Eberlestock j34
- Thread starter Striker
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W
wapiti11
Guest
Just got one for MT. Goat hunt and elk hunting. With the thought of saving a trip back to the kill site for packing meat.
It took me a little time getting used to it as I never have had a pack with a big lumbar pad on the lower end of the pack. I got that figured out by the adjustable torso adjustments. After a Goat hunt last week, I love this pack. Have it at 2000 ci and with a goat down in the near future I hope by expanding the pack to 4600 ci will be enough to pack everything out. Being able to put the rifle in the scabbard and being hands free is great. After one trip and a little adjusting, yea it is a great pack.
It took me a little time getting used to it as I never have had a pack with a big lumbar pad on the lower end of the pack. I got that figured out by the adjustable torso adjustments. After a Goat hunt last week, I love this pack. Have it at 2000 ci and with a goat down in the near future I hope by expanding the pack to 4600 ci will be enough to pack everything out. Being able to put the rifle in the scabbard and being hands free is great. After one trip and a little adjusting, yea it is a great pack.
There are a few things that I like about this pack. The gun holster is nice. Even when archery hunting it can be used for my tripod if I want. The side pockets are large enough for a full sized spotting scope. The main compartment is big enough to be worth something. However the pack is totally compressible and seems like it would be a good size for a day pack. The pack is expandable with the addition of the spike or super spike duffel. I like that it has both horizontal and vertical compression straps. My biggest issue is that it weighs almost 7 lbs dry.
I bought a J34, put 30lbs in it, hiked with it twice then sold it on ebay yesterday. I even called Glen Eberlestock to go thru the adjustments to see if I was doing something wrong.
The pockets and expandibility seemed great but the problem for me was the big lumbar pad at the back of the waist belt, it felt like it was alway sliding off my a$$, I kept cinching down the belt until it felt like it was cutting me in half the pack was still sliding of my backside thus pulling on my shoulders. With my Badlands i don't have that problem, it's waist belt grips. Maybe I need a bigger booty!
The pockets and expandibility seemed great but the problem for me was the big lumbar pad at the back of the waist belt, it felt like it was alway sliding off my a$$, I kept cinching down the belt until it felt like it was cutting me in half the pack was still sliding of my backside thus pulling on my shoulders. With my Badlands i don't have that problem, it's waist belt grips. Maybe I need a bigger booty!
B
bbreuer
Guest
Would this pack be large enough for a 5 day bivy?
Or would it require a spike duffel attached?
Thanks
Or would it require a spike duffel attached?
Thanks
H
hunt33
Guest
In my situation I actually like the big lumbar pad in back one of my favorite features of eberlestocks it seems to help keep the weight off your shoulders, and why badlands don't seem to fit me as well. My only gripe with the j34 is the chest strap only tightens from one side and does not cinch down tight enough and then on top of that it is elastic stretching further. The only time this is a problem usually is carrying a bow strapped to the back. I to like the gun scabbard even when I am bow hunting to put my tripod and scope in attached for easy access. It is just with a bow strapped on it tips the pack back to far and pulls on my shoulders and makes the load levelers useless. I have had quite a few eberlestock packs and none had this chest strap like this that does not cinch down at all must be new this year. I just twist it before buckling it to make it tighter which helps some. Other than this minor irritation in this situation great pack.
utahbigbull
Active Member
- Messages
- 868
I bought the J107 Dragonfly wich is pretty much the same pack. I have used it for scouting trips packing in 4 -5 miles and has ample room for my 20-60X80 scope, tripod, food, gear etc. I am 6'7 and 265 lbs and is one of only a few packs that fit me. I put the badlands 3 litre hyration pouch in it and love the set up. It is on the heavy side for sure but when it comes to hauling out my elk for my soon to come limited entry Utah hunt, I don't think any other pack will be as usefull!!
npaden
Active Member
- Messages
- 878
I like mine. I've had it a few months now, and used it on some day trips, but it will get it's first real workout next week elk hunting in Wyoming.
I must have a big butt because I've never felt like it was sliding down on me. It has a lot of adjustments for the torso which works well for me because although I'm only 6'2" my inseam is only 32" so my torso is really long. It will adjust at least 10" up or down on the shoulder straps.
