Woman backpacking for elk
Elk
My husband and I are getting ready for an elk hunt and I'm so excited! But, I'm having a tough time finding a pack for myself. Do you know of any good packs for women? We're going on a 7 day trip in Colorado, so I'll need a pretty big pack. I tried a few men's packs but I'm only 5'2 and they seem to run a little big. This will be our first backpacking hunt.
There are tons of women's packs. There are far more women backpackers than there are women hunters so you need to go to a place that caters to them like REI.
My wife has a very nice pack that fits her very well. But it's not camo. Just get your pack and a nice camo day pack or waist pack.
Size is over rated (ever heard this before?). Don't take this the wrong way, but size for you is most likely going to be wasted. I use a 4250 pack on most hunts (have done two week non-hunting trips in it and 1 week hunting trips with it) and get 55-65 lbs in it and pack animals in it no problem.
Be honest with yourself about weight. Most women are not built to carry heavy weight and you don't need to anyways. If you've not backpacked before, I'd highly recommend doing a a warm up hike with your pack with weight in it and do several miles and do hills so you get an idea of what you're in for and your capabilities.
I've seen women that will backpack 99% of male backpackers out of the mountains. But I've also seen women who thought they had something to prove to the boys limp into camp with tears in their eyes and not get out of bed the next day.
Edit: A place like REI will have people who are used to fitting packs to women's bodies that are more difficult to fit to then men.
Please don't take what I said above the wrong way, I'm also excited to see a woman excited to go elk hunting with her husband in the back country. That's really cool and I hope you two have a great time. He's a lucky man.
Agreed with the above. It doesn't need to be camo. Go to REI and get a nice 4000-5000 cu in pack. Gregory, arcteryx, osprey make good packs and I know there are some others.
Most hunting packs out there are not designed well as far as the harnesses are concerned. Not until you get into the really spendy packs. You can get a great pack from REI for a couple hundred bucks vs 5-700 for a "hunting" pack.
I know the pain of trying to find my wife a pack, for a day pack the Badlands Kali was what we settled on. This year we just ordered her a high dollar backpack from Kifaru and those are very spendy but hold their value like you wouldn't believe for resale. They have a new ultra light model that can be used with a dry bag to back pack in and then drop the dry bag and use the frame pack as a day pack.. If money isn't a problem that might be a good option but they aren't immediately available and have a three to four week wait. Whatever you get you will want to get the fit dialed in perfect before you head out! Good luck and if you have even half as much fun as me and my wife have elk hunting together you will be hooked on it for life!!!!!!
My Mrs. does a lot of backpacking.
If you and your hubby would like to toss me an Email, I can give you her POC Email as she is deployed in Afghanistan right now and she no doubt would love a change of mental stage!!
[email protected]
Good luck, Robb
We need ur measurements. :) Pun inteneed.... No seriously. Click the link and read some of the links. It's how to measure yourself for backpack sizing. Ed
https://www.google.com/search?q=HOW+TO+MEASURE+FOR+A+BACKPACK&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0CBsQvwUoAGoVChMI0uTvpqH2xgIVSY8NCh1yQAaC&biw=1540&bih=861
Good luck on the elk hunt!!
My wife has hunted with me and with her hunting girlfriends for over 20 years now. She has done most of it with my hand me downs and has gotten by. This year she drew an Alaska goat tag which is going to be her first true mountain backpack hunt so we decided to seriously upgrade her equipment. After extensive research on sites like this one, Rokslide, and Outdoor Gear Labs we finally ended up at REI like idyllwild and mossyhorn recommended above. The sales people treated her great there even after she told them the purpose for her trip. She ended up with an Osprey Ariel and it fits her like a glove and she could not be happier. I am happy because it cost about 1/2 of what the hunting packs do. She is happy because she finally has some gear that fits perfectly for a change. It is not camo but it is not a neon bright color either so I am not worried plus it will blend better in non hunting adventures in the future.
Good luck and feel free to pm me if you would like to talk to her directly. Lots of women like her and Robb's wife above that have a ton of real world experience and can help you a lot more than us men probably can.
Here is a link for women's backpacks.. Kinda help get ideas.
http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Backpacks-Womens-Reviews
The newest model of Badlands 2200 might fit. But you'd definitely want to try it on for size first.
