Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Internal Vers External Frame

What are the pros and cons of internal and external frame packs? I am looking for a backpack that will allow me to carry enough stuff for no more than 2-3 days. I may use the pack to bring out game. Can you pack meat using an internal frame pack?
tom

This is and has been a topic of debate for quite some time and my answer is to have and use both-just to make things simple!

Seriously, if you must use only one pack, your choice should be governed by hunting style, game sought and hopefully shot and terrain.

If, you hunt deer and similar sized animals only and always bone your animal in the field, an internal frame is both more comfortable and somewhat easier to carry in really rough, broken terrain.

If, you want to carry larger, awkward, oddly shaped loads such as Elk quarters, half a Mulie or a Bighorn cape and horns, a good frame pack is simpler and will work better. The best internals are better for traversing really ugly country, but, trying to carry a 6x6 Wapiti rack, plus cape lashed to the outside is a PIA, this is where the frame pack shines.

Now, most packs on today's market are crap and I have used a large number of them. They are built for weekend walkers and even the ones with famous names, endorsed by legendary mountaineers, are pretty sad. Remember, endorsments mean reimbursments........

If, you want a pack for short hunts that will carry both a light camp-emergency gear and meat, there are three that I would recommend, based on my own use and reports from others I know and trust.

1. Badlands 4500, from www.badlandspacks.com, I had one, it was great, then it was stolen. As fine a deer hunting to 5 day pack as you can find, the makers are REALLY nice guys and prices are fair. This is an internal frame pack.

2. Kifaru "Longhunter" or "Siwash" pack, from www.Kifaru.net, these are becoming THE hunting pack among many serious high country hunters; they are pricey, but, worth it. These two packs are semi- internal frame units.

3. The "Bullpac" and the "Selway" bag, from www.bullpacks.com. This is the ONLY frame pack I will own, after using various others and having them fail on me all too often. It is comfortable, built like Hulk Hogan and reasonably priced. This is the pack for sluggin' chunks of Elk and Moose out of hellholes and it is very versatile, a good choice for BIG game hunting.

4. The new hunting pack being built by Dana Gleason at www.mysteryranch.com, he is a genius, this is the pack I am eagerly waiting for and I don't know it's configuration, as yet. Absolutely, NOBODY builds a finer pack, period. I have one of his packs that is 26 yrs. old and still is sound, my second one was stolen, I WILL buy another.

In outdoor equipment, you really do get what you pay for and the foregoing packmakers are all hunters; you should be able to find what you need among their offerings.

Kutenay has alot of good points. He laso list some damn good packs.

Myself I like external frame packs. on sheep/goat hunts, I take the bag off and strap a daypack on th frame. that way if I get something, with 550chord and bungees, there is nothing I cant carry out. its all personal preferance.

My daypack is a badlands and if there internals are as good as the daypacks, I might be half tempted to buy one to try out.

I had one of the "Badlands" 4500 packs for about a year, it was very comfortable and of extremely high quality; it was stolen from me. They had a larger model, the 5800 "split" which they have discontinued for whatever reason.

A guy I used to shoot and hunt with, bought a 5800 on my advice and used it on an Elk hunting trip I took him on in the Kootenays of B.C. He was 59 at the time and the pack carrried very nicely for him, even though he is a novice as a backpacker and was not in great shape.

The parent company of "Badlands", "Vortex" packs has taken their production offshore and their new line doesn't fit me, so, I would double check to make sure that the 4500, etc., are still U.S. made. I bought my pack in early '98 and it was U.S.M. and, as I've said, a fine piece of gear.

One problem is that you MUST bone out every piece of meat to fit it into a 4500, a task that I dislike in early season when there are still bugs. For this reason, I prefer my "BullPac" "Alaskan" frame pack with the extension and I just use home-made fleece-covered stuff sacks to carry my gear in, these tie onto the outside of my meat sack. This allows me to carry meat "bone-in" on short packs which saves time and hassle, there is no one perfect system for every situation.

I would not hesitate to buy another "Badlands" as they are super folks.

There has been some great input so far. Here is my take......

