Need help deciding between the Kifaru AMR and Woodsman

[ED43]

I used my AMR on a 5-day drop-camp hunt this season in daypack mode the whole time. I experienced no "flop." The bag was basically completely flat all week and worked perfectly.

I ended up packing a small load, probably 30 pounds or so, out roughly 14 miles. Way less than the AMR's capacity, and the load rode like it wasn't there. Very stable.

All that being said, I'm adding a Woodsman to my kit this Christmas. I'll have 2 bags, my AMR for long trips and family outings, and a Woodsman for 3 days or less. IMO they compliment each other perfectly and since the Woodsman weighs about a pound less, I think it's worth have both options.

Thanks for the input. I was hoping to get one bag that would cover me across a wide range of situations, which I think the AMR will do. But maybe I'll get a woodsman a little further down the road. Between the two, I should have all situations covered.

 

[Elk Rookie]

No worries. The AMR is a great do it all pack. Very well designed for compressing down. My main compartment carried my water bladder. The two large front pockets and a guide lid gives all the space you need. And the great thing is you have like 6k inches of extra space for meat if you kill something.


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[jb79]

This was a quick 3 day 60 mile loop I did a couple summers ago, I had more than I needed (planned for 4 days) and the AMR was everything I wanted it to be! It's the only bag I haven't sold and I've been through a few.....I will probably buy the woodsman this year for day hunts! Don't worry to much about it you'll end up buy more bags!!


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[Matt21418]

Thanks. One last question. Do you happen to know if it's possible to run the side pockets on the AMR while its compressed?

I ran a medium side pocket in the compressed mode and it worked great.

 

[Matt21418]

Here are couple of pics from my hunt this year that show the AMR in day hunt mode, and then loaded, they were taken about 16 hours apart.

As a bow hunter the one thing I didn't like about the AMR was the pockets on the back of the pack. When we were hiking around and didn't have our bows out the bows were strapped over the pockets making anything you placed in the pockets difficult to get to unless the bow was removed from the pack. This was kinda a PITA, however with good planning may be able to be managed better. while in day hunt mode I had very little load in the pack with items strapped to either side as needed, depending upon what you want to put on the side you can use the compression straps for securing most gear, if added protection is desired then you can strap on a side pocket, just be careful the pack can get wide real fast if it is loaded up. When we loaded up the pack with the elk it was no issue and that load in the picture is one of the Tag BOMB bags in the pack ~60-70lbs of boned out meat. Overall I think the pack works great, however that being said with the back pocket access and lack of attached side pockets, I did part with my pack recently and have a reckoning on order. I did find even when packing in for a backcountry hunt for 5 days the AMR is way more bag than I need, as others have mentioned I found myself saying I have room for it lets just throw it in resulting in carrying quite a bit of excess weight that I will be cutting on the next hunt.

As a reference this year was my first year doing anything like this, but I drank the koolaid and jumped hard, I also purchased a 22 mag to use as a day hunting pack for my home state of TX. I loved the bellow pockets on it so that was another selling point for me on the reckoning.

Matt

 

[Truhunter]

I have an Amr that I use for a daypack, when I ordered it from Kifaru I asked if they could add the tab loops on the collar like the tahr has so it can be folded over and ran without a lid. They gladly did it and it works great that way.


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