My wife has the Pop Up 28 and I've thought about buying one for myself for deer/antelope but I already have a Metcalf. I think it would be a great option if that was your intended use.
How is it fully adjustable? They haven't changed them since they came out as far as I know. The yoke is sewn to a foam paded panel with a couple frame bars in tube also sewn in. I had a 2200. Yep, worked great as a day pack and well thought out for spotting scope use. It's just too small for me. If you have all your stuff in one there isn't a lot of room left to strap meat on to it. The meat shelf is just a sling on the front of the pack moving the weight away from your body. I used mine for one elk and got rid of it soon there after it just didn't work for me.
I've had a MR Popup 28 for several years and love it. I'm someone who tends to overpack, so the limited interior storage saves me from myself, and the load shelf works great up to ~80lb of meat, where you'll start to notice the lighter padding vs the GuideLight frame. I've packed entire antelope and WT does, half a muley buck + head, and two elk fronts in a load with it, and no complaints.
They’ve changed completely. The new one, that came out last year, is very different. Sounds like you had the one my brother does. I guess you’re right though, the hip belt does not move up and down. It comes in multiple sizes though. Yours must have been pre-batwing system. The wings close around the load. There’s a meat shelf that then comes out the bottom and clips to the top of the pack too. I carried half a deer with head easily, with my layers and such inside it. It is a great day to 3 day pack in my estimation. It definitely is not a 5 to 7 day pack. Check the website, 2200
How is it fully adjustable? They haven't changed them since they came out as far as I know. The yoke is sewn to a foam paded panel with a couple frame bars in tube also sewn in. I had a 2200. Yep, worked great as a day pack and well thought out for spotting scope use. It's just too small for me. If you have all your stuff in one there isn't a lot of room left to strap meat on to it. The meat shelf is just a sling on the front of the pack moving the weight away from your body. I used mine for one elk and got rid of it soon there after it just didn't work for me.
My pack had wings, and meat sling, etc. There was no way to adjust the shoulder straps for your height/torso, you just tighten the shoulder straps vs sliding the entire yoke up and down. I have a big chest and this doesn't work well for me. Pinching my shoulders to lift the waist belt to the proper position with a lot of weight makes it really uncomfortable. No way I could get 3 days worth of stuff in mine and have a useful pack for hauling meat. They are great for a day pack and hauling the occasional light load of meat.
How big are you? I’m 6’6” 250, work out daily, and it fits great over all my stuff. What year was your pack? To each his own. It’s like shoes. I have long narrow feet that are a nightmare to fit… The quality and customer service is unmatched.
that's a bit of an understatement! It's like they're made of lead.
Unfortunately, no one carries much more than backpacks in this area. Whitetail hunting is the only game in town and most either drag out whole or load it up on a four wheeler/side by side. I prefer to actually look things over in my hands before I buy, but it really isn't an option.
The difference between the 28 and the 38 is capacity, right?
The load shelf on the pop up will allow you to pretty much carry all the weight you are comfortable with.
That’s correct. The 28 is big enough for necessities but small enough to make you consider what you’re packing. If you’re someone who likes to have top & bottom rain layers and a puffy in the pack, you might want to go up to the 38.
I used a Metcalf for several years, and also had a Longbow bag which was the predecessor to the Sawtooth. You can get all your day stuff in the Sawtooth. Honestly though, I quit switching bags because I didn’t feel it was worth the effort and just used the Metcalf all the time.
What do you mean by "meat?" What animal(s) do you intend to hunt and in which region(s) and terrain and cover types?
. Anticipating the possibility of hunting in severe winds of the Beartooth high country again is my main reason for trying internal frame packs, with easier passage through thick cover when bushwhacking being a secondary consideration. Unfortunately, though very robustly constructed with a decent shoulder harness and nice hip belt, the empty ILBE weighs 8.92 pounds.
