Military Packs for Hunting?

[Nomad]

26 years as a Scout leader and several 50 milers Alice packs have held up.
Hiking in summer temps the Alice stay much cooler because of open backs........
A strong medal frame which holds up and well hunting in the Sawtooth country
for both elk and deer work great and have packed out many animals.....
Have had many new packs that have broke down on the trail well I am sold on
the Alice packs....

 

[mullmann03]

I know this is an old post but this is what I created with a military pack. I used the pack in the picture by itself in Wyoming last year and it worked great.

For My Idaho Elk trip this fall I am attaching an Eberlestock scabbard onto the pack using the molle system. I still have to test it to see how the scabbard works on the rear of the pack, instead of behind the frame like the eberlestock packs. I still have one strap to attach around the top so the top of the scabbard doesn't pull away from body.

 

[hardtack]

I find the MOLLE II Large rucksack a very decent pack that can comfortably pack heavy loads. The modular aspect is a plus and allows for a bit of freedom in configuring the pack for each trip. I built a Kifaru style gun bearer and it works well. Brand new in the original packaging the pack was $130 CDN. The way I have it configured I have about 5500 cubic inches (90l) of cargo space. Add the day pack and I can go over 600 CI (100l).

 

[82ndreddevil]

With 14 years of service I can say that I wish the military would purchase their packs from badlands or tenzing. The Molle ruck in my opinion is garbage. The Alice pack is much better, but still not ideal. Sure you can load both packs with tons of heavy stuff, but neither are good for load bearing.

 

[hardtack]

I hear a lot of love for the MOLLE II and hate from many as well. The same for the ALICE. For my body type I find the MOLLE II Gen IV frame pretty comfortable with heavy loads. It's not perfect for sure but for many of us the price is affordable and it is a fine enoughpack. The ALICE is reliable but I don't find it any more comfortable than the new MOLLE II. In fact the my kids "Hellcat" is pretty much the best of both and it seems a good hybrid. That said this summer I hope to buy a Mystery Ranch NICE frame with the MOLLE adapter kit. It's about $300 bucks. We'll see if the finances allow for it but I think it is a great upgrade.

 

[82ndreddevil]

I shouldn't speak so boldly against the Molle and the Alice pack. I just have a lot of miserable miles with those packs under my belt. They lack good load lifters off the shoulders and they are not adjustable to people of different sizes.

 

[hardtack]

82nd you can say what you want about either of those packs, you have earned that after 14 years of government issue. If I could buy any pack and $$$ wasn't an issue it would be the Narrona Recon. I also like the Tactiplane and Grizzly from Mystery Ranch and several of the Eberlestock products, especially the Dragonfly, but that Narrona is built with an external frame and I do prefer them for the ventilation.

 

[TXshooter]

I think you can't beat an eberlestock. I use the gunslinger 2 mainly because my rifle is big and the gunslinger has the big opening for the rifle. But they make a pack for for just about every purpose. It could be to carry a large load of meat to a light weight day pack. Personally I don't think u can beat them

 

[Cascade_Sherpa]

Many of todays best pack builders like Kifaru, Mystery Ranch, and Eberlestock also compete for the military equipment contracts; American military and foreign armed forces. When you look online at their products they are divided into hunting packs and tactical/military use backpacks (although Mystery ranch also makes packs for wildlands firefighters, EMT, rescue folks as well. Most the the hunting packs have a twin in the tactical line that is a beefed up version with more Molle attachment points, heavier material, etc.

My point is that we as hunters benefit from all of the testing and research that goes into the military/tactical pack development. Most of the ultralight manufactures like Kuiu and Sitka don't delve into the tactical world but companies like Kifaru do both ultralight line and tactical line very well. As a modern hunter there is a pack for almost any situation, and having one that is modular enough to be custom setup for the situation is a huge plus.

 

[Cascade_Sherpa]

can anybody tell me which packs the gunwerks guys use that i see them using on the show?

From the few hunting episodes I have watched on Youtube it looked to be a Mystery
Ranch pack to me.

 

[hardtack]

My nephew was just visiting and brought along his new G4 Operator. It's a great pack. I got to try it with a good load and thought it was very comfortable and the ventilation is truly superb. The only complaint I would have is the scabbard hits the back of your head when you go prone. The layout is excellent for hunters who live out of their packs. The scabbard is a neat feature just not sure if I could use it. The bush is dense here and the butt would hang up a lot. Anyways, man I really liked the pack though.

 

[jimmerd82]

I just got an Eberlestock last Christmas and have yet to use it for elk hunting, but I'm excited to try it. I got the X3 Low Drag and it has room for my .338 Lapua, binos, spotting scope, range finder, and few other odds and ends. They do make bigger packs for what you may need though. I use my Cabelas Alaskan model pack frame to pack out quarters. You can get them with the complete pack system, and they are extremely comfortable.

I used alice packs in the army, and I'm not a fan anymore after using the cabelas pack frame.

 

[hardtack]

I used to be part of an outdoor racing team and I trained with an ALICE pack for years. They are bloody tough. The team had members who were former military and taller than I am. I will say the pack is not made for taller people. For me it was fine, I am of average height. Not as comfortable as other packs but good for training. For the actual race I used the CFP 90. I also used the CFP 90 for hunting. It was pretty good. I understand that the CFP got a bad rep in the military as unreliable and prone to breakage, but for me I had 20 years of excellent service from it. FCI Inc. produced a good portion of them and they were all recalled for lack of using mil-spec material. Almost all FCI made CFP 90 packs failed. I wonder if that lead to the bad rep of the pack. I now have the Multicam Molle on a GEN IV frame and you know, it's a good pack. I've had 70+ lbs. in it and when packed correctly it is a very comfortable pack. My wife and her friend both carried a 60 lb. to try it out and were surprized how comfortable it was. They didn't carry the load far as it is
50% of their body weight, but they did manage the load well. I could buy 5 of these packs, maybe 6, for the price of one Mystery ranch or Kifaru (and at least 4 for the price of one Eberlestock G4 or Terminator). We'll see this fall how it handles moose quarters. I think it will be fine.

 

[COmtnman1]

I've backpack hunted in the wilderness areas of CO for many years & used mostly Dana Design packs & they are excellent packs. Several years ago Dana started his own company & they are made in the USA!!!!!!!!!!! It's called Mystery Ranch Backpacks | Backpacks designed by Dana Gleason | Bozeman, Montana & they are the best packs I've ever used, I personally have 2 of them, 1 really big one & then more of a day or two size one. They might be more expensive, but they're worth it & they're made in the USA & that says alot to me personally!!