Anyone tried the Hornhunter Full Curl System for a multiday pack?

[Walkathon]

I have an old one, and as you said, the waist band isn't terribly comfortable when loaded up heavy, but other than that, I've been really happy with it for a lower priced pack option.

 

[2ski]

Back before there were so many options, the Full Curl was the go to suggestion on Rokslide for people not being able to afford a more expensive pack. And Mystery Ranch was around and had been for some time. So I think you'll be happy. Also, there's a market for used full curls if you decide to upgrade.

 

[A207X2]

Get this. I called Hornhunter today to let them know that I needed to return the pack for fit reasons. I was provided the cell phone number of the owner. Didn't talk about returning the product he just asked what he could do to make a better pack for me. I said I needed another 6"-8" added to the waist belt. Again, I'm a pretty standard COVID 36" waist. He just said which one do you want, 6" or 8". I decided 8". We then talked about the pockets and where I wanted those relative to the belt. I asked to keep them forward on the belt so I could have easier access. He said sounds good. After the call, I took a few pics of the pack on my back with my cell, sent them to his cell so he could see what I was talked about. Done like dinner. I would have never expected that kind of customer service in the world that we live in today. Pretty amazing.

So, because of your post I've gone back and begun researching these guys closer and I'm impressed at what I've seen. Two days ago I was absolutely convinced that the MR Beartooth was the rig for me. Now I'm not so sure...

 

[sacountry]

The owner just texted me. My new belt is on it's way. He rushed the new built so I could use the back on my goat hunt next week. Helpful that all the manufacturing is done down there in Salt Lake. Rather than waiting for me to return the original belt then shipping the new belt, he's letting me just return the old belt in the same box used to deliver the new one.

 

[338 win mag]

The owner just texted me. My new belt is on it's way. He rushed the new built so I could use the back on my goat hunt next week. Helpful that all the manufacturing is done down there in Salt Lake. Rather than waiting for me to return the original belt then shipping the new belt, he's letting me just return the old belt in the same box used to deliver the new one.

Thats great customer service. I used one for 3 seasons and sold it for similar reasons. My waist was too thin for the waist belt to fit comfortably. I wish I had contacted them prior to getting rid of it because it was well built and had nice features. Ended up going with a Mystery Ranch which I am very pleased with.

 

[sacountry]

So, because of your post I've gone back and begun researching these guys closer and I'm impressed at what I've seen. Two days ago I was absolutely convinced that the MR Beartooth was the rig for me. Now I'm not so sure...

I looked hard at the MR Metcalf. The biggest hold up with the MR style was access to gear once it's in the pack. Price was another hold up.

 

[sacountry]

An almost 10 lb daypack? No thx

Definitely gave me some pause. The way I will use this pack is largely as a day hunter with the Curl Pack for 7.4 lbs. Volume is comparable to the MR Pintler at that point. Weight is 2 lbs more than the Pintler. I'll add the big bag when backcountry hunting. That gets me to 5200 cu in at 9.2 lbs. Volume wise its then comparable to MR Beartooth at 6.7 lbs. Clearly we're talking about a 2.5 lbs difference and I know that's a big difference for many. Those are the gives and takes as I see them.

 

[Walkathon]

The owner just texted me. My new belt is on it's way. He rushed the new built so I could use the back on my goat hunt next week. Helpful that all the manufacturing is done down there in Salt Lake. Rather than waiting for me to return the original belt then shipping the new belt, he's letting me just return the old belt in the same box used to deliver the new one.

That is GREAT customer service. Outstanding.

 

[kwyeewyk]

Get this. I called Hornhunter today to let them know that I needed to return the pack for fit reasons. I was provided the cell phone number of the owner. Didn't talk about returning the product he just asked what he could do to make a better pack for me. I said I needed another 6"-8" added to the waist belt. Again, I'm a pretty standard COVID 36" waist. He just said which one do you want, 6" or 8". I decided 8". We then talked about the pockets and where I wanted those relative to the belt. I asked to keep them forward on the belt so I could have easier access. He said sounds good. After the call, I took a few pics of the pack on my back with my cell, sent them to his cell so he could see what I was talked about. Done like dinner. I would have never expected that kind of customer service in the world that we live in today. Pretty amazing.