I would like maybe 1 or 2 more small pockets that would zip shut, but that is being pretty picky. It seems to ride well on my back, I've loaded up to 50lbs in it so far.
I must have a big butt because I've never felt like it was sliding down on me. It has a lot of adjustments for the torso which works well for me because although I'm only 6'2" my inseam is only 32" so my torso is really long. It will adjust at least 10" up or down on the shoulder straps.
I would like maybe 1 or 2 more small pockets that would zip shut, but that is being pretty picky. It seems to ride well on my back, I've loaded up to 50lbs in it so far.
I really like my j34 I have already used it on a 4 day and a 3 day pack trip, as well as a few day hunts. It is really nice to only have to take one pack on a 5 day hunt, enough room to carry all the cargo you can possibly pack, and it compresses small enough to make a nice day pack when you leave your spike camp.
N
never_satisfied
Guest
The J34 is good for 3 to 4 day pack trips (to heavy and bulky for day trips)I went with the XIAI for my day trips. Both packs fit me great and feel good when used the right way
huntfishall1
Active Member
- Messages
- 393
I kinda agree with High5. I have the j104.
Dont get me wrong its still a good pack, and I intend to put it to use again in a couple weeks in Wyoming. The material and pockets are great, and the way it compresses to be used as a day pack (although heavy) is awesome. I've hauled several camps and anmials out in mine. But it just pulls aways from my torso and droops ways to far and down over my butt. I also do some backpacking with standard packs like Gregory packs and they dot do this. I've tried adjusting the eberlestock and it just wont fit snug on my back with weight (40+ pounds) in it. The load lifter straps are just not high enouh to do the job they are intended to do. They need to be above the shoulders to pull the load up and into the back. Do a search here and other sites and you will see people saying the same thing. My next pack wont be an eberlestock unless they fix this issue.
Dont get me wrong its still a good pack, and I intend to put it to use again in a couple weeks in Wyoming. The material and pockets are great, and the way it compresses to be used as a day pack (although heavy) is awesome. I've hauled several camps and anmials out in mine. But it just pulls aways from my torso and droops ways to far and down over my butt. I also do some backpacking with standard packs like Gregory packs and they dot do this. I've tried adjusting the eberlestock and it just wont fit snug on my back with weight (40+ pounds) in it. The load lifter straps are just not high enouh to do the job they are intended to do. They need to be above the shoulders to pull the load up and into the back. Do a search here and other sites and you will see people saying the same thing. My next pack wont be an eberlestock unless they fix this issue.
npaden
Active Member
- Messages
- 878
After putting it through it's paces this past week I'm very happy with my J34. Packed out the head and front shoulder in one trip and a boned out hindquarter and the other front shoulder on the 2nd trip. Also ended up packing out most of my friends elk a few days later.
No doubt the pack could handle more than I could.
Here it is with the hindquarter and the front shoulder in it.
I'm learning to use the cinch straps better after packing my friends elk out too. I interlocked the horizontal straps with the vertical straps to help keep the load up higher.
Overall I was very impressed with the pack.
No doubt the pack could handle more than I could.
Here it is with the hindquarter and the front shoulder in it.
I'm learning to use the cinch straps better after packing my friends elk out too. I interlocked the horizontal straps with the vertical straps to help keep the load up higher.
Overall I was very impressed with the pack.
Npaden, Hey thats great information. Thanks. How heavy do you think your heaviest load was? Did the loaded pack seem like it shifted weight and trow you around when you were hiking? The biggest concern that I had is what someone told me about their experience. They said that the load felt like it shifted from side to side when they were hiking because of the dead space where the hydration chamber and gun scabbard are located.
npaden
Active Member
- Messages
- 878
>Npaden, Hey thats great information.
>Thanks. How heavy do you think your heaviest load
>was? Did the loaded pack seem like it shifted
>weight and trow you around when you were hiking?
>The biggest concern that I had is what someone told
>me about their experience. They said that the load
>felt like it shifted from side to side when they
>were hiking because of the dead space where the hydration
>chamber and gun scabbard are located.
I would guess my heaviest load was the boned out hindquarter and front shoulder. I also had my gun, the hydration bladder and some misc stuff in there so I would guess that if I had put the pack on the scale it would have been somewhere around 110 - 120lbs.
