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Choose the Right Bowhunting Pack

By Dennis Cecil

A bowhunter today carries a surprising amount of gear beyond just a bow and some hunting arrows. Even while hunting whitetails in what is almost my backyard, I feel naked and ill-equipped without my binoculars, my release, rattling antlers, grunt calls, doe bleat calls, rangefinder, cover scents, wind checker, pruning saw and on and on. It’s a lot of stuff, and the best way to get it all there is a good backpack.

The right bowhunting pack keeps you organized. You’ll be less likely to forget the bug spray with a well-equipped backpack. The right backpack is also comfortable. It should ride low and tight to your back and carry all your gear without getting in the way. And it should fit so well that movement, particularly your shooting, is not restricted in any way.

Fortunately, there are lots of great bowhunting packs available today. To find your perfect pack you’ll want to first define your needs. Do you need a compact backpack for treestand hunting? Or will you be roaming over a lot of real estate all day long and therefore need something a bit larger and more comfortable? Or are you actually backpacking a light camp into the wilderness for an extended bowhunt?

To explore all of those possibilities, let’s look closer at each of those bowhunting pack categories––treestand packs, all-day packs and multi-day packs.

Treestand Packs

In general, most bowhunters travelling only as far as a relatively nearby treestand prefer fairly compact backpacks and fannypacks. Such packs typically have a capacity of up to about 2,000 cubic inches, and the best will carry and organize a surprising amount of gear. Here are some of today’s top picks in such packs.

Badlands makes tough packs for hunters, including a wide variety of packs ideal for a well-equipped trip to a treestand. Check out the Badlands Tree Hugger, a fanny pack that carts your gear in and then straps around the tree to organize everything. Three particular Badlands backpacks leap out for use in our treestand category, beginning with the Badlands Diablo. The Diablo is a lightweight pack with a surprising 1,900 cubic-inch capacity and a trim profile. The Badlands Superday adds additional pockets for organizing while maintaining a slim and contoured shape. Then there’s the Badlands White Tail Hybrid. This is a treestand-organizer pack of the highest order. There are so many pockets on the White Tail Hybrid that it’s almost hard to count them all. All three of these backpacks are capable of toting all your small gear, plus carrying a big treestand strapped right on the pack.

The Beyond Back Packs Backpack Blind is a Transformer-like hunting pack that morphs into a complete treestand concealment system. This amazing backpack not only makes carrying gear to your stand a whole lot easier, it also gives you a critical advantage against the game you’re hunting. The blind is incorporated right into the backpack. Once set up in front of the hunter, there are a series of mesh pockets that store all your necessary gear.

Blacks Creek Guide Gear is a star in the hunting-pack field, with a wonderfully broad and adaptable pack lineup. The Blacks Creek Bone Collector 1.0 Whitetail Fanny Pack is an ultra-comfortable treestand pack with seven external pockets in addition to the big main compartment. The Bone Collector 1.5 is a backpack with a molded-foam back and a plethora of organizing pockets. Blacks Creek’s Jim Shockey Saskatchewan is ideal for the serious whitetail hunter. It has an 1,800 cubic-inch capacity and plenty of organizing pockets. Also available is the Blacks Creek Mathews 3:16 Lumbar Pack. It’s only available from Mathews dealers, has a 1,000 cubic-inch load space and 11 total pockets, rides low and tight and even carries your bow.

Known for their simply marvelous custom bowhunting clothing, Day One Camouflage also offers a terrific, lightweight, ultra-quiet bowhunting backpack. The Day One 8-Pocket Day Pack is available in a variety of bowhunter-friendly fabrics, including fleece, saddle cloth, bucksuede and even wool. Each shoulder strap is fleece-covered for silence, and there’s a waterproof liner under the top cover. With 1,800-plus cubic inches of space, this stealthy bowhunting pack will prove useful while in a treestand or scouting around on day hikes.

