First and foremost I will start by saying with the hunting gear industry today there are MANY great products out there as far as gear goes. I think it all depends on what you are going to use your pack for and your style of hunting. I have many different gear brands and they all make great stuff some better than others. Before I would of hands down just fully 100% shouted "KUIU" (hence my username) but after owning many different brands I have come to learn there is a lot of great stuff out there! Heck Exo Mountian Gear even has a nice pack in line. I actually spent a lot of time researching five different packs this time around, and for what I personally wanted/ needed to use my pack for, which was similar to you for deer and elk hunts and possibly quick day pack. I couldn't beat the price of the KUIU Ultra 6000 the only CON I came up with was the not having the inner pockets like the other generations but they were trying to save on weight and that was the whole point and focus of this pack. As far as the meat sling, you can place meat between the pack and the frame. This pack was demonstrated to hold 200lbs in the demonstration video which is awesome but seriously the day I pack 200lbs on my pack is the day i'm clearing popping steriods. And to add to the comment above they are shipping mid April. My final statement is you need to go to the websites and weigh out all your options are you looking for a pack that can carry more than 200lbs? Are you looking for a pack with different zipper access? Universal frames? Its not about what he says or she says.. Personally I have owned KUIU packs and have never had a problem with material or having to "baby" that particular pack, but then again that person may hunt different from me. What I am trying to say is make a list of what is important to you in a pack and focus on getting a pack around those specific things because honestly every brand in the industry has is PROs where others have their Cons and others have CONS where other have PROS, but each one of them holds a unique benefit for what the hunter needs/uses his/her pack for. Just my two cents ;-) it was definitely a tough choice and it came down to a Kifaru or KUIU for me but I did want a lighter pack and that was the #1 point on my list so I made the decision to do with the KUIU. If my focus would of been a universal frame I would of went with the Kifaru- its what you want that pack for! That's the pack you should choose!
