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Saddle Hunting Pack Post - What defines "the best" Saddle Hunting Pack?

I also use a Turkey Vest for all my deer hunting. Pockets keep things quiet.
When saddle hunting, the sticks and platform ride in the 'game' pouch with beanie and neck gaiter silencing them.
This particular vest has two releasable buckles keeping the game bag 'closed'. The sticks stay upright in between them and I put a slice of closed cell $5 butt protector in the bottom of the game bag to protect the fabric.
The weight is close to your body. Not cantilevered.
When hauling the climber, it easily rides right over the vest.

I hang the vest on one side of the tree and the bow on the other.
 
I'm in my first fall season of saddle hunting, so I've been using packs I already had on hand. My TL EDP platform fits inside my Alps Pursuit pack with the Latitude SS carbon sticks attached vertically to the bow/gun holder straps. A smaller iteration is my old Game Plan Gear Drop Tine fanny pack with shoulder straps. Sticks lay horizontal across the top of the main compartment and EDP holds well from the rattling antler connection. My concern is likewise having a bulky pack in the tree, so I put a BWMG platform pack, Tethrd shoulder straps and Trophyline RF pouch on my Christmas list to play with in '24. Been looking at the Tethrd roll pouch to hold a field dressing kit, knife, headlamp, flasthlight, etc and roll up a vest as the temps drop.
 
elk yinzer said:
Personal preference as said.

But for me, it's not really an available pack per se, it's a great suspension built on a small treestand. Make it pull double-duty as a pack frame.

The LW .5 or Beast stand, or similar. Great stands, but nobody commercially has really come close to nailing that suspension aspect yet. All the offerings I'm aware of are very okayish at best. Severely lacking in padding, poor fit/contours, not great adjustability. Cheap junk, not quality components.

DIY is an option to that end, I think the best option presently is the Kiui suspension. It doesn't take too much finangling to get that to work, and the components are available. I know there is a youtube or three showing how to do that. I harvested parts of an old Kelty pack I had laying around to accomplish effectively the same thing, and I absolutely love mine.

From there I just pack modular with a load sling, or even just bungee cords work just as well depending what I am rolling with (amount of crap correlates directly with temps). I have a few different fanny packs. Those integrate well with my climbing system (one-sticking).

I'm a big woods hunter and pack all my cold-weather gear in and that works great for me. I could probably pack a deer out with it, but I've always just gone back to the truck to get my dedicated meat hauler. Early season that prospect is certainly easier. Packing out all that cold weather stuff and a deer, that would take more pack than I am willing to carry under my cicumstances.

ROS guys certainly can get away with a level of compactness and minimalism us platform guys can't. That opens up a lot of options to go very ultralight. I just can't ROS. Just doesn't work for me. Kinda wish it did, but alas.

I used to have a MR popup and a saddle platform, until I came to this realization. Us platform guys, by the time you add the weight of a saddle platform plus a frame pack, why not just do what I do and go to a small treestand. And the weakside shooting is so much simpler with more footroom. Win-wins to that degree are rare in life.

This is my setup. I defintiely should get a more breathable backpad, but other than that it has worked great for I think 4 seasons now.

View attachment 95205
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Stop tormenting me with that Kelty Cache hauler waist belt on your DIY setup! :) I have that Kelty pack and it’s so tempting to repurpose it for a whitetail treestand suspension, but it’s my primary meat hauler for elk. And I’m not going down the rabbit hole of finding a new meat hauler for elk, or buying another Kelty just for the waist belt. Kind of wish Kelty still sold their replacement waist belt and suspension. Kelty doesn’t even offer replacement waist belts anymore!
 
Maverick1 said:
Stop tormenting me with that Kelty Cache hauler waist belt on your DIY setup! :) I have that Kelty pack and it’s so tempting to repurpose it for a whitetail treestand suspension, but it’s my primary meat hauler for elk. And I’m not going down the rabbit hole of finding a new meat hauler for elk, or buying another Kelty just for the waist belt. Kind of wish Kelty still sold their replacement waist belt and suspension. Kelty doesn’t even offer replacement waist belts anymore!
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https://www.kuiu.com/products/pro-suspension-valo-camouflage?variant=40340225556638

Just saying, it's on sale. I haven't personally tried it because mine works well enough I haven't felt a desire to stray, but I think this is probably the best option out there.
 
eightballwoody said:
You probably need to build out your climbing system first. It will be much easier to find a specific pack once you know how you will be saddle hunting. You also need to decide if your gonna wear your saddle in or pack it in. I believe once you answer those questions, the answer will become a lot clearer on your pack needs.
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Great advice!
 
boyne bowhunter said:
Okay, I know this is a different approach but I'll throw it out there as an option. I run a turkey vest as my saddle hunting pack The front pouches separate and store the things I need to access in the tree. The pouch carries the larger items: rappel rope, one stick, platform and outer layers. I attached a dump pouch for my tether and lineman's rope.

While hunting I hang the vest directly in front of me wrapped around the tree. There the back padding in it serves as my kneepad and I can still access all the pockets with minimal movement almost as if I was wearing it.

Picture of it packed
View attachment 95237
Picture of it on the tree.
View attachment 95238
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What turkey vest is that?
 
modularity, cause you'll be changing it. I like a frame with no bag and add side pouches. if I need to I'll add a bag/ lid or whatever.
 
For close by/private, not packing out I’m finding eberlestock bandit hard to beat
 
So far in my four years saddle hunting I’ve used four sticks and predator platform so I felt I needed a bigger pack. Used a diablo dos by badlands and it works for those needs. Now I’m trying one sticking and with the discount after Xmas I ordered an m2 vest and roll pouch for saddle. Hope the vest and saddle will work together.
 
I like about a 30 liter pack that is lightweight and has an internal frame and a good waist and shoulder belt system. I've had good luck with the Mystery Ranch hiking packs around this size (Scree and Coulle) because they are small but the suspension system is like one from a larger pack. I also like attachment points on the outside that I can put bungees and other fasteners on to hold my platform and sticks. These lighter packs are made of a louder fabric and they don't have a lot of pockets. I just work around it. I don't get in my pack much once I'm settled in to hunt and I've never felt that any pack I've used was loud enough to jeopardize a hunt.
 
Sitka Tool Belt is nearly $100 off in sub alpine right now. It’s been my go to pack the last 2 seasons.

www.sitkagear.com

Tool Belt | SITKA Gear

Low-profile efficiency for the minimalist hunter in a hip pack with a removable Sitka Gear jacket and bib shoulder harness system.
www.sitkagear.com www.sitkagear.com


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Good NIGHT, you guys sure do want to spend a LOT of money when an excellent option is right under your nose.

If you don't already have one, spend $60-100 on a decent Turkey Hunting vest, detach the seat, and play with it in the off-season.

I realize that the industry is heavily invested in having their 'one-of-a-kind' pack ready to add to the cart along with their sticks, platforms, etc.
Lord knows I've been caught up in the hype with this and other hobbies, so I understand wanting to be like the cool kids.

Hell, I was even caught up with other purchases that came highly recommended on this site.

I have a single rope climbing setup that I can't seem to get the hang of as proof. Anyone want to buy it???

Glad I didn't fall for the Single Stick system before you guys showed me how I can use the platform from my OpenShot and a single tether.

And THEN you showed me how to use the two tethers I already have to eliminate even MORE weight!

Well, sorry for the semi-hi-jack ( not sorry ). Just trying to save you guys some time and money.
 
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