When it comes to bringing a product to market, Sitka Gear is as good as it gets. Most products that finally get produced have had 3-4 years in the making and testing phases of evaluation prior to ever being offered to the public. In 2018 Mountain Hauler 6200 hit the market after years of testing and now its little brother, the 2700 is finally being released and it is well worth the wait.
At 2,700 cubic inches, it is definitely a full-sized day pack and gives you plenty of room to carry everything you are going to need for a day in the mountains. The “U” shaped zipper main compartment gives you great access to everything you are going to need as well as the ability to see it without having to dig around. Two full-length external pockets are well thought out with the trophy hunter in mind and will fit nearly all full-sized spotting scopes. The other can be used for rolled up rain gear or one of the new flash shelters. The 19” deep pocket is smaller at the bottom and larger at the top to accommodate those spotting scopes, but the versatility for other things is great. An internal pocket provides a great place for storing knives, lights and other things you might need. The top pocket provides very easy access to snack items, phone, or anything that needs to be readily available. The pack is H2O compatible and with a huge bladder area, which can accommodate the largest of bladders in excess of 3 liters.
Once you get this thing loaded up for the day, you will be happy to know that the frame and overall design is capable of handling loads of up to 45 lbs. We might have pushed it past that a bit in our testing and it held up just fine. However, it is rated at up to 45 lbs. The heavy-duty polyurethane frame sheet-type material helps the pack hold its shape as well as two reinforced aluminum stays, giving the pack a stable ride when loaded. The padded back, shoulders and waist belt, as well as load lifters help you get the perfect fit for your load. You can tell that the designers of this pack live in grizzly country as the waist belt has the ability to put a bear spray can on one side and your favorite big-bore pistol on the other.
There are plenty of tie down straps to secure a load to the outside of the pack and especially a bow when you are covering ground and have trekking poles in hand. Once you are into your hunt area and clear your bow, you can store your trekking poles on the side by the use of the side pocket and tie down straps. Putting your tripod in the other side balances out the load and makes for great travel.
The main portion of the pack is made from 220 Denier Nylon with a two-sided Polyurethane Coating. This helps with waterproofing as well as the ability to repel blood. The blood that does get into the fabric will wash out easily. The downside to this is that the fabric is a bit noisy, but since most of us drop our packs for that last couple hundred yards of stalk, it isn’t an issue. These Mountain Hauler packs are rugged and durable and will definitely last you multiple seasons.