Known for their innovative hunting packs, Eberlestock pioneered packs to carry bows as well as all of your gear. The Eberlestock Slingshot is a revolutionary fannypack for archers. It has a 1,700 cubic-inch capacity, ten separate pockets and features Eberlestock’s patent-pending Ripcord Bowtether System. The Bowtether holds your bow securely on the back of the pack but also allows for almost instant bow removal without taking the pack off.

Recognizing the growing popularity of archers filming their own hunts, the designers at GamePlan Gear have introduced the GamePlan Gear CameraMan backpack for 2009. This pack is designed to haul your hunting gear in addition to the large amount of equipment required to film hunts. Once you get your load to the treestand you simply ratchet the pack to the tree and open it up like a gear locker. Additionally, this inventive company also offers the GamePlan Gear BowBat, the GamePlan Gear StandBack and the GamePlan Gear Road Trips Spot-N-Stalk Pack. The BowBat is a different sort of treestand pack. It’s a padded wraparound bow case that you slip over one shoulder and carry into the woods. At your tree, the BowBat unfolds and then attaches to the tree to become a complete bowhunting workstation. The StandBack is similar. It’s a quality backpack that transforms into a treestand workstation. The Road Trips Spot-N-Stalk is an ingenious over-one-shoulder backpack and hip-quiver combination. It’s slick as can be and is now available in a left-handed model.

Keyes Hunting Gear is motivated to produce quality hunting packs that all archers will find useful. Keyes is offering a host of new packs, but one of the most popular is the Keyes Tree Locker. It carries into the woods like a backpack and then attaches to the tree to provide instant and sensible access to all your gear. The Keyes 3D Quiver Pack is an innovative backpack and back quiver combination. It’s perfect for your gear and your arrows.

Serious western hunters know all about Kifaru packs. They’re the lightweight, rhino-tough hunting packs born from decades of world-class mountaineering experience. Some call them the most comfortable packs ever, even when stuffed to the gills with amazingly heavy loads. The Kifaru Daystalker is a lower-back-hugging lumbar pack for the bowhunter on the move who needs about 1,200 cubic inches of load capacity. The Kifaru Spike Camp is a 2,300 cubic-inch backpack that is as comfortable as an old sweater and yet allows you to carry amazingly heavy loads with ease (like an entire boned-out pronghorn antelope, should the need arise). The Spike Camp is also an especially trim backpack that allows you to hunt as quietly as any top-of-the-food-chain predator. For convenience, access to gear is afforded through both the top and the bottom of the Kifaru Spike Camp.

The RutWear Archer’s Pack is a high volume fannypack with a shoulder harness. This pack is well built, designed to improve your organization and ready for the treestand. It includes a removable Quick View organizer pocket and a padded waist belt.

The Sitka Gear Ascent is a low-riding lumbar pack with a 1,400 cubic-inch capacity. With the Ascent, there’s a big main compartment, a pocketed hip belt and additional pockets. This low-profile pack hunts along with you without getting in the way.

Sportsman’s Outdoor Products knows hunting packs. When you really want to go light and organized, try a Sportsman’s SlingShot Mono Strap Pack. This unique treestand pack slips on with ease, has 800 cubic inches of space and loads of internal organizing pockets. The Sportsman’s Drop Tine Deluxe Fanny Pack is an especially comfortable fannypack capable of carrying an amazing load. A quick count turns up 18 pockets. Really unique and versatile is the Sportsman’s G2 MAQ Quiver Pack. This 17-compartment pack incorporates a detachable four-arrow quiver. If you don’t like a quiver on your bow, the Sportsman’s Quiver Pack is a great way to head into your treestand.

Timber Hawk is a company of hunters. The Timber Hawk Gut Hook 3.0 Fannypack is packed with features. It offers a 1,200 cubic-inch load capacity, eight separate pockets, a two-liter hydration bladder and straps to attach your bow. Yet another option is the Timber Hawk Rut Buster. It’s a superb treestand backpack with 1,750 cubic inches of cargo room, 11 pockets, a bow holder and multiple straps and clips.

