Hunting Backpacks: Complete Guide
Comprehensive technical analysis of sizing, materials, installation requirements, and manufacturer standards for hunting backpacks.
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In plain English
A hunting backpack is a hiking backpack with extra jobs. On the way in, it carries normal camping and hunting gear. On the way out, after a successful hunt, it may carry a heavy load of meat. That is why many hunting packs have a sturdy frame and a pocket or shelf between the frame and the bag for that load.
The frame works like the frame of a wheelbarrow handle. It gives the weight something stiff to rest on so the hip belt, the padded strap around your waist, can take much of the load off your shoulders.
Hunting packs also come in camouflage or earthy colors so animals notice you less. During gun seasons, though, being seen by other people matters more, so hunters often add a bright orange cover. Hikers who share the woods in hunting season are wise to wear bright orange too, even when the law does not require it.
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A hunting backpack adds meat-hauling load shelves and camo to a hiking-grade suspension for backcountry hunts. It starts from the same frame technology as a full-size hiking backpack — an internal or external frame, an adjustable torso length, and a hipbelt built to carry most of the load — then adds features a hiker never needs: a detachable or expandable shelf behind the main bag for lashing on quartered meat, exterior daisy-chain webbing for a bow or rifle, and camo or muted earth-tone fabric instead of bright trail colors. A hunting pack does two jobs on one trip: it carries a normal backcountry kit in on the approach, then carries that same kit plus 60 to 100-plus pounds of meat, hide and antler on the way out.
A hunting backpack differs from a standard hiking backpack in three ways: a detachable or expandable meat shelf behind the main bag, exterior daisy-chain or PALS webbing for lashing on a bow, rifle or spotting scope, and camo or muted earth-tone fabric instead of bright trail colors. The frame and hipbelt underneath use the same load-transfer hardware found on hiking and mountaineering packs.
The meat shelf is the defining feature. On most modern hunting packs it's a mesh or nylon platform that either unzips from behind the main bag or cinches down flat against the frame when empty, then expands outward to hold a boned-out quarter or a full game bag load. Bow hunters look for a side-mounted bow holder or a set of compression straps rated to carry a bow's weight without letting limbs swing; rifle hunters use a similar daisy-chain or scabbard system on the opposite side. Hardware tends to run quieter than on a typical hiking pack — fewer loud plastic buckles near the shoulders, and zipper pulls that don't rattle against the frame — since noise and movement both matter when closing the last stretch on an animal.
Load capacity depends on pack size and frame type, and every maker rates its packs differently: a day-hunt pack is built for a light load, a multi-day backcountry pack for a much heavier one loaded with meat, and a dedicated meat-hauler or expedition frame for the heaviest pack-outs, so check the maker's stated load rating. As on any load-bearing pack, the hipbelt should carry, by a common rule of thumb, roughly 80% of that weight, not the shoulders.
| Pack category | Typical volume | Load capacity | Frame type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day/scouting hunting pack | 1,500–3,000 cu in (25–50L) | Light loads | Internal frame or frameless |
| Multi-day backcountry hunting pack | 4,000–6,500 cu in (65–105L) | Heavy loads, including meat | Internal frame with expandable meat shelf |
| Meat-hauler / expedition hunting pack | 6,500–9,000+ cu in (105–150L+) | The heaviest pack-outs | External or hybrid frame |
Well-known hunting-specific frame systems include Stone Glacier's Sky series, Kifaru's Reckoning and Fortress lines, Mystery Ranch's Metcalf and Pop Up 38, Exo Mountain Gear's K-series, Eberlestock's meat-hauler models, Badlands' Sacrifice and Superday packs, ALPS OutdoorZ's Commander external frame, and Kuiu's Icon Pro. Each uses a different balance of internal-frame comfort versus external-frame raw capacity, but all are built around the same idea: carry a hunting kit comfortably on the way in, then convert to a load hauler on the way out. Hunters comparing raw meat-hauling capacity should look closely at true external frame backpacks, which trade some carrying comfort for the highest rated loads.
