Using my backpacking external frame pack for hunting

[balto68]

m looking for a good load hauler for the next elk season here in Colorado, and I'm wondering if my external frame pack might work. It's a Kelty Trekker 3950 from 2008 - not designed to haul elk quarters like a Kelty Cache Hauler or the more fancy models from places like Mystery Ranch. It's worked great for heavy backpacking load, but I know a heavy backpacking load isn't exactly comparable to the loads hunters have to carry.

Still, I went to my local Sportsman's Warehouse and looked at the Cache Hauler, and it seemed almost identical to my Trekker, with the obvious exception of the shelf that folds out. The older (pre-2009ish) Kelty Trekkers were more robust than the new ones - the hipbelt looked to be the same as the Cache Hauler, although the stabilizing straps aren't quite as beefy. The way the belt attaches is the same. The same goes for the shoulder straps and load lifters. Identical. The pins that hold it all together looked different on the Cache Hauler - they were black, but I had no way of knowing if that means they're actually different. In any case, I'm sure I can get some Cache Hauler clevis pins from Kelty.

So what it comes down to (I guess) is the frame itself. I didn't have a ruler with me, but it looked to be about the same thickness. Different color, but beyond that I couldn't really tell. Is the frame on the Cache Hauler made of heavier/stronger stuff? Are the welds better? Am I missing something? I'd like to make my Trekker frame work for hunting. But it's still my go-to pack for a lot of trips, so I don't want to damage it if it's not up to task.

I know I asked some questions here that might be hard to answer, but if anyone has any insight, I'd appreciate it!

 

[Wyodog]

put some weight on it and try it out. Work the weight up until you have over 100 lbs and take a walk.

 

[lazylabs]

I have a kelty and just got a kifaru, with both its important to have a bunch of straps. The kifaru comes with a bag of buckles and dozens of attach points. I used a bunch of 1 to 6' raft tie down straps from the various frame points on the kelty. They both function but the kifaru is way more comfortable after a couple hundred yards. I also could not get the kelty to shed enough weight from the shoulders to the hips. With test loads make them the relative bulk you expect...... I used weight plates and they do not simulate a gooey hunk of meat very well, sand bags next time for me.

 

[mtnwrunner]

m looking for a good load hauler for the next elk season here in Colorado, and I'm wondering if my external frame pack might work. It's a Kelty Trekker 3950 from 2008 - not designed to haul elk quarters like a Kelty Cache Hauler or the more fancy models from places like Mystery Ranch. It's worked great for heavy backpacking load, but I know a heavy backpacking load isn't exactly comparable to the loads hunters have to carry.

Still, I went to my local Sportsman's Warehouse and looked at the Cache Hauler, and it seemed almost identical to my Trekker, with the obvious exception of the shelf that folds out. The older (pre-2009ish) Kelty Trekkers were more robust than the new ones - the hipbelt looked to be the same as the Cache Hauler, although the stabilizing straps aren't quite as beefy. The way the belt attaches is the same. The same goes for the shoulder straps and load lifters. Identical. The pins that hold it all together looked different on the Cache Hauler - they were black, but I had no way of knowing if that means they're actually different. In any case, I'm sure I can get some Cache Hauler clevis pins from Kelty.

So what it comes down to (I guess) is the frame itself. I didn't have a ruler with me, but it looked to be about the same thickness. Different color, but beyond that I couldn't really tell. Is the frame on the Cache Hauler made of heavier/stronger stuff? Are the welds better? Am I missing something? I'd like to make my Trekker frame work for hunting. But it's still my go-to pack for a lot of trips, so I don't want to damage it if it's not up to task.

I know I asked some questions here that might be hard to answer, but if anyone has any insight, I'd appreciate it!

Balto68, I have no idea if the frame is the same but I do know that the cache hauler works very well and it does have the batwing design to hold the load. One of my hunting partners has this pack and I can't tell you how many elk he has packed out with it.

Randy