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Good evening

I don't post very often as I have much to learn and don't want to be a newbie who regurgitates what he learns and reads from others experience.

I like quality gear and have no problem spending money on quality gear but certainly won't spend my money frivolously. I have a couple of older internals for overnight hikes with my wife when pack wrights are low and am satisfied with these for there intended use. I also have a crew cab and a load sling but find that they just aren't what I'm looking for when it comes to 65lb plus loads. Most of my hunting is either day hunts on foot, a night or 2 away from the truck( but I'm looking to extend this)or hunting from my wall tent.

Hopefully by years end I will be able to purchase a Metalf pack to replace my crew cab. The kicker is my wife is going to start to occasionally join me. I figure this is a great opportunity to round out my "quiver" of packs. My thoughts have her carrying the MR pack and myself getting something that is a little friendlier in the higher weights. As the weather is crappy and I'm broke I've been "spending" my "money" on the Kifaru load haulers, Barney's packs and imagining what Evan Hill is supposed to be coming out with.

So I'm basically asking what would some of you guys get?

Thanks for the input and humouring my online musings

Warren

You'll be hard pressed to beat a Barney's Pinnacle or Yukon for your 65lb + loads.

If I knew I was going to carry 65+ then it would be in a Kelty Cache Hauler. I prefer it to the camptrails, cabelas outfitter, and two Dana Loadmaster frames I've played around with this winter.

If you're set on an internal....well, I've had nine Kifaru's, two MR's, and demoed a McHale, and I would choose a Dana Designs arcflex frame over all of them. You can get an Alpine, Terraplane, or Stillwater in good shape used for $200-$225 if you shop around.

If you do not need over a 7000CI load amount for the few days of overnighting then the Barney's Hunter bag would be enough. These packs excell at heavy loads. I have used older borrowed ones a few times to pack meat and they were very comfortable.

Right now I am thinking hard about buying one of my own for the coming sheep hunt and then caribou packing. Might as well be comfortable while suffering.

the other day a guy on the Rokslide forum had a Hunters pack for sale for a reasonable price that included L48 shipping. That would save you over $100 off new prices.

Rockchucker30,

Have you ever used a Barney's pack? There's a reason they are an Alaskan favorite, hands down. Comfortable, huge, durable, and can withstand a load. I haven't done it personally, but have a buddy who guided and carried 110+ pound packs quite often. He has 4 Barney's packs and won't use anything else. I've had mine at close to 100 pounds and was surprised at the fit and weight distribution. I won't use anything else if I think I'm going to get heavy. I suggest the Pinnacle and Yukon because they're the biggest and unused space (air) is usually pretty light!

Boomer,

I haven't tried a Barney's, but would like to play around with one sometime. They are very similar in design to the old Camptrails frames, with updated harness and minor frame changes I believe.

I've tested the Dana frames, outfitter, Kelty, Dana Stillwater, a couple of Kifaru's, and the McHale with 100 lbs of sandbags and the Kelty wins easily. Next would be the McHale with the Stillwater close to tying the Mchale, and the Stillwater is around $700 cheaper, so that moves it ahead in my mind.

How did you pack the sand bags in the internals? Did you have anything else in with it? Did you use internal compression straps? With internals you have to be really careful how your load is packed. Even with 40 pounds of gear packed wrong in a McHale is going to be uncomfortable. How much time did you put into testing each pack? For just throwing a load in a pack an external is going to win every time. I for one can't stand the waist belts on old Dana packs.

I wish Dan McHale would build an external, I know he probably has a good design laying around but he knows the market is not there for him. I would never hunt with an external anyway though.

Big W,

I test internals with one or two sleeping bags in the bottom of the pack, then stack the sandbags verticaly on top. The weight sits from mid back to above the shoulders, where it needs to be.

You're right, it's easy to mess it up on an internal, or an external for that matter. Get the weight too low and any pack is uncomfortable.

I don't love the old Dana waistbelts, but they're not terrible. I preferred the Mchale belt quite a bit more, but the Dana rode almost as well, so I'd pick it from a value standpoint.

