Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting 3-5 Day Pack Review Preview

As stated in an earlier thread I am working on a pack review, and with this thread I wanted to preview what we will be covering and how the format will work.

namack and I picked 4 packs(thought about 5), in the 3-5 day hunt category to review. Our approach is to put 25 miles on each pack at varying weights and varying terrain and report our findings. We will do at least one hike with 100lbs+ because all of the packs claim to carry that much weight. The packs we have reviewed are the Kifaru Highcamp 4800/Bikini frame, Mystery Ranch Metcalf, Paradox Evolution, and the Stone Glacier Solo.

For any of you that have questions about my objectivity: Yes, I have a tester pack from Paradox, after this review I will be shipping it off to the next tester. I timed this review for when I would have their pack. I have written on the Seek Outside Blog(as well as others), and have a relationship with them. I have also communicated with Kurt, owner of Stone Glacier, and he has helped us with his pack extensively. Aron Snyder of Kifaru and I communicate fairly regularly and I have talked with him about this review twice, and the possibility of future reviews. I have only contacted the customer service department at Mystery Ranch once, but plan to talk to them in the near future. They are a stand up company with well documented customer service, so it should be no problem to communicate with them.

With those we have talked to we have shared our findings, our concerns, and our thoughts on their product. It has been our goal to understand each pack to the best of our ability, and share those things with the readers. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me via pm and I will answer them. Please DO NOT high jack this thread to distract from it's purpose. I want this to be an honest discussion about the 4 packs in our review, and hopefully helpful to all.

We will have a final copy ready for publication very soon. We each have one pack left to finish putting the miles on and will done VERY Soon. At that point we will point you the right direction for the review.

We have also put together 10 different categories to measure each of the packs. The goal is to have a standard to measure each of them and be able to report our findings on a 1-10 scale in each category, with 100 points total possible. The goal is to show where each pack has strengths, and weaknesses to show which pack is best for each individual user.

In the process of doing this I have gotten a lot of calls, emails and private messages asking me about this and that and I want to answer the most common questions about each pack as well as post a few pictures of the packs in use.

Stone Glacier:

"Can you do a full week in the Solo?"

Yes, but you will have to be a minimalist, and likely put food in a dry bag on the load shelf.

That is all of my gear for an overnighter, the only thing that would change for me is possibly the shelter, rifle, and the amount of food. Here it is loaded up.


My shelter and sleeping bag could have been smaller, but overall this was a minimalist set up.

"How comfortable is the one size fits all belt?"

If you are thinking about buying this pack, make sure and adjust the belt down with the velcro as necessary, and find out ahead of time if you need the lumbar pad. Under heavy loads the pad helped to fit my back quite a bit. If you have a curvy back I would buy the pad from the outset.

Kifaru Highcamp 4800/Bikini Frame


"How much different does the Biking frame feel from the Duplex?"

The Duplex frame feels more rigid, that is what I used all of last season. Straight out of the box you will notice that it is significantly lighter, but still very strong. If the Kifaru frame fits you, then this pack will fit you well. As is always the case, make sure you order the right stays on the first try, the Bikini won't allow you to change out the stays at all. They are riveted together to provide stability and support with two horizontal stays. The horizontal stays have the same function as the plastic frame sheet that goes with the Duplex, but cut down the weight significantly. The belt will look and feel the same as Kifaru's other offerings, so if you have used them in the past, expect that to fit very similarly. We have the 26 inch frame, which provides the same shoulder lift as their other 26 inch framed packs.

The biggest feel difference will be how much lighter it is. I had my friend bring over his Duplex to compare, and they managed to shave off a LOT of weight. The composite stays are very light and this is a lightweight pack capable of carrying heavy loads.


Paradox Evolution with Talon Daypack

-Photo courtesy of Paradox packs.

"Does this pack compare to the other top end packs?"

In short, yes it does. But, it is VERY different from the other packs that we are using. The pack is very much built for function, load hauling and carries a purpose built nature throughout. The pack has an old school external frame feel with modern technology added such as an articulating frame and x-pack material for water proof load hauling.

"Is it comfortable?"

Yes, it is comfortable, and yes it carries well. If you are a fan of the full wrap belt it will fit you well, and with a curvy back the belt articulates forward to match YOUR back. I will post up some pictures of that after this weekend, I will be taking it with me tonight.

