I’m going to Alaska on a self-funded Moose hunt in just a few weeks. Alaska has extremely strict rules on not boning out meat. Moose in the Yukon can get up to 1800 lbs, which makes bone-in quarters extremely heavy. I’ve been looking for a heavy-duty meat pack that can double as a day pack if necessary.
Eberlestock has a reputation in the military as being indestructible and heavy. For hunting, I obviously want my pack to weigh as little as possible empty while still strong enough and with enough structure to get the job done without hurting me.
Eberlestock has heard the voices crying for lighter packs and they’re making changes in that direction. One of the changes is the relatively new Vapor 5000. It’s a very minimalist lightweight shell or bag that can be loaded from the top or front.
The Vapor 5000 weighs only two pounds empty (2lbs) and holds 5000 c.i. worth of gear.
It zips or straps onto an Eberlestock F1 Mainframe carrier.
Should you need to carry a load of meat out you can unzip and the Vapor straps on and holds the meat against the frame.
The Eberlestock F1 Mainframe is a heavy-duty aluminum frame pack that is tested to hold over 700 lbs. Hopefully, that’s overkill and I won’t be needing that much capacity.
The F1 Mainframe is adjustable to fit nearly any size adult. The best feature is that it has a meat shelf which should make loading quarters or meat bags on the pack way easier than packs that don’t have this feature.
The Vapor 5000 MSRP is $199
The F1 Mainframe weighs 4.5 lbs empty. MSRP is $249
Watch for a full review of the Eberlestock Pack system in a month or two after I’ve had a chance to see how much it will haul.