Got my new GSII recently and last night spent time fitting it.
I'm middle of the road in my satisfaction. There is a lot to like. It will fulfill the primary role I bought it for, in fact is the only thing I found that has the features to meet my most important goal, its just not as multi role as I hoped it would be.
My primary reason for buying the pack was to consolidate as many range items as possible. Previously a trip to the range required packing a number of individual items into the truck - cased rifle, shooting mat, spotting scope stand, spotting scope, data book, food bag, water, range bag, ammo, targets - a considerable pile of crap.
With the GSII I will pack all but the range bag in/on the GSII and load/unload the truck in one trip. If I want to buy additional cleaning gear/range bag items I could contain everything in or strapped on the GSII. This is dynamite and I am happy about this.
The good of the bag includes its construction. It seems well made and has a bunch of neat details that someone put thought into coming up with. Id prefer a USA manufacture tag but that fact is not first in my purchase considerations. First I look for features that meet my needs. Next is quality. Third is to seek out a US manufactured as equal if the item I want is foreign made, Item four is price. I wont take a porking for my loyalty, but I will pay reasonably more for the US product.
Eberlestock offered the only bag with an enclosed on board rifle sleeve. They have the reputation for quality. Similar US manufacturers seemed to only offer unprotected rifle carry. Item four pricing didnt matter because there was no alternative I could find with the features I wanted. An example of my buying process would be my purchase of my wedge shooting bag. The Midway wedge and the Triad Wedgie would be equal under my projected use conditions but I bought the Triad Wedgie to help an American company out and I gained better quality for reasonable extra cost.
So envisioning a trip to the range will only require me to carry two items, one in each hand while walking to/from the truck. Im golden. This fulfills about 90% of my intended use for the GSII. There is almost nothing about its constructed quality I can complain about. As a glorified range bag its perfect.
Now for my concerns....
Fitting the pack the dimensions seemed small. I played with moving the shoulder harness up and down the ladder but the belt seemed to fall at a point not optimally on my hip bones or the shoulder harness would not ride properly over my back across the peak of my shoulders. Im 5-09 and 206. I work out 4-5 times a week and the chest circumference exceeds the waist to a point where the sales guys point me toward athletic cut if I want to buy a suit. Ill admit to some fat but its not a massive man boobs issue. I was fitting this wearing just a t shirt. Im concerned what the fit will be like with a layer or two. Anyone else notice this? Im wondering if the guys sewing them up have decided to build to their typical body mass index rather than that of a reasonably in shape American.
I shouldered the pack with an MWS and full range gear and thought okay I could carry this for a while but the only proof would be to actually hump all that crap. I never intended this pack to do that regularly. Carrying firearms this way would be ideal if you need to have your hands free but not ideal if you needed quick access to your rifle. I noted the rifle sleeve does push the weight away from your back but it cant be worse than pictures of people carrying a Mystery Ranch NICE frame set up with a Pelican case between the NICE frame and the pack. Cinching down the load compression straps kept everything pretty solid at the cost of no quick access to your rifle. You could route the compression straps to miss the sleeve but that would reintroduce pack instability. I hadnt planned for it but I was happy to find my snowshoes actually fit in the rifle sleeve and that will come in handy.
For a ski trip, or day hike the GSII is probably a little big but I was hoping to debulk it by loosing the frame. Oddly the frame seems to be unremovable unless I decide to cut the neat little strap keeper that is sewn into the strap that secures the frame in its pocket. I need to look closer at this to determine if the strap can be worked through its nylon keeper intact or if I have missed some trick to pulling the frame. I dont want to take a slide skiiing with that aluminum frame behind me. For minimalist pack use Eberlestock should also consider having the top cover/bag be removable with just a flap to take its place when absent.
My other suggestion would be for Eberlestock to offer a smaller top boot for the rifle stock. My guns are all 16 inch and that top boot swims over the stock. The boot top is probably not used by most people but as I intend to use this as a glorified range bag I want some concealment of the rifle walking to/from my house. Seems laughable as anyone with basic knowledge would guess what is packed in the sleeve but that is not my neighbors. They know what an exposed rifle stock looks like but cover it with some canvas they will think its my yoga mat. Tonight Ill try folding the boot in on its self a second time and only run the straps through one set of keepers which may solve my problem.
This pack will work for me. I think its a great solution to rifle carry when you need two hands free and you want some protection for the gun. I dont think the sleeve is a feature that anyone will use if they want to access their rifle quickly.
A removable top pack, rather than the permanently attached one, would be a great feature.
Im not sold on the tube frame. I dont see how it supports the load. If the belt and shoulder straps were attached to the frame Id get its use as a load shelf of sorts but stuffed into the pack pocket and just held there it only seems to serve the purpose of giving shape to the pack.
