Best packs for Mule Deer Hunting
The communication staff of the Mule Deer Foundation partnered with our conservation experts in the field to test seven different packs built for hunting to see which held up the best in which environment and which was our overall favorite and pick as the best packs for mule deer hunting.
What Packs we tested:
Admittedly, we did not test every pack out there on the market. There are just too many. So we took suggestions from the staff on packs we liked pack we didn’t like or weren’t sure about and tested what we had. We are looking for the best overall pack whether you are doing a five day hunt or a two day hunt. So flexibility and ruggedness were key staples in our judgment.
Packs We tested:
- Stone Glacier Sky Talus 6900
- https://www.stoneglacier.com/collections/hunting-packs/products/sky-talus-6900-xcurve-krux
- The Talus 6900 is a full feature hunting pack designed to blend lightweight design with increased access and organization. A 6,400 cubic inch main bag with a 500 cubic inch lid, the Talus 6900 has 4 external side pockets.
- Stone Glacier Solo 3600
- https://www.stoneglacier.com/collections/hunting-packs/products/solo-3600-xcurve-krux
- An ultralight backpack, it is capable of 150 pound plus loads and expandable to 6,000 plus cubic inches. The Solo weighs 4 lb 9 oz. on Medium Xcurve. Inspired by solo sheep hunts in Alaska, the Stone Glacier Solo makes an ideal minimalist backcountry multi-day backpack. A 3,600 cubic inch bag fits all your ultralight 4-season gear and a week of food.
- Mystery Ranch Metcalf 75
- https://www.mysteryranch.com/metcalf-pack
- With the METCALF 75 you can carry everything you need to follow the herd over the next ridge. The roomy, detachable lid can house all your snacks, extra gloves, tags, and extra rounds.
- Mystery Ranch Popup 30
- https://www.mysteryranch.com/pop-up-30-pack
- A new generation hunting pack. The POP-UP 30 stays low-profile and functional during your hunt. It transforms into a first-rate meat hauler when it’s time to pack out
- EXO Mountain Gear K4 3600
- https://exomtngear.com/collections/k4-pack-systems/products/k4-3600-pack-system
- Any Load, Any time. Quickly separate the bag from the frame and carry any load between the bag and frame. Compression straps built into the frame offer secure compression for quarters, boned-out meat, load cells, or similar items.
- EXO Mountain Gear K4 EXS
- https://exomtngear.com/collections/k4-pack-systems/products/k4-exs-pack-system
- The EXS System shares the same features, materials, and design as our K4 Pack Systems. It is offered in a 22″ frame height, and features a thinner more contoured shoulder harness.
- Kifaru Bedlam
- https://kifaru.net/products/bedlam
- Bedlam Duplex pack is a 3–4-day pack
made from 500d Ranger Green Cordura, #8 YKK zippers and Coyote Brown 4 way stretch Tweave fabric.
It’s full zip access and asymmetrical pocket layout give the user multiple options and quick access to all their
gear. With two belt pouch matrix and compatible with any of our lids, Grabit and Sherman pocket, you
can build out a system that will keep you in the hills longer with more capabilities.
Cost Friendly:
We like to start with the easiest category when we are judging any new products. For these packs, the easiest category to judge is the cost. The lowest cost option for the packs we reviewed is the Mystery Ranch Popup 30. Don’t let the size and price tag throw you off. This pack has plenty to offer for anyone going on a 2 day adventure. Tarps, kill kits, food, water, and ammo are all able to fit into this small package. And the meat hauling capability is the same as its larger cousins in the Mystery Ranch family.
Most of the packs we reviewed fell between $500 and $700 dollars which is a fair price. The most expensive is the Kifaru Bedlam coming in at an eye popping $850. However Kifaru is a premier American brand specializing in crafting high-performance backpacks designed for hardcore backcountry hunters. Each pack is meticulously made in the USA, ensuring unmatched durability and functionality in the most demanding environments.
Most Comfortable:
Next category is most comfortable. This is a bit of a throw off category. There is no pack which will be comfortable when the chips are down and there is 100 plus pounds on your back. I have carried loads full of meat and “other” items in multiple mountain ranges across the world and can promise. You will never be comfortable in these conditions and must cultivate grit to power through. Put a Bison or Moose on your back and feel the weight cut into your shoulders. Listen to your lower back bulge and shiver to escape the weight. It’s packets like this that have converted me into a more troops with less weight guy.
Nevertheless there is something to the way a pack fits your frame and how it feels under a standard 35 pound hunting load. But now we get into the discussion of “what is the average or normal frame of an American hunter? Sure, we could go with my frame since I’m the author and I get to call the shots in this article. But at 5’10” 210 pounds with 46 inch shoulders. I don’t quite fit the bill for the average backcountry hunter.
To make this test as comprehensive as possible we broke into teams of three. A few of our male writers representing the average hunting male and some of our wonderful female biologists representing the average female hunter. Note: if there was a female version of the pack we were testing available the female team used that pack.
