Looking for opinions please. Lightweight backpack

[Unionsparky46]

Ha! I hear ya wats338. My moms family is originally from the Thompson Falls area. I will be joining my buddy this fall in De Borgia for a few weeks. A lot of WA hunters park do in the middle of the road! Glad I'm not the only one ****ed about it! I winch them out of the way and proceed to my destination. If anyone reading this was a truck I winched into the ditch- don't park in the middle of the road!

 

[BillyGoatGruff]

I went from eberlestock to a tenzing then to a kuiu 5200 pro. Most comfortable pack I've had. No scabbard but they just came out with a hook that attaches to the top of the frame to hook your rifle sling on. It work's! I was a bit skeptical when I ordered it. Best upgrade I've made on it. The rifle carrier works good, you just need to take care on securing it. I only use that when packing in and not hunting in.

 

[Philward]

I think Eberlestock is the only one that makes an actual rifle scabbard for their packs. I have a X1 and the mini-me, bought the rifle scabbard and bow carrier setup for the mini-me. I have the Kuiu packs too with their bow carrier and rifle carrier setups.

I wish the scabbard on the E-stocks was a little lighter and thinner, and on the X1 it's nice to sit on the scabbard when glassing. The Kuiu setup is ok for carrying rifle in when not hunting. Eberlestock is way easier to get rifle in and out of while wearing pack. Forget about putting rifle back in the kuiu setup while wearing pack, and like mentioned already not always the easiest to remove either. The buttstock part of the Kuiu is designed for skinny lightweight mountain rifles. My Vanguard buttstock is tight to get in it. Kuiu is more comfortable than the Eberlestock, depending on how far you are going to be hiking, I have the 1850 pro and 3000 lightweight bags. You might be better served with a standalone sling system like the safari.

 

[nmarth88]

+ kuiu. I run a kuiu 3600 for my day pack, which is overkill probably for what I keep in there. Only thing I do not like like others is the rifle set up. Then again I don't usually keep it in the scabbard when hunting wa state either. Only on the pack out. I also have a divide 1200 that I handed down to my son that works as more of a hiking pack for me or an extra pack with small essentials when in the field.

 

[Unionsparky46]

I am so proud of you guys for all the knowledge you have to share with the new guys!

Me too! I just fell into this place and already feel like family that has a seat at the table and plate full! It's the grown up table too!!! This place and the members are second to none!!! Thank you again y'all!

 

[Unionsparky46]

I'm narrowing it down to Seek, EXO and kuiu. I really like my pack and it is nice to sit on the scabbard,…. Just a heavy bugger! Going in for the day I want to be as minimal, light and quiet as possible. I will still carry my emergency overnight stuff but it all shrinks up nice. Keep the ideas coming and in another thread I need some opinions from y'all on cloths! Good to know about the rifle fitment too! My new rifle might be a challenge for some systems.

 

[Quintus]

Also a Kuiu fan. I have the 7800 pro bag. I hunt alone alot and so have all of camp in my bag and can fit 7 days worth comfortably. It does cinch down nicely for a day pack. What I like best is all of the separate pockets that are accessible from the outside and big enough to fit what I need in them. It took a bit to get a system of what I wanted where, but it makes it very quick and easy to set up and break down glassing, lunch, etc. without having to dig through everything to find what you want. It also has several strapping options to secure stuff including the gun, but like others, I only stow the gun climbing. It also hauls weight/meat very comfortably.

 

[buzby]

Stone Glacier and Kifaru both make rifle holders that you can fit on most other brands of packs. The Kifaru is designed to carry under your arm, the stone glacier behind your shoulder. I use the Stone Glacier on my Seekoutside pack. Can be a little tricky to get back in, but I'm rarely in a hurry for that. Getting the rifle out in a hurry, it works just fine.

