Bivy Help...

So I'm thinking of Starting to do bivy hunts. I have been looking at the tents and bags and have a pretty good handle on that but the packs are starting to cause some trouble. I don't know if I want tO go with just like a Kelty backpacking pack or if I'd rather go with a mystery ranch which we all know is like 3 times the price of Kelty/North Face packs. On top of that I was wondering if any of you bivy guys pack a fanny pack as a day pack or do these mystery ranch ones break down to a day pack? Please keep in mind it's not soley for bivy hunting but also just traditional backpacking in the off season. Can anyone help?

I like using my regular backpacking pack for hunting trips. I usually strap on a small day pack to the outside of the big pack to use once we have camp set up. However, I've never used any of the hunting packs, so I can't comment on them.

I would never buy a kelty if i wanted to pack very far, they get uncomfortable with a decent load.

At the time i was in the market i was concerned with the weight of all the available hunting packs, so i went with an Osprey, the Aether model. Its less than 5 lbs, can carry up to 100 lbs loads and has a detachable day pack so i love it. Not meant for meat hauling but i use it anyways.

From what ive read MR has trimmed the pack weights down now and would be ideal. Sitka and KIUI and now have lightweight big packs but they look sucky for packing out game.

My feeling was that my Alaskan II is a great pack. It has a detachable fanny, an internal rain cover and is ok carrying big loads / hauling meat. The pack works. Nothing is wrong with it, but I am saving pennies for an MR.
The experts here say MR packs are the best. Although I do not know any of the OYOA guys personally, I respect their opinions, experience and success stories.
>>>If you are bivy hunting, do not skimp.

If I was looking at getting a hunting backpack, I would look at Mystery Ranch and/or Kifaru in no particular order. Each of these offer enough options to fit your needs. Packs and boots are two things that I feel have to fit right or the hunt is a whole lot of "not fun".

I've used my Kifaru Longhunter for everything from pronghorn day hunts out of a pickup, to wilderness bighorn sheep/mtn goat hunts, to living out of it for two weeks while traveling around Italy. Though it's a bit big for day hunts, I prefer it to carrying a smaller/fanny pack for hunting anytime there's a chance I may be having to haul meat on my back. Maybe I'm just lazy, but if I shoot something I would rather the first trip back to camp with a load of meat and not to get the pack to go back to get the meat. If needed, the top lid of my pack does come off to be used as a fanny pack, but I can't hardly remember doing so.

1_pointer said:

If I was looking at getting a hunting backpack, I would look at Mystery Ranch and/or Kifaru in no particular order. Each of these offer enough options to fit your needs. Packs and boots are two things that I feel have to fit right or the hunt is a whole lot of "not fun".

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Thank you all for the help!

I found this Eberlestock Destroyer. In the latest EBJ they reviewed it and say its great. The link below takes you there and the video at the bottom of the page is great. Basically appears to be a MR Grizzly at half the price!!

http://eberlestock.com/V69 Destroyer and V90 Battleship.htm

I watched the video on the destroyer and was going to get one before I saw that.Didn't look like a meat hauling pack at all,but good for getting all your stuff back in the woods.I went with the Widow with a spike duffel.this way, when my big bull hits the ground,I can put the meat in the pack and my stuff in the spike duffel
All I've heard of MR packs is great,but way out of my price range for the use I'd get out of it.If I lived out west and hunted off my back every hunt, they'd be the pack I'd choose.Choose your pack after reviewing everything.You WILL need one to haul meat;thats why your out there

mixedbag said:

Didn't look like a meat hauling pack at all,but good for getting all your stuff back in the woods.

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They sell a game bag attachment for $35 that i think will do alright. Eberlestock's motto is: "go in light, come out heavy" so i would think it has meat hauling capabilities but ill have to double check.

You should check out Kifaru's ultra-lite KU line of packs,you can get a pack with over 5000 cu. in. capacity that weighs less than 3 lbs.
Tim

I'm saving up for a MR Grizzly or Kodiak. I love my Big Horn. That little pack just makes the weight disappear but sometimes I need something bigger. The nice thing about the Mystery Ranch and Kifaru packs is the compression straps will really cinch down the larger packs into a smaller package. Some people are really liking the Kifaru KU packs but they don't do anything for me. I prefer my packs to be made of Cordura and will gladly put up with the extra weight.

I think the attachment your talking about is for the just one series of packs.the Destroyer isn't in that series.The spike and super spike duffels work in the "just one"packs.I planned to buy the Destroyer till I watched the demo on it,and went with a Widow with a spike duffel.I will say that pack with the spike duffel is awesome.After I kill,I can pack up my stuff in the spike duffle and the meat in the main compartment.Hopefully, I'll get to see how much it can carry on my way out of the woods this Sept.I've been watching for used MR packs with the frame,but they never are for sale.That alone says alot about their packs

I just came back to this forum after a few years and found some interesting topics here and will offer my thoughts for whatever use they may be to you. I live and hunt in British Columbia and have backpacked and worked solo in the mountains of BC and Alberta, for extended periods. I have been a backpack camper and hunter since 1964 and have used a lot of different packs.

I bought my first pack from Dana Gleason in '77 or '78 and still have it and it is still sound, after much use. I have now owned eleven packs from him and still, own nine, I guess that indicates what I think....

There is only one packmaker I consider equal to Dana and that is Dan McHale of Seattle, who makes full custom packs that are simply fabulous and are NOT inexpensive. The MR NICE system, I have two complete versions is the best all-around hunting pack I have ever used and I am totally satisfied with mine. I also have a BDSB, the earlier military internal that the Kodiak has evolved from and a Deluxe plus three Bozeman-made Dana Design packs I bought "used" and all of these are just superb.

I suggest that, if, the cost of a new MR is out of your financial reach, to search the backpacking forums and 24Hr. for used Dana-Bozo and EARLY K-2 Loadmasters and Shortbeds, made under Dana's supervision, before he left K2....I have seen these sell for around $200-$300 and they are outstanding.

An Astralplane is another good choice, I have one I never use and they are often in red, but, a cheap cover of camo fleece fixes that and a silnylon pack liner keeps it clean of blood for regular backpacking uses. Check this out, it may be your best option as you begin this sport, HTH.

Good advice from kutenay.

What a first post ! welcome, I guess ?