After much deliberation, we found ourselves at an impasse as to which manufactured to choose. Due to the fact that Mystery Ranch has more female options, our female team preferred Mystery Ranch. In particular the Metcalf 75. However, the male team enjoyed a variety of the packs. The standouts were the stone, glacier solo, and the Kifaru bedlam.
In the end, we decided to give each of the standout packs a point since we could not decide.
Ease of use:
This is another tricky category. Because of the diversity of landscapes and the diversity of hunts we undertook this fall each pack sometimes seemed easier to use than others. In this category, we broke into subcategories, representing archery, shed hunting, rifle, hunting, and backpacking.
Archery: the clear winner for the archery sub segment was the stone glacier sky talus 6900. The additional loops, fastening straps, and overall set up of the pack had our testers feeling more comfortable hauling around a compound bow with multiple arrow set ups, while simultaneously hauling camping gear or snacks.
Shed Hunting: For shed hunting the favorite pack was the K4 EXS pack by Exo Mountain gear. Due to the oblong and constantly changing size and shape of shed antlers. The form fitting and sleek EXO mountain gear pack allowed the user to add more horns to the pack without sacrificing balance and weight distribution.
Rifle Hunting: The rifle hunting favorite was the mystery ranch Metcalf 75. We found that regardless of the type of rifle you were carrying and the environment you were carrying it in. Storing optics, rifle, and other gear was easiest in the Metcalf.
Backpacking: We have a few long range multi week backpackers on staff, and they unanimously agreed that the stone glacier sky talus was their favorite pack.”The amount of gear you can stick in here is obscene”. Enough said.
Great Plains:
Now we are getting into our section on which pack does best in which part of the world. First we are going to talk about the great plains. I recognize that there is a distinct difference between the north Dakota Plains in December and western Oklahoma in August. We’ve done our best to rule out weather and obscure conditions to give you the best thesis we can.
For the great plains the Mystery Ranch pop-up 30 was the favorite. Certainly you do not need as much gear on the great plains as you do in the Alaskan mountains. But more than that the smaller mystery ranch pop-up has unique accommodations for glass. This pack can screw in a rifle rest, bino mounting or spotting scope right onto the frame. This made stopping to glass large sections much easier than breaking out a tripod and carrying that extra weight.
Intermountain West:
We carried these packs through the mountains of Western Montana, North Central Wyoming, and Southern Colorado . While all packs performed well in the mountains we recommend the Metcalf 75 by Mystery Ranch. The combination of accessory pouches on the padded belt and the load lifting system was the favorite among our testers.
SouthWest:
In the southwestern United States Kifaru took the winning slot. The ability to carry the extra water needed in this part of the country was best distributed in this pack. While you could reasonably carry extra water in any of the packs we tested, the Kifaru Bedlam made it the easiest.
Alaska:
Alaska is a unique animal. Every time we test something in Alaska, it seems we are looking at an entirely different set of circumstances than the rest of the country. For this test, we looked at Prince of Wales Island and Kodiak Island chasing Blacktail deer.
It is worth noting that our Alaska testing crew is a bit extreme in their packing habits. These folks are the type of folks that cut their toothbrush in half. They bring multiple candy bars and a wedge of cheddar cheese to save weight instead of dehydrated food. With this purpose in mind, the choice for Alaska was the stone glacier solo. While you can fit many items in this pack our testers felt it was the most restrictive, forcing the user to pack only what they needed without being so restrictive as to force exclusion of necessary or key gear.
Best Overall:
The official best overall pack for mule deer hunting across the west is …Drumroll ….. Mystery Ranch Metcalf 75 – https://www.mysteryranch.com/metcalf-pack . This pack offered the most versatility in various terrains and climate from Kodiak Island Alaska to the Texas hills. With the METCALF 75 you will have a full 75 liters of volume. You can carry everything you need to follow the herd over the next ridge, and the next. The roomy, detachable lid can house all your snacks, extra gloves, tags, and extra rounds. Multiple compression straps keep all your gear and meat secure. It’s built on the ULTRA LIGHT MT™ frame to minimize weight while maximizing the load bearing capacity.
While all the packs we tested showed merit and truthfully whatever pack you have will do the job. The Mystery Ranch team has their system figured out. If you are in the market for a new pack for yourself or a loved on this holiday season we recommend you give them a look.
Good Luck!
Good luck this fall. Send pictures or stories from the field to Web@muledeer.org to be featured on our website or in our magazine. If this article, or any of our articles helped you become a better conservation steward, join the mule deer foundation. Click here to join: https://muledeer.org/product-category/membership/
Trevor J Hubbs https://www.instagram.com/trevorhubbs/
Trevor is the Communications Manager for the Mule Deer Foundation. He grew up hunting and fishing the eastern edge of the Ozark mountains for quail, ducks, and bucks. Trevor is a contributor for “Fur, Fish, and Game”, Lethal Minds Journal, Strung Magazine, and Feathers and Whiskey, among others.