 

[MBD]

I've used Mystery Ranch; KUIU, and Stone Glacier.
The MR works, but it's noisy fabric, loud zippers, and lack's storage pockets (for me, I like small items in pockets). It hauled out an elk no problem.
The KUIU is lighter, quieter, and has numerous pockets for storage and organizing. Heavy weight was no problem providing you fit the pack to you before hand
Picked up a SG last hunting season and am really impressed with it. Lots of room, removable pockets (internal), quiet frantic and zippers, and hauls heavy weight with ease. Very comfortable pack and to be honest, I wish I would have bought it before the MR

 

[Ak_Hobie]

Gear junkie who has used and/or owned most of the packs mentioned here except for the SO. For lightweight I would choose Stone glacier or Seek Outside. For heavy loads but not as light, nothing bets a Kifaru. The versatility of these packs to pack meat and to use to pack gear is awesome. I also like my MR packs but it's not light and just not quite as comfortable (but very close) as the Kifaru and SG.
I have had the Superday filled with dense burger type meat scraps of moose. It was so full I could hardly close it and was surprised at how well it did. It's a day pack that's nice but not lightweight for what you get. If you wanted a good day pack only then check camofire as they've been on sale recently along with mystery ranch.

 

[Gregory Copley]

I had a badlands pack for years and it was well designed for keeping your back cool. WOW was it not comfortable. Killed a bear and dragged it out myself and made a solemn vow to never be so dumb again!! Bought EXO never looked back. I did buy a smaller KUIU 1800 well made but jeez the bag is wicked noisy!! Not great for whitetail hunting.

EXO are 25-30% larger than others measure too!

I'm an EXO fan as well, mine is 4yrs old and going strong

 

[griz375]

Good morning y'all!

Looking at re-tooling my entire hunting set up this year. A little background on me. Been hunting Wa State since I was 5 years old with my dad. Mainly on the east side. (That was in the mid 80's). Through the years amassed quite the collection of stuff.

Now, I am in process of working out and loosing weight so I'd like to get everything lighter as much as possible without sacrificing comfort. I have hunts planned in Montana this year so it's time to get it done!

I currently run an eberlestock x1. I like the rifle scabbard as this is why I got one. I also have an eberlestock gunslinger II for long hikes. Looking for a good day pack with a rifle scabbard or a way to carry one on the pack. Budget isn't an issue and am willing to look at all y'all suggest.

Thank you in advance and I apologize for the short story. Hope this gives the members here a little more insight on what I am asking and hoping to find a few that were in my same boat!

Robert

Been using the kuiu 3200 for the past 5 years, bar none the best pack I've used. Not to many but just enough pockets to organize my gear. Can easily handle 1/2 an elk or a moose 1/4 with the load carrier set up, and I'm almost 60! As a former Alaskan guide I'm a bit of a gear Whore and have used everything from Barny's to Kifaru and the 3200 Kuiu has turned into my go to pack for anything 3 days or less. Only black mark I will give it is the material used in the suspension is starting to wear out in places that should have been reinforced. That being said, the Barney's pack is the nosler partition gold standard for packs used by professional guides here in AK and I'm on my second suspension.

 

[calling4life]

Buy a scabbard from Eberlestock and attach it, it need not be a difficult thing, I've done it with molle and by just simply running straps through it, everything works.

I was adamant about having a scabbard as well, I love them, ran an Eberlestock lodrag for many years, keeps all the weather and brush off the gun.

These companies aren't going to attach it for you. It can be as simple as zip ties too, not hard to figure out an attachment method.

 

[chindits]

Seek outside and creative outdoors Slik sling for me. Sorry Kifaru I used the gun bearer for years but no more.

I use my seek outside for everything. Day hikes or 10 day backpack hunts I grab the same pack. It can compress easily and lots of options to adapt the platform for pack outs.

It still sucks packing elk out solo so I'm not going to blow smoke up your skirt about whiskey rivers and unicorns. I started using them when they first came out and they were a heck of a lot more affordable then then now. So now I would try and find folks with seek outside, stone glacier, Kifaru and exo to feel up each platform and see how it packs dead weight and how it compresses with just the hunting load. It's your back it's your choice, choose wisely and you won't have every brand of pack in your closet.