Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting most comfortable backpack

It's a pretty big pack , all depends on what you take in a day pack. I'm always prepared for an overnight, and like being able to pack out the first load of meat or cape/antlers, etc. in my day pack, so I like a larger day pack... I even use it for an overnighter from time to time... for some people it is certainly too big.

I also have a Badlands Diablo, 1800 Cu Inches, love it too, little smaller than the 2200 but still has frame stays to keep the pack rigid under a load. I've packed an elk quarter out on mine once, and the entire cape/antlers from a rag horn.

Maybe the tall guys can kick in a few good suggestions. As tall as you are, you probably have a long torso and need a pack that will adjust out accordingly.

I suspect that if you find something that has a light duty internal frame with at least one stay that will allow weight to transfer to the waist belt, then you'll be better off than you have been. The 5.11 I have would be too short for you though. Get something made for a tall guy.

You might look at climbing oriented pack like something from Black Diamond. I say that because those makers often match sturdy cloth and decent adjustable suspensions to small capacity packs. BD is good stuff but not as high dollar as Mystery Ranch or Kifaru.

Yeah, basically. That plays out a couple different ways. (1) The pack acts like a too-warm coat I can't get shed of. I tend to sweat a lot with it. (2) The pack extends above where the shoulder straps connect so it tends to hook on brush and blowdowns I'm navigating through more than a smaller pack. It's also pretty heavy for just a day pack.


The pursuit is great. Its a little bigger than most of the "book bag" type day packs but not as big as the 2200. IMHO it's the ultimate woods bumming day pack for everything short of carrying meat. It's big enough without being too big.

It does not have a waist band so it doesn't interfere with handgun carry. When I do overheat with it, it's easier than the 2200 to just shift to one shoulder to let my back breath and dry out.

I think a person can find ways to make most any pack work for them, it's just a matter of how much figuring and how much compromise.

Another Badlands pack to look at, which I haven't used, is the "Hybrid." It's an expensive little SOB. IT's got a lot of pockets though if you need to organize gear. Guess that's one reason I like the Pursuit ... I got mine for about $70. Many of the other packs are well over $100, some well over $200.

Tom

Would the pursuit be suitable for a tall guy like me? Thanks.

Dunno. I don't know why not. Lacking a waistband, I'm not sure why it'd be any different for you than for me, should be real flexible so far as torso length. But ... I wouldn't want it to sound like I'm promising things would be ok, either.

The 2200 would be the only mass produced day pack for a big guy I would recomend. The others will be short and lay on your shoulders.

Gunchamp, what part of Pennsylvania are you located in?

Central, somewhat close to Altoona

I haven't used the pack's you guys are talking about but I am a tall guy (6'7"). For a day pack I don't want the load lifter type suspensions becasue they get in the way if you sling anything around your neck. I like to use the safari rifle sling and find that having a "shorter" pack works just fine. My current favorite is an old Dana Designs Bighorn. It is bigger than what gunchamp needs, but I am hoping to haul a load of meat! It squeezes down small when not loaded.
I have a large fanny pack with wide webbing shoulder straps that I use in situations like gunchamp is describing. I think mine is like 1600 cubic inches. What makes it work is the straps on the bottom that allow you to carry a jacket or raingear outside the pack saving room for stuff that can only go in the pack.
BTW, there is great advice here. This is by far the best place on the web for backpacking advice. Kifaru is close but it is not as busy.

Same for me, I'm about twenty minutes south of Altoona. I don't have any Kifaru or Mystery Ranch packs at present (though working on it). I do however have some Osprey and other backpacking type packs that you could check out if you'd like. The suspension is much more comfortable than that of a school bookbag type backpack if you are interested. Also have a USMC surplus ILBE pack which was designed by Arc'Teryx and is a pretty nice bag.

Let me know if you'd like to check any of them out.

Thank you so much for the offer. I just ordered a badlands pursuit to start. Wanna see how this works, then will probably order something bigger. I live pretty close to glendale lake. Are you closer to bedford?

I like the Kifaru Spike Camp, I think it's just about perfect as a day pack. Big enough for extra clothes etc., but not so big as to cramp your style moving through thick brush because it has a slim profile on your back. Comes with a pouch for a hydration bladder, and the Gunbearer sling, which allows you to carry a long gun hands-free with the weight on the hip belt, where it belongs. Also with reversible camo/orange fleece to cover the outside to make it quiet.

I'm a little over 6'2 and 195. I just started summertime traning by carrying a weighted pack on hikes to get ready for this fall, and I started with the Spike Camp. I have it loaded with water bladders so it weighs 30 lbs. and sometimes I forget I'm carrying it.

