Picked up an awesome backpack today!
 

Went to Cabela's today with the thought of looking at backpacks in the back of my mind for my rapidly approaching Colorado elk trip... I stumbled across this sucker; man, talk about feature-laden!!!



It's quiet, waterproof, full of accessory pockets and comes with an internal hydration bladder. I also received an extra one free when I checked out due to some special promotion they had going on... The thing I really liked about it was that the bow straps in securely as pictured, leaving your hands free to negotiate terrain when you're trying to cover a lot of ground.

It's got a support belt at the waist, and the shoulder straps can clip together to make sure this thing doesn't slip off or bounce around.

The guy who I'm tagging along with for my first elk hunt said the temps in the mornings are mid 30's and it'll top out somewhere in the 80's or so by the afternoon; that sounds like I'll be stripping out of some clothes pretty fast as the day wears on, so I wanted something I could stuff them into as the sun comes up. The hydration bladder holds two full liters, so that should keep me going easily through the day since I'm planning on returning to camp every night.

I bought mine in the Realtree AP pattern, as it was the most open-concept pattern they had in the store... This thing's features rock! :)

RE: Picked up an awesome backpack today!
 

I don't have that pack, but mine also has the bladder in it. What I have found out is, 2 liters of water weighs A LOT.[&:] I never fill mine all the way. and you want to get all of the air that you can out of the bladder, or you sound like half full jug of water sloshing thru the woods.

By the way how is your conditioning coming along?

RE: Picked up an awesome backpack today!
 

I've dropped weight, but haven't had the chance to really hit the conditioning hard like I want, John... This little "minor surgery" as they called it has turned out to be not-so-minor to me; I still feel about the way I did the day after, and it happened last Tuesday. Once I get back to normal from that, I'm going to start running hard.

I'm not too worried even though I've roughly gota month and a half left to get in tip-top shape... my body responds pretty well after all the years of sports I've played, and I always stay in semi-decent shape to begin with. Hopefully middle of this coming week and I'll be able to really get after it.

RE: Picked up an awesome backpack today!
 

8.33 pounds/gallon to be precise....:D

Looks like a darn nice pack Greg......I hope it serves you well!

RE: Picked up an awesome backpack today!
 

You are over a week since the surgery and you aren't back yet? I was good to go after a couple of days of nice rest. Hope you start feeling normal again.

RE: Picked up an awesome backpack today!
 

I actually phoned the doctor on call today IBM, a bit concerned... he called in a prescription for me in case it's some infection or something.

RE: Picked up an awesome backpack today!
 

I want one, and get healed up man!;)

RE: Picked up an awesome backpack today!
 

Prior to my elk trip in the past I picked up two packs Greg. One being similiar to that and the other a huge meat pack. It really paid out because we hiked up the mountain from base camp (2 hours by atv and then another 2 by foot) and set out a spike camp closer to the herds. After arrowing my bull at 9:00 am opening morning that year, it was after dark until we got all the meat down the mountain. A meat pack is priceless under those conditions. I was able to pack my daily pack, all camping gear etc up the mountain and about 100 lbs of meat each trip down the mountain.

I'm now set for future trips. ;)

RE: Picked up an awesome backpack today!
 

Nice looking pack Greg. When's the trip again? I can not wait until my first elk hunt, which I'm planning on going next year, unless I get drawn in AZ lottery this year. Anyhow, sorry to hear the surgery pains are still lingering. I was a little sore for 4 days or so, but that was about it. Best of luck to getting back to 100% and continuing your training.


Kelly

RE: Picked up an awesome backpack today!
 

I think we leaveAugust 22nd and stay for about 11 days... It's gettin' close QUICK!

RE: Picked up an awesome backpack today!
 

I got the same one and I really like it , with all the pockets inside and out and the way it holds your bow.
Congrats Greg MO that back pack will do just fine on your trip.

RE: Picked up an awesome backpack today!
 

Greg,

I picked up the same backpack a week ago. I cant want to use this thing. Its got plenty of room for all my gear and the compartment made for holding the gun/bow is perfect for carrying our tree arm. It seems like the more into producing hunting videos we get into the more crap we have to bring into the woods.

I wish i would have known about the promotional offer, would have been nice to get two for the price of one!! What size did you get? Which cabelas did you get it from?

RE: Picked up an awesome backpack today!
 

Michael,I bought it at the Hazelwood (St. Louis) store on Saturday... I bought the large size.

Funny thing about the promo: I happened to be watching the register as the young lady was ringing it up. A pop-up window appeared on the screen, reading "customer qualifies for free xxxxxxxxxxx" (I couldn't read the rest of it). So I'm waiting for a sec, and she hits a button and the window disappears. A second after that, she says "Your total willl be... $xxxx" I'm like, "Hey, what was up with that free ofer?" She says "Oh, we're out of those, so I just skipped over it." I"m like "Uh, can I have a rain check or something?"

At this point, I had no freakin' idea what it was even for... but whatever it was, I wanted it! She went to the service desk and asked if they had any behind it, and they didn't...but someone there went out on the floor and pulled one off the shelf for me and gave it to me. I can't believe she was just going to skip over it... If I hadn't seen it, I'd never have known. I looked it up tonight in my new Special-Edition, Limited-Offer Hardbound Catalog [8D], and it's worth $14.99... Good stuff!

RE: Picked up an awesome backpack today!
 

Oh, and to clarify... it was another free hydration bladder I got -- not another free backpack. ;)

RE: Picked up an awesome backpack today!
 

Oh, i was going to say...14.99 my A$$! hahahah, that would be one heck of a deal if you got two backpacks! haha :D

RE: Picked up an awesome backpack today!
 

Hey Greg, I bought that pack last fall, awesome backpack for sure. Hope you start feeling better soon buddy.

Shane

RE: Picked up an awesome backpack today!
 

I picked up that pack when it was on sale over the winter. It definately looks awesome and I can't wait to get to use it come this fall. The straps seem to really lock the bow down while walking. Let us know how it works out when you put it to the test on the elk hunt greg. Good luck too!