Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Good day pack

Any suggestions on a decent day pack? Prefer quality pack to stuff layered clothes etc for the long walks to my stand or when taking a day hike with my wife and dog.
Kirafou, Mystery ranch??
Thanks for the input.

Both those brands you mentioned are good to go but you might want to check out Eberlestock as well. About one notch down in price but many choices and their stuff is built like a tank.

Kifaru Spike Camp. You will not be dissapointed.

I like my Eberlestock X-1. You can carry your gear and it will cinch down tight with compression straps. Yet it has enough volume to pack meat, or gear for overnight camp. Has a built in scabbard, lots of attachment loops, hydration pouch, accessories that can be added and, as mentioned above, built like a tank with a lifetime warranty. It is adjustable and comfortable, at least to me, and under $200.

I have owned Kifaru, Mystery Ranch and US-made Badlands and hunted with a buddy who had an Eberlestock. The MR packs are the best of these by a considerable margin, but, they will all work.

I consider Kifaru overpriced, the Badlands and Eberlestock not as well made as either Kifaru or Mystery Ranch and I would recommend the MR "Bighorn" for a daypack over anything else available at present.

I just ordered a Wolf Alpha bag from MR to fit the first edition NICE frame I have, in addition to my NICE Overkill-6500 rig, as I prefer this for a daypack in BC mountain hunting.

Each to his own, but, after more than a half century carrying packs in BC and other Canadian jurisdictions, I know of no production pack that equals Mystery Ranch.

First question I would have for the OP is do you pack meat in your pack? If the Answer is yes, one of the packs above is a good pack. I have a badlands and Kirfu Spike camp. Both have no trouble carring a days load and a quartered whitetail, or a overnight load. Both are built like a tank.

On the other hand if you are carrying some clothes and lunch in the woods and you don't intend to put 80lbs in them, either of my packs would be a poor choice. They are both are heavy (the badlands is obsurdly heavy) and expensive. Better to buy a general purpose day pack that weighs 2 lbs and costs less than 30% of what one of the packs above costs. It doesn't take a 6lb pack to carry 10 lbs of stuff comfortably. Heck my badlands weighs more empty than a whole loaded summer day pack does.

Lately I've been using a Badland's "Pursuit." When I'm maybe going to haul a load of meat out, I still use the 2200. But for a day pack or varmint hunting pack, I like the Pursuit. Room enough for some shed clothing, poncho, lunch, water, electronic call or fishing gear, with just a little extra room so stuff fits comfortably, without being just too darn big, it balances out well for me.

Since the Pursuit doesn't have a waist band, I wouldn't want to put a lot of weight in it, on the other hand, it also doesn't interfere with a hip-holstered handgun which makes it nice for days when I'm choosing that over a rifle ... like fishing.

Tom

+1 on the Pursuit for basic gear. The absence of a waist belt is an advantage for me when just using it for a treestand pack that hangs on a limb or a hook. I paid less than $70 new.

I've got multiple Kifaru packs for heavy loads but for treestand stuff they might be overkill like noKnees mentioned. (exception: the Tailgunner is an exceptional fanny pack if you want a waist belt)

Kutenay have you been hiding have not seen many posts in a while? I am glad to see your posts again.

I think Kifaru and MR are pretty close on price and it is a Lincoln vs Cadillac taste, but Kifaru will be less weight and both are equally high quality, so either one is a win if it works for you.

Check out this Blacks Creek. Very well made in like new condition. Adjustable yoke. Great pack. Only reason I'm selling is to upgrade to a larger MR pack.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/6172992/Blacks_Creek_G7_Pack

Welcome back, Kutenay. E

It doesn't seem like your requirements are too demanding for a pack. I wouldn't spend the money on one of the premium packs for what it sounds like you need. Kelty makes some very nice day packs that should fit the bill for what you mention.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kelty-Wrang..._0&hash=item3cbb67318b#ht_702wt_1270

For an all-purpose pack that will haul meat nicely I really like the Black's Creek Canadian.

Time to do some homework.
Thank you.
This site has been so helpful. I have been spreading the word to my friends. Great bunch of people here.

I really like my MR Bighorn for day hunts. Should last a long time, very well made.

www.sierratradingpost.com and www.campmor.com usually have name brand recreational and, less often, camo hunting packs on sale.

I would personally avoid the Fieldline Glenwood Canyon pack, also sold under the Remington brand at Wal-Mart. It looks good, but the stitching isn't particularly rugged. We had 2 of them come apart at the seams last summer while Jeeping in the Colorado high country near Lake City. Never have had a Kelty or LL Bean pack come apart like that.

My kids both like Bean's Continental Rucksack, but I think that anything from Bean's is likely to be over-priced. www.llbean.com

My Son got a small nylon Fox brand ALICE pack from www.uscav.com as a school book pack that he liked, but it hasn't seen much use, so we don't know how it will stand up. It is, however, a good looking pack. U.S. Cav Store part # 28124 for the small acupat camo style. I have actually thought about buying 1 of these to use as a "man purse" for when we are staying in Breckenridge or Vail and entertaining friends. Someplace to carry a camera, a couple of bottles of H20, etc.

Sierra Trading Post recently had the Marmot Granite daypack on sale for $60. A little on the large size, 2626 CI, but a pack that might fit your parameters.

Jeff

Mountainsmith makes some good packs for what you describe as well.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mountainsmi...0&hash=item45ffe6bb8c#ht_6131wt_1270

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mountainsmi...0&hash=item45ffe673f5#ht_4414wt_1270

That pack is, to me, one of the best available for day or short hunting trips. I went with the Dragonslayer and like it fine, but, wish I'd of sprung for the old pattern Bighorn for its improved load rating.

Lots of good day packs out there for less money than the MR stuff though.

The nice thing is you can go for a quick walk and not even know it's there or you can hunt all day and pack out an entire deer/spotter/tripod and whatever else you brought along for the day.

I've used the Eberlestock Just One for 7 yrs now, almost every weekend. Collapsed it will still have room for a big spotter & tripod, coat, water, and all the other little stuff and you can still ride a horse or motorcycle. Last year I hauled a whole deer, minus the bones and hide, plus all the other stuff. Barely had enough room for all that. The newer models seem to have better fabric, mine has a few tears now.

Narrowed down to a couple: Eberlestock X1A1, X2. Kifaru SpikeCamp and next model up. Forgot!!!