I Need a New Backpack

Dawnandusk

Dawnandusk

Well-Known Member
Sep 26, 2018
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Bonita
Hi guys and gals,
I will be very specific because I have done a lot of research and I have read many old posts in the site were different brands of backpacks have been discussed.
I am in a tight budget so I am going to ask you to understand and be specific.
I need a backpack that can haul enough stuff for an overnight camp out when deer hunting. I will have to make a few trips to haul the meet if I get lucky and my back is worn out so I can't load more than 80 pounds at a time, so big backpacks are our of the question.
I am looking to get something on the $ 150.00 range.
For more that I would love to buy a Kuiu or Eberlestock, my money can only buy a Tenzing TZ3000 or similar.
I have seen a lot of people buying Tenzing but the brand is fairly new and I understand that it is made in China. I would love to buy something made in USA.
What are your thoughts on the Tenzing?
 
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I would advise you NOT to buy an Alpz pack... the system they have for adjusting the shoulder straps height is a rip-off of another companies design... and you can tell that the only way they got away with it was because they inverted how their straps run thru the part where they loop thru and stick onto with the velcro.

Only problem is.... on *their* design (which if I remember right was like a rip-off of the Tenzig design)... those triangle shaped ends of the straps point in the opposite direction when they loop around... and so... with hiking and movement... the tips of those triangles, and their velcro catch on your clothing in back just inside your shoulder blades and poke and rub you extremely raw in that area. I'm not joking, it's very bad.


Then... there was the Badlands 2200 I bought used from somebody. Overall, not too bad... until... I had to pack out an animal!

For whatever reason... the waist buckle was not holding tight at the position I would try cinching it down to. During the hike out... it would loosen itself... consistently... I kept having to re-tighten and re-tighten the dang strap. It kept loosening back up fairly quickly. As a result... in frustration... I was tightening the ever-loving snot out of that thing to make sure it held as long as possible before I had to mess with it again and again. As a result... THIS... is how bad my belly got about 2 days after that night...
39004

The next year, I made sure to spend the money and get myself a top shelf brand. I wanted to make sure it had huge a amount of room. It's frustrating as hell to deal with attaching a bunch of stuff to the outside of your pack. So I pulled the trigger on getting a Kifaru EMR II. And yeah... the price-tag stung... but not as much as the pack-rash in this pic did.

P.S. The next year I took my 2nd buck and it was a significant notch bigger than my first. Got from same location. No rash. All good.

And yeah... some a-hole on this forum is probably gonna chime-in with a smarmy "TMI" comment or some other BS (I know you too well you 'tards)... but you know what? Good kind-hearted people are considerate and courteous like that. And they'd rather tap a brother on the shoulder and let you know X or Y may not be a good idea. Not like a certain few who shall remain nameless.
 
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I like the military rucks, large ruck you can customize the front pockets to any variation for the day, add more canteens or pockets etc. Fully adjustable straps to make it a small pack or open it up for a large quarter deer pack. Can also remove the front pockets and attach them to the back of a load bearing vest once you have dropped at a waypoint if you don't want to carry everything all the time while hiking around your camp/blind.
 
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I did purchase this ALPS pack and carried out 2 deer with it, one was an overnight trip with all my camping gear (well, 1/2 a deer, my brother had the other half). If you are on a budget and want a pack to get the job done, this got the job done. I personally haven't had any issues with it. You can carry a ton of stuff in it too. For $130, I actually really like it. It is a bit big for a day trip, but works well for longer trips.

IMG_1749.JPG
 
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QuePasaJames said:
I did purchase this ALPS pack and carried out 2 deer with it, one was an overnight trip with all my camping gear (well, 1/2 a deer, my brother had the other half). If you are on a budget and want a pack to get the job done, this got the job done. I personally haven't had any issues with it. You can carry a ton of stuff in it too. For $130, I actually really like it. It is a bit big for a day trip, but works well for longer trips.

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Thank you,
I have been keeping an eye on it, I found it too.
How comfortable is in your back and hips? I have to put the load on my hips and not on my shoulders if I want to carry 80 - 100 Lb.
I screwed up my back many years ago and now I am paying the price.
 