It took me like 4 months to learn how to use my McHale and get it dialed. On one backpacking trip I hated the thing for the full 3 days. There is just so much going on with the lumbar tension, bypass straps, load packing and such. Its like the custom 1911 of backpacks where an external is like a Glock. Anyways, I dont want to get too far off topic...

If I were to pick the best pack based of value it would be the old 2 bolt McHale I picked up for $20.

Thanks for all the replies. I must admit that a friend of mine has been gently pushing me towards getting an older Dana external and seeing though that they seem to go for a reasonable price I will probably go in that direction. I like the fact I can try one out and not have to worry about losing much if any money if it doesn't fit the bill for me.

Warren

Keep in mind, too, higher end packs tend to retain their value. I've seen used Barney's packs sell for $50 less than retail and they'd been used hard. Might be another option to trying out some of the bigger names - or put up a thread seeing if anyone in your area has one and would let you try it out one afternoon. Couldn't hurt...

Now that is the worst advise I've ever seen on this BP forum.

I've broken a kelty Hauler and my hunting partner did as well. The folding brackets that support the load shelf will break. That's the Achilles heel of the pack, its weakest point, and it is weak.

The Kelty does not come close to being in the same league as anything Dana.

That ...friend... is probably me and you really should try on my three Dana frame packs and then we can see just what will fit you and you can decide exactly what to do. I have another option, but, do not want to post it here so if you call I will tell you.

Anytime, after work, next week, should be good for you to come by and try on a pack or several. I would keep the CC and use it, much of these newer models, while they ARE neat, is just marketing.

You CANNOT BUY skills, experience or conditioning and at this point in your life, you and Angie, have more important goals than getting the utmost in gear. As I said, the other day, when I was feeling so sore, I have learned all of this over 60 years and most of it "the hard way"!

As was suggested, a used Dana Design (Bozeman Made, not the Mexican versions) is a great pack. I fall in between their sizing and generally prefer the old Osprey Vectors... I currently have a Silhouette and Impala (late 1990's)

I also have an Arcteryx Bora 80 which is in the same league as the old Dana's and Osprey's, which is to say, super stout, fully adjustable suspension with double FL stays and exterior tensioning rods, laminated dual-density belts, and availability in at least 3 sizes for the right fit.

Apart from a McHale and a couple of Arcteryx offerings (almost none now that the Bora's have been discontinued), there's really not a new pack I'd own. Deuter and Lowe are adjustable but typically are fits-all and I have no experience with their current offerings.

The state of packs today is dismal.

I would tend to agree with Big_W that I don't care for the Dana hip belts. I have not had any problem with the load shelf on the Kelty the limited amount that I have used it, but I will say this, if I had to carry 100 lb load tomorrow, I would grab the Kelty. For me at least, it flat out works a lot better than the Dana and yes I have a Dana external which I've tried to sell a couple times in the past as I don't see myself using it. Is the Dana built rugged ? Yes. Does it function for me with big loads ? No.

I took the load shelf off of mine along with the fabric wings. I secure loads with paracord or if its just a quick training hike a ratchet strap works great.

The Dana is stout for sure, and I'm sure it would be more comfortable for me with a different belt.

Evan and Scott Hill, "Hillpeople", are producing a different type of belt and also harness systems that will fit the old DD externals. These, might well work for those who do not find the original DD models work for them, as they do very well for me.

I do agree, with one or two notable exceptions, maybe three, that as Brad posted, the state of packs today IS pretty dismal and, IMO, that is not likely to improve as relatively few hikers really use a top end serious pack that is suitable for hunting.

With what we have here in B.C., again, the best option is to go with what you KNOW from using it actually works for you and then spend the energy that you might on worrying about gear on more conditioning and maybe some serious scouting.

I made do and many of my friends did, with Camp Trails "Freighter" frames and various rucksacks attached to these by their shoulder straps from the late '60s to 2000+, this for hunting all over BC and we did not "suffer" unduly.

Look at what some of the older, experienced BC guides are using and realize that you DO NOT have to have the latest "cutting edge" gear to enjoy and be safe on a hunt or to be successful.

So, take your time in deciding what to buy and you will be glad that you did.