Another pack thread Eberlestock vs Mystery Ranch or other Load Haulers

[OL_JR]

              I know there is a couple pack threads on here but didn't wan't to jump into anothers.  I have an Eberlestock J107 and I've always felt it was a good pack but I never had any truly heavy loads on it until this past season.  I would never expect a pack out with north of 100#s to be easy but I really thought the Eberle didn't do that good a job of getting the weight off the shoulders.  I hadn't thought much about it again until recently when my hunting partner and I were having a couple brews and he mentioned how looking at me packing he could see how badly it was pulling on the shoulders.

              It seems searching around on the net the Eberlestocks kind of have a reputation for not being the best heavy load haulers and packs like the Mystery ranch are better suited for it. 

             If anyone has any first hand experience that they would be willing to share it would be appreciated.

[Joe Fehr]

I'll let you know about the Stone Glacier when I have a chance to look at it, hopefully it arrives the day before I get home sometime in April............ Just so the wife can't figure out how much I spent on it......
I can attest to the load packing abilities of the Bull Pac tho. Which handled very nicely and was very comfortable. And maybe for sale in a while.....

[OL_JR]

        Sounds good Joe, a review would be much appreciated 

[MAV]

Well you said the most important thing by saying that packing >100 lbs is not an easy thing. The best you can hope for is a pack that will hold together, strap down the load tight so it doesn't shift around to much and belts and straps that are adjustable, padded properly and buckels that will hold there tension so you can get the load placed right on your hips without it lossening off.

With that in mind you do get a fairly small list to look at. It seems that a lot of people are fans of the internal frame packs and they do have some upsides but when it comes to big loads I've always thought that a rigid well built external is the way to go. I've been using a Fronteir Gear of Alaska Freighter Frame with the Hunter Pack. I know I'll break down before this thing will. I haven't loaded it near what it is capable of but it is as comfortable as any pack I've used and it has all the top end material that won't let you down. It still has a lot of those little circle rings to hold the pins in place and those are always an issue, but so far they haven't been a problem.

Give them a look at Barney's Sports Chalet.

[sheepguide]

Carried an honest 127lbs( weighed) in my Eberlestock last fall when backpacking an elk out and with strapping the elk quarters to sit more mid pack than right in the bottom it seemed to carry the weight well, and I was able to hold the weight well on my hips with minimal shoulder fatigue.
I found a lot of people just throw the weight in the pack and think it should carry well. Even the best packs will feel like shit if the weight isn't distributed right. Weight should always be held mid pack if possible! A lot of the best heavy load packs are just the freighters and lack the day to day pockets and features.

[MAV]

Those are very valid points even on a light load you'll notice the difference if you can adjust the load so it rides properly. The hunter pack I have allows a lot of that it has the three pockets on the sides one mid way down the back and two on the cover flap. It also has a zippered liner on the inside to split the load up just above the belt. That interior flap is the best part of this thing. It also has meat shelf but I'm not a big fan of that, I suppose if you had no other room to pack things and could still add some weight you could use it to strap something on tent or bag, but I haven't got it to work for me very well. Something I'll have to work on.

[Joe Fehr]

Another thing to consider too is external vs internal frame. They are extremely different on how they ride on your back. The Bul-Pac is an external frame, I loaded it up to 50lbs+ and my rifle and I found it very comfortable the biggest issue I had was in tight spots. Having the rifle strapped to the side wasn't much fun in the timber and dead fall.

I never had an issue with it pulling on my shoulders at all tho. Carried nice, good weight distribution to the hips. I know it would haul meat etc better then an internal frame, but I'm going internal due to packing through the timber and my aspirations of sheep hunting hard this year.......

[Lurch]

I have carried a few heavy loads and can say all packs are inadequate in making me feel like a superhero. Heavy weigh on your back is best traded to a unintelligent buddy (sorry Reaper), a horse or a machine like a quad or truck.

As Sheepguide suggests fit helps a great deal.

I picked up a Mystery Ranch Pack from Crazey Davey - and I would be very afraid to put it to a full test, as I know the pack will take more than I can. It held a Moose quarter fine - and seems to be extremely durable.

One pack that looked really neat was the Kuiu pack Sheep Reaper had - he packed a quarter from the same Moose - and it has this meat pouch that you can cinch the weight tight to your back - seemed very slick.

I am in the process of training up a couple of young horses - and hopefully they will get a bit of this weight off my back lol

[OL_JR]

              Some good points here and thanks for the input.  It sure could be a guy isn't packing things properly and I'll probably start with that this year trying to be a little more mindful of where I pack the weight if the opportunity comes.  I did find it interesting though that the little tidbits around the net that I found where people had owned an eberle along with some others didn't seem to like the eberle for the heavy stuff.  Would be really good to hear from some others who had been able to do a comparison.

             

         

[OL_JR]

Carried an honest 127lbs( weighed) in my Eberlestock last fall when backpacking an elk out and with strapping the elk quarters to sit more mid pack than right in the bottom it seemed to carry the weight well, and I was able to hold the weight well on my hips with minimal shoulder fatigue.
I found a lot of people just throw the weight in the pack and think it should carry well. Even the best packs will feel like shit if the weight isn't distributed right. Weight should always be held mid pack if possible! A lot of the best heavy load packs are just the freighters and lack the day to day pockets and features.

           Forgot to mention I was gonna ask how long your pack out was?  Just curious thanks.