Tell your husband to look up "Sherpa" in the dictionary. hee hee
Best of luck to you both!!!
My wife never did any backpacking but she'd be good at it...great shape and a walking fool.
I was always told men...pack high, women...pack low. Men's strength is in the big muscles, up on the shoulders. Women, lower towards the hips. Just physical differences.
Thanks for all the great tips! We're on our way to a backpacking store now to get measurements to see what fits best!
Bulelk1, I will send you an email!
Thanks, again! I'll keep you updated on how it goes! :)
Get any color you want, and if it has to camo'd. then go to ebay and put in military backpack cover. They are out there in several different camo flavors. inexpensive. Also make great spare tire covers.
Terry
There are quite a few packs at REI that work well for backpacking, but not many that are meant to carry a bit of weight comfortably. Most weight limits are in the 30-40lb range.
Kifaru is what my wife uses, a lot more expensive, but she uses it a lot. A great option if it is something you will be doing for years, not so much for a one time thing.
Rick, it all has to do with center of gravity. A woman has bigger hips and thus a lower center of gravity. Us men tend to have smaller hips, but bigger(broader) shoulders which gives us a higher COG.
I haven't checked recently but the Mountainsmith line of packs were very similar to Kifaru, as both were Patrick Smith's designs. Patrick sold Mountainsmith before coming out with the Kifaru hunting/military line of packs years ago. My wife got a reasonably priced Mountainsmith that fits her great. She helped me pack out about 8 elk with it and loves it versus her former external frame Kelty. Just an option to consider, as the roots of that line were strong.
Backpack hunter you make a good point. We thought that out thoroughly and I really could not see my wife loading a pack with an elk quarter and packing out 10 miles realistically. 50+- is probably max weight for her except for short packs if really needed. It is a trade off. Overall comfort day in day out with a pack, or compromise that comfort for a maybe, short, heavy pack out which may never be needed. That is why I got a Stone Glacier for myself with her blessing. LOL.
My wife has a Kelty external frame pack and likes it very much. It's going on 20 years old. It came from REI and is a women's model.
Blonde,
Don't worry about it. Don't even get a back pack.
Just make Shane carry your share, too. He can make a second trip while you go out and hunt or fish.
Hey, you carry his sorry tush most of the year, its time he re-paid the favor!
You guys are going to have an absolute ball together!
(Looking forward to the stories, over a beer, when you guys return)
Rut...yup...you just stated it more eloquently than I...lol
deerhaven; My wife is not packing an elk quarter out 10 miles either. She does however backpack a lot with me, and when she is carrying "a lot of weight" it is around 50-55lbs. It's not like I enjoy carrying a ton of weight either so I keep myself around 80lbs or less.
Just finished discussing this with her at dinner she is working out right now with 35# in her pack and it is riding like a dream according to her. She said maybe 15 to 20 more lbs and she is tapped out. She says pack will handle that fine. Outdoor gear labs puts the ideal weight for her pack (Ariel 65) at 50 to 65 lbs. They claim it does not balance well at light weights whatever that means. I don't know about your folks but I don't ever remember being uncomfortable because I had to light of a load???? She loves it I don't argue with her.
I am sure there are a lot of other great or better choices out there. Problem is there are to many choices and it becomes mind boggling. My strategy is pick out what I like and don't let anybody convince me I might have screwed up. LOL!
I went and got fitted and found out I'm extra small, therefore, finding a pack is tough. Getting an actual hunting pack would be almost out of the question based on my frame size. But, I got lucky and they had an Ariel 75 in extra small. I tried it on, put 20 pounds of sand bags in it and walked around for quite awhile. It was on clearance because it was extra small, even better! It felt great and the store was adamant that I could try it out for 45 days to make sure it fits well and feels well. I saw that several of your wives have used the Ariel in differing sizes and the reviews were great.
Thanks, again, for all of your help, I really appreciate it! Now the real training starts!
Need to see pics when you get it all together! Hopefully with a load of backstraps and tender loins while your man packs out the rest!
