Hunting backpacks are becoming a thriving and evolving industry due to expansion of long-range hunters who venture deep into the wilderness with their gear on their back.
The best hunting backpack needs to be comfortable and carry the necessary gear based on the hunt at hand. Here are five exceptional hunting packs.
Eberlestock Dragonfly
The Eberlestock Dragonfly pack is a part of the Just One series from Eberlestock and it’s one of the best hunting backpacks you can find. It’s built to be a one-pack solution for hunters. This pack is expandable and can be adjusted and altered to fit almost any hunting application. It has a very rugged construction, and bares tons of features, including the age-old external frame design – a design that still exists because it just works! External frames are essential for guys who need to haul a lot of gear, but need to haul even more weight in meat.
Badlands 2200
Built for one to three day hunts, the Badlands 2200 is the smallest pack you will see on this list of best hunting backpacks. It is such a great pack because of the iconic design that put Badlands on the map for hunting backpacks. This pack is extremely ergonomically designed, and it can haul a lot of gear for the size. Not to mention, it has the ability to house a lot of meat. Badlands does a good job of incorporating a ton of features into their packs, and this is the pinnacle of their hunting packs.
RELATED: Tested and Tried, the Badlands 2200 Hunting Pack
Kuiu ICON PRO 7200
The Kuiu ICON Pro 7200 pack is extreme. Created with influences of mountaineering, Kuiu puts a lot of thought and engineering into their gear making it one of the best hunting backpacks you will find. Their packs are made to be extremely light, comfortable, and durable. The ICON PRO 7200 is a massive pack, and has the ability to be utilized on hunts that go up to 14 days. The frame is the most unique feature of this pack. Its carbon fiber external frame is like none other in its realm. It’s flexible, light, and twice as strong as steel.
Outdoorsman Optics Hunter
The Outdoorsman Optics Hunter is another among the best hunting backpacks that really takes a modern approach at many of the classic features. The Outdoorsman pack has a solid exterior frame that’s shaped for comfort and pack geometry. It’s very light and contructed from polypropylene. It also has a thick and padded hip belt, which is essential when hauling heavy loads. This pack can be configured for many different hunts. That versatility is key for many hunters. Another cool feature is the notch on the top of the frame – it can be used as a rest when shooting from the sitting position.
Mystery Ranch Metcalf
Like many other best hunting backpacks, the Mystery Ranch Metcalf pack is very reminiscent of a mountaineering pack. It was made to haul a lot of gear comfortably. And the meat shelf design is incredible – it aims to put all the weight as close to your body as possible. Doing so is making your pack far more comfortable than most other packs. Another advantage of this feature is that the hunter can bare the initial gear load much more easily, while also having the added meat – no need to completely unload your gear in the back country. Another cool feature, of the Metcalf, is the smaller detachable lid-pack. You can keep your bare stalking essentials in it, and it’s ready to be removed at the drop of a hat.