I went over the bars this one time and probably bashed my tailbone about as hard as you can bash it without actually fracturing the bones. FML... I went from normal to black/blue/purple/yellow/green bruising over my entire tailbone/buttocks area in like 30 minutes. Someone else righted my Enduro bike. It was at a vacant lot in WestLA. I was riding past... saw folks on Quads inside messing around.. there were some whoops on the dirt near the street side. And like there were nothing! By then I'd had a ton of experience goin' balls-out in the Dez over big ol sand whoops. But on that Enduro bike it was a little undersprung for my size and level of aggression so I had to give it quite a bit of preload adjustment, so it was a little pogo-y and less subtle over smaller stuff. I dunno, I guess the rear suspension must have packed-down a little hitting several lil sharp faces whoops in rapid succession. It ended up bucking me off over the bars. And like I was a young guy and knew how much ambulance rides cost, so when firetruck rolled up I was like "I'm Ok." and while in shock, I was able to gingerly push the bike back something like 8 or 10 blocks to my home at the time. But I had to take short little choppy steps. Anything that made the pelvis rotate made me gasp in pain. And like to begin it moving I had to just lean on it until inertia finally broke. And then when a stop light happened, I would curse at having to break inertia again.

Turned all kindsa gnarly nasty bruised colors over my entire tailbone/buttocks area. And the pain of course just got worse and worse as PM was approaching, so Mama took me to hospital. The had to shoot me up with Demoral just so I could lie on that hard flat table for the Cat-Scan. And then... just soft-tissue damage... my spleen was a little bruised, but that was it. The damn Demoral... when I'd try to get up out of the bed to leave and go home... my blood pressure would just plummet, and I'd want to pass out... so 1st wife had to wait around til like 2a or 3a until it finally got out of my system.

Thank goodness I was training really really hard around that time, my squat was around 315 Lbs back then, and I just happened to have had a Valeo weight-belt on at the time of the crash. Otherwise I'm sure it would have been even worse.
 
Ive got an old remington aluminium frame pack i bought at walmart many moons ago..its packed out an ungodly amount of mammals...again, no reason to break the bank..plenty out there in your price range. ..they key is to actually get some use out of it..good luck..and post him when you stuff him in there.
 
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QuePasaJames said:
Its comfy on the hips. If you want, we can meet up sometime and you can try it on with weight in it. Let me know.
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Thank you for your offer. I may take you up on it.
I have seen more reviews and one guy on youtube took it on three scouting trips in Colorado, and gave a great personal opinion. I am planning on buying this one first and then use one of my old backpacks to move around once we have set camp. It seems to be bulky to be carrying it without making tons of noise.
Where are you located?
 
BIGCIM said:
Larry- Ive seen a lot of poison oak rashes in my day. Are you certain that rash wasn't caused by poison oak as well as the pack?
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Naw. Wasn't Poison Oak. Good guess though. I wasn't itchy or anything. That certainly would make sense as a guess. But with my sensitive skin if it was Poision Oak I would SOOOOO know it!

Like I said, the dang buckle kept wanting to work itself loose with the weight and probably my perspiration on the nylon or something. Which would result in the weight shifting to my shoulders and killing, and resulting in the pack slipping down and pressing on my tailbone. As a result I was tightening the ever-lovin' snot outta the thing. Once I cranked it down all the way like that it'd hold for a longer amount of time before it would loosen up. Big thing was I was trying to keep my shoulders from killing from them having to take the weight. Also I've got a tailbone injury so I can't take anything pushing onto my tailbone area. When the belt was adjusted to optimum hold... for whatever reason, it wasn't holding for crap.
 
MJB said:
With a bad back I'd save some money and get a better pack, one with an internal frame and different bag options for a day pack......buy once cry once your back will thank you!
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That is another topic for discussion.
Internal or external frame? I ignore the benefit of both and as you can tell I don't have experience to figure what is best. All I can do is research and talk and ask to experienced folks in this site ( which I know there are many). All your input is appreciated.
 
For your backpack...especially since you say you have back issues as well?

Brother... your backpack is the central hub... your everything... when you're out there!

The more comfortable it is... the happier you'll be.

The more trusty it is... the happier you'll be.

The more readily/easily you can get at the various things you'll need to grab for repeatedly ... the happier you'll be.

The larger it is, so you can fit everything... the happier you'll be.


You should seriously consider doing a "buy once cry once" thing when it comes to your backpack, man.

The level of comfort you'll have and the confidence it will give you will make it very worth it, man.


I know everybody cringes at the thought of spending the money. But it's like... you plan on doing this a while, right?
Buy for your comfort for the long haul man. With back injuries... It'll pay dividends, man, I promise you.
 
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