Stone Glacier verdict?

[muleman]

Muleman: You were right on the money for hooking my gun on. It took me a little effort, but I can put the gun safely on the horn of the pack frame and the chest strap holds it safely on.

I'm glad it worked out for you.

Heading out elk hunting in a couple of days. I'm egar to put some more meat on the shelf.

 

[cwh]

Grade A on the SG for me. Few minor tweaks are needed, maybe a dedicated internal platypus or camelback compatible hanging bag (I made my own and dont like the recommended placing the bladder between frame and bag, what to do when you load up some meat then?), better rifle sling system, better belt cinch system similar to kifaru. Like others have mentioned though, issues like that are at the bottom of the list for me when it comes to the SG. Overall it's been very good. Took the gear necessary for two sheep hunts and a moose hunt this year all in relative comfort.

jherald, what did you not like about the rifle sling? Interested in your water bladder hanging system too, as that is something that does require a little creativity/flexibility with that pack when loading different ways.

 

[jherald]

CWH, I prefer the Kifaru style and devised my own DIY set-up for my SG pack.



And for the water bladder system, SG has two internal plastic tri-bar sliders that hang from web-loops. I made a platypus bladder which hangs from those tabs out of some waterproof PU ripstop nylon and made two web tabs off the top to go through the tri-glides. It hangs nicely inside the pack.

 

[cwh]

Gotcha.. thanks. I could never get used to the K Gunbearer.

That looks like a good setup. If you want a spare gunbearer bottom piece, let me know. I think I broke all my top pieces.

 

[Ironman8]

For those who have the SG, and hopefully have used the load shelf to pack out meat, which TAG bags would be best to fill the width of the frame and allow the meat to spread into that 3-4" "slab" that you want with the load shelf method of packing? BOMB bags or the 24"x44" size?

 

[SJ-AK]

For those who have the SG, and hopefully have used the load shelf to pack out meat, which TAG bags would be best to fill the width of the frame and allow the meat to spread into that 3-4" "slab" that you want with the load shelf method of packing? BOMB bags or the 24"x44" size?

The bomb bags have worked quite well for me with the load shelf. I throw the meat in the bags, put the bags into a contractor bag vertically and put it on the load shelf. Cinch the whole thing down and you are good to go. There is a lot more room on the load shelf than I had originally anticipated. I think you could fit a big bull moose quarter on there if you wanted to.

 

[Ironman8]

The bomb bags have worked quite well for me with the load shelf. I throw the meat in the bags, put the bags into a contractor bag vertically and put it on the load shelf. Cinch the whole thing down and you are good to go. There is a lot more room on the load shelf than I had originally anticipated. I think you could fit a big bull moose quarter on there if you wanted to.

Thanks for the reply.

Can/do you fit two BOMB bags on the shelf at the same time?

And do you feel that the BOMB bags "barrel" a little when full, making the gear in the bag move further away from your center of gravity? (In other words, how thick are the bags when full?)

 

[SJ-AK]

Thanks for the reply.

Can/do you fit two BOMB bags on the shelf at the same time?

And do you feel that the BOMB bags "barrel" a little when full, making the gear in the bag move further away from your center of gravity? (In other words, how thick are the bags when full?)

I packed 5 different animals with the SG this year, but only used the bomb bags on a couple goats, the rest were bone in. I have had no issue fitting two or three bomb bags on the load shelf with the boned goat meat. Although they weren't completely stuffed full either, but a complete mature billy plus cape is a good load.

I lay the pack down flat and arrange the boned meat to be as flat and compact as it can be, just like Kurt shows in his videos. Then tighten all of the straps. I have had absolutely no issue with this method of "barreling" or the weight shifting. You can really cinch the load down tight with all the straps on the SG. I will say I was not in a position this year with the Terminus bag completely full and the meat shell loaded as well. I did have the main bag half full and the meat shelf loaded to the hilt, worked like a champ for me. Hope this helps.

Shane

 

[Ironman8]

Awesome Shane, that answered my questions perfectly. Sounds like a great setup. I'll likely go with the Solo when I do pull the trigger on a pack. And I'll be picking up the BOMB bags instead of the others. Thanks again brother.

 

[LP_805]

Great thread - been following closely! Thanks all.

Anybody know if SG will have booth at SHOT show in Vegas Jan '14? I did not see them on Exhibitor list.

Trying one on and comparing to other packs all under one roof would be great experience!