packs

[Powder]

LAST EDITED ON Nov-14-05 AT 01:02PM (MST)[p]I've seen where many of you make recommendations about which packs you like (badlands, eberlestock, etc) but are there any that in your opinion I should stay away from? Some that you haven't had a good experince with.

I hate to give negative opinions but I'm new to this type of hunting and would prefer not to spend a large amount of money on a pack but I also don't want to get stuck with a low quality pack.

Thanks.

 

[Deerlove]

Have the just one pack love it, have a badlands 2200 great pack, have a bull pack and it sucks. No hip support. Russ

 

[Crunchy]

I have a bullpac and love it. The main reason is if I can handle the weight it will carry it. I dont bone out my game. Quarter or half it, tie it to the pack frame, and off I go. The other packs sound good this one just suited my needs better.

 

[fatrooster]

I have the Badlands 2800 pack which I've used on two deer hunts and just got finished testing the Eberlestock Just one pack on my first elk hunt. The Eberlestock pack was very comfortable and has some nice features. I put my spotting scope and tripod into the rifle scabbard which worked out very well and there was plenty of storage space. But it didn't hold up for me. The first day I used it the mesh and cloth where the straps are sewn on ripped apart with minimal weight inside my mesh pocket and later one of the top pockets ripped while I was carrying out my elk head and antlers. I love this pack but it will need a couple of improvements which I've already read on this site have been addressed. I will now try and get mine replaced with the improved model. My Badlands pack has given me no trouble and is also very comfortable. The 2800 is not quite big enough for my needs but it has not shown any sign of break down or ripping and I've had a complete boned out deer on it this year. I feel that both packs are a great choice and only your personal preference can decide which is the one for you. fatrooster.

 

[FamilyMan]

Whatever you get, make sure it has a nicely padded waist belt to distribute the weight.

Mark

 

[Wes]

I agree with Fatrooster. I have the same two packs. I've used my Badlands 2800 for five TUFF seasons. It's now starting to show some wear. This is the first season I've used the Just One. It has the features I've been looking for, top loading without a zipper, large pockets for my spotting scope and tripod and a little more room for packing out deer. I could only get two quarters in my Badlands but I can get a whole quartered not boned deer in the JustOne.

It's not a very comfortable pack with that much weight in it
The Just One is not as durable as the Badlands. Mine was starting to tear at the shoulder straps, like Fat said with minimal weight, and the external material was wearing thru during just one season. Maybe thats why they call it the Just One! Even tho it's not as tuff as the Badlands I bought another one tonight because some SCUMBAG broke into my truck and stole mine along with $8900 worth of my hunting gear last week. Like Fat said it's a great pack but it needs some major improvement in the durability department. The price is a little step also. If Badlands made a similar pack I'd go with them because of thier quality and they're less expencive too.
Wes

 

[fatrooster]

I went to Cabela's in Utah and see that eberlestock has fixed the problem on thier packs where the straps tear at the mesh. Has anybody used the new and improved pack? fatrooster.

 

[Wes]

Fat
What did they change? I bought another 104 the other day and it's the same as my first. Both packs were the newer version with the larger zippers.
Wes

 

[fatrooster]

Wes, the new pack has a triangle shaped piece of material that connects differently under the mesh to a strong support instead of to the mesh. Mine which I bought at the Twinn Falls, Idaho Sportmans warehouse in October had two straps that connected to the fabric under the mesh. It ripped apart in the first 30 minutes with nothing more than a folded tarp and some folded up elk quatering bags in it. I like this pack but I'm a little disapointed in the way it easily came apart. My buddy who is 6' 5" and weighs 250#'s said it was the most comfortable pack he's ever had on his back in his life. After all of the reviews I read on this site and how everybody raved about it I figured I couldn't go wrong. Do you have the newer version of the pack? Is that the one that tore up on you Wes? fatrooster.

 

[Wes]

Fat
On my pack the shoulder strap was tearing about 1 inch above where it attaches at the top to the pack.

Is this the triangle you're talking about at the bottom of the shoulder strap? If it is I don't remember if my first pack had it.

