Reasonably priced backpacks?

Anybody have recommendations for a decent backpack primarily for day use while deer hunting? I’m not doing any overnights and probably won’t ever walk more than a mile. My $20 pos worked well enough but it’s ripping and the zippers are crap. I want to get something better but can’t justify the high-end bags for such light use.

Some of the ones I’ve found are:

XOP STRIKER EVOLUTION BACKPACK – $70
ALPS OutdoorZ Dark Timber Hunting Backpack – $80
ALPS OutdoorZ Pursuit Bow Pack – $120

I think I’m going to try bow hunting starting next year so the Alps Pursuit Bow Pack might be the way to go? I think I’m leaning towards that one unless there are better options around that price.

I have 1 and 5 day RUX bags. They’re my every day type bags and take a lot of abuse. For you, they would be reasonably priced , versatile, and last a heck of a long time

Randy Wieland wrote:

I have 1 and 5 day RUX bags. They’re my every day type bags and take a lot of abuse. For you, they would be reasonably priced , versatile, and last a heck of a long time

Thanks! It’s “Rukx” from ATI right? Rux looks like some kind of tote bag thing. I’ll check those out.

I have 3 blaze orange ones from Mills for around $30. Lots of compartments and work for our needs. Dont recall the brand, but they hold up well. Bottle holders and clips on the outside, with inside zip up pockets/compartments.

I have a camo one from Ridgeline maybe, it was cheap and I see them advertised a lot. It has been wearing well and has the needed space and compartments for lots of stuff. Going on maybe 8-10 years now with no signs of wear.

Edit it was Fieldline and the pro series they go for 40.00 at FF

Reef W wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Randy Wieland wrote:</div>
I have 1 and 5 day RUX bags. They’re my every day type bags and take a lot of abuse. For you, they would be reasonably priced , versatile, and last a heck of a long time

Thanks! It’s “Rukx” from ATI right? Rux looks like some kind of tote bag thing. I’ll check those out.

Yes Rukx

I’ve had the Alps Pursuit pack for over 5 years. I take it everywhere in SW WI while deer hunting. Both for all day sits and while doing drives during rifle season. I also use it as a “training” pack when working out. I throw 40# in it and hike for a few miles. It is really comfortable and has held up very well through all this. When heavy, the padded waist belt and chest clip are invaluable features.

I bought mine on Amazon back then and it looks like it is still available on there for $90 if you are looking to save a little $$.

A little different than most, but last year I started running a Kuiu Icon Pro 2200 pack. It’s a frame pack, not your typical run to the deer blind pack. But I’ve started hunting a lot more areas and am much more mobile. I have 4 climbing sticks and I can hunt essentially any tree now. I also use the pack to pack out if I go deep into public land.

I gave up on dragging deer. It’s a lot easier to quarter and pack it out, leaving the guts and carcass in the woods. Say it takes on average 10 mins to gut a deer, I can do the gutless method on a deer in 30 mins and be walking out of the woods with a bunch of meat instead of struggling to drag a deer!

All that being said, I really like the Kuiu pack, it’s not commonly used around here just due to the hunting style most people do.

I use military surplus. Have a variety of them all from ebay. Rugged and tough that’s for sure.

I have big bags with plastic frame pack and smaller packs, vests, molle bags, etc.

I feel like I put molle bags on every baxk pack I’ve owned over the years!

rjthehunter wrote:

I gave up on dragging deer. It’s a lot easier to quarter and pack it out, leaving the guts and carcass in the woods. Say it takes on average 10 mins to gut a deer, I can do the gutless method on a deer in 30 mins and be walking out of the woods with a bunch of meat instead of struggling to drag a deer!

I investigated and tooled up to do that this year… then read the regs for mn public land that was a waste of time and money!

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>rjthehunter wrote:</div>
I gave up on dragging deer. It’s a lot easier to quarter and pack it out, leaving the guts and carcass in the woods. Say it takes on average 10 mins to gut a deer, I can do the gutless method on a deer in 30 mins and be walking out of the woods with a bunch of meat instead of struggling to drag a deer!

I investigated and tooled up to do that this year… then read the regs for mn public land that was a waste of time and money!

Do you have any more info on this? I have been doing it on private land now. But I thought public land you could also. Page 65 of the regs mentions how the head of the deer has to remain attached until registered. Once registered it can be transported in quarters.

Have I mentioned how much I hate the DNR due to all the BS & nonsensical rules and regs?

Yes, must remain attached. But, you cannot leave anything except guts behind. So you gotta pack bones, hide hoof and all out. Pretty dumb.

Can do whatever on private.

If you are mainly walking to pre set stands you may want to consider even a fanny pack or bino harness/chest rig. Only issue would be packing in cold weather layers in late season.

My pack of choice for whitetail hunting is a Kifaru X ray. It’s made of 1000d Cordura. It has a couple lashing straps and has rows of Molly for adding pouches/pockets etc.l, it’s an 1800 cubic inch pack. However it’s an expensive pack.

If you can find a pack with those characteristics you won’t be disappointed.

Badlands Monster fanny gets the job done for me(I see they have become considerably more expensive since I bought mine). Before that I had a similar fieldline fanny style pack from FF. It has just enough room for a days hunt, but it’s small enough you don’t pack a ton of extra junk you don’t need. I like these fanny style packs because you can snap the waist band around the tree while in the stand so you don’t need a extra hook. Also if you have a decent waist band, like the Badlands, you can wear your stand over the top of the pack while walking in and the pack holds the weight off your shoulders.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

Yes, must remain attached. But, you cannot leave anything except guts behind. So you gotta pack bones, hide hoof and all out. Pretty dumb.

Can do whatever on private.

Man MN has dumb rules. They should look at some surrounding states and compare the rules they’ve put in place to everyone elses rules. They might as well make us take the guts with too.

I understand saying no dumping carcasses there, but if a hunter kills a deer there, they should be able to take the meat and leave the carcass…

I miss the old Cabela’s. They had good quality stuff at reasonable prices, often made in the USA. I must have 5+ of their different bags and packs. Most are 40 years old. Used and abused a lot. Not a loose seam or failure in any of them. Good thing to buy hands on. You can tell a lot from the material unraveling at the stitching, quality of the material and overall quality of the other components looking at it closely.

I can’t find anything supporting this in the regs. As mentioned before, if I register it by phone I can then quarter it and hike it out. There is an area that mentions not dumping garbage and several other things including carcasses. I’m not sure if harvested animal remains fit in that category.

I now hunt private but there is a public next to it that I plan to hunt this year.

I didn’t mean to hijack the post. I have a nice frame pack but I don’t remember the brand. If I go back more than a half mile I bring this pack with my daypack attached. I have a $30 backpack from fleet farm that is 8-10 years old and goes with me every time I go in the woods. It still works well.

I have a badlands brand that I found on sale at scheels a couple years ago. Very nice backpack and if it wasn’t so cheap at the time I wouldn’t of bought it for the price they go for regularly

Well, now there are so many choices I’ll never decide! Thanks for all the ideas.

Fife wrote:

I can’t find anything supporting this in the regs

Use the search on ido: BONING OUT A DEER IN THE WOODS (MN)?