The Tree Apron Hunting Pack is an ingenious hunting pack that is essentially a double-sided hunting vest with lots of pockets to organize your gear. Once at your tree, the Tree Apron slips off your back and straps to the tree where it covers all noisy tree bark, pads your back and seat and organizes your gear. The Tree Apron is so comfortable that you’ll hardly know that you’re wearing it on the long hike in.

All-Day Packs

If you’re hunting on foot and all day long, you’ll want a slightly larger hunting pack, typically something in the 2,000 to 3,500 cubic inches range. You’ll likely carry rain gear, maybe extra warm clothing and such added items as a GPS unit, maps, a flashlight and even mild survival gear in the event that you have to spend the night out. The classic uses of such a pack would be mule deer or elk hunting out west.

The Badlands Hypervent eases into this category nicely. Its 2,050 cubic-inch capacity is complemented by a revolutionary air-flow back design that keeps you cool while you hike. The Badlands 2200 edges up the load capacity a bit (2,310 cubic inches) while maintaining an especially trim bowhunter-friendly profile. The Badlands 2800 is unique in that its distinctive split design enables it to open up like a taco to carry even more gear, meat, cape and antlers.

Blacks Creek Guide Gear has quality packs galore in this category. The Blacks Creek Jim Horn Western is a perfect fit. Its 2,000 cubic inches, breathable mesh back, adjustable torso and 15 pockets make it an ideal all-day bowhunting pack. Just a bit larger (when compressed) is the Blacks Creek Jim Horn Canadian. It uniquely expands from 2,200 all the way to 3,850 cubic inches to handle any all-day load. The Blacks Creek Bone Collector 2.5 has a load capacity of 3,100 cubic inches and even features specialized spotting scope and tripod pockets.

Eberlestock excels in developing versatile packs. The Eberlestock X2 is a nifty little backpack with big-pack features. This pack is ideal for light travel but can also accommodate more gear with its oversized compression flap and straps. The Eberlestock X1 is a slightly larger backpack with both a built-in bow pocket and intergrated rifle scabbard. At 2,100 cubic inches, it was designed for mobility.

Kifaru understands that you need an all-day bowhunting pack that’s light, trim and incredibly versatile. It answers that call with two superb hunting packs––the Kifaru Late Season and the Kifaru Siwash. The Late Season is an especially trim, top-and-bottom opening, 3,200 cubic-inch pack with a state-of-the-art suspension system that can comfortably handle everything from a light jacket and your lunch to an entire elk hindquarter. Pull the side-compression straps tight and you will hardly know the Late Season is there. Open them up and you can handle most any load. The Kifaru Siwash is a larger, 4,200 cubic-inch, panel-opening pack that can take you almost anywhere. Cinch it down and the Siwash rides tight and close. Open it up and even compact overnight loads are not too much.

Designed for tough hunts is the RutWear Mountain Pack. The Mountain Pack is equipped with a bow-carrying system, a large main-cargo area, seven additional pockets and a front-wall organizer. There’s also a separate hydration pouch and elastic lashing straps.

The Sitka Gear Flash 20 and Flash 32 packs are highly technical packs engineered for hunters. The Flash 20 offers 2,000 cubic-inch capacity and a wonderfully low and contoured profile. The larger Flash 32 offers 3,200 cubic inches, partitioned spotting scope and tripod pockets and side access to the main compartment as well as through the top area of the pack.

The internal frame and molded-foam back of the Sportsman’s Outdoor Products Mainbeam Pack fit the contours of your back like a glove. This 2,800 cubic-inch pack features plenty of easily accessible pockets and a narrow profile for silent hunting. If you need a good bit more all-day capacity, the Sportsman’s Mainbeam XL Pack is just the ticket. There are 27 separate compartments and a gear-swallowing 3,800 cubic inches of capacity. With its dual-suspension frame, the Sportsman’s Mainbeam XL can even haul out an entire boned-out deer, plus cape and antlers.

