Best USA made pack for elk hunting??

[ssgenuine]

My son has talked me into elk hunting this year and I need a pack. My son's pack has so many little pockets and places to hide shit that I'd go nuts trying to find anything. I prefer military packs for other uses because of the wear/tough factor, and also the made in USA thingy. Looks like ebay has used/issued ones in the $175-250 range, which seems like a good deal.

Will a ruck sack with frame work for packing out meat? Not sure how far we may have to pack quarters out, but my understanding is not more than 1000 yards until we will be able to access them with the Rangers.


Any of you guys use mil surplus backpacks and feel like it was brilliant or stupid?

[ssgenuine]

Forgot to mention that I'm a small guy at 6'4" and 235, and I'm old too. So if you got any favorite packs for tall guys that would help also.

It seems that most packs I put on are made for hobits...

[CS1983]

As a hobbit, I would love to be pointed towards these packs, as most packs I find have the kidney pad slapping my ass like I'm in the Navy and adjustable enough to slap the top of the crack rather than my hobbit butt cheeks' low draw.

Mystery Ranch or Eberlestock might be your best bet. Otherwise, a military pack will work.

[ssgenuine]

I misspelled hobit to make sure I didn't insult any real hobbits. I like hobbits, nice warm snack that you don't have to pack. My(I am told) son is a hobbit, hairy feet and all.

The waist belt on the ones I have poked an arm through lets my belly hang out under them like an upside down bra. I guess that spreads out the weight,, on top of my belly cleavage.

I will see if some of my giant buddies have an Eber or Mystery for me to try on. Do you find that they are better than a Filbe, and why???

[def90]

I’ve done a bit of back country camping and have used various military surplus packs over the years and they all sucked for any extended use. Way too heavy and the shape of the bag makes it hard to pack them correctly.

1000yds to pack out? You really don’t need much of a pack at all then, mostly just a frame. I would look at the Mystery Ranch Pop Up or the Mule. I just bought a Mystery Ranch Pintler for 2-3 day hunts and am loving it so far.

Rocky Mtn Specialty Gear in Wheat Ridge has a good selection of Mystery Ranch packs in stock at the moment. They have the pop up and mule. The packs come in different sizes to match your build, if you go to their website they have a sizing chart. Once you get the pack that fits your size range they then have a system built in to them to adjust the strap heights to match the top edge of your shoulder blade, they have videos online to show you how to do this. At 6’4 you probably need an XL.

[CS1983]

They're probably on par. Mystery Ranch is probably better than Eberlestock all in.

Anything standard issue military is likely to be more in the one-size-fits-all category, whereas at least Mystery Ranch has some features you might appreciate more.

You might be interested in their pop up 28: https://www.mysteryranch.com/pop-up-28-pack

[CS1983]

I’ve done a bit of back country camping and have used various military surplus packs over the years and they all sucked for any extended use. Way too heavy and the shape of the bag makes it hard to pack them correctly.

1000yds to pack out? You really don’t need much of a pack at all then, mostly just a frame. I would look at the Mystery Ranch Pop Up or the Mule. I just bought a Mystery Ranch Pintler for 2-3 day hunts and am loving it so far.

Good point about bag shape. .Mil tends to widen rather than go higher.

[ssgenuine]

We are hotel camping it so it will mainly be used for rain/snow gear and getting meat out. Probably just use a small pack until something is shot and then get big pack out of Ranger. Reality is the pack will never have anything in it because there really isn't any elk left up there. All fake news I think.

I will go check out the store and try on the MR's. Thanks guys, I realize a pack is usually one size fits none, but your info is really helpful, I wasn't even aware that packs came in different body sizes.

Being able to take a dip in the pool of knowledge is awesome. Thanks

[Delfuego]

Kifaru makes very nice stuff and is a Colorado company. Not cheap though...

[def90]

We are hotel camping it so it will mainly be used for rain/snow gear and getting meat out.

Pop Up 18 would be best.. Small pack for just carrying the items you might need for a day hike and then the frame is able to extend upwards for carrying larger loads. The nice thing about the Mystery Ranch packs/system is that you can buy the Pop Up and then down the road when you want a bigger pack just buy something like the Pintler or the Metcalf sold as the bag only and use the frame that you already have for the Pop Up.