Externals have their place. That place is way back in with something really heavy to carry out. Sounds like a backpack hunt.
HAHA oh so true.
After 3 years of using a Mystery Ranch NICE 6500 pack I am heading back to a Barney's Pinnacle. For the weight its hard to beat the volume and how well they haul the 120+ loads.
Sure its not quite as comfy as say an Osprey or Arcteryx with just 40-50 lbs but the amount of comfort more the internal pack offer at that load range is barley noteworthy. But load it up with over a 100 lbs and the Barney's quickly becomes more comfy for me.
Even the NICE 6500 is more comfy slight with just "going in" weight but the Barney's is still comfier FOR ME when coming out with real loads.
When I crunch the numbers of 10 lbs and 6500 cu in for a MR NICE or 7800 uc in and 7.5 lbs for a Barney's Pinnacle it makes it hard to say no.
Yes I already have a Kifaru KU 5200, but in my testing with 100 lb packs the Barney's is more comfy than that pack anyways. Which is ok as I bought it mainly for my wife to use as she'll likely never pack anything over 75 lbs. Which means if we are coming out with a sheep I'll easily be over 120 lbs.
Maybe I like to be overly optimistic in my hunting and use a pack based on the weight and comfort for the trip out (hopefully loaded down with an animal) rather than the pack comfort based on the weight going in, but I've come to the point where I'll trade not QUITE as comfy Barney's External frame pack going in over a not as comfy internal frame when coming out with an animal. Rarely do I cuss my pack weight going in. Its when I am coming out with weight is when my pack fit and function really matters to me.
That said pack fit like most things takes precedence and just because external works better for me with 100-130 lb loads than internals doesn't mean externals are the only way to go. Many (most) would rather rock internals for packing out loads and I was one of them up until the end of last season with 3 different 12+ mile 100 lb extractions from the field. For backpack hunting I have found that is what works for me.
For dayhunting out of a backpack (which I don't really consider backpack hunting) where I might be hauling a say a bear hide back to the truck or something then the internals are what I prefer for their lighter weight and sleeker design when hauling 75-80 lb loads for relatively short distances (3-5 miles).
