Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting GG Flatbed.....shakedown cruise.

Well no deer, but the Flatbed is awsome. I left the Exploder way early Tue AM and started up the east slope of a high plataeu. I quickly found the going too rough for the dark so I hunkered down for a bit. After sunup I continued into the teeth of the wind that MtH mentioned. We are talking 30 mph steady, with gusts much faster. It was slow going, but I reached the Plataeu that was my goal at about 11 AM. Dropped the pack, ran the bags up a tree and took a look around. The wind was strong enough and cold enough that I had to keep sunglasses on to keep eyes from tearing uncontrollably. I quickly found the areas that I wanted to glass that evening and yesterday.

The flatbed carried my 35 lb load (with rifle) like it wasn't there and the packing method kept the load very close to the back. With some fine tuning, this modular system is going to make a fine hunting rig. As an aside, my WM 35* bag was just enough for the temps Tuesday night which were in the high 20's. I wore my micro-T top but no LJ's on my legs and I was OK if not toasty. I did wake up cold at one point, but found that my hat had slipped off. Putting that back on and cinching up the hood a bit more fixed me up. With handwarmers and LJ's, I would have been fine.

Here is the flatbed with the rifle shown for scale. The Slp bag, bivvy, Paratarp, and a couple of clothing items are in the bottom stuffer. The rest of the load is in the yellow dry bag with a few small items in the red fanny pack at top. The blue thing on the back is my Micro-T under some stretch cords that I threaded through the daisy chain.

First report would be that we done good scoring these Flatbeds.

Scenics from the trip on a seperate thread.

Excellent...

That is most impressive! I'm getting weaker by the day on this idea!!

Way to go Jim! Yea that wind got me good, my face reminds me everytime I look in the mirror. Windburn has my noggin peeling like a snake! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I wore Cabela's Micro Tex pants - tough as nails in their 4th season!

MtnHtr

Boy howdy!!

My face is pretty puffy and I'm still blowing grit out of my nose. My eyes feel like they've been sandblasted.

Actually, I guess they have been sandblasted..... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

do you have pics looking at the front and back of the pack head-on???

I cant figure out where one of my straps goes after shipping my belt and shoulder straps back to GG in exchange for larger sizes ..

thanks

Sorry, that's the only pic that I took. Try this link to the GG owners manual. You ought to be able to figure it out from this.

web page

Thanks ... I think they sent me a belt without the cruise control straps. I'll give them a call tomorrow.

JimF,

I like the looks of that pack, now if I could only had the deal Brad snagged awhile back..................

MtnHtr

That looks like it'll work. This winter's project is to come up with something smaller for my LH frame than the 7200ci bag.

Mtn Hunter- This is my first season in MicroTex and so far I'm favorable impressed. A bit heavier than the REI nylons I used to use, but MUCHO quieter.

I'm really impressed with the way the GG Flatbed carries. I've never owned or even tried on a Granite Gear pack before this one but I've become an admirer. The hipbelt is great. It has an exterior plastic shell for stiffness and load support and comfortable interior foam. The whole system locks right into place on my hips and lower back.

Like Jim I added some bungie and some webbing to the front panel. Swapped out the medium shoulder straps for large. I found the best way to carry my stuff is to lay the sleeping bag's sack horizontal (like in a regular pack) and then use a drybag and 2 Thermarest stuff sacks all running vertically.

I also put some Loctite on the screws that anchor the belt and straps once I got the fit dialed in.

Hopefully I'll get to use it to lug meat this year. My travel schedule is really dicking up my hunting this year! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />
I think these are going to prove to be primo meat haulers and I'm very glad I got one.

Lead, I have a really curved lower lumbar area... the GG fills ALL the voids between my back and the frame. I'm amazed... no bending stays, etc., just a good fit. Like you, this has made me take a second look at GG packs.

Brad,
I'm the opposite. I have a fairly flat lumbar region and a bad case of "White Guy's Butt". (<-- butt doesn't stick out enough to hold up a pack)

I usually need the shoulder straps to pitch in to varying degrees (10-30%) based on which pack I'm carrying.

The GG works as any my other packs in this respect. Pretty cool system. Time and testing will tell more but I'm digging the hipbelt and fit.

As a pack for hauling in camp and gear it suffers in comparison to a good internal but I'm thinking it will smoke them in the meat hauling department.

* edited to be more specific

I'm not prone to making definitive statements about stuff being "best" and it's waaaay too soon to even think that way yet. But!! The load flexibility and the convenience of having maybe an ultralite pack like a golite "gust" (or some such) as main packbag is slowly reshaping my thinking about how I spread and pack my load.

It be good!!!!