Don't hear too much about these packs or see tons of reviews. The Qui Ya and Ute both look like quality, and the Qui Ya seems like it could be an awesome do-everything hunting pack. Any users here with opinions to share?

Very high quality and very comfortable in my experience. Particularly like the shoulder harness and hip belt. They are not ultralight, but they aren't by any means heavy and they are very durable. I really like my Ute for day hunting. It works for backpacking, but isn't ideal for backpacking and packing meat at the same time. The Qui-Ya will do most anything you'd want a hunting pack to do. They don't offer a ton of integral organization, but you can customize them to suit with the various pack pockets -- I prefer the PALS pocket.

Don’t use their packs but I do have two of their Kit Bags. I use them for both stalking & blind sitting. I love them & would not use anything else. They have completely advanced my hunting positively.

I have the tarahumara pack. It is ... small. But wears like clothing, not gear. It won't haul meat .. well, might turn a deer quarter upside down and hold it with the compression straps, and everything you take out the first load is something you don't have to carry the second load.

Their stuff seems very well built, well thought out.

Tom

Runners Kit Bag here, I like it.

I have used the recon kit bag only but it is indestructible in well over 200 days of hard use. I wear it all day every day I am hunting or hiking.


mike r

I use a Tarahumara a lot, especially for desert hikes. It's great, but I am really trying to picture a deer quarter in it. That would be... ambitious.

I use a Recon kit bag and a Tarahumara on every day hunt or hike I go on. Well thought out, good quality stuff.

I haven't tried one of their packs (partly because internal frame packs are too hot for me), but I have used their belt and shoulder harness. The belt didn't work for my purposes, but it's a good belt for an internal frame pack. Their shoulder harness is the best and most comfortable I've used and I've used a lot of them. I use it on my Outdoorsman frame and have used in on other frames as well.

I like ambitious. I did say "might", right? What I'm picturing is turning a hind-quarter upside down with the heavy end up and threading as much as will fit down behind the compression straps, then lashing the top of the ham to the grab handle / top of the suspension. Maybe it won't work. Maybe, being frameless it'd wrap around the quarter and be a ... painful lump ... between yer shoulders. 's an idea, not a promise! I'd give it a go, though.

Tom

Just went to their website to maybe order a pack. Looks like they got attacked by malware and are shut down.

They are doing email orders until the site is back up and running. You can let them know what you want and then they can invoice you.

Thanks guys for the responses. I like the looks of their gear and what seems to be their philosophy with their bigger packs - simple but tough. The weight seems to be in their suspension and heavy duty materials, not in frivolous extras. The Hills seem like stand up guys, as far as I can tell from reading about strangers online.

I am pretty nervous about ordering a pack just for it to be a bad fit. Return shipping wouldn't be cheap for a pack like the Qui-Ya! I wish HPG had had their store open back when I lived in Grand Junction. I probably will end up ordering one of their packs eventually and just bite the bullet if I end up having to return it. Seems like HPG stuff is probably worth the gamble.

Any Umlindi users? I have an 18 inch torso and am wondering how that would work. In one of the videos, Mr. Hill said it was designed to be like the fire packs he used while on a hotshot crew. The popular Mystery Ranch fire packs don't cut it for me, so that potential use of the Umlindi has me thinking.

I have an Umlindi, Ute and Qui-Ya. I would take the Ute over the Umlindi as a hunting pack by far, especially if you plan to pack any meat. I use the Umlindi as a daypack and for travel, but have only used it hunting for pronghorn when I knew I wasn't packing out the meat on my back. It will do it, but there is limited capacity. The Ute is the most versatile pack they have IMO.

Yeah, the Ute seems ideal as a day hunting pack and for overnights, but if I'm gonna get something with a serious frame it might as well be good to go for long trips like the Qui-Ya. At least that's my way of thinking. The Decker frame looks interesting as well.

Could you post pics of the harness on the outdoorsman frame? Would love to see that. Thanks

It just barely made it in to this pic a couple of weeks ago. You can see a little bit of the harness. I think I have a pic of the setup on another computer. I'll post it tomorrow.




Here's the pack when I first set it up. It's kind of Johnny Cash "One Piece at a Time" pack. I used parts and pieces that through experience worked best for me. It's an Outdoorsman frame, HPG shoulder harness, Seek Outside belt (that now has a Wilderness Pack Specialties lumbar pad on it, as seen in the first picture) and a large, simple daypack sewn on to a Wilderness Pack Specialties Handi-Panel. WPS made it to my specs for a really reasonable price and did a great job. I use it for hiking and day hunts. The pack is more than big enough for all my gear for a day trip and the meat fits between the pack and the frame. If it's a longer trip it's easy to drop a dry bag with my gear and hold it with the Handi-Panel. Sorry for hijacking the thread.

The Ute and Qui-Ya have essentially the same frame. It's the volume that differs. If you are going to use it for backpacking, I would definitely go for the Qui-Ya.

The 5.5" more of frame height on the Qui-Ya doesn't change anything?

Missed this. You're right, the taller frame does make a difference, but they are really close in capability as far as the suspension goes.

The Hill brothers know their stuff and wouldn't put out a product that didn't work well. I would buy any of their packs with confidence that it is well thought out and well made - but it still has to fit you. And my experience has been that no pack on the market works for all people, no matter what their marketing says.

I bought an umlindi about a year ago along with a prairie belt. I use the pack without the prairie belt most of the time. It took me a while to get used to the shoulder harness and the way the pack sits lower on your back. After several uses I'm really starting to like this pack! I'd like to have the qui ya or ute for overnighters. I highly recommend their products.