Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting 1st pack-out backpack?

Has anyone seen or used one of these?

http://firstpackout.com/elk_pack


It's kind of a cool concept. I know it's not taking the place of a pack board, but for boned out meat it might get me the 1-2 miles back to camp for the "big pack-out." I love hunting the backcountry, but I don't necessarily like having my 8lb pack on for the whole hunt.

I usually hunt within a couple miles of camp, but up and down a lot of ridges which makes it not fun to go back for a main pack to haul the meat. I was thinking if me and my hunting partner each had one we should be able to get a whole boned out deer to camp in one trip. Obviously more than one trip for an elk.

Not wasting the first trip sounds kind of nice and I could just hunt with my camelback or a waist pack from camp.

That looks like a very painful first pack out.Better to go wuth a Kifaru K u or one of Stone glaciers offerings
Tim

There doesn't appear to be any waist belt or internal frame support - which is probably necessary for the weight and compresability specs- so; I would bet that the "first pack out" especially if the load comes anywhere close to the advertised max of 90 lbs., would be MURDER on your back and shoulders.

I am looking at the ALPS OutdoorZ Pathfinder as my daypack/get the first load out. Looks pretty good. Got three modes. Waist belt with suspension, expanded daypack mode, and hauling mode. It is a decent price also. Then I will be getting the OutdoorZ Commander Frame for a large pack out to keep in the truck or for multi day trips.

Yeah, I'm still working on this issue and agree that no waistbelt is gonna suck... I really want to find the lightest weight daypack that can handle a load. I'm really looking at hauling about 50lbs +/-. I'm looking for options to avoid having to use my main pack for day-hunting from camp. Last year I used my external frame and tried to stash it in the bushes near where I was hunting. It was a pain having to go back for it and feeling like I didn't want to get too far away.

Or have a really good chiropractor.

Actually I don't know if it that bad of a concept, it gives you a quick orange pack that I guess is strong. Now how does it actually carry weight, probably not that good , but who knows. There are a lot of ways to get elk out, usually on your back, but you can throw a quarter over your shoulder and it works. I've even Santa carried a game bag before a couple miles, I give them credit for exploring solutions.

Each to his/her own, but, if you now have a packframe and want a smaller pack to bring out your first load of meat and whatever hunting/emerg. gear you prefer to carry with you on any hunt, my choice would be the lighter Mystery Ranch pack, called "The Trance".

I am sure that several other pack makers offer packs much like this, I just have found DD/MR packs to work so well for me that I seldom even look at the sites of other makers.

If, you are not familiar with MR quality, I will just say that my wife and I were on her medically prescribed walk today and did our monthly "drug store" shop at the same time. I had my 1978-vintage Dana Design "Bomb" pack, used hard for many years in wilderness work and it carried the 25ish lb. load home in great comfort. Quality like that is cheaper in the long run and one of these packs will do what you want and in comfort. JMHO.

Don't disagree, but they are trying to give options which is good. For a fanny pack hunter , its a start. I'd use my ULA most the time as its lighter than most fanny packs or regular daypacks. I figure an elk is two loads for a cow, so you could carry 50 the first time and 110 the second.

I think a better way to a pack like that for first pack out as a super light pack would be more of a vest approach or just looking at alternative methods like over your shoulder, partial drag etc. As my grandma used to say there are a lot of ways to skin a cat ..or elk in this case.

I've packed elk out of a lot of places without a waistbelt. Have also packed moose quarters a good ways without a belt.

It would certainly be a compromise for load carrying compared to a dedicated frame pack, but dedicated frame packs don't compress worth a crap. I pretty much always have at least a day pack while hunting, and can fit a fair amount of meat into it if needed. That's a compromise too.

Might be worth a shot for $50....

It's a stuff sack with straps, similar to the early Go-lite, which I tried. I was disappointed with it as a minimal backpack. But sometimes I stuff it in a daypack for a larger first load capability as is intended for this pack. Terrain, distance, time all factor in as to whether I even take it for that.

Ditto to not wanting to carry more than 50 lbs. in it and might hedge that down. But-- it REALLY helps to carry something out the first trip to reduce subsequent trips, and I prefer to hunt without a full pack on my back. I have filled a daypack with boneless meat and have also leapfrogged a daypack and another small pack both filled with boneless meat. That changes the discomfort into intermittent short bouts of pain!

This pack won't be comfortable with a load, is not up to heavy loads, and is not many things a real pack is-- but like compact pistols, they don't perform like a full size ones but you are more likely to carry it and have it with you. Are the limitations too great for the benefit of the one load of meat under less than ideal conditions? Only you can decide, and you may not be sure till after the first use!

Diffren' strokes...

I've never tried one but, I just can't imagine packing out a 50 to 60 lb. elk quarter without a waist belt and a pack with load levelers. I'm an old guy that has a hard time carrying 60 lbs. even with a quality backpack.

Another light option is the game glide if terrain is managable

Getting old in this neighborhood also!

Confession time: I have never found a pack that I could stand to keep the waist or hip belt closed for very long.

I've tried more brands than I remember names of; internal and external, big and small, etc. and no waist belt is ever comfortable for very long to me. I have recently been thinking of seeking out a truly expert pack fitter and see if the man can fit a hip b elt to me that is comfortable.

I start many pack trips with hip belt in place, and usually end up just buckling it behind my back. More and more, I don't bother to even start with it buckled, though sometimes on long days I will buckle the hip belt to change the load bearing for awhile. I've carried loads of well over 100 lbs. all day, most of that time with the waist belt open. (I don't like such loads and will likely not carry one that big again.) I've been "fitted" by some people who were supposed to know their stuff. My friends all swear by waist belts.

Got a weird bod maybe.

FWIW: Many boots and shoes fit me easily and I have less blister trouble than anyone I know. Good feet. Bad back?

I used to wear my pack frame while hunting and that did not work. To much noise and hanges up in the timber and brush. What has worked best for me, after much trial and error is that I bring out the horns, heart, tenderloins, in my back pack and go in the next day for the rest. Sometimes even the day after depending upon the distance. I have packed out over 90% of the elk that I have killed. Many with help, some without.

What ever works for you, I guess everybody has a different style of hunting. No internal pack bothers me while I am hunting. If I shoot something I already have my pack and camp with me. That or I pack all the meat to my camp and pack everything up and head out in one load. If your back 7 miles and makes two trips to get another pack thats 21 miles in a day. To be honest I have never backpacked for Elk though. Too much of a pu$$y to try it by myself.

I shot two standing next to each other a few years back. Had a bull and cow tag. Whole lot of work, and it got worse when my buddy shot a bull while we were packing my two out.

I grew up on a farm throwing 50 and 100 pound feed sacks over my shoulder. I doubt this would be much worse. Put the loins, tenderloins, and maybe some rib or neck meat in it and get back to camp, then you've just got the two hinds and both shoulders left. That should break the loads up nicely.

Ok, I cannot believe someone with as much packing experience as you does not wear a hip belt! You may as well use string and gunny sacks!

You are right, but I prefer the pain of string and gunny sack (which I have used in my younger days!) to the discomfort of hip belts. Note that I am not recommending that anyone else quit using hip belts!