Done deal. Might have a bit more fitness by then too haha
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Done deal. Might have a bit more fitness by then too haha
Has anyone owned a Vorn and an Eberlestock? Or compared both in a head to head? Thoughts on one vs the other?
I'm in the market for a decent sized pack. Nothing huge but able to fit tent, sleeping bag, ammo, torches, rifle, binos, couple days food, etc. What sort of litre-age would people recommend for a pack able to fit all that for a 2-3 day trip?
35-40l for overnight-couple of nights.
I have slightly different take on things. For anything that is not a day walk, I take a BIG pack (70-90lt) Fill it half way, use compression straps to make it smaller. This way you don't end up with 3,4 or more packs, and you have lots of room to carry out meat...
I was about to ask that actually. Vietnamcam, how much room is left in a 35-40l pack for meat if you pack it with everything for a 2-3 day trip?
I am interested in having just one pack for more than a day walk, and keeping my crappy little shoulder bag for the day trips.
You will fit all meat from a red in a 35-40l and your gear,strap it on the outside if you have to.
Started with a pouch on a belt(day hunts) got 75-80l pack then a few years ago got a day pack.
My day pack will not handel the weight of meat and you end up wearing everything in the heat of the day that should be in your pack.
The big pack while it can be used for overnighters with room to spare always gets something(usually lots of things) not required in it and even half empty is a big bulky sweaty prick of a thing.
hence the overnighter pack.
big pack is for fly/boat/drive in med pack for walkin.
I have a vorn (42l ?) & eberlestock j34. Vorn is considerably lighter & makes better use of its 42l space compared to the j34 when it's that size (it expands out to 70ish litres). Both are very comfortable to wear, the j34 has a far more adjustable harness though. Rifle holding setup is quite different, I do like that the barrel faces up with the vorn as it lowers the COG a lot, especially if you are carrying a long heavy rifle. I also used to get a scope turret to the back of the head often when boulder hopping (upstream normally) with a long gun in the j34. The open style of the scabbard on the vorn is better in scrub etc as the j34 scabbard fills up with leaves & shit. Flipside is that it offers better protection for the rifle though. Both are a good size for a few days, the bonus of the j34 is that it expands out to a bigger pack which is handy if you want to carry out an animal/head/skin etc..
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Yeah it's amazing even the crap I cram in to my day pack. It's tiny as and yet I fit gloves, face sock, beanie, binos, range finder, torch, headlamp, duct tape, bipod, ammo, water, food.
God knows what i'd manage to pack into a 60-70l without employing similar tricks, nibblet!
Reasonably similar I would say... Eberlestock uses a 2 layer fabric which has worn through/ripped the outer layer on mine in places and I have pulled out a strap loop as well. It's had a reasonably hard life as my main tahr hunting pack on the West Coast. The vorn seems well made, good fabric and simple main pack design. Mine has a squeak in the harness which pisses me off (i need to get to the bottom of it) but otherwise it's good. Haven't had it long so can't comment on long term durability, but it has survived a West Coast tahr hunt which is more than I can say for some purchases...
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Thanks very much for the info. The J34 and J107 (Dragonfly) can only stow rifles barrel down, correct?
And now for the big question! If I was going to only buy one pack, and use it from day trips up to 3-4 days - what would you recommend? Tossing up between the J34, J107 and the Vorn 42L.
Depends on the rifle I guess. My 338 with big optics won't be 22 with 3-9 will. AR won't but can hide most of it barrel down.
Normal hunting rifle with usual scope would squeeze in? 22 Is on the left.
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Thanks for those pics Nibblet. What's the total length of that AR?
My x-bolt 308 is about 42 inches long with a vx6 3-18x44 scope. Won't fit barrel up i'm guessing? Not a massive deal but would be nice to have the option of stowing it either way. Don't really understand why so many packs are designed for barrel down carry.
Probably so you can reach behind, pull it out and shoulder it quickly.
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Bivi bag, therma rest, sleeping bag, cooker, pot, water bottle, binos, range finder,gps,bum bag that is full of all sorts of shit like tape,string, half a pharmacy spare ammo small knife spare compass camera etc etc.
A few back country meals, tins of fish, some osms and some other bars for the kids lunches i grabbed out of the pantry.
A complete change of polar fleece and 4 pairs of good socks(was wet trip wouldn't bother with a full change of clothes in good weather)
Still got room for meat.
My biv, thermarest and sleeping bag are quite bulky, you could improve on space a lot with a modern tent like yours or just a fly and modern sleeping Matt.
I have probably forgotten to list something that was in there but that's the bones of it.
Sexy slippers, bet those godown a treat in the hut :P
I think its a 35l
Simple answer is that the rifle shouldn't be in the scabbard in the first place so shouldn't be an issue which way round the rifle is. If you carry the rifle in the scabbard all the time I guess you have to accept that you might loose some opportunities as a result (i.e. walking in/out of hunting area). So I either carry the rifle in my hand if I'm sneaking about (and probably don't have one of these packs on my back in this case) or I'm purposely looking for animals further away and being ready for them or shooting at range so it doesn't matter if it takes an extra couple seconds to get the rifle out...
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Good points. I am used to carrying my rifle now and my hands feel weird without it already, so that's fine. Can always stow it for particularly steep bits, etc, so can use hands.
Pretty set on the J107 Dragonfly. However, it seems pretty hard to find places that stock it. Found 1 place in NZ but the colour is terrible. Any recommendations? Will go ebay if I have to, but might not arrive before xmas and i'd like to use it late december.
Try nz Asia, they may have it or may know who does.
Direct from Eberlestock is the way to go I think...
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I got mine through outdoorsupplies.co.nz were super helpful, rang me the next day to say the colour they had in stock was slightly different to what they had on their site.
Worked out that after shipping and tax I would only save $50-100 so figured I would help out a kiwi company, and get it quick sharp
Just ordered the J107 Dragonfly from Eberlestock. Few extras too such as rain cover, internal duffel, 3l hydration bladder. Shipping was extremely harsh compared to some ebay sellers but I couldn't find one with any decent colour choices or any of the extras so I paid the extra. Oh well!
The 107 is good for bigger trips:)
Gunslinger is a good day pack:)
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