Which day pack do you use.

[eaglemountainman]

My whole life I've been a very minimalist kind of hunter. Rifle, knife, deer drag, compass, maybe some scent and some candy bars and/or jerky. Now that I'm retired, I intend to do at least one western or Canadian hunt a year. I'm thinking of investing in a good day pack to carry the additional gear that kind of hunt would require.  Things like extra clothes to swap in and out with weather conditions, spotting scope and tripod, small first aid kit, water, lunch etc. I've been looking real hard at the Mystery Ranch Pop Up 28, (it gets great reviews), with a lot of interest in the  Eberlestock X2, (also great reviews). Both seem like they would be excellent packs for my intended purpose. Both have meat shelves for hauling quarters or boned out game, and the Pop Up even has an innovative expanding frame to help accommodate the extra load.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to pull the trigger on the MR Pop Up, but before I do, I thought I'd see what y'all are using and might recommend. Though it was only introduced in 2018, I wonder if anyone has hunted with one yet. I have zero experience hunting with a day pack and value the opinions of others more knowledgeable than me.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF_8hF8J4eM

 

Edited March 5, 2019 by eaglemountainman

[Jeremy K]

I was the same ,if it didn't fit in my pockets ,it stayed back. I tried one of those sling bags this year because I thought it would be easier to get stuff out of while wearing it . I didn't like the way it cut into my neck while walking in and I was always messing with it. I'm gonna look for a small back pack for this year , anything they attach the word tactical to is where I start ,they seem to have the most pockets built into them.

[The_Real_TCIII]

GamePlan Gear Leech. If im packing in a stand it attaches to it, or it has a strap I can just throw over my shoulder. It then wraps around the tree and everything is at the ready

 

 

Edited March 5, 2019 by The_Real_TCIII

[eaglemountainman]

5 minutes ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

GamePlan Gear Leech. If im packing in a stand it attaches to it, or it has a strap I can just throw over my shoulder. It then wraps around the tree and everything is at the ready

 

 

That looks like a great piece of gear for an eastern deer hunter, but I need something just a little bigger with the ability to haul meat. My first western hunt this year for pronghorns will most likely involve  long day hikes on the prairie quite a distance from the truck. If successful, I'd like to be able to quarter or bone out the goat and haul it out without an extra trip to the truck for a hauling frame. 

[The_Real_TCIII]

1 minute ago, eaglemountainman said:

That looks like a great piece of gear for an eastern deer hunter, but I need something just a little bigger with the ability to haul meat. My first western hunt this year for pronghorns will most likely involve  long day hikes on the prairie quite a distance from the truck. If successful, I'd like to be able to quarter or bone out the goat and haul it out without an extra trip to the truck for a hauling frame. 

Yes in re-reading your post I see you need a big pack. Id check out bowsite as they have a lot of Western hunters and youll get some solid info

[kpkot]

love my tenzing.  quality bag.  I think I have the 2200. great support system and tons if pockets.  even holds your rifle or bow which I like on the dark walk in or out if its daytime i usually carry gun or bow.

[helmut in the bush]

I have a Eberlestock  that I won at a banquet, I've never used it, it seems a little big for the hunts that I've done lately. It's comfortable, plenty of pockets, opens up for packing out meat, has a nice gun scabbard, if I had to do a lot of walking to hunt, I would look at one of the higher end packs like this.

[eaglemountainman]

3 hours ago, helmut in the bush said:

I have a Eberlestock  that I won at a banquet, I've never used it, it seems a little big for the hunts that I've done lately. It's comfortable, plenty of pockets, opens up for packing out meat, has a nice gun scabbard, if I had to do a lot of walking to hunt, I would look at one of the higher end packs like this.

Is it the X2? That's the one I've been considering, volume wise. And I like it a lot. Looks to be made very well and gets very positive reviews.

[Lawdwaz]

I’ve had Mystery Ranch, Eberlestock and  King Of The Mountain.  I have an Osprey that I’m  using now and like it very much. 

[GR HUNTER]

I ran a Mystery Ranch 28 this past fall and loved it. Used it up east as well since it wasn't to heavy or bulky. Great construction. 

[Five Seasons]

there's a meateater podcast episode that's devoted entirely to packing for western hunts. I'd recommend you listen to it. I've heard good things about stone glacier but don't have any real first hand experience. Only a few guys on this very eastern "treestand" hunting group will have the real experience for western style hunting. 

[eaglemountainman]

37 minutes ago, Lawdwaz said:

I’ve had Mystery Ranch, Eberlestock and  King Of The Mountain.  I have an Osprey that I’m  using now and like it very much. 

Were they all day packs? And did they have the ability to haul meat? Or, were they full sized packs? If they were day packs with the ability to haul game, I would be very interested to read your critique of each bag.

[Hunter007]

Don't remember the name but I picked one up from Amazon,  I just looked at the dimensions I wanted and got the one with the best reviews for that size and price point I was willing to spend,   it   worked   out great . You can ask questions on Amazon  about if it would be suitable for your aplication  from guys that already bought  any specific pack  you see which is very helpful. 

[stubborn1VT]

I would check out Badlands packs.  I also believe that Cabelas makes a pack that would fit the bill.

[wolc123]

As a minimilist NY hunter, my suggestion would be go even more minimalist on a Western hunt.   On my first hunt out there (when I was in my early thirties), I carried a small backpack and that only lasted one day.  The high altitude and thin air works your lungs extra hard.  A pack that you can carry easily, up the highest Adirondack peaks, quickly becomes way too much out there because the base elevation is thousands of feet higher which makes the oxygen concentration much lower.    

The pack that I liked best was a small "fanny-pack", modified with suspenders, and a quart canteen pouch (with a pocket for water purification tablets).   Items in the pack were just a compass (a second one in addition to one in my pants pocket), knife,  folding saw, waterproof bags, space blanket, lighter, light rope, a couple protein bars, and (4) extra rounds of ammo, in addition to the (6) in my rifle's magazine.  Now in my early 50's,  I pack significantly more stuff on most Adirondack hunts.  Believe me, you don't want to carry stuff you probably will not use when you are struggling to draw a breath, like you will be out west on a "once a year" trip.     

If you dress in layers, you can use the rope to tie off unworn items to the suspender straps.  If you need to pack meat out, you can use the animal's hide to wrap it and drag what you can on your first trip,  bag and rope the rest up in trees in the shade.  Your odds of ending up with meat to pack out will be greatly improved if you are not overburdened with too much weight.   I found that a quart of water and a couple protein bars was plenty for all day, unless I was packing out meat.  In that case, I needed a few gallons of water (thats when the water purification tablets come in handy).     

Edited March 5, 2019 by wolc123

[eaglemountainman]

^^^^^ I'm only going to be at 4,000 feet. It won't be an issue.