Years ago we struggled to find a backpack for our son that had enough adjustments to fit him well. I know they are not the latest and greatest that people now spend big bucks for but we purchased a Coleman Peak 1 backpack. They have an amazing amount of adjustment and their polypropylene frame is flexible so it can flex with you instead of binding. It would carry plenty of weight but as others have stated above don't over do it!
I have one and would give it to you but I find I still like to use it myself for turkey hunting. :)
The link above is to some current eBay listings. Be aware that some of the listings have unreasonable shipping costs.
Good luck on your hunt!
Dwayne
Something like this Deuter pack would be my suggestion, super adjustable and light for it's capacity. My wife has one and loves it. As stated above your best bet would be go to a good backpacking store and try some on and see what you like that fits the bill.
Blondehuntress, What size back do you have?
Thanks everyone for the information. Teeton she has an extra small back and small waist. We're working on getting all the gear together.
This will be our first backpack hunt and are looking forward to it. We are going during rifle season (I know, I know) this year with a buddy who's green at elk hunting as well. We'll end up being the pack mules for Dara when she shoots one! She has been working with her bow all summer and is looking forward to getting a deer with it this year and continuing to increase poundage for elk.
Writer - regardless of whether we get one or not I'm sure we'll have some stories to share.
Thanks all, Head Pack Mule
I love it when women get into hunting and backpacking with or without their husband or boyfriend or alone.
A word of advice. Go at your own pace. Do not try to show anyone just how strong you are or you will wear yourself down. Your strength and endurance will gradually increase each day. Good luck!
So, you're saying you have a small framed blonde that wants to go into the wilderness after elk?
Where'd you find this girl?
I hope you two have a great trip.
Idyll you are 100% correct, I'm a lucky man! Whenever she tells people that she hunts they can hardly believe it.
My wife runs a Kuiu Icon 520 and has packed out a couple deer and 1 elk in it so far. She says its really comfortable and seems to enjoy it. We leave in about 50 days for a Moose hunt so we will see how it hold up to that as well
My wife is going with me this year. For the most part, she will just carry a daypack for her personal gear (extra clothes, water, survival gear, snacks, etc). If I get an elk, she may carry some meat but I really don't expect her to carry much weight.
I had planned on buying her an X2. I have one. I also have a fairly short torso. I love that pack. It is a great daypack and can carry way more meat than I can.
But, now I am thinking about a real woman's backpack like the linked one from REI.
If she get's one of those packs, can they carry any meat? How would you do it? Strap it to the outside somehow? Put it inside? (it would take some serious cleaning to get her to use the pack again on nonhunting trips)
For a pack job just put the game bag in a light garbage bag for a few hours. Don't leave the meat in the plastic any longer than you have to. If you do get the pack bloody, hose it out with a garden hose as soon as you can before the blood dries. A little dish soap at the end is good too.
Like I said my wife runs the 5200 icon form Kuiu and it fits her very nice. I also make my wife train with me everyday and we do pack workouts together so she can carry an elk,moose or whatever out if she shoots it. I personally think that's a bigger part of the hunt is all the hard work before and after the shot not just letting her kill it and I do the work . She is up to pulling 60# on her bow and carries a 60# pack 4-5 days a week with me doing various pack workouts. 50 days till Moose hunting!!!! I love hunting with my wife
Here's a great place online to get super equipment at great prices. Their customer service is second to none! They carry all the high end equipment someone would need and provide the support for it. http://www.rockymountaintrail.com/outdoor/Backpacks/Womens_Packs/
That Ariel is a great pack. Coach has one and is packing in with me on a bear hunt next month. She doesn't hunt but loves the outdoors. I think it's rated to 40 or 50lbs, that's more than she will likely carry anyway.
Couldn't tell you the frame size.... and it would probably be a good idea if I didn't anyway.... apparently not very good at guessing women's sizes....
Hope you got a good enough deal to pick up some trekking poles. =D I don't pack in anywhere without them anymore. .... good luck and you folks have fun.
+1 Kurt on the garbage bags. Those things have a great variety of uses to keep liquids in or out.
Blonde
Train hard, hunt easy. Nothing about the type of hiking, pack weight, loading, etc, should be a surprise on the actual hunt. Strongly recommend at least one overnighter with all the weight to stress test the gear and you. Have a gas - there is something about the back side of nowhere that is really appealing.
