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A couple of years ago my son bridged over to Boy Scouts, and we had to start getting serious about our camping/hiking/backpacking equipment. I started doing some shopping and comparing, and found ALPS Brands. ALPS has some great gear and certainly is one of the best for the dollar. We started out with two of their packs and one of their tents. We've since added two airpads, two more tents, and I'm not likely done. I'll try to post reviews and pics of the gear I have, along with links to the corresponding ALPS page online.
The pack I decided to buy seemed to me to be a great all-purpose pack, though I've since discovered that too big is almost as bad as too small, but that's another story entirely. I wanted a pack I could use for a variety of needs, including (hopefully) hauling some game out of the field out west at some point in the not too distant future. The Commander Freighter Frame and Pack fit what I wanted very well. It's a sturdy frame, designed to haul meat with the pack bag removed. It even includes straps and a bottom shelf that folds down to support heavy loads. The bag is huge. It has in excess of 5200 cubic inches of load carrying space within the bag, and numerous places to lash additional gear to the frame. Here's a stock photo:
And here are some pics of my pack, with additional angles:
Showing the spotter pocket on the left side:
And the mesh back panel to help keep you cool:
I've taken the pack on several overnight backpacking trips, hauled it up and down steep elevation changes in excess of 1000' (which around here is about all I can get in one place, for the most part!), and loaded it up with food, gear, clothes, and the like, for a couple of days to three or four days. So far, it performs excellently, though I need to get some cornstarch in where the waist belt wraps around the frame, as it's started creaking when under heavy load. And heavy for me has been 45-55lbs. I have not yet filled the pack, though, and I'm confident it would take far more weight and enough gear and supplies to last a week or more, if you are able to carry it.
It has a standard external frame design, with a sleeping bag compartment on the bottom and a top compartment to hold everything else. The upper compartment has a hydration bladder compartment which will hold a pair of 2L bladders if need be, giving you 4L on tap, plus whatever you're carrying in Nalgenes/Camelback bottles. The pack also has four outer compartments. Two of these are on the right hand (as worn) side, and are about 6x7" apiece. They are great for small items - snacks, TP, matches, extra straps/rope for securing loads - and are readily accessible on the trail, so long as you don't try to get to them while wearng the pack. No problem for me, as I usually just get my son or another Scout leader to grab what I need from the pocket, and return the favor to them when they need something from their own pack. The third pocket is on the "front" of the pack, and makes a great place to store first aid, medicines, and other things which don't need to be buried in the pack. This pocket is about 8x10", I'm guessing. On the left side of the pack (as worn) is a longer pocket, which is great for Nalgene bottles or other supplies, but is in actuality a spotting scope pocket. It's long (about 15" or so) and would hold a moderately sized spotter. As you can see in the picture, the two smaller pockets on the right act as straps over the firearm carrying feature of the pack. I've tested this here at home, and it will secure a rifle well enough to travel very long distances. I think it will be very helpful when I venture out to MT or WY. With the pack bag removed, the frame has storage for shooting sticks and cleaning supplies, and could easily carry a smaller bag if you'd like.
I've hiked this bag as short a trip as 7mi and as long as nearly 15mi, and I can say without question it's comfortable. The straps are padded well, and don't dig into my shoulders or waist. There are ample adjustment options to fit various body styles. The waist belt is wide and well padded, and works as it should to place the weight of the pack across the pelvis rather than straining the shoulders to carry the load. There is a mesh back panel, as well, on the pack frame, which helps a little to keep you cool on hot days. One thing I did on this last trip that I think is a great idea, is to make the lower "sleeping bag" compartment a "Kitchen" compartment. It's worked very well to put all the food and cooking gear in that compartment and then put clothes, tent, sleeping bag, and other non-food items, in the upper compartment. I packed with my tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad on the top of the load in the main compartment, and it worked great to have everything ready in the order in which I'd take it out most of the time. I don't think I'll go back to using the lower compartment for my sleeping bag, as it's much handier to separate food and camp gear the way I packed this past weekend.
I've been very pleased with this pack and can highly recommend it for general backpacking. Just about the only complaint I have is not ALPS fault, and that is that the bag is big enough that I tend to overpack and thus carry more weight than necessary. You can find these bags for $110-120, which is a steal for this tough a piece of gear. For comparison, the closest product in terms of features is the Kelty Cache Hauler, which runs about $185-200.
