Boot and pack questions

[tddeangelo]

Yep, Scotty and I were texting tonight back and forth about MR's availability.

I went on and found they only had the Pintler in my size (that's luck I usually don't have) and only in multicam (seriously....a $25 upcharge for that????).

I just ripped off the bandaid. I get some extra money on Friday. So I just spent some of it now. Pack should be here late next week, hopefully.

I already sold my Black's Creek, and my X2 is up for sale, but it won't break my heart to keep it for non-hunting duty (family outings and such). My SJK frame pack still has the hang tags on it. I've put weight on it and gotten into it, but haven't had it out of the house, really. The guy I talked to at MR said I won't need it...the Pintler will do everything I'll need from a pack. And it'll work for when I just have a lot of clothes or such to take to a stand here. This hunt sure won't be my last hunt in the west, either.

So....boots en route...pack en route.

Rifles are in good shape, with some work on the 270, but all in all, things are looking to be on track.

A guy on one of the other forums uses the Pintler and frame as his moose pack. If he needs extra room he runs a dry bag between the frame and bag. He loves it, nice as a daypack but capable of a moose quarter. He hunts them far more than most of us ever will, if it will handle his moose I'd say it will do an excellent job of anything you do with it. I looked at it pretty hard before buying. Good luck on your hunt.

Thank you, and that's exactly what I had in mind....if I ever need more gear capacity, to use a haul bag or dry bag in the overload shelf thing. That would really boost it's capacity. Not as much as the Metcalf or Marshall, obviously, but it would give me a pretty good boost over the 2500ci it is as it sits.

I saw a youtube of Randy Newburg loading up a black bear hide/head and a quarter on a Pintler. He did pretty much what I expected to do with elk quarters, and it looked like that cargo was all stowed and secured pretty well.

 

[tddeangelo]

The pack came today.

It fits wonderfully. I loaded up the same weight from the X2 from my last hike, so ballpark of 50lbs on the Pintler. Walked 5.3 miles with 980' of vertical gain (was up the mountain and back down, so I hit some pretty steep stretches), and it manages the weight like a champ. Very, very nice setup. Straps in snug and rides very well.

I was nervous about the waist belt, as I measured myself and thought I was a little bigger than the top end of their large size range, but it fits with tons of room to spare. Getting layers under it in cold weather won't be an issue.

The pack compartment is about exactly what I had in mind for what I wanted in a pack, and it has Mystery Ranch's "overload shelf", so tossing quarters on should work out pretty well. I should be able to take a shoulder or hind back with me on the first trip now, empty my gear to drop the weight, and then go back and load it up with whatever I feel I can handle. The pack likely can manage more than I can.

 

[mcseal2]

Glad it's working out.

I looked really hard at that pack myself before I ended up choosing the Exo. I really like their dry bag insert they are coming out with and their layout. I don't think that you can really go wrong when you get into the Stone Glacier, Kifaru, Exo, Mystery Ranch level of packs. Probably some others I left out too in that range, those are just ones I looked at. Packs are like boots, it's what fits your body and intended use. Everyone will be a bit different on what works best for them.

 

[tddeangelo]

Speaking of boots....

Took the Tibets for their inaugural outing today. 7.6 miles and just over 900' of gain. Wasn't in the rocks real bad today, just some loose rock/gravel on some of the uphills and a little bit of glacia rock here and there, but nothing terrible.

They're gonna be great for hunting. At about 6 miles I started to feel it on my heels just a tiny bit, but that's probably because I was cautious in how tight I cranked the laces. My other Lowa's can get WAY too tight if I really hammer down on the laces, so I put about the same force on the Tibet's. Turns out, they need a smidge more. But it wasn't bad...no blisters or remaining sensation from it. It was just enough to know I need to snug 'em up a touch more next time.

Support, comfort, traction etc are all very good. Very happy with them.

 

[IdahoCTD]

My Lowa Tibets are the most comfortable boots out of the box I've ever had. So much so I bought a second pair last year. I get a little bit of heel fatigue with heavy down hills and a lot of miles too. I need some insoles for this year.

 

[tddeangelo]

I was very impressed with my Lowa Caminos out of the box, and if anything, the Tibets are even better.

I got the Tibet Hi. This could be my perfect hunting boot. Time will tell, but comfort and support and traction are all very good right out of the box. I think a set of SuperFeet and they're good to go.