Camo and muted earth-tone patterns help a hunting pack blend into terrain and avoid catching an animal's eye through movement and contrast; they don't change how the frame or hipbelt performs. Pattern choice should match habitat and season, and many states require a blaze-orange cover or panel during firearm season regardless of the pack's base color.
Common options include patterned camo — Kryptek Highlander, Realtree Edge, Sitka's Optifade in Open Country or Timber, and Kuiu's Vias and Verde 2.0 — built to break up a hunter's outline in specific terrain types, and solid earth tones like Ranger Green or Coyote Brown, which work across more seasons and don't date as pattern trends shift. State hunting regulations on hunter orange vary and change season to season, so hunters should check current state rules before a hunt; many packs are sold with, or paired with, a removable blaze-orange panel or pack cover to meet that requirement without giving up camo the rest of the year.
Size a hunting pack the same way as any load-bearing backpack: measure torso length from the C7 vertebra at the base of the neck to the iliac crest at hip level, then match that figure to the pack's torso-adjustment range before looking at volume. Hunters should size the frame's rated load capacity for the heaviest expected pack-out weight, not just the base kit carried in.
Base pack weight — everything before an animal is down — is usually kept close to the general 20%-of-bodyweight load rule of thumb used across backpacking, the same target that applies to standard 45–55L multi-day packs on a non-hunting trip. A hunting pack's frame then needs headroom well above that base figure, since a single boned-out elk quarter can add a great deal of weight on its own. Late-season and mountain hunts add another variable: hunters heading out in snow or freezing temperatures should also review how winter and snow packs handle extra insulation layers and traction gear, since a cold-weather hunting kit packs heavier and bulkier than a warm-season one. Getting torso fit right matters more, not less, once a pack is loaded near its rated maximum — a mis-sized frame concentrates that extra weight on the shoulders instead of the hips.
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What very heavy loads do to the body
Hiking research rarely studies loads of 60 pounds or more, so military studies are the main evidence. US Army doctrine says a properly conditioned soldier's fighting load should ideally be about 30% of body weight and an approach-march load about 45%.1 A 2021 review notes soldiers are often required to carry more than 45 kg, roughly 99 pounds, and lists injuries from stress fractures to nerve problems such as tingling and numbness.2 Knapik's review adds foot blisters, back strains, knee pain and rucksack palsy, a nerve injury from strap pressure.3
The energy cost climbs with every kilogram. Huang and Kuo measured metabolic energy rising roughly in line with load, about 7.6 watts per extra kilogram, and UK infantry testing found cost rose about 1% per added kilogram.4,5 The same 2021 review points out that speed, grade and terrain can be changed, not just weight.2 For a hunter, that means two slower trips on a gentler line can be safer than one brutal carry. The 20% body-weight figure used for the base kit on this page is a hiking rule of thumb, not a tested limit.
Hips, shoulders and keeping meat close
How much weight a hip belt takes is disputed. The Washington Trails Association says around 80% goes to the hips, while Army doctrine says that with a frame and hip belt carrying 31 to 90 pound loads, about 30% sits on the hips and lower back and 70% on the shoulders.6,1 Either way, Knapik's review says hip belts should be used whenever possible because they reduce shoulder pressure.3
Where the meat sits matters too. Keeping the load's center of mass as close as possible to your own gives the lowest energy cost, which is the logic behind a meat shelf that sits between the frame and the bag rather than lashing a quarter to the outside.3 Army doctrine also notes that compression straps stop an internal load from shifting.1
Being seen, and where hunting is allowed
Colorado requires firearm big game hunters to wear fluorescent orange or pink, and advises, but does not require, other outdoor users to do the same.7 Pennsylvania does not require hikers to wear orange but suggests orange visible from all directions.8 The Mark Twain National Forest goes further for hikers: cover your backpack with orange and avoid white or tan in deer season, since it can resemble a deer's tail.9 In spring turkey season, the Hoosier National Forest warns that blue and red can resemble a turkey's head.10
Public land rules differ too. Hunting is authorized in 76 National Park Service units, and national preserves permit it while national parks proper do not.11 Check the specific unit and your state's current regulations before a trip.