This thread popped up today with Bowhunt’s post so I thought I would give an update on the Alps Little Bear setup that I was looking at 4 years (!) ago on page 3 of this post. I have used the Alps Little Bear with the Turkey pockets accessory kit now for 4 seasons. Frankly, when I bought it I considered it to be more of a ”transition” setup than a permanent solution. Thought I would upgrade to a higher quality bag after a couple of seasons after getting a feel for what I really needed. Yet, 4 years later it continues to do everything I want it to do so I will be using it again for a 5th season in 2025. I don’t search for problems to justify a new/different solution, so if something works, I stick with it.
Bottom LIne Upfront: I would call this an economy setup with the Little Bear and the Turkey pockets accessory kit running $55 & $30 respectively on Amazon. Great for one sticking. You can attach your stick to the fanny, I prefer to carry my stick on an adjustable shoulder strap simply because it’s much quicker and more accessible when I reach the tree. Not sure it would work as well for a sticks setup. You could probably carry a lightweight stick setup horizontally across the fanny, but most prefer to carry their sticks vertically. If you are creative and handy you could make it work, but most aren’t so a different, out of the box solution may work better for vertical sticks.
Pros:
- Value/Durablity. I thought the bag would last about two years, but it’s done 4 seasons and it’s still in great shape going into 2025. At the time, I considered it worth $80 for only one season and I’ve already got 4 out of it. So, a great value.
- Light starting weight: I don’t want a bag that weighs over 5lbs when it’s empty, this rig comes in at less than 3lbs empty.
- Expandable storage: Turkey pockets accessory kit shines with the lightweight nylon game bag that attaches to the back. Bag has room for all of my outer and mid layers, gaiter, beanie, gloves etc. for the walk in and out and only weighs about an ounce. When you don’t have layers you aren’t carrying capacity/bag weight you don’t need.
- Front Turkey pockets: Hold all immediate access setup items right up front (pic). Backband, hys strap, large headlight, extra mini mag light, compass, thermos, grunt call it all fits in those two pockets. They will also hold a I a small limb saw and a set of hand pruners but I sewed holders on the fronts of the pockets so I have even more immediate access to those items while climbing/setting up. Having the pockets on the front balances the weight distribution of the whole setup front and back so it really feels like you are wearing nothing.
- Fanny has a well padded hip belt with a couple of small outer pockets on the belt and main bag. Frankly with the pockets up front, I barely use 1/4 of the fanny capacity, as I run a couple of dump pouches to have immediate access to stuff that others may want to put in the fanny itself. Works well for me as this gives me room in the fanny for when I want to carry in a few cell cams.
Con’s:
- As mentioned above, probably not quite as well suited to carrying a stack of sticks vertically.
- The game bag clips to the top of the harness shoulder straps and if you bend over with it loaded the bag will tend to flop around a bit, I just tied the bottom of the bag to the fanny and that solved that problem.
- The weight of the layers in the game bag ride mostly on the shoulders. I’m going to lower the bag clips to try and get the weight on the fanny/hip belt. This is more of an old man problem than anything lol….but I’m struggling to find cons so I thought I would throw it out there.
Good Luck to everyone in 2025!