If you haven't checked out ALPS brands, they make ALPS Outdoorz, ALPS Mountaineering, and Browning camping gear, to name a few. I'll be posting some other reviews over the next few weeks as I have time.
The pack I decided to buy seemed to me to be a great all-purpose pack, though I've since discovered that too big is almost as bad as too small, but that's another story entirely. I wanted a pack I could use for a variety of needs, including (hopefully) hauling some game out of the field out west at some point in the not too distant future. The Commander Freighter Frame and Pack fit what I wanted very well. It's a sturdy frame, designed to haul meat with the pack bag removed. It even includes straps and a bottom shelf that folds down to support heavy loads. The bag is huge. It has in excess of 5200 cubic inches of load carrying space within the bag, and numerous places to lash additional gear to the frame. Here's a stock photo:
And here are some pics of my pack, with additional angles:
Showing the spotter pocket on the left side:
And the mesh back panel to help keep you cool:
I've taken the pack on several overnight backpacking trips, hauled it up and down steep elevation changes in excess of 1000' (which around here is about all I can get in one place, for the most part!), and loaded it up with food, gear, clothes, and the like, for a couple of days to three or four days. So far, it performs excellently, though I need to get some cornstarch in where the waist belt wraps around the frame, as it's started creaking when under heavy load. And heavy for me has been 45-55lbs. I have not yet filled the pack, though, and I'm confident it would take far more weight and enough gear and supplies to last a week or more, if you are able to carry it.
It has a standard external frame design, with a sleeping bag compartment on the bottom and a top compartment to hold everything else. The upper compartment has a hydration bladder compartment which will hold a pair of 2L bladders if need be, giving you 4L on tap, plus whatever you're carrying in Nalgenes/Camelback bottles. The pack also has four outer compartments. Two of these are on the right hand (as worn) side, and are about 6x7" apiece. They are great for small items - snacks, TP, matches, extra straps/rope for securing loads - and are readily accessible on the trail, so long as you don't try to get to them while wearng the pack. No problem for me, as I usually just get my son or another Scout leader to grab what I need from the pocket, and return the favor to them when they need something from their own pack. The third pocket is on the "front" of the pack, and makes a great place to store first aid, medicines, and other things which don't need to be buried in the pack. This pocket is about 8x10", I'm guessing. On the left side of the pack (as worn) is a longer pocket, which is great for Nalgene bottles or other supplies, but is in actuality a spotting scope pocket. It's long (about 15" or so) and would hold a moderately sized spotter. As you can see in the picture, the two smaller pockets on the right act as straps over the firearm carrying feature of the pack. I've tested this here at home, and it will secure a rifle well enough to travel very long distances. I think it will be very helpful when I venture out to MT or WY. With the pack bag removed, the frame has storage for shooting sticks and cleaning supplies, and could easily carry a smaller bag if you'd like.
I've hiked this bag as short a trip as 7mi and as long as nearly 15mi, and I can say without question it's comfortable. The straps are padded well, and don't dig into my shoulders or waist. There are ample adjustment options to fit various body styles. The waist belt is wide and well padded, and works as it should to place the weight of the pack across the pelvis rather than straining the shoulders to carry the load. There is a mesh back panel, as well, on the pack frame, which helps a little to keep you cool on hot days. One thing I did on this last trip that I think is a great idea, is to make the lower "sleeping bag" compartment a "Kitchen" compartment. It's worked very well to put all the food and cooking gear in that compartment and then put clothes, tent, sleeping bag, and other non-food items, in the upper compartment. I packed with my tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad on the top of the load in the main compartment, and it worked great to have everything ready in the order in which I'd take it out most of the time. I don't think I'll go back to using the lower compartment for my sleeping bag, as it's much handier to separate food and camp gear the way I packed this past weekend.
I've been very pleased with this pack and can highly recommend it for general backpacking. Just about the only complaint I have is not ALPS fault, and that is that the bag is big enough that I tend to overpack and thus carry more weight than necessary. You can find these bags for $110-120, which is a steal for this tough a piece of gear. For comparison, the closest product in terms of features is the Kelty Cache Hauler, which runs about $185-200.
If you haven't checked out ALPS brands, they make ALPS Outdoorz, ALPS Mountaineering, and Browning camping gear, to name a few. I'll be posting some other reviews over the next few weeks as I have time.
