What size backpack do I need?

[Jimss]

My preference on sheep and other multi-day hunts is the largest bag available. You can always cinch a large bag down but if a bag isn't large enough for capes, horns, meat, camp, rifle, etc.....you are screwed. I often pack out life-sized capes/skins which take up a heck of a lot of room in a bag. The largest bags available really don't weigh much more than slightly smaller bags!

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Man I really don’t think it (camo), matters, unless you’re turkey or waterfowl hunting. Now days I pretty much do all of my hunting in camo, but that’s only because I now have clothing that I use exclusively for hunting, and figure it can’t hurt to be wearing camo. For most of my hunting life I never wore a speck of camo, and I really don’t think that my hunting suffered because of it. I go back through all my pictures of kills, and there are way more that I’m not wearing camo than ones that I am.


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sheep hunting last year the only Camo I had was my gators and one of my mid layers.

back to packs, it depends on the hunt, because of work my sheep hunting is broken up into several 3-4 day trips, at least it has been the last few years. This year I’m going with the SG 40/56 if it’s the same 3-4 day time slots. If I was going for 7-10 days, I’d take a bigger pack. Last season I used my fulcrum a bit and while it carried great it weighs north of 10lbs empty and I’m not in love with the way it all just flops open then you have like 80 straps to deal with every time you leave camp.

 

[Aoudadshooter1975]

I kind of agree with more room. I now have kuiu icon 5200 and to get everything in it for 5 + days takes some careful planning. I will probably get a 7200 bag just for that reason. I'm not a Kuiu pimp but like that I can change bags out so easy..I have a 1800 on it right now and makes a rugged day pack, slap on a bigger bag and go up the hill for a few days...good luck in 2021

Oh DSC. Is a great place to see a lot of different gear...look me up I am usually there Thursday and Friday.

Ed

 

[Silvereagle50]

When you guys are packing for these 8-10 day trips, what is taking up the majority of your pack space? I have been able to pack everything I need for a 3 day/2 night backpack hunt in an SG Solo 3300, but I’m planning on a much longer sheep hunt for the 2020 season and I’m looking at getting a larger pack for my SG frame, it seems like I could fit everything in one of their 5900 ci options with room to spare, unless I’m severely underestimating how much additional food I’ll need.

Are you going on a guided hunt? If so, does the guide expect you to carry any of the things he supplies (food, etc.) The 5900 should be enough for your stuff, but if you need to help carry any supplies, one of the bigger may be better. My guide told me to get one close to 7000ci. So I got the SG 6900.

 

[rfgreenwell]

I have an SG-5900 on an x-curve frame that I totally love. Fit is the best to my body, and I like the way it snugs in close and becomes a part of me. I use kifaru ultralite organizer bags inside to separate certain parts of my kit. I can slip their "not so" dry bag in the shelf if I need a little extra room for mtn house packs, etc and I have the access add on pocket but have never needed to use it. I was a little hung up on camo versions not being available, so I commissioned Pods8, Adam of Rugged Stitching, to make me a copy of the 5900 in kryptec highlander, for those times I really wanted to be in full camo. He did an incredibly awesome job on the bag and now I have a choice when I want it. I use my SG-5900 in their foliage on the AT and other backpacking trails where it is not "cool" to be in camo, and the kryptec 5900 hunting. On a sheep or goat hunt I would likely use the stock foliage as I think it would just blend in with the rocks. I have been hunting nearly 60 years and I think camo is the least influencing factor in my relatively successful hunting lifetime, but it often just makes me "feel more into the experience". Pods did great, the price was reasonable, and I can go either route I want and still enjoy my favorite Stone Glacier pack & frame. It should be noted that I have a fair number of kifaru packs that I enjoy as well, but this was about SG since the OP bought a 6900.

 

[OregonCody]

Are you going on a guided hunt? If so, does the guide expect you to carry any of the things he supplies (food, etc.) The 5900 should be enough for your stuff, but if you need to help carry any supplies, one of the bigger may be better. My guide told me to get one close to 7000ci. So I got the SG 6900.

No guide, it will likely be two of us and only one hunter though, so hopefully we should be able to share a decent a of gear.

 

[MtGomer]

Get a big one. You can make a big one smaller, but can’t make a small one bigger. I use the SG Sky Talus 6900 for everything.

 

[Big Nasty]

When you guys are packing for these 8-10 day trips, what is taking up the majority of your pack space? I have been able to pack everything I need for a 3 day/2 night backpack hunt in an SG Solo 3300, but I’m planning on a much longer sheep hunt for the 2020 season and I’m looking at getting a larger pack for my SG frame, it seems like I could fit everything in one of their 5900 ci options with room to spare, unless I’m severely underestimating how much additional food I’ll need.

I pack the exact same stuff on a 3 day hunt as I do 10-12 days except the amount of food. I have both the SG 3300 and 6900 bags and there's no chance I'm getting 10 days of food in the 3300. At 1.5-2 LBS /day it adds up fast, That's an extra 14-15 LBS just in food, food is very bulky. It all fits in the SG 6900, but it would be overloaded and then some with a sheep in it as well. Go Big and plan for Big pack out.