"Is the x-pac noisy?"

The x-pac is a little bit noisier than cordura, and it does get a little more noisy in the cold. I put the pack bag in the freezer to find out just how much noisier and it is noticeable. I don't believe that it is enough to scare every animal out of the high country, and according to others who have used the material, the noise factor goes down as the material becomes more pliable.

BUT, with every feature there is a trade off. X-pac doesn't wet out like Cordura, and that will be a plus in wet environments. Adding a lot of weight to a pack in form of wather when it rains is never fun, x-pac avoids that.

I will post pictures after this weekend of the Paradox in use. All of our miles so far with this pack have been straight weight for the purpose of finding comfort levels at different weights.


Mystery Ranch Metcalf


"Is the Metcalf really lightweight?"

Mystery Ranch is known for building tough packs, that are super durable. The Metcalf holds all of those traits with heavy duty buckles, side zip an sewing. They cut the weight down by not putting ton of pockets for organization purposes all over the bag. So, it is significantly lighter than the other MR offerings, but is the heaviest in our review.

"Does the shoulder extension work?"

Yes, it does function and even at my height it provided some shoulder lift. You will lose the effective lift if you opt to use the meat shelf option because the lift comes from the bag and not the NICE frame.

"Is side zip that big of an advantage?"

Personally, I loved the side zip. It made accessing the pack very easy and was worth the weight penalty of the zipper in my opinion. I used it for easy access to my spotting scope on every trip out.

Feel free to post any questions that you have, and I will get back to them after this weekend. Thanks for reading!

Thanks this will help a noon like me buy a pack in the next few months. Do you have any links to the packs

I can't get the links to run it straight to the individual sites, so the big long ugly links will have to work.

Stone Glacier Solo-http://www.stoneglacier.com/solo.html

Mystery Ranch Metcalf-http://www.mysteryranch.com/hunting/nice-frame-packs/nice-metcalf-pack

Paradox Evolution-http://paradoxpacks.com/lightweight-backpacks/

Kifaru Bikini Frame-http://store.kifaru.net/highcamp-p114.aspx
Kifaru Highcamp Bag-http://store.kifaru.net/bikini-platform-frame-and-suspension-p116c3.aspx?Thread=True

Thanks for the write up. This stuff interests me more and more.

Rank them with honesty.

When and where will the write ups be?

I will have more on that ASAP. I don't want to speak prematurely.

Will add a few more pictures of some of the packs.


Paradox loaded up with my gear, and quite a bit of my wife's for an over-nighter. Fall bear opened as well, so I was prepared in case we ran into one.

Metcalf loaded with spotting scope and day gear for a scouting trip in late June.

Picture quality isn't great, but a creek crossing on another scouting trip.

Will keep posting more as I get them edited.

Mystery Ranch is clearly the company most in need of a boot in their ass.

I've been using their gear a while, and I've been to the shop twice.

Two things.... They need to burn the NICE frame to the ground, and they need to quit getting facials from Dana.

Then they could make badass backpacks at their current pricepoint that would actually not suck.

Good info sreekers. The side zipper on that MR makes me want one.



Travis

Travis, I wouldn't give up your Crewcab for it. Unless you just feel the need to write a check to MR.

I might sell my CC. I don't use it much. Just sits.



Travis

Looking forward to the reports on these packs, I like how you got the established brands mixed in with the new ones. If you can continue going with the reporting throughout the season. I would like to see some meat being hauled and some bad weather being overcome with the packs:)

Travis
The Metcalf is much better than the crewcab as a daypack, holds more better and is also lighter. I have both bags and love the metcalf!!

Does the Metcalf use the NICE frame? That might be a stupid question but I haven't read anything about them.



Travis

The Metcalf looks sweet. That may be the next piece of equipment I buy.

But, I got to fondle a Stone Glacier Solo about a month ago. That thing is [bleep] bad to the bone.

Yes, the Metcalf uses the NICE frame.

That means its a POS then.

Thanks.



Travis

Did your NICE frame fail you?


Travis

No, of course not. First time I looked at one and saw that it was designed for an ALICE pack, I laughed and tossed it into a pile.