What Alpine Backpack do you prefer?

[NIGHTHAWK]

What pack do you use in the mountains to hunt sheep, Ibex, goats, tahr, chamois?

How does it carry your rifle?

What do you like about it?

What have you added or changed?

 

[Landlock91]

For me, the pack I keep coming back to, the one that has blood, sweat, and a few tears on it, is the Kifaru Citadel with a Duplex frame.

 

[Josh P]

When I did a multi-week elk trip, it was a Kofaru Duplex frame with AMR bag. The ability to shift weight between hips and shoulders through elevation differentials was a huge deal. Yes, there is a weight penalty with some of the bags of this style, but I later put that setup through the ringer on various infantry training cycles and it never failed.

If doing it again, I would probably go with something lighter and pack way less. However, the prospect of packing out heavy makes it hard to move away from a durable, rigid, external frame bag.

 

[WAB]

I did a lot of serious packing when I lived in Alaska. For that heavy work I used a custom pack from Barney’s in Anchorage. IMO, there is not even a close second for hauling heavy loads out of the wilderness.

For lighter work, like humping hills for Coues, or the type of hunt you describe, I have two Eberlestock packs, the gunrunner and the one pack. If you’re boning and packing the critter out, the one pack is the way to go, if you have a guide who seconds as a mule, the gunrunner is fantastic. Rifles insert in an integral sleeve on these packs.

 

[Elkeater]

Been rocking a kuiu icon pro for years. Packed out many deer and elk. I use the Kuiu fast draw rifle holder on the side and I like it.