Good externals carry very well on trails and a great one can probably carry a really heavy load better than an internal of equal quality and most importantly equal fit. One style of backpack hunting is to pack your gear in to say a lake or some other destination and set up camp. Then you hunt without the pack or with the empty pack. An external is very good for this. I call this "Basecamp hunting"

Internals carry better when off the trails and in rougher country. This is the reason that you will almost never see externals used in mountaineering expeditions. Another hunting style is to travel with your pack and camp on your back practically all the time. You cover ground, and camp right up in the rough stuff basically wherever you are when the sun drops. This is my preferred style and I have found that an internal is better suited. I call this "Mobile Camp hunting"

Regardless of your hunting style or the primary pack choice you always have an issue once the critter is down. Naturally, that is......."now whattheheck do I do with all this stuff" The bigger the critter, and the farther in you are, the bigger the issue. My solution is to use a Kifaru pack with the "cargo chair" accessory. This is a fold out shelf that gives you extra capacity outside the main bag. AFAIK, this is the only such provision offered on any internal pack system.

My current strategy is to pack as light and compact as conditions and time in country permit. Then when the deed is done, I take my camp out of the pack bag and start filling the main cavity with (usually) boned out meat. When I have all that I can handle, I'll place some smaller heavier camp items in little spaces around the meat. Then the lightest and most bulky items go outside the pack on the cargo shelf. I can usually get a deer and my camp out in one haul or with just a light load left for a return trip.

If you saw the pics of the bear that I shot last year, you will recall the size of the critter and the scale of my Kifaru pack shown next to him in one frame. This was a multi trip load regardless of how much I could carry.

That hunt reminded me why I don't backpack for elk anymore................ <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

JimF

I went to Alaska this year on a drop camp caribou hunt. This hunt being a first for me, I ordered a Alaskan Guide Model frame , from Cabellas. I was very impressed with this frame. I packed all the crap I took in the pack, then hauled it to Alaska from Texas. It took a real good beating from the idiots at all the airports and still held together well. What I liked about this frame, is that you can take the main bag off and just use the frame, with a day pack. Just my 2 cents

Thanks for all the feedback. I won't need a pack this year but will keep this in mid for when I do decide to buy one. tom

I hear that Gregory makes a real good internal frame pack, what do you guys think about em?

My current general duty pack is a Gregory "Denali Pro" and it is a good pack, over-all. It is a bright red colour whhich I like for winter camping, but, not for hunting or summer b-packing.

Gregory packs are a bit too detailed for my taste, too many little dangly bits and pieces, but, Wayne Gregory is a top designer and his packs, especially the "Pro" series are comfortable and well made.

I bought this pack at a discount from the company I used to work for, after my Dana Design(an original) and my Badlands 4500 were stolen. I needed a "stop-gap" pack and there it was. I would prefer the other packs I have mentioned for hunting, but, I like this one for general b-packing.

I might add that there is a Canadian pack maker...www.Ostrompacks.com...that also looks good, I have no actual experience with his packs, but, have talked to him on the phone; this might be a lower-cost option as high quality packs are getting rather spendy.

There is no one absolutely best pack maker, but, among the one's I have mentioned, a person should be able to find a pack to meet your specific needs. Avoid the big name packs made in off-shhore sweatshops; the lower initial price is a snare and a delusion as a failure of a waist belt, for example, can wreck a trip that you have waited a long time for.

My Kifaru Longhunter should be here any day now. I'm very excited...

I have used a Cabelas guide pack, and it didn't even compare to my Kifaru pack for my hunting style. It shifted a lot, swaggering back and forth while walking up mountains and terrain. Say you come up to a log you have to climb over? This would bring alarm as you wondered if it was going to throw you off balance while navigating up and over. With the kifaru, it is narrower, and closer to the body giving a much more balanced feeling, and more confidence. I can only say that the Kifaru longhauler converts for many hunting styles and situations. I load up my pack for 4-5 days, then it can convert it to a light frame pack with top pouch and cargo chair. This is perfect for day hunts, and then packing your deer sized animals boned back to camp. Remember in all configuations of the pack that it has the gunbearer holder to free up use of your hands. I'll have to post a picture in the near future. I have been very happy with my pack, but honestly say that there is a period of tweaking to get the pack dialed in on the adjustments. Once that is completed and customized for your body it is very good.

I just registered on this website and this is my first post. There are obviously some very knowledgable people posting here.

I have to say for packing out a bone in quarter I prefer an external frame pack. If I knew I wasn't going to shoot anything I would take the internal frame pack but I always error on the side of cautious optimism.

When I was young and gullible a fellow told me he never worried about a pack board he just cut slits in the hide and pulled the quarter on like a pack sack. Well I tried this out on the first elk I shot and let me tell you the hide rolled into pencil sized strips and bloody near cut my shoulders off. I only did it once.