Please excuse the cross post, not sure where best to place it.
I recently bought my first pack for a hunt that came up very quickly in West Texas. I bought it at Cabelas, so I can return it or exchange it and having used it this weekend, I am considering doing so, but need some advice on what to expect as this is new for me.
The pack I want is for an all day hunt, from a camp, so no need for 3 days or something. I do want to be able to haul meat back on it.
What I want to put in the pack is water, rifle, spotting scope and tripod, maybe shooting sticks, knife, meat bags, flashlight, small camera, and maybe a few other small things depending on the situation and the weather at the time of year.
I ended going to all the local stores (Cabelas, Gander, Bass Pro, REI), and what I found was fit with weight in it is king. The Cabelas pack I wanted was too short, so when I stuck 40 pounds of weight in it, it was all on my shoulders. I am tall enough that most off the shelf packs would not work.
Long story short, the only pack available that was long enough was a Badlands 2200 and the Clutch. I liked the gun carrier on the Eberlestock Gunrunner they had, but it was too short a pack for me. They sold the 2200 before I got back to get it, so I ended up with the Clutch, bigger and more expensive than I planned. But the sales guys said...try it, bring it back after your hunt if you don't like it. So I had to go that way.
The pack worked fine, but things got heavy fast. With all the stuff I had in it, it was in the area of 40 pounds (my rifle is 10 lbs with 10 rounds and sling).
Honestly, my shoulders never hurt,it was all on my waist, but it seemed a little crazy carrying all that weight just for a daypack to me. That said, the pack is 7.2 pounds, rifle is 10 and the 106 oz of water I carried was like 6.5. Is this what most of you guys end up carrying weight wise?
I ask because I am trying to determine what to expect realistically and whether I should keep this pack or move down to the 2200 (two pounds lighter), or some other pack in my price range. However, if this is just par for the course, I will stay with what I have as it seems very versatile and has most of what I want in a pack. What I like about the Clutch is it is described and seems to be a pack for multiple uses, from daypack to overnighter, and it has the kinds of pockets I want...especially for carrying a spotting scope etc.
What I don't like is it's 7.2 pounds....and if I don't ever overnight, then I don't need the larger size of the main compartment, so I could go down to the 2200.....and the rife carrying solution....too slow by far, both pack suffer this problem.
So how much weight and stuff do you guys carry for a day's use?
What should I be expecting realistically for a daypack and equipment to weight?
And what do you use to haul it?
Keep in mind, I have narrowed my choices to:
1) Ones I can afford....Kifaru and every mystery ranch except the Dragon Slayer are just too much for me. The Clutch would not have been possible without a bunch of Cabelas discounts I had saved up
2) those I can try on as I found fit while carry weight was critical to making my choice.
I do like all the pockets, I don't like packs with one big storage area. I would prefer a better rifle carry solution. I thought about the Kifaru gunbearer, but having the barrel in my face seemed awkward. I tried the Gunslinger Corral, but so far, that has not worked and it seems to squeek terribly.
Thanks!
I recently bought my first pack for a hunt that came up very quickly in West Texas. I bought it at Cabelas, so I can return it or exchange it and having used it this weekend, I am considering doing so, but need some advice on what to expect as this is new for me.
The pack I want is for an all day hunt, from a camp, so no need for 3 days or something. I do want to be able to haul meat back on it.
What I want to put in the pack is water, rifle, spotting scope and tripod, maybe shooting sticks, knife, meat bags, flashlight, small camera, and maybe a few other small things depending on the situation and the weather at the time of year.
I ended going to all the local stores (Cabelas, Gander, Bass Pro, REI), and what I found was fit with weight in it is king. The Cabelas pack I wanted was too short, so when I stuck 40 pounds of weight in it, it was all on my shoulders. I am tall enough that most off the shelf packs would not work.
Long story short, the only pack available that was long enough was a Badlands 2200 and the Clutch. I liked the gun carrier on the Eberlestock Gunrunner they had, but it was too short a pack for me. They sold the 2200 before I got back to get it, so I ended up with the Clutch, bigger and more expensive than I planned. But the sales guys said...try it, bring it back after your hunt if you don't like it. So I had to go that way.
The pack worked fine, but things got heavy fast. With all the stuff I had in it, it was in the area of 40 pounds (my rifle is 10 lbs with 10 rounds and sling).
Honestly, my shoulders never hurt,it was all on my waist, but it seemed a little crazy carrying all that weight just for a daypack to me. That said, the pack is 7.2 pounds, rifle is 10 and the 106 oz of water I carried was like 6.5. Is this what most of you guys end up carrying weight wise?
I ask because I am trying to determine what to expect realistically and whether I should keep this pack or move down to the 2200 (two pounds lighter), or some other pack in my price range. However, if this is just par for the course, I will stay with what I have as it seems very versatile and has most of what I want in a pack. What I like about the Clutch is it is described and seems to be a pack for multiple uses, from daypack to overnighter, and it has the kinds of pockets I want...especially for carrying a spotting scope etc.
What I don't like is it's 7.2 pounds....and if I don't ever overnight, then I don't need the larger size of the main compartment, so I could go down to the 2200.....and the rife carrying solution....too slow by far, both pack suffer this problem.
So how much weight and stuff do you guys carry for a day's use?
What should I be expecting realistically for a daypack and equipment to weight?
And what do you use to haul it?
Keep in mind, I have narrowed my choices to:
1) Ones I can afford....Kifaru and every mystery ranch except the Dragon Slayer are just too much for me. The Clutch would not have been possible without a bunch of Cabelas discounts I had saved up
2) those I can try on as I found fit while carry weight was critical to making my choice.
I do like all the pockets, I don't like packs with one big storage area. I would prefer a better rifle carry solution. I thought about the Kifaru gunbearer, but having the barrel in my face seemed awkward. I tried the Gunslinger Corral, but so far, that has not worked and it seems to squeek terribly.
Thanks!
