Hunting & Fishing Backpack help

[Bryan W M]

Looking for a good day back.
Rifle in a kifaru gunbearer , tripod strapped to the side, bibs , coat , food water ,other small stuff for hunting and medical bag. I think will be the most I’ll carry.
Other use food water coat, fishing rods and small box , coat, and hip boots. Medical bag.
Might strap a tent to it and sleeping bag for overnight.
Looking at.
Eberlestock Kite.
Kifaru minikeg

Would like help. I have never seen either in person.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Kifaru mini keg kutthroat is an awesome day pack.

 

[smcfarland]

I’m running the Kifaru 22mag on my Kifaru military frame. Very happy with it. Use as my all around hunting day pack and even worked on my elk hunt.

 

[Totoro]

Kifaru allows multiple bag, accessory and lay out for your gear as well as being overbuilt to handle just about anything you can throw at it.

Eberlestock, I don't have anything nice to say about them.

 

[HaydenLane]

Remove the Eberlestock from your list of options and add Exo and Stone Glacier.

 

[UpSideDown]

I'd look at the Exo. The full height side pockets are excellent for a tripod and a tent, and you can run a gunbearer, and water bottles.

 

[Halfnutz]

Picking up a bit of Eberlestock hate... what gives? I have a couple but they are recent purchases. One new and one used both seem well designed and built of good materials.

 

[sodakhunter]

Mystery Ranch Scapegoat with a Kifaru gunbearer has worked well for me. Ive used Eberlestock Vorn kifaru and some of the cheaper ones. The gunbearer is the real deal. Vorn works well if your rifle fits. But pack is bigger than what id call a daypack.

 

[shields shtr]

Picking up a bit of Eberlestock hate... what gives?

I had an Eberlestock pack I used for the occasional competition. I think it was called the gun runner maybe? They have a great idea of being able to slide your rifle in between the pack and the "frame", but the execution was just a little off. On mine, the shoulder straps were pretty chincy compared to my MR and Exo packs, and the waistbelt was bush league. The zippers were not as high quality either. It was also difficult to cinch down your rifle securely when it was in the scabbard. I think their ideas are pretty innovative, but I personally would like the next level above quality, which I would pay for.

I have an absurd amount of packs, I used the shit out of my EXO 3200 this year and it has become my go to. I also have an old MR LongBow that I am fond of that has had a few mods done to it over the years, back before MR sold out and went overseas.

 

[Bryan W M]

How does EXO compare to Kifaru

 

[shields shtr]

Hellbender (Bag Only) - Kifaru International

Hellbender (Bag Only, frame required for complete pack) Anyone who's had a single cab truck can tell you that space runs out pretty quick, even if you can haul most anything in the back. That was the feedback we got on our original Stryker, so we made the Stryker XL. We still didn't seem to...

kifaru.net

This Kifaru looks pretty nice. Not too big and bulky. I don't think you could go wrong with the Kifaru or Exo. Both American Made companies with really good reputations. I think the Kifaru uses composite stays and the Exo uses Titanium. Kifaru's are sewn to order, you might wait a little longer for a Kifaru pack than an EXO, and I think they are more expensive. Both nice packs and a good predicament to be in.

For what it's worth, I strapped an entire life size skinned mountain goat, rifle, food, water, spotting scope, and various survival gear and extra clothes onto my EXO 3200. I stomped the shit out of it and cinched the straps down as hard as I could and never had to re-adjust the pack the entire long trip back to the truck. Pretty much sold me on that unit from here on out.

 

[UpSideDown]

How does EXO compare to Kifaru

I don't have any of the specific packs mentioned here, but I sold a Kifaru 44Mag to buy my Exo 4800.

The Kifaru stuff is very heavy duty, but very heavy. My empty pack was almost 10 pounds. They use a lot of MOLLE webbing on the pack, but they use webbing on the belt that isn't evenly spaced and isn't compatible with MOLLE items. Their design features are simple, I don't really see innovation in Kifaru's product line.

The Exo stuff is really well thought out, and lightweight. They have a masterful execution of design features by employing simple components well. No unique hardware, but very high utility in their design. I love the full height side pockets plus the water bottle pockets. They're also much faster to access the shelf than the Kifaru system is.

 

[Totoro]

IMO EXO and Kifaru are different beasts.

Kifaru is definitely more modular and allows for more options for organizing. Also, more bag size/volume options and materials.

EXO (I will include SG and Seek) are sleeker with less size options and organizing pockets in comparison and lighter in overall weight.

Regarding hauling capacity; I've had some heavy bags on from Kifaru/EXO/SG/Seek +75lbs and the most important factor for me is distribution of the weight and fit on my body. Once I get the weight on, pretty much up to me to get out of the hole I got in!

If there is a Scheel's by you, then you can try out the SG bags as they are now stocked (at least in Sparks/Reno NV).

 

[aslrookie]

Not to hijack the thread but I am also looking at packs for a CO elk hunt this year. I was originally looking at a Kifaru pack or the mystery ranch beartooth 80. I saw the reviews for the Exo 4800, and that seems like the ticket. Nothing but positive reviews.

Would I have any issues carrying a tripod and a LMT MWS? That’s been my issue with other packs in the past is they tend to sag to one side, typically the side the rifle is on.

 

[nksmfamjp]

Hunting Packs | Wilderness Pack Specialties | United States

Hunting packs and outoor gear built for the wilderness and made in the U.S.A

www.wildernesspacks.net

Really nice looking gear. I have the Axis, but have not used enough yet.

 

[shields shtr]

Would I have any issues carrying a tripod and a LMT MWS? That’s been my issue with other packs in the past is they tend to sag to one side, typically the side the rifle is on.

Nope. I carry my rifle with the weapons carrier oriented directly in the middle of the pack. I carry my tripod in one side pocket, water bottle in the other, balances nicely.

 

[Dobermann]

For quality and weight-bearing, I think the consensus of extreme backpack hunters is that you're basically looking at:

Kifaru & Stone Glacier (althought Stone is a little lighter weight (with both pros and cons there) > Exo > Eberlestock.

With fairly noticeable jumps in between.

 

[UpSideDown]

For quality and weight-bearing, I think the consensus of extreme backpack hunters is that you're basically looking at:

Kifaru & Stone Glacier (althought Stone is a little lighter weight (with both pros and cons there) > Exo > Eberlestock.

With fairly noticeable jumps in between.

I sold my Kifaru to buy my EXO and I couldn’t be happier. The Kifaru‘s are great if you know you’re going to be carrying a ton of weight all the time, they are very robust and comfortable but they’re heavy and their design features feel very outdated in the current market packs. The EXO packs exercise in mastery of basic concepts, and have very cool features without using a bunch of complicated or unique components. They are very light and comfortable and do what’s needed for a hunting pack. The Kifaru‘s are more like what you might imagine in a tactical pack that’s going to be used and abused all the time and can always be miss treated, but that isn’t the realistic life of a hunting pack in my opinion. I haven’t tried the stone glaciers, they look to be even lighter than other options, and in general I do like the top stuff access to packs now , so depending on how you like to pack things the stone glaciers might also be a great option.

 

[Crews]

Damn y’all hopped from day pack to 80 pound loadouts pretty quick!