Those are my non educated thoughts on this pack design.
I'm middle of the road in my satisfaction. There is a lot to like. It will fulfill the primary role I bought it for, in fact is the only thing I found that has the features to meet my most important goal, its just not as multi role as I hoped it would be.
My primary reason for buying the pack was to consolidate as many range items as possible. Previously a trip to the range required packing a number of individual items into the truck - cased rifle, shooting mat, spotting scope stand, spotting scope, data book, food bag, water, range bag, ammo, targets - a considerable pile of crap.
With the GSII I will pack all but the range bag in/on the GSII and load/unload the truck in one trip. If I want to buy additional cleaning gear/range bag items I could contain everything in or strapped on the GSII. This is dynamite and I am happy about this.
The good of the bag includes its construction. It seems well made and has a bunch of neat details that someone put thought into coming up with. Id prefer a USA manufacture tag but that fact is not first in my purchase considerations. First I look for features that meet my needs. Next is quality. Third is to seek out a US manufactured as equal if the item I want is foreign made, Item four is price. I wont take a porking for my loyalty, but I will pay reasonably more for the US product.
Eberlestock offered the only bag with an enclosed on board rifle sleeve. They have the reputation for quality. Similar US manufacturers seemed to only offer unprotected rifle carry. Item four pricing didnt matter because there was no alternative I could find with the features I wanted. An example of my buying process would be my purchase of my wedge shooting bag. The Midway wedge and the Triad Wedgie would be equal under my projected use conditions but I bought the Triad Wedgie to help an American company out and I gained better quality for reasonable extra cost.
So envisioning a trip to the range will only require me to carry two items, one in each hand while walking to/from the truck. Im golden. This fulfills about 90% of my intended use for the GSII. There is almost nothing about its constructed quality I can complain about. As a glorified range bag its perfect.
Now for my concerns....
Fitting the pack the dimensions seemed small. I played with moving the shoulder harness up and down the ladder but the belt seemed to fall at a point not optimally on my hip bones or the shoulder harness would not ride properly over my back across the peak of my shoulders. Im 5-09 and 206. I work out 4-5 times a week and the chest circumference exceeds the waist to a point where the sales guys point me toward athletic cut if I want to buy a suit. Ill admit to some fat but its not a massive man boobs issue. I was fitting this wearing just a t shirt. Im concerned what the fit will be like with a layer or two. Anyone else notice this? Im wondering if the guys sewing them up have decided to build to their typical body mass index rather than that of a reasonably in shape American.
I shouldered the pack with an MWS and full range gear and thought okay I could carry this for a while but the only proof would be to actually hump all that crap. I never intended this pack to do that regularly. Carrying firearms this way would be ideal if you need to have your hands free but not ideal if you needed quick access to your rifle. I noted the rifle sleeve does push the weight away from your back but it cant be worse than pictures of people carrying a Mystery Ranch NICE frame set up with a Pelican case between the NICE frame and the pack. Cinching down the load compression straps kept everything pretty solid at the cost of no quick access to your rifle. You could route the compression straps to miss the sleeve but that would reintroduce pack instability. I hadnt planned for it but I was happy to find my snowshoes actually fit in the rifle sleeve and that will come in handy.
For a ski trip, or day hike the GSII is probably a little big but I was hoping to debulk it by loosing the frame. Oddly the frame seems to be unremovable unless I decide to cut the neat little strap keeper that is sewn into the strap that secures the frame in its pocket. I need to look closer at this to determine if the strap can be worked through its nylon keeper intact or if I have missed some trick to pulling the frame. I dont want to take a slide skiiing with that aluminum frame behind me. For minimalist pack use Eberlestock should also consider having the top cover/bag be removable with just a flap to take its place when absent.
My other suggestion would be for Eberlestock to offer a smaller top boot for the rifle stock. My guns are all 16 inch and that top boot swims over the stock. The boot top is probably not used by most people but as I intend to use this as a glorified range bag I want some concealment of the rifle walking to/from my house. Seems laughable as anyone with basic knowledge would guess what is packed in the sleeve but that is not my neighbors. They know what an exposed rifle stock looks like but cover it with some canvas they will think its my yoga mat. Tonight Ill try folding the boot in on its self a second time and only run the straps through one set of keepers which may solve my problem.
This pack will work for me. I think its a great solution to rifle carry when you need two hands free and you want some protection for the gun. I dont think the sleeve is a feature that anyone will use if they want to access their rifle quickly.
A removable top pack, rather than the permanently attached one, would be a great feature.
Im not sold on the tube frame. I dont see how it supports the load. If the belt and shoulder straps were attached to the frame Id get its use as a load shelf of sorts but stuffed into the pack pocket and just held there it only seems to serve the purpose of giving shape to the pack.
Those are my non educated thoughts on this pack design.
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