The Timber Hawk Killshot provides 3,000 cubic inches of space and 17 organizing pockets. The Killshot can transport your bow, spotting scope, tripod and a whole lot more. There’s also a two-liter hydration system, hip-belt pockets, shoulder strap-mounted GPS pocket and high-viz zipper pulls.

Multi-Day Packs

Backpacking into a remote area for multiple days of bowhunting can take place almost anywhere in the country. Such specialized trips require a specialized pack that can comfortably carry such items as a tent, backpacking stove, freeze-dried food, sleeping bag, extra clothing and more. In some cases, it may also be pressed into packing harvested game back out of an area. Many such packs have a capacity that approaches or exceeds 4,000 cubic inches.

One of the most popular multi-day hunting packs ever offered is the Badlands 4500. It features a huge 4,800 cubic inches of load space and yet sports a surprisingly trim profile. It’s shaped tall and narrow to slip through the trees or up any trail, and it’s curved to fit your body. Brand new is the Badlands OX, a surprisingly lightweight external frame pack designed to haul extreme loads. This pack’s T-6 rigid aluminum frame transfers load weight to your hips while maintaining pack integrity.

The Blacks Creek Jim Horn Alaskan is a very unique pack. When cinched up, it acts as a just-right bowhunting pack with a 3,250 cubic-inch capacity. Loosen a few straps, though, and the remarkable Alaskan expands to a huge multi-day pack well capable of carrying a full back-country camp and all your gear, including your bow.

The Eberlestock Dragonfly is a capacity-flexible backpack that is simply amazing. Cinch the compression straps down and the Dragonfly is just 2,900 cubic inches, making it an ideal all-day bowhunting backpack. Need more capacity for a multi-day jaunt? Loosen the straps and the Dragonfly instantly expands to a high-volume 5,425 cubic inches. Attach an Eberlestock Spike Camp Duffle and the Dragonfly jumps all the way up to 7,900 cubic inches. And, yes, it will carry your bow or a rifle or both.

With deep roots in the expedition and mountain-climbing community, it’s no wonder that Kifaru would offer an exceptional multi-day pack for the most serious of bowhunters. In fact, the Kifaru LongHunter was expressly designed from the ground up to take hunters as far back in as they want to go, comfortably and with all their gear. There’s top and bottom access to that gear, a removable top pocket that doubles as a fanny pack, side and bottom compression straps, an auxiliary Cargo Chair System, form-fitting Power Pull waist belt, supplemental pocket and pouch anchors, outside bungie cord quick-storage system and more. The frame is even removable for freight or meat hauling. And to wrap it all up, the versatile and heavy-load-capable Kifaru LongHunter is also remarkably lightweight.

After countless hours in the field, the founders of Sitka Gear have designed a superb multi-day hunting pack. The Sitka Gear Bivy 45 Pack has a sleek outer shape while providing 4,500 cubic inches of carrying capacity. Top and bottom access to gear is provided. An adjustable meat shelf can be deployed from the button partition, the pack’s lid is removable and there is a designated spotting scope/tripod pocket.

The Right Bowhunting Pack

Quietly and comfortably carrying all of your gear while bowhunting is easier with today’s best bowhunting packs. Whether you’re heading for a favorite treestand, striking off into the hills for an all-day bowhunt or backpacking in the high country for an extended stay, there are packs that will make that task much less difficult.

Treestand packs tend to be smaller and lighter, with many offering exceptional gear-organizing capabilities. All-day packs generally run a bit larger, enabling hunters to venture further and stay out longer. The best all-day packs offer surprising load-carrying versatility. Largest of all are the multi-day packs. These highly specialized backpacks have been specifically designed to carry heavy, bulky loads in relative comfort over rough terrain.

Pick the right bowhunting pack and you’ll get where you’re going faster, with less effort and ready to hunt.

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