a look at the Terraframe 50 if you want to save some $$. It's a tad larger than the pintler and doesn't have the pockets and can be found for $200-250

 

[Macintosh]

Serac on a frame of your choice is about perfect IMO

Sold - Stone Glacier Serac, Danner Mountain 600, GoRuck Bullet

I have the following for sale. PayPal F&F, or pay the fees for G&S. I am looking for Danner Trail 2650 in size 10, Crispi Lapponia Gen. I or Gen II. in size 9.5 or 10, Crispi Crossover in 9.5 or 10, Schnees or Hoffman Pac Boots in size 10. Would add cash on my end to even things up if needed...

rokslide.com

Is that a pack-only and doesnt include the frame? Is there a SG frame that would make that option fit the budget? (Prob $300 or less).

 

[MT_Wyatt]

Is that a pack-only and doesnt include the frame? Is there a SG frame that would make that option fit the budget? (Prob $300 or less).

Negative. Frames alone surpass that budget.

MR on sale is by FAR going to get you the best for $300, unless you find a screaming used deal. The pop ups are nice but past 60lb (they rate them at 80) there’s a noticeable degradation in comfort, simply due to the reduced suspension build. If you’re trying to get a small pack that can do loads, that is a good option, or I would consider one of their smaller bags on their guide lite mt frame.

 

[Macintosh]

Thanks. Ive carried well over 80lb in my mr popup, it aint pretty but at least I dont have a better pack to compare it to…ignorance being bliss and all that. And mine’s much better than his current one. Usually he’s packing out a whitetail, so 80lb is about normal and if it works but is suboptimal for a once every other year hunt, thats just fine. Plus he’s a frikkin tank so he can handle it!

 

[roosiebull]

Thanks. Ive carried well over 80lb in my mr popup, it aint pretty but at least I dont have a better pack to compare it to…ignorance being bliss and all that. And mine’s much better than his current one. Usually he’s packing out a whitetail, so 80lb is about normal and if it works but is suboptimal for a once every other year hunt, thats just fine. Plus he’s a frikkin tank so he can handle it!

I have had over 80# in my pop up on several occasions, and one load had to be pushing 100# and I had kind of a long way to go… that particular load I had planned on getting it all to the road (gated logging road) then dropping half and doing 2 trips, but once I got out of the brush it wasn’t that bad so I just took it all out… it certainly wasn’t the most enjoyable walk out, but that little pack has impressed me

Couple years I used it chasing roosies with the intention of doing the first load with the pop up and then switching packs after that, but I never did. Packed several roosies in my pop up, and it did better than it should have, and I didn’t break it.

I personally would much rather pack weight with them than their full frame packs, I had a metcalf for a very brief period and didn’t like it… the pop ups were much more comfortable for me with a heavy load, and don’t squeak nearly as bad, haha

Pop ups are cool little packs, and seemingly tough

The biggest downfall I have with them is lack of compression, I wish you could add compression straps when you need to haul meat, because it can be tricky to secure a heavy load to ride correctly and not shift or try to squirt out