DO i need to use foam to carry my compound inside my pack? or should the bow be tied outside my pack?
I use a Jansport book sack. I strap it to my the back of my stand and pack it wherever I go. When I am in my tree, I use my safety harness excess strap to tie it to the tree with me. Works great.
I use a Badlands 2200 and love it. It easily holds the bow by closing the holding back straps. It's light, holds lots and has straps on the bottom for my Thermo suit or heater body suit, if needed. I bought the Monster last year, but I'm just using it for setting up stands....it's too bulky to pack inside the big pack. I use a smaller fanny pack that fits inside the main pack. It holds all the stuff I need for following a blood trail and doing the finishing stuff. While I use mostly fixed position stands, I did buy a lone wolf hand climber this year. I just carry it like a suit case with one hand, I may try putting the pack on it, but it seems too bulky to be practical for that...
I have used a Badlands Monster for probably 5 years now. It's a great pack. With that said, I'll likely upgrade to a Kifaru Tailgunner at some point. I really like all the modules you can add to the Kifaru to customize exactly what you want, plus the padded Omni Belt and Shoulder straps you can add on are a much better design IMHO. The Badlands is great, but the Kifaru's are awesome and tough as nails.
I used a Game Plan System on my climber, summit open shot this fall. The system is a pack frame that attaches to the stand. Worked out great, much better on long hikes in. Good back padding and a belt. I then tie on my eberlestock mini me pack.
I use a fanny pack. I am not hunting anywhere mountainous or not local so I have no reason for a back pack. For me, a fanny pack is easy to climb into a tree with and is more comfortable to wear. If I take any trips or anything I will probably use a back pack.