The way I had the head on the pack did allow the load to shift from side to side on that first trip. I should have moved it up higher and strapped it down a little tighter or actually tied it on. I just used the straps on the backpack and the head was quite a way out from my back so it did make things a little ackward but not too terrible.
The last picture of the pack with the hindquarter and front shoulder in it is a great example of the straps. You can see on the top strap that I just cinched it up as it. If you look closely there is a loop below it that I should have run the strap through first then cinched it up. The way I have it in the picture the scabbord isn't compressed and caused it to hang farther away from my back. If I had cinched it up right it would have compressed the entire pack up tighter. Because of the scabbard and bladder compartments you aren't going to get it right up against your back (especially with a gun in it), but using the straps correctly you can do a pretty good job.
Thankfully my pack out was just over 1/2 mile, but it was over a lot of deadfall and some thick waist high brush so it still wasn't too easy on me.
I didn't feel any shifting on the hindquarter and shoulder load as it was even though I didn't have it cinched correctly. I'm sure I'll learn more with the pack as I use it more too.
We had some pack frames in the truck that I could have used on the 2nd trip, but I decided to use the J34 instead since you can just slide the quarters down into the pack without haveing to mess with tying them on the pack frame and all that. I did use an extra large garbage bag to put the game bags in so I didn't get a lot of blood inside the pack. It does smell like elk now, I need to figure out if it can be washed very easily.
Not having to mess with the rifle on a shoulder strap was a huge positive. Of course it helped that I tagged out on opening morning so I didn't feel like I had to have my rifle at the ready all the time. I'm still not very fast at getting the rifle out of the scabbard and it was a little bit of a pain finding a spot to sit down with the backpack on with the gun in the scabbard, but not too bad.
Overall I would rate it as one of my better hunting related purchases that I've made.
>Thanks. How heavy do you think your heaviest load
>was? Did the loaded pack seem like it shifted
>weight and trow you around when you were hiking?
>The biggest concern that I had is what someone told
>me about their experience. They said that the load
>felt like it shifted from side to side when they
>were hiking because of the dead space where the hydration
>chamber and gun scabbard are located.
I would guess my heaviest load was the boned out hindquarter and front shoulder. I also had my gun, the hydration bladder and some misc stuff in there so I would guess that if I had put the pack on the scale it would have been somewhere around 110 - 120lbs.
The way I had the head on the pack did allow the load to shift from side to side on that first trip. I should have moved it up higher and strapped it down a little tighter or actually tied it on. I just used the straps on the backpack and the head was quite a way out from my back so it did make things a little ackward but not too terrible.
The last picture of the pack with the hindquarter and front shoulder in it is a great example of the straps. You can see on the top strap that I just cinched it up as it. If you look closely there is a loop below it that I should have run the strap through first then cinched it up. The way I have it in the picture the scabbord isn't compressed and caused it to hang farther away from my back. If I had cinched it up right it would have compressed the entire pack up tighter. Because of the scabbard and bladder compartments you aren't going to get it right up against your back (especially with a gun in it), but using the straps correctly you can do a pretty good job.
Thankfully my pack out was just over 1/2 mile, but it was over a lot of deadfall and some thick waist high brush so it still wasn't too easy on me.
I didn't feel any shifting on the hindquarter and shoulder load as it was even though I didn't have it cinched correctly. I'm sure I'll learn more with the pack as I use it more too.
We had some pack frames in the truck that I could have used on the 2nd trip, but I decided to use the J34 instead since you can just slide the quarters down into the pack without haveing to mess with tying them on the pack frame and all that. I did use an extra large garbage bag to put the game bags in so I didn't get a lot of blood inside the pack. It does smell like elk now, I need to figure out if it can be washed very easily.
Not having to mess with the rifle on a shoulder strap was a huge positive. Of course it helped that I tagged out on opening morning so I didn't feel like I had to have my rifle at the ready all the time. I'm still not very fast at getting the rifle out of the scabbard and it was a little bit of a pain finding a spot to sit down with the backpack on with the gun in the scabbard, but not too bad.
Overall I would rate it as one of my better hunting related purchases that I've made.