The first run of the 104's had small zippers. The newer version has larger zippers on everything. I bought my first pack from Glen at the Salt Lake sportsmans show. It had the smaller zippers. I traded it in at Salt Lake Sportsmans Warehouse for the newer version before the season. Which do you have? I love the design of this pack. It's perfect for what I do. I have a couple ideas that I think would make it better, but I'm not on the design team. It just needs to be more durable. Like I said I used my Badlands thru 5 hard seasons and it's still holding up great. I'm afraid if this Just One went thru the same use I'd be left with nothing but my water bladder.
Wes

 

[alsatian]

Crunchy:

I'm looking at buying a Bull-Pac for carrying elk meat that I debone. I have cotton/canvas game bags. Do I just put the deboned elk meat in the game bags and tie the game bag onto the frame? Does the meat drip blood through the game bag all over your back and pants or do you put the meat ina plastic bag inside the game bag? Any special trick to tieing the game bag onto the Bull-Pac frame?

 

[craven]

Hey Wes n' all, howdy again,
Wes, the pictures you posted are of our latest generation J104, so this means that you've got something with a lifetime guarantee and quality that I believe in and personally back. We haven't had a single warranty return from the packs made of this construction, so I am a little surprised at you expressing concerns about their durability. I think that there was some confusion between the packs of our earlier build and what we're producing now. We've totally redesigned our packs since the first generation, and our stuff is now coming out of the best pack factory on the planet, made of the best materials that are available. In fact, we hear from guides, outfitters, and hardcore hunters on a daily basis that our packs are holding up well and are being used hard every day. These are moose and elk guides, hauling meat every day in these things, and nobody's calling me up and telling me anything but that we have an awesome pack for hardcore hunting, and yeah, once in a while somebody wishes that some panel or other were different on it, but that's always going to be the case. (Sometimes I wish the cup holders in my truck were in a different place, but maybe everybody else in the world likes 'em...)

You mentioned that you had a tear developing on a shoulder strap on your previous pack. I haven't ever seen a problem there, but if it happens of course I'd appreciate your letting me know about it. I'm a picky sucker, and a stickler for quality, so if I was getting packs back I wouldn't be happy about it. But our repair line has been so insignificant, particularly given the quantities of product that we've shipped, that I know that our quality is unparalleled. So I'm pretty happy, and am very confident in the quality of our product. Once again, we take pride in taking care of our customers, so I would want to be the first to know if anybody has a problem. But I don't think you will; take a close look at the pack, at the reinforcing lining, at the bar tacking, and you might begin to get the idea that this is a very complex and very tough structure. It's made to carry more than you probably want to walk with, day in and day out.

Cheers,

Glen E.

 

[bigbull1]

This original first version of the J104 is still going strong. It has been used for two years by an elk/deer outfitter.

This load is a 140lbs of elk!

Ed

 

[Deerlove]

Glen I have the just one, and love it. I feel the best feature is when I have my gun in hand I can drop my spotting scope still attached to the tripod in the scabart.

 

[Wes]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-21-05 AT 10:07PM (MST)[p]Howdy Glen
My packs take a LOT of abuse. The first pack was only used for 4 days of antelope hunting and 35 days of deer season. I only had one opportunity to pack one deer out in it. I was surprised that I could fit an entire quartered deer in it. After the 39 days of use it was starting wearing thru with little holes at various locations. The mesh on the inside of the right shoulder strap was tearing about an inch above where it attaches to the pack. I'm sure you stand behind your products and we would have had a discussion about your lifetime warrenty but some scumbag stole it along with all my optics and other gear. I still don't like the zipper or the mesh and I think you need 3 compression straps instead of 2 but it's still the best designed pack I've found, so I won't sweat the small stuff.
Wes

 

[ridgerunner]

I didn't care for my Crooked Horn pack. It was well designed but didn't carry the weight very well, hung too low to be comfortable.

 

[CastEmBlastEm]

In looking at the Badlands and Just One, they look great for packing a lot of stuff and weight. How are they for use as just a day pack. Are they too big, or bulcky? Or is the extra space, and ability to expand worth it. I would really like to get one, but would probably end up using it more for a day pack rather than to pack into places, at least to start out with.

 

[bigbull1]

The Just One has a narrow profile in the zipped-up daypack mode.
Here is my son during a dayhunt with his pack and muzzleloader.

We brought our five day spike camp up in the Just Ones.

Here are a couple of alternatives made by Eberlestock if you are just looking for a day pack.

The Gunslinger...

The X1...

Ed