[Lurch]

              Some good points here and thanks for the input.  It sure could be a guy isn't packing things properly and I'll probably start with that this year trying to be a little more mindful of where I pack the weight if the opportunity comes.  I did find it interesting though that the little tidbits around the net that I found where people had owned an eberle along with some others didn't seem to like the eberle for the heavy stuff.  Would be really good to hear from some others who had been able to do a comparison.

             

         

Ask Sheep Reaper.

He is a gear guy - has had more pack than anyone I know. He has the Eberlestock. He is completely full of sh!t on most things, but I believe he knows his packs.

And he would never toot his own horn - but I would stack his time with a full pack on the mountain against anyone.

[sheepguide]

           Forgot to mention I was gonna ask how long your pack out was?  Just curious thanks.

Not a super long pack out. Maybe a couple miles through a rugged cut lock and a foot of snow. The pack was good to carry and my legs felt the brunt long before I would have had weight issues with the pack. Did 14 miles on way in with the same pack and 75-80lbs on a back pack goat and stone sheep hunt in NE BC a couple years back. Pack worked perfect just had to be packed properly as the are a deeper pack rather than tall like the MR or many others.
As well I've used the pack when hunting cats for the last 3 winters and -20 to -30c temps are brutal on packs hardware. I've yet to bust anything on this pack.

[The Sheep Reaper]

Ask Sheep Reaper.

He is a gear guy - has had more pack than anyone I know. He has the Eberlestock. He is completely full of sh!t on most things, but I believe he knows his packs.

And he would never toot his own horn - but I would stack his time with a full pack on the mountain against anyone.

I'm guessing Lurch needs something from me  he's never this nice...lol

If you are looking strictly for a heavy hauler you cannot beat the MR packs.  Very adjustable, heavy duty and comfortable for how stout they are.

That said they are very rigid, heavy and expensive.

Eberlestock are well built, relatively cheap and fairly adjustable.  I have had really good luck with the Blue Widow because the scabbard is removable and you can get the load tight to your body.

Downside of the Eberlestock is they are heavy like the MR.

The KUIU Icon is the most comfortable pack I have used and is very adjustable. Relatively light weight as well.

Downside is you cannot be as rough with it as the Eberlestock or MR, need to be cognisant of the carbon frame (don't use it as a seat for glassing and careful when setting it down on rocks with a load in it.

For light run and gun hunts I use a Golite Jam 50, its only 2 lbs and carrys all my gear for up to 5 days...only downside is its not made for heavy loads (did pack half a sheep out with it but it was not comfortable).

If I was in the market for another pack and had unlimited funds I would look at the Stone Glacier pack...looks very near the perfect sheep hunting pack IMO.  Light, tough (fame is protected), expandable and comfortable.

Its really dependant on what you are using the pack for.  There is no perfect pack for all situations but some of them are better than others.  I have stuck with the Blue Widow the last 2-3 seasons for most of my hunts due to how versatile it is. I removed the fanny pack part to shave 1 lb off it so its 6 lbs

Benefits i have found that make it such are:

-decent price
-low profile
-quiet
-can take abuse
-pocket layout is excellent for mountain hunting
-ability to use scabbard when I rifle hunt
-easy to strap my bow too
-easy to drop meat in
-makes a great seat when glassing
-I leave my spotting scope attached to the tripod and put it in the scabbard slot when bowhunting and if rifle hunting i can put the scope and tripod under the top flap and between the main straps so its still protected and secured.

[sheepguide]

Good report Reaper. Bang on I'd say!

[Lurch]

I'm guessing Lurch needs something from me  he's never this nice...lol

Jeez - say something nice about a guy and just get grief for it lol

[alkali]

I had the Elberlestock for a couple seasons. Used it in Yukon and the territiries. I didn't like the scabard - the reason I bought it. Funny huh? You couldn't sit down with the pack on. I didn't care for how the entire bottom of the pack attaches to the lap belt at one small spot at the scabbard. all the weight pivots on that sigle spot. I looked at the Stone Glacier but they don't seem to have much in the way of a spotting scope pocket or any pockets for that matter. Still shopping I guess.

[Joe Fehr]

I had the Elberlestock for a couple seasons. Used it in Yukon and the territiries. I didn't like the scabard - the reason I bought it. Funny huh? You couldn't sit down with the pack on. I didn't care for how the entire bottom of the pack attaches to the lap belt at one small spot at the scabbard. all the weight pivots on that sigle spot. I looked at the Stone Glacier but they don't seem to have much in the way of a spotting scope pocket or any pockets for that matter. Still shopping I guess.

If you have another look at Stone Glacier they now have an attachable spotting scope pocket, hip pocket also. I will be posting more of a review when I get out of the bush here. So far I really like the Stone Glacier and the fact that you can add on to it, so if you want 2 spotting scope pockets you can, if you want none you can have none, if you want to add the smaller bag to it also you can do that as well.

[alkali]

What is the suspension like? I looked at Tenzing at they might as well have been a kids pack.

[Joe Fehr]

The suspension looks good. As I say though I haven't had a real good look at it. It came in I drove home took it out of the packaging looked at it, threw it on quick did a couple little adjustments, took it off went to bed got up at 04:30 and drove back to Fox Creek......... But if you wait and watch they may parole me here in a week or two maybe and I can get you all the pictures of strapping, stitching, corners etc that will show you how it looks for the average consumer. Or pop into GP and have a look in person at anytime when I'm home. Not sure the wife will let you if I'm not home 

[alkali]

Thanks Joe, I'll wait for the pictures.