Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Review of the Badlands Ox

What better thing to find on a Friday after work but a box from Sage Creek Outfitters sitting in my living room? After many long months of waiting, the Ox has finally arrived!!!!!

To quickly describe the Ox: an external frame with a 3500ci bag with tons of options.

It may be a little easier to describe the Ox by looking at the main features:

Frame/Hauler

The main frame is comprised of two skeltonized, aluminum rails with two aluminum tubes acting as the supporting cross members. The rails and tubes are assembled using wrench-free bolts with cam locking handles. The disassembly/assembly process is rather simple and could easily be done under the worst conditions.



The following picture is of the frame and load hauler.


The frame and hauler weighed in on my postal scale at 6lbs 4 oz.

The orange meat shelf is secured to the lower frame tube and buckled at the top of the frame. The load is further secured by the 3 cinch straps/bat wing configuration. Pictured is a my ground blind. I did lower the blind down on Saturday by lengthing the top straps creating a deeper cradle.



The 3500ci Pack

It is quite easy to attach the pack to the frame. Simply removed the lower cross tube, index the pack loops, and reassemble.



The arguement with external versus internal frame packs will usually come around to the scenario of what do when you have prized game on the ground. How do you handle both your gear and meat?

The Ox provides a simple solution to you hardy hunters: carry both if you choose to do so. How you ask?

The pack is secured at the top of the frame with long straps that can be adjusted to create a cavity between the frame/hauler and the pack. Notice my ground blind sandwiched between the two.
[img]http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/huntem_photo/P1020383.jpg[/img]
Like I mention, lots of adjustments.
[img]http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/huntem_photo/P1020384.jpg[/img]

My scale puts the total combination at 9lbs 8oz.

The Ox Pack:

The pack is rated at 3500ci which is plenty for a few days in the back country. As you can see, the main pocket is very roomy and is equiped with full length zippers.
[img]http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/huntem_photo/P1020393.jpg[/img]

In addition to the main pocket, the back of the pack has a pocket equipped with full length zippers, also.

[img]http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/huntem_photo/P1020391.jpg[/img]

The two side pockets are identical in design. Badlands intent was to provide options for how each hunter wants to load their pack. As you can see, the side pockets are plenty large enough for a tripod, spotting scope. Within each side pocket, there are buckling straps, cinch straps and stretchy pockets for those odd shaped items. Notice I have my tripod in 3 different locations.




The top lid has an additional pocket and is the location to stow the hydration bladder. The mesh hydration pocket has two exits portals to allow the tube to be brought out on the left or right side.


Top lid pocket



The back of the pack is equipped with daisy chain loops and locking cinch straps for securing a rifle or bow. I have my trekking poles secured in the picture.



I do like the location of the lifting straps.

[img]http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/huntem_photo/P1020388.jpg[/img]

Here are some additional pictures.

[img]http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/huntem_photo/P1020386.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/huntem_photo/P1020387.jpg[/img]

I thought this was a review? ummmm, how does it carry a load? Can you compare it to anything? All those little features are nice, but have you put it to the test?

Big W my apologies for not being more detailed on the usage. I was pretty much washed out from a very long weekend with little sleep.

My time with the pack is pretty limited as of now. I'm 5'10" and this particular pack fits my torso very well for length.

I've owned most of the Badlands line over the years along with a NICE/CC, Big Sky, Sweet Pea and Naya Nuki from Mystery Ranch.

The Ox appears to have some great potential for anyone who is looking for a pack that addresses the need to carry gear with the hopeful intent to pack out meat. Obviously there are more suitable 3500ci packs that weigh less than 9lbs.

I loaded 80lbs of wood pellets in the load hauler and frame. Properly adjusted, the frame kept the load centered and balanced well.

Huntem,

Good review with lots of pics. Really shows a lot more than the website every would and thanks for that. The pack extending away from the frame to hold gear reminds me a lot of how MR does this with their NICE frame/longbow or crewcab except the MRs come in at a little less starting weight (6.5 pounds NICE frame/Longbow) which is 30% lighter than the Ox with its pack. Granted it is also 1100 cu in smaller.

However I really don't seeing this Ox as being a day hunting type of pack so it would be more fair perhaps to compare it to the NICE 6500s or the Kifaru 8500 monster. Both are built for hauling gear and meat out in the same load. Like I said its an interesting looking pack, but for purely meat hauling I think I'll stick with a Barney's freighter frame, its just not for me, glad you like it though I'm sure it'll serve ya well.

Just hope Badlands as figured out how to keep their zippers from busting. Thanks again for the review.

Looks pretty stout. How was the comfort? The only thing I can see which would be an issue is the aluminum quick release on the top of the frame. I have broken enough of those to know that it will eventually fail.

Might be a good idea to replace that with a bolt of some sort or at least carry a spare.

Yes it is very much like the MR in that regards. The MR does have the quick snap buckle at the top of the NICE frame. The BL strap needs threaded through the cinching buckle so it isn't a quick release on the pack. Not a deal breaker...



I don't believe Badlands is marketing the Ox as a day pack but to address the external frame without going to a full expedition sized backpack.

Great review as mentioned earlier, lots of good pics. I just feel that Badlands fell short again without offering up a pack larger than the 4500, the "ox" would probably have been a great platform for this, but instead they offered up anouther 2-4 day pack instead.
I recently sold my 4500 for a MR6500 for the extra room, as I was only able to squeeze about 10-12 days out of the 4500, I think they may have had a winner with a larger (5500+) pack and the external frame.
Who knows, maybe they will figure out that some guys stay in the bush for more than a week.

I'm still trying to get over the 9 lbs. 8 oz. part of it. That seems like a realy heavy pack to me.

What is weird is that no one part of the overall system is the "heavy" part. I can't remember if the orange shelf is removable to where you can just sandwich the load between the frame and pack.

Keep in mind, that the Mystery Ranch is far from an ultralight.

Yeah, I understand these meat haulers arent ultra-light. My 4500 is a bit over 7 lbs. I've looked at it many times trying to figure out what to cut off of it.
The fabric is just too heavy and too many of them hypalon rubber gussets I think.
Guess you cant have your cake and eat it to.

I would think a good, well built hunting pack, at about 4500 cubic inch should be able to be around 6 pounds.

Looking at that OX frame I think the first things I'd ditch would be the plastic plugs in the frame rail ends, unless they perform some task I cant see in the pics. Likely also ditch the speed clips for the cross bars and replace them with aluminum or stainless allen bolts. Not sure the reason for wanting to adjust the cross bars easily. Also not sure about the side pockets with 3 buckle straps and two compartments. Cant say I would need 3 ways to load a tripod in a pocket. My 2200 has the same side pockets with half the doodads and I've never bean left wanting.

I guess the more I use, look at, and think about these "swiss army knife" type packs, the more I start to think the "duffle bag with shoulder straps" Kifaru's make since.

Sorry about the hijak.

Ain't that the truth. My NICE 6500 is over 9 pounds as well. But if they carry the weight so well, when I am loaded up with 100 lbs or more I'd rather have a quality hell for stout frame than 97 pound pack in a frame that isn't up to the load.

That is easy to answer, they made it out of the cheapest stuff they could find. Take a look at bicycles.

The idea of weight being a deciding factor seems odd to me. The fit and function for the type of hunting you do should be what you decide on. I would bet if someone put two identical packs down next to each other loaded at 70 pounds and 75 pounds, most people couldn't tell the difference. So gross weight of the pack before it being loaded shouldn't be a deal breaker. A pack that fits you well and keeps the weight close to your body will carry weight better. And when you get a pack like that 5 pounds of difference packing game out you will never notice.

And on a side note Chesapeake, I have never seen a 4500 in the 7 pound category. I have made every modification possible to my 4500 and it is still at 8 pounds 3 ounces. So if yours truly weighs 7 pounds share your secret so we can get them down to that weight also.

The OX is just another tool in your tool box to fit a particular type of hunting. There is no one pack that does everything that I know of, unless you do just one type of hunting.

Check out this review of the pack.

http://forums.bowsite.com/TF/bgforums/thread.cfm?threadid=382025&messages=58&forum=5