Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting HPG Tara

Anyone have/had the Tarahumara from
HPG?

I have a kit bag and Umlindi, and they have held up really well.

I’m switching from a waist pack to a backpack for fishing/wading. Not sure if a center zip or top loader would work better, but I think the Tara would be about the right size.

I know there are quite a few cheaper packs out there that would do fine, but I’ve got so used to the comfort of the harness system on HPG packs, it would be hard for me to buy something without it anymore.

I don't have experience with the Tara but do with the Junction if you're thinking about it too.

The junction is just a smaller Umlindi, basically, if I remember correctly??

I had actually forgot about those. I love my Umlindi. I carry it all the time. Much bigger than what I need for a fishing pack, I’ll check that Junction out though!

Watching this thread.

Strongly considering adding an Umlindi or Tarahuma to my current chest rigs. I have both the Runner version and the Heavy Recon kit bags. In fact, I wore the Recon Saturday turkey hunting to see how it would work. I did have a small backpack to carry a bit of food and water, and my thermarest pad. Worked so well, I need to add an integral backpack to the set up.

In addition, I loaded my fly fishing necessities into the Recon and it worked well - but do need capacity for a bit of food and water, and likely a spare shirt/jacket.

Holston - how do you have your HPG set up for fly fishing?

The Junction is a top loader like the Umlindi but a fair amount smaller and no belt attachment. It's a little bigger than the Tara. I bounce a Line Pocket between a Junction and Decker to make for easy pack transitions of essentials. A Kit Bag has other must-haves too.

The Umlindi is an awesome pack. Their harness system just plain works for me. If I’m not hauling meat, it’s all I carry in the woods anymore. I have not put my kit bag “on” the pack. I just use it as normal with the pack over top of it. Hasn’t bothered me yet, and I like the option of tossing the pack and being able to keep the kit bag on.

I don’t fly fish, but use my kit bag (original) quite often when I’m wading. Pistole in the rear as always, with TP. 2 small 5 compartment boxes (34??) in the middle, along with a pack of trailers, and one with various soft plastics. Braid scissors and pliers on lanyard on one of the top rings. Sometimes I stick of spool of leader material with the pistol, most times it just goes in my pocket. Works great later in the year, when I’m going alone and my bait selection is pretty small.

Spring and early summer, I carry quite a bit more, often for 2 people, and normally keep a small cast net with me.

I use and abuse HPG stuff pretty hard, and it’s all held up to everything. I did manage to render one of their bike frame bags unusable, but I doubt anything would have held up to the conditions there.

Watched a few vids on YouTube, I think the Tara would be plenty big enough, for me anyway, as a fishing bag. I don’t carry much of the survival [bleep] that everyone does nowadays, just some toilet paper and super glue, since I’ve been on blood thinner, and a bottle or 2 of water.

Looks like I could slide a 6 pack in the junction, which would be a plus!

I have used a Tara a few years now for day hikes - water, snack, rain jacket, small first aid kit, TP etc.

If there is something specific you want packed in it for a picture, just let me know.

I’ve gone through more daypacks than I’d like to admit to.
Down to the following:
HPG Tara for day hikes and fishing trips.
HPG Junction for deer hunting. I like the top load feature when in a tree stand.
GoRuck 15L Bullet in Black for family trips and airports.
Mystery Ranch Scree for day hikes in colder weather with light overnight possibilities.
The Tara sees the most use these days. I use 3 Grimlocks to secure a Tuff Possum Gear 10x12 Possibles Pouch for additional storage when needed.
Tuff Possum

I had a Tara for a while. I didn't care for the total lack of internal organization. I bought a Tara pocket, not pack, last summer. Spacing is perfect for grimlocks in the side loops to snap onto the compression straps for my Eberlestock F1 as a very compact bag for hauling meat quarter bags for a pack-out deer hunting.

For day hikes, I have several that I use. I'm still searching for "perfect". Might not exist.

1) Mystery Ranch Scree - I like this for day hikes for fishing. I put a bottle holder on each daisy chain so I can carry both spin and fly outfits into the wilderness lakes with my hands free. It seems a good fit.

2) Mystery Ranch In-and-Out 19 - my favorite very light pack. I wish it had just a little more organization but it is adequate. My only beef is it only has a single bottle holder so it can be a little off balance.

3) Badlands Reactor - Great organization, holds a 3L bladder, with room for a filter to add more. Doesn't have much other space but for what it is, it's perfect.

4) The North Face "Recon" - My favorite day pack for trails. I don't like the current, stripped down version. It lacks a lot of the organization that made the older ones special.

In the past I've used a lot of other packs.

1) Eberlestock Bandit -- good pack in general, I got rid of mine because it was somehow asymmetrical. A friend's husband tried taxidermy and his work was all twisted, noses crooked, eyes irregularly spaced, like taxidermy by Escher or Dali. This pack was like that. I don't think it's a design problem, I think they had a bad day.

2) Kelty - Redwing 32, 44, 50 .. good packs, didn't quite meet the need of the day.

3) Badlands - Ultraday, SuperDay, Diablo, 2200 .. main thing with these was I was handgun hunting and there was no good way to holster a hunting sized handgun.

...

and the list probably goes on further. I forget. It is a serious addiction.

Good info, thanks for the input.

I have a junction on the way from HPG. Will see how it works out.

Being 6’7”, it’s hard for me to find stuff that works. HPG is surprisingly comfortable, and I have no complaints on any of their stuff. I still lean Kifaru for heavy loads though. Hard for me to stray.

Still might grab a Tara “for” the wife, just to see WTF. I keep telling her that bright Kavu she carries and the non camo needs to go, but she keeps tagging out so…

I have had the Tara for a long time and it is one my most used daypacks, especially in warm weather. I added the PALS frame sheet a while ago and that really improved it. Not only did it dramatically improve organization, but it helped the pack keep its shape at all times.`

Found a tara @ altus shooting solutions. $139 shipped.

Just checked. I musta got the last one in stock. Old price. Must been forgot about.