That's good to hear, I sent an email with suggestions at one point but didn't hear back, he was out of town at the time so probably lost in the email pile. Maybe I'll try again. I like the side pockets, can hold a solar battery charger and phone on one side and the other side snacks, flagging, compass, paracord/biners, extra ammo, headlamp, chapstick, anything else I want handy.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Definitely gave me some pause. The way I will use this pack is largely as a day hunter with the Curl Pack for 7.4 lbs. Volume is comparable to the MR Pintler at that point. Weight is 2 lbs more than the Pintler. I'll add the big bag when backcountry hunting. That gets me to 5200 cu in at 9.2 lbs. Volume wise its then comparable to MR Beartooth at 6.7 lbs. Clearly we're talking about a 2.5 lbs difference and I know that's a big difference for many. Those are the gives and takes as I see them.

2.5lbs is 6 days worth of dehys and your extra pair of socks.

To each their own, but I’d be looking at backpacking bags.

MR are pretty heavy compared to industry. A SG with access bag add on is 6lbs flat.

Big bags just give you room to pack unnecessary shit.

 

[kwyeewyk]

2.5lbs is 6 days worth of dehys and your extra pair of socks.

To each their own, but I’d be looking at backpacking bags.

MR are pretty heavy compared to industry. A SG with access bag add on is 6lbs flat.

Big bags just give you room to pack unnecessary shit.

Realistically I don't think I'd ever use all the bags at the same time for 9.2lbs. The frame plus 2000 ci meat bag is 6.4 lbs., which gives at least 2500 ci total for around $200 on sale with lifetime guarantee. Honestly this set up could be used for multiple days if you don't put meat in the meat bag on the first trip out just in between the frame and meatbag like other packs, and then empty your other gear after the first trip if you want to use the meatbag. I do like the meatbag because it holds the meat in place better, fit a whole mule deer doe on the bone in it.

I've used backpacking packs but I think they suck for hauling meat if not an external frame. There's way nicer packs than HH but if you don't want to or can't spend $300+ it can be a viable option. If they trim the weight and improve the harness/belt and a few other issues it would be a pretty competitive pack, especially if they keep the price the same.

 

[sacountry]

Packing up to head out after my goat in the morning for a 4 day hunt. True to his word, the owner of Hornhunter sent me a longer belt that arrived in time for my hunt. Adding 8" makes a huge difference in comfort and it also brings the pockets towards the front to a more easily accessible area. The camo colored pockets are the older, shorter belt. The stone colored pockets references the new, longer belt.

 

[sacountry]

Wanted to wrap up this thread with my field test. The modular feature of this pack was so beneficial to how I hunted. I started the hunt with the pack loaded to 64 lbs using the pockets on the frame, the big bag, and the little bag. Once at base camp, I dropped the little bag which had backup supplies, etc. I proceeded up to spike camp with the big bag and frame with all the pockets loaded, bringing the load down to about 50 lbs including my gun. Once at spike camp, I dropped the big bag and day hunted just with the frame and all the pockets. Frame and pockets empty was about 5.5 lbs I think.

The true test came on the last day. We broke spike camp and carried all our gear to our glassing spot. I was able to quickly and easily detach the big bag to day hunt with the frame from our glassing spot. One of my buddies had an MR pack, the Pintler. He didn't want to unpack his pack to lighten his load so he carried around his loaded pack that day while we day hunted. I eventually shot a goat and was able to put it all on the frame....giving my gun to one of buddies to carry back to the glassing spot (about a mile). Once at the glassing spot where I dropped the big bag, I gave the meat I was carrying to my buddy with the MR pack and I took out the hide along with my big bag. Both packs are easy to load with meat/hide.

Once at base camp, I added my little bag (seen in pic below). I was probably in that 90lbs