Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Kifaru late season or MR big horn

I'm headed to Colorado this fall for elk and plan to do a backcountry hunt. I plan to back pack in several miles with my camp on my back and then drop off camp and use my pack as a day bag. We plan on staying in for a max of 5 days, most likely 4. I have narrowed it down to these two packs. My main concern is weight, we plan on hauling out our game ourself. Am I on the right track with these packs? I like all the pockets in the MR pack, but the Kifaru pods look real nice for my tent, sleeping bag, pad, ext. Which pack do you think will carry the weight better? Also I'm 5'11" and 165lbs, I've heard that your size can be a big factor in picking the right pack. Another concern I have is I will be bowhunting, Is there any way to hook a bow to these packs? This is my first post and I want to thank everybody for all the great info on this site. I'm from Michigan and the out west hunting experince is brand new to me. I have learned a lot from you guys and gals. Thanks again. kyle

Kyle,


First off welcome to the campfire. It would help a little if you told us what kind of gear you are packing in. How many tripa you plan to get gear and meat out. Also if this is a guided hunt.

While both will handle the weight. I would say both of those are too small for a 5 day hunt. You might want to look into something more in the 5000ci and up range. Unless you have super ultra light gear. Im not sure about the late season but yo ucan carry a bow on the outside of the bighorn.

If 5-days out is your goal I agree LS is small. I think the Siwash is the ticket!

I will be packing in a Hillberg atko tent, ultra light sleeping bag, sleeping pad, jet boil stove, 5 days of food, Bow, binoculars, range finder, extra clothes, and all the normal things. This will be a self guided hunt. Not sure about the trips in and out, but I know i would have to go back to get camp reguardless. I guess it depends on how far were in. I'm in good shape but would have a hard time carrying anything over a 100lbs for any kind of distance. Thanks for the help

Whitetail,

I agree with the others as to those packs being on the small side especially if you intend to pack meat and camp in one of your loads.

I packed out three elk in for days this past season. In each case there were two of us to haul meat. We were hunting from the cabin so only had day gear. We managed to pack all three elk out in one trip each. The furthest elk was the 5 point bull I shot and we packed loads of; 125 lbs for me and 135 lbs for Levi, three miles and 3000 feet verticle.

If you are planning an extra trip for the camp and go ultralight then either of those packs might work for you.

whitetail I am fairly new to the MR line. I have the Big Sky which is basically the BigHorn with a couple minor differences. I can not speak to the Kifaru.

I've been a big fan of the Badlands for many years along with the sitka line recently. Hands down the MR is going to carry the load you are considering.

One thing to consider is going with a larger pack and not loading it completely full. It may be nice to have the extra space if needed.

Another option (more costly) is to go with the MR crew cab and load cells to increase your capacity. With food in the load cells, the cells can be stashed into the pack as your food supply is eaten.

Or the MR 6500 and grizzly

Whitetail, assuming the weather may be fairly warm in Sept. I'd go with the Longhunter Guide. The larger size will allow you to carry meat and camp stuff in the same trip. It compresses down very well for hunting in, and will carry more weight comfortably, than most guys can carry. If you guys get two elk down, you'll want to carry as much as possible/per trip, meat can go bad quickly. YMMV. Tim.

If you go the Kifaru route, I'd put another vote in for the Siwash over the L/S for 5 days. It compacts down nicely as a daypack as well. 5 days of gear, a 4man tipi and small stove fill out my Siwash and a small pod nicely.

Browtine, thanks for the info. Is there anywhere I can go see pictures of the Siwash opened up(didn't see any on their website). When you open the top is it just one big compartment? When used as a daypack, does it feel like you have to much of a bag on your back? I really like the pod system, I'm just hoping it has some other compartments to keep things seperated. Any way of attaching a bow to it? Thanks Kyle

I also agree those packs are on the small side for 5 days.
I am a MR 6500/crewcab user. But I'm also a fan and user of Kifaru gear. If you wanted to stay small in Kifaru I like the Late Season and add pods and pockets for the extra capacity when you need it. Just don't know how UL your willing to go. For MR I'd say Crew Cab would be ideal for that trip.
I guess I would make your gear list and do some trial packing on other packs (assuming you've got access to some) to get a reality check of how many Cubes you need.
As far as carrying the bow on the pack you can use a Kifaru Bow Bearer. I prefer a sling and keep it independent of the pack - I use a Primos but plan to get one of these Slogan Bow sling video
Good Luck with it.

I like going light and /or ultra light and I have owned more than a few packs both big & small. It has been my experience that it works better to be able to put nearly everything inside the pack rather than find ways to attach more.

Things like the Kifaru pods work well, but I'd rather have a big ass bag for hunting season and that is why I went with the Kifaru Long Hunter Rendezvous at 8500 cubes. I hopefully won't ever need that much volume but have it if I do. On backpack hunts, the pack will be used in hauler mode when hunting away from camp and the bag will be attached only on the trips in and out.

I also have owned a Long Hunter Guide and a Siwash, both very good packs but I am plum happy with the LH Rendezvous.

Not a lot of organization built into the Siwash, but that's one reason it only weighs a tad over 5#. The main compartment has a removable chamber pocket and a bladder pocket....that's it. I organize my stuff inside with Kifaru pull outs. I thought I might miss all the miscellaneuos pockets from my old packs, but I've grown to like the simplicity of the Kifaru packs. As for daypack mode, the Siwash compacts down nicely. My G1 version has 8 compression straps so you can cinch it down to nothing if needed. The G2 version lost the top compression straps, which I would miss. That's good though since I'm not drooling over a G2 now.

http://www.kifaru.net/siwash.html

If you want something else, let me know and I could try and get some pics. Mine is 1st generation, but pretty much the same. You will be happy I think.

http://kifaruforums.net/showthread.php?t=20244
A great deal if still available. Think it was on here as well.

If you go the Siwash route, you can organize your gear using lingerie wash bags found at any dept. store for a couple bucks each. They are light and inexpensive.


For smaller items I use the small nylon stuff pouches by Equinox sold here.

Personally I would go with a MR NICE/6500 or Kifaru Long Hunter guide pack if elk were on the menu.

H1,

Ditto on the G2 Siwash's missing top compression straps, those straps were a valuable feature on the G1 Siwash. Another reason to move up to a different pack unless Kifaru brings them back on the G2 Siwash.

MtnHtr

I haven't inspected a G2 Siwash in person, but you should be able to run compression straps off of the tabs that replaced the compression straps. I think that was the idea. With tabs you can have a pod, pocket, or straps.

I beleive you are correct. It has been hashed out on the Kifaru site and I still vote Kifaru over MR based on weight and comfort!