I have owned and tried about everything out there and some of the high dollar, cult packs are the worst in packing a decent load and the QC is pretty sad while the customer service sucks.

For honest dollar value, ability to comfortably carry a heavy load and superb customer service, my experience is that Mystery Ranch packs are in a class by themselves. The "Bighorn" model is what I would suggest for your needs and I think that you would be happy with it and it is a "lifetime" purchase.

Buy quality once and actually save money as my oldest MR-Dana pack is worn, still perfectly sound and I have had it from 1978.

The best option, if you can/will spend the coin is a custom pack from Dan McHale and MR is next in quality, materials and service, I cannot recommend them too highly. They are what American business is supposed to be and they make their gear in Bozeman, MT, and use it themselves in the mountains, close to my hometown in BC,among other places.

Basically you need a pack that fits and rides comfortably with the loasd you need to carry. That's why the more expensive packs come in different sizes.
Any cheap pack will carry 6-8 lbs. in comfort. Assuming it fits at all. Go up to 25-30 lbs. and it needs to fit pretty well. Exceed 40 lbs. and it has to fit properly.
The true custom packs, like the Kifarus, are made to order. I've got two, a Spike Camp and a Late Season. They can comfortably handle over 70 lbs. off trail.
Go to a back packing shop that will fit a pack to you with a load. Walk arounf with it. If doesn't feel likes it's part of you, try another. With a real load it should come with delta straps and straps which allow one to adjust how the load rides on the level vs. going up and down.
Either buy one from them and look for something similar that feels the same when under load. E

Wrong, Kifarus are far from custom. All they have is waist belt sizes and maybe two shoulder harness sizes(Mine have been to small on all my K packs, go figure). Either they send the stays out how they were formed or flatten them out if you choose "flat". They are "made when you order" so they can sit on your money. Great way to run a business actually, just sometimes not for the customer. Now Kifaru will not do any type of custom work, even orders that involve simple things like webbing and buckle color. How can that be a custom built pack? Its not...

The only true custom backpacks I know of are from McHale. They will put MR and Kifaru to shame. If Patrick and Dana are pack experts, then Dan McHale must be the pack god.

FWIW, I have found MR's quailty to be superior to Kifaru. Not by much but its there.

It is nice to see some factual truth on packs and makers, although what is most important, is that the guy who pays for the pack or other gear is satisfied and happy with what he buys.

My experience with Kifaru and MR products has shown that BigW is correct on the QC issue, however, I have had ONE tiny issue with a MR pack, out of the approximately a dozen I have owned and several with K=packs and tipis....just sayin', maybe it's my "karma"????

I would not agree that McHale puts MR to shame as MR packs have proven VERY stout and comfortable in my uses of them since 1978. I DO think that Dan McHale builds packs that ARE superior to any others, but, MR is still an excellent option for the price and their customer service-and Dan's- are beyond question, just outstanding.

Thats not what I was trying to say. I think MR packs are far more stout than any other backpack currently made, even some McHales(unless you want to pay double for full spectra). MR's are so overbuilt it would take a bomb to destroy one and it would have to be a big one.

What I meant was the comfort of a McHale will put a MR to shame, IMO of coarse. I spent 3 hours at Dan's shop two weeks ago and tried on some of his packs. They feel so amazing! I had about 40 pounds in one and it felt like the best 40 pounds I have ever had on my back! They are true custom fitted packs. I learned so much about backpacks that day I felt like I should of paid him just for the appointment! I did not get a demo because he did not have a pack that would fit my odd size. I will make sure and update you guys.

edit: This is coming from someone that has or had 4 MR and 5 Kifaru packs. Current is 3 MR and 2 K. I also wear some type of pack almost 7 days a week.

I pretty much concur with what you are saying here, I find that the old Bozeman-Dana shoulder straps are much better for comfort than the harness-straps on current MR packs, but, for me and most of the scores of guys who run MR that have asked me for suggestions on what pack to get, the MR packs are the best of the production packs on the market.

I have a Dana Design Longbed Loadmaster and a Shortbed, early K-2 production under Dana's supervision, bought in new conditon pre-owned and like several others here, I find this just awesome in comfort, far beyond any other external I have packed and even,for me, more comfy than my two MR-NICE rigs.

I know quite a few guys, here on "24Hr." and in BC,many are very commited sheep hunters and I have recommended McHales to them and will buy one/two for myself next winter,when I have time to travel to Seattle.

Having spent many years backpacking every day for work purposes, I am like you, I want comfort and quality and will find the cash to pay for it somehow. But,almost every guy I know who has a McHale at my suggestion now has 2-3,so, they are "addictive"!

Which ones would those be? Brands, that is?

A better question might be which digital camera he currently prefers to use.