Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting My McHale Pack Experience - Part I

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Don't know if these pictures will work but I've had my Mchale for 5 years and have hauled some really heavy loads in it and feel that it is simply the best piece of equipment I own. With that said when I get another one, hopefully soon, there are some different modifications I'll have done.

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One more pic, this was a heavy load, and when we got down to our cache it became even heavier. 4 days it took us to get out out packs were all approaching 150lbs. plus. I had a Mchale,one buddy had a Kifaru, the other a Barneys pack. Before we made the strip Kifaru buddy had to modify the lumbar pad and was in pain, buddy w/ the Barneys was just plumb miserable, the other two constantly had to decide what hurt worse their shoulders or waist. Once we made the strip, we had 4 days before the plane was to arrive, guy w/ the Barneys never went more than a hundred yards from the tent till we were picked up, he was pretty much crippled. I know this all comes down to proper fit, but that's what you get w/ a Mchale and proper design. Now I don't claim to be a superman, backpacker extrodinare, I don't spend 100 days a year backpacking, actually the last two years the only time I put the pack on was the day I walked away from the strip, and it's always performed just as expected. The only problem is I don't get to use it as more.

Ernie, interesting review. What would you have done differently?

I had Dan build me a Full Dyneema Pack,It is the largest pack he makes cant remember the name offhand.I had him build it alittle wider at the bottom,had him do a double bottom,a strap inside the pack to keep meat close to your back,two large side pockets,one large center pocket,and a camera pouch but had them made out of squared kevlar?material.Those extras were from advice from Ernie Scar and checking out his pack.
Great pack no complaints.

If I were to do it again,I would probably not do the Full Dyneema due to cost,great fabric if cost doesn't matter.My pack is designed for 10 day+ sheep hunts,so I went very large.Pack extends high with bayonets and snow collar,it is compact in pic.

Got anymore pics Coues32? Why the squared kevlar material? What does it weigh?

The material might not be kevlar,I'll have to check his website,it might be spectra.The checkered material is alot cheaper then the Full Dyneema.It was very expensive to upgrade the material for the pack,so I had the extra stuff made out of the cheaper stuffI'm having fun trying to resize my photos.sorry

Do you think the weight tradeoff is worth it for the Dyneema?

If you have a photobucket account it will resize automatically for you. If not download Irfanview. Its a program that lets you resize really easy. Heres a link. http://download.cnet.com/IrfanView/3000-2192_4-10021962.html

I think the squared material is as light or lighter then the Full Dyneema,not sure on the other material offered.

The full dyneema is heavier than the lightweight dyneema ripstop. The full dyneema is about the weight of ordinary packcloth but is incredibly abrasion resistant. I've got the full dyneema bottom and shoulder straps on mine. Having that stuff on the bottom means I don't worry about dragging the pack for short distances over rock. The grid dyneema stuff is very rip resistant but is not abrasion resistant.

The bonus with Dyneema/Spectra is the abrasion resistance and strength for its weight. The stuff is remarkable. However, it is also expensive and difficult to color. The Dyneema grid fabric is standard lightweight nylon fabric with Dyneema grids woven in for extra strength and tear resistance.

Dan generally provides a full Spectra bottom standard on his packs. On my pack I added a Dyneema kagaroo pouch on the back as I like to lay my pack down on its back typically. Beyond the bottom and back, I've never had any wear issues with any previous packs so I opted for standard 500d Cordura for the the remainder.

Awesome. Any more updates from your experiences? I'm thinking of getting one (or two) of his packs

Thanks!

Here's a followup thread once I got the pack:

http://24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/4711476/1

I'm planning on doing Part III once the hunting season wraps up later this month.

Excellent. I look forward to hearing your part 3

Best of hunting and life success!
Cheers,
CL

Any more updates or feedback on McHale Custom Packs?