There is a myth out there that external frame packs can carry heavier loads than an internal framed pack is capable of and this is simply not true. IF, the packs under consideration FIT you correctly and I see a lot of photos on the internet where people are wearing packs much too low to handle major weight well AND they are both built to handle heavy weight, which most are NOT, then, the internals are USUALLY a little better in steep country.

I have owned and used a lot of different packs from when I started hiking in 1956 and I used to work in wilderness jobs from 1965 to 1993, that often entailed packing 100+ lb. loads at high elevations to fire lookouts and on forest fires. I now have 10-12 packs on hand at any given time and my favourites are the old Dana Design and newer Mystery Ranch packs from Bozeman, MT.

The "best", IMHO, are the full custom internal framed packs by Dan McHale of Seattle and while very costly, they are in a league of their own for comfort and stability under heavy load in rugged mountain country. If, you bone your kills, these packs will carry more than most of us can even attempt.

I like some externals and have two of my favourites by Dana Gleason, these are the Terraframes, discontinued about ten years ago and just outstanding for heavy loads. Older DD packs, bought used are among the best deals out there for the alpine hunter who cannot spend a lot on gear and they come up for sale on e-bay and hiking forums quite often.

Externals are good for hauling heavy, odd-shaped loads and some find them cooler in early season warm weather, I sweat like a mule when packing and tend to use Mystery Ranch NICE packs for almost all hunting, but, the externals have a place. If, you now have a pack that works for YOU, I cannot carry Kifarus for example and dumped the two I bought, then, buy a spare or two of the same kind and go with that. Brand name and "kewl" factor means jacksh*t, comfort, stability and reliable tough construction are what matter.

That said, there are more "hunting" packs on the market every week and, like the flood of specialized "camo hunting clothing", most of them are designed to entice hunters to spend money and will not DO anything that older and less costly products will not do as well.

JMHO.

A few points,

I use juice all the time in my bladder. No more bacteria than a water bottle. Leave it open to dry when finished. Hands free and alot easier than packing bottles. Second mine is against my back so with cold creek water in it you actually can keep your back cooler than you would without.

As for horns Ive guided for around 30 rams and packed every set of horns on an internal frame pack. Look back in my pics. They work very well. Full deboned rams, lifesize cape, horns and day gear with no problems. As well I have packed moose elk and deer antlers on mine with ease and comfort.

The scabbord on my pack keeps the stock the same height as my head. Sure it catches the odd time but that will happen no matter where you carry it.
And like I said you want it handy well with a couple practice runs you can draw the gun as fast as when it is hung on your shoulder.

Looks like you just dont really want to like internal frames Nube. Give them a try 90+% of the mountain hunters out there are using them.
SG

Just look at my Avatar Pic. 130lbs in a $80 internal frame pack. Was the best I owned. Has a full deboned stone ram, life size cape, spotting scope, tripod,rain gear and all other day gear and clothing. 3 hr hike to the horses then a 4.5hr ride to camp with out an issue.
SG

Where is the best price to get one of the J107?  Do they come complete or do you buy extra add ons for it? 

Where is the best price to get one of the J107?  Do they come complete or do you buy extra add ons for it?

I ordered mine right from Eberlestock- was the best price I could find. I bought extra straps, the "bow bucket", the spike duffle bag, and zip in panel. Wholesale in Edmonton had them while I was shopping around.

The lightest packs on the market with the strength to handle big game sized loads and  not self destruct are the Cilogear, Wildthings and McHale packs made totally of Dyneema or Spectra, two names for much the same product. This material is incredibly tough and light and packs made from it cost HUGE bux, usually north of $1500.00. Soooo, not a lot of mountain hunters use them, although a guy in Georgia, a surgeon, who used to query me on gear issues had one made by McHale and has used it in the Territories.

I honestly do not see any benefit to even the most serious alpine hunter in buying such a pack and while there IS value to the serious alpinist, a hunter will never notice the approximately 2 lbs. less weight when packing out a loast of meat, trophy bones and hide(s). I would go with a standard Mystery Ranch and spend the coin I "saved" on upgrading my optics, in itself a daunting expenditure of hardearned cash.

If, you can carry some of the loads that I have read about on a few hunting forums all day in mountain country and, in my several decades of various backpacking endeavours, I have seen VERY few who actually can and do, you will be fit and strong enough to carry a 10-11 lb. serious mountain pack and never notice a couple of extra pounds of pack weight.

Lighter IS better, as long as the pack works and does not disintegrate and I have had some big name packs fail on long-awaited solo multi-day trips and thus am very cautious as to what I will buy and use. If, you are going to go with an internal, get a good one to start with and test it at home with sandbags and bottles of H20 to make certain that it FITS and has no hidden structural defects.....you WILL be glad that you did!

Just curious on what you think guys pack on a 10day back pack hunt when they kill a ram and have to pack that plus their camp out? Well over 100lbs. A full deboned ram(with every amount of edible meat), cape, head, gun, spotting scope and all the rest of the day gear is the better part of 100lbs, and a camp to that and your up there.

My pack was around 75lbs going in on my BC hunt this year for 10days. Doesnt take much animal to top that into 100+lbs pretty fast.

Even just dayhunting or hunting with horses if you carry your day gear in your pack and you end up killing a ram coming off the hill with every amount of that animal you should be you will crowd and 9 times out of 10 probably exceed 100lbs.

Ill have to weigh my day pack but id bet it crowds 30lbs by the time my rain gear, bullets, spotter and tripod, knives and other misc. stuff are in it. Doesnt take much ram to add up another 70lbs. Head and cape together green weigh almost half that.

SG

My pack for 4-7 day trips, usually solo, weighs from 42 to 55 lbs., all in and I try very hard to stay on the lighter side of those figures. I do not carry many items that many contemporary hunters consider essential, such as a videocam, any booze or anything beyond the bare essentials as I know only too well from nearly 48 years of backpack mountain activities, just how tough it is to hump a heavy pack for several days.

I have packed heavy loads to over 140 actual pounds, however, while I am still capable of mountain hunting to an extent that surprises my orthopaedic specialist, or, so he says, I am 65 and cannot do what I did for many years.

I have a system I developed to "relay pack" meat and whatever and I have and will refuse shots when I know damm well I will never get that meat out. Hunting, to me, is about fun and food and not about competition, stress or injuring myself trying to be 30 again. I enjoy it or I don't do it as I have done my work and am now retired and enjoying life.

Can/do most people backpack 100+ loads in the BC mountains, not in my experience and most should not even try.

Great pics as usual Darcy
Thanks
Got to love them pics with a sheep attatched to a pack




Here is how I packed the head down of the last ram I carried