Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting MR Crew Cab in Classifieds?

I hope hardcore keeps it up. The pictures are just going to get better and better.

Thanks again guys for the great pics. I still think you guys should start a thread.

Dink

I'm begining to think some of you guys are about as "ate-up" as he is.

Probably so.

I put some details of a fun bear hunt on this thread, sarcasm removed, for anybody interested.

http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/showthread.php?t=243033

Great pics and story Greenhorn.

Thanks for the link.

Dink

Oh man, not a plug for that website

HCH,

Thanks for the entertainment on this thread...really.

I'll say this for the Mystery Ranch Packs that you dont have a single damn clue about.

I called Greenhorn several years ago on my way from Wyoming to visit my Family over Christmas in my hometown of Missoula, Montana. The previous September Greenhorn and I had been on a backpack hunt for monster Wyoming Mule Deer. The pack I used on that hunt was a joke, likely in line with the equipment you use. Anyway, I asked him what kind of pack he'd recommend and you guessed it MR. I stopped by the Bozeman shop and at that time, the very first Crew Cabs were being manufactured. I looked them over and foolishly didnt buy one, but did walk out with a NICE Frame and the 4000 CI penquin and a 6500. I used the 4000 ci pack for work for about a year, it worked great. I used the 6500 almost exclusively as a hunting pack, day and otherwise, and have no complaints.

About 4 years ago, my employer purchased me a NICE and a crew cab on my recommendation for a pack that would stand up to the abuse my job puts a pack through. I can assure you, there is likely not a single hunter on this board that uses a NICE and crew cab more in a year than I do. I'm the guy Greenhorn posted a picture of that uses that crew cab "almost every day". My crewcab has over 600 days of use on it, and with the exception of some minor wear on the shoulder straps at the hinge, that pack is holding up to perfection.

I seriously doubt that there is any other pack made that would show that little amount of wear on it after 600 days in the field in about the most demanding country you can find in WY, MT, NV, UT, ID, and AZ. My CC has seen many "challenging" days in all those states.

There is absolutely NO QUESTION that the MR packs are the most rugged and comfortable packs available. I've yet to find a situation in 600 days of use at work were my pack was inadequate or not up to the task. The same can be said for the days I've used the penquin, the 6500, or crewcab for hunting...you'll always have enough pack with any of the above. More importantly, you'll have a pack that you can rely on to perform flawlessly.

As has already been stated by others, I'm not promoting MR, only the fact that I have used their packs a lot and cant find a flaw one in any of them. I know MR sure as hell doesnt need me to sell or endorse their packs, but I can attest to how they fit, how they function, and how versatile they are.

What makes me sick though, is having to listen to some windbag go on-and-on about a product you've not a single damn clue about. You've never used the pack, but feel comfortable passing judgement about the product and on those who have. I've used MR products for more than just casually to chase whitetails in Iowa...to say the least.

Thanks for the review Buzz. Glad they work for you. Don't forget, I NEVER said one time that I had experience with a MR pack or the Crewcab. NOT ONCE. I posted Elk Reapers and other people's reviews. What is laughable though, is people trying to tell someone that where they live isn't backpack hunting, but where they live is. Or for someone to go look in a guys photo album at his harleys and pickups.

I got a PM from Seacat the other day. You guys could learn some class from this guy.


HCH~

I understand this thread is getting a little out of hand.

I'd be happy to help educate you further on our packs... maybe even find something that works for the type of hunts you're doing. A great friend of mine lives in Albia and uses his Crew Cab/NICE Frame to pack his stands (up to 3 at a time) and climbing sticks/trail cameras...

Having spent some time in that area, I can understand the terrain you're having to travel through/around to get to the public land... even though you're not packing elk/sheep out of the mountains... what you're doing is still BACKPACK HUNTING... and you're having to carry a ton of gear a long ways quite frequently.... I know I can help find you a solution for your needs. I hope that you'd be open to checking out our products.

My email is markseacatmysteryranch.com

Best.

Mark Seacat

May as well add a few pictures of the "load lifter" in some "hard-core" situations:

MR CC as a "crappy" meat hauling pack on my brothers trophy mule deer hunt in the Bitterroots in Montana. Half a mule deer unboned, plus head and cape:



The unversatile 6500 thats obviously way too big to use on Kodiak Island as a day pack when you need extra clothes, spotting scopes, etc. etc. and where you rarely come off the hill without a sitka blacktail buck. If only the load-lifters worked better that quartered sitka and hunting gear would have been easier to get off the hill and down to the beach:



Of course, the 6500 doesnt perform with a full boned mature Wyoming mule deer buck, hunting gear, and head/cape:



The crew cab, with its limited versatility as a load hauler. Its just trick photography that you can pack a boned front shoulder and a head and cape from an Arizona raghorn:

HCH,

Find me a pack that is more durable, more comfortable, and more versatile...I'll give it a try.

Seems to me you're long on mouth and short on ears...just sayin'.

Cool pics, I hope those aren't directed at me though; I never made any negative reviews or claimed that the load lifters weren't good on a crewcab. I simply posted reviews from other guys. I didn't make the news, I just reported it.

Just walked in the door....600 miles on the pickup today. That wore me out more than snowshoeing 12 to retrieve the bear!!

Kurt and Buzz, It was fun!! Lets do it again soon!! Loved it down there!!

HCH, post something about haw bad Kifaru packs suck so this thread can go to about 9000 or so. I don't know when some of you internet types ever have time to go outside.

HCH, what you fail to understand is suspension. Quality packs are designed for specific parameters. From a fastpack hiker that will only see 25 lbs and needs to weigh as little as possible, to a 40 lb, 60lb expedition to a beast like the Nice frame. Each may be quality and durable for the designed use, in the weight range.

You need to decide what range you will work in and choose a pack that fills that need, with what dollars you can afford.

When getting into the extreme hauling region the number of packs dwindle to one or two.

For how you seem to want to use a pack, the BW is a good choice and affordable, with good features. That's all you should be concerned with.

It's not in the range of a MR at extreme weights but wasn't meant to be. I have different packs for different purposes. Light weight for fastpacking the Grand Canyon where 30 lbs is all I'll ever carry, to a MR for packing out deer/elk and saving me at least one trip, in and out.

The suspension is where it's at.

Kent

I've never packed a deer, elk, or sheep, and I've never been west of Nebraska, but I KNOW that my Jansport from Wally World is the equal of whatever you guys have got!

Those pictures are making me want to quit my job and move to the mountains....any of you guys got an extra room you could rent?

Yes, it probably does. I used a Kelty Tioga to carry all my gear, all my buddy's gear and a brown bear skull of the top of Hinchinbrook Island down to the beach. WAY over 100#. My buddy was carrying the hide and his sleeping bag as a shelf. That 35 year old Kelty is two pounds lighter than anything with similar load capacity from Kifaru or Mystery Ranch. I remain unimpressed.

Nice bear gents! That water looks a little (A LOT) to fast for my taste! Next time your in Missoula Buzz look me up, I'll buy ya a whiskey!

Glad I had a footbridge today, that fast cold water makes my vagina cramp and I get scared and wet myself, you guys are nuts!


My daughter says, "Do bears really live in the same places goats do? Because I really don't think we are gonna kill one here." Ran down the root to one of the areas that was still open, no bears but some white critters.



About stepped on this thing, freaky gross looking critter. Rubber Boa. Not everyday you see a Boa in Montana.



Cold, wet and [bleep]... just another day in paradise! My camera got too much moisture and quit working, but all in all a nice afternoon in the Root!

Nice job and a dandy bear for Wyoming...and a few other places.

If you were still packing PBR they wouldn't have touched the cooler.

280Rules,
Have you had a chance to compare this with one of the Mystery Ranch of Kifaru packs? The first pack my dad set me up with an Alpine or some damn thing, then I got a Kelty. Tough yes, comfortable... comparably to my MR, no. I don't recall the exact model, but comparing an old Kelty pack to one of the new mR's is like comparing a 62 Dodge 1 ton to a new Dodge Cummins decked out with powersteering, cruise control, cd player, heated seats and air conditioning. All things that you can live without, but it sure does make the job more comfortable. Happy hunting, Casey
PS You mention that it is two pounds heavier, the comfort level is so much higher, the two pounds isn't noticed and after all day the fatigue level is reduced. Just my observation, take it for what its worth, probably a hill of beans I am guesing.

I've never used either, I do have a Kifaru day pack (an Express) that I used in the military.

If I had to choose between the two, I'd get a Kifaru Longhunter, though it isn't really what I want. I'm seriously considering having a McHale built to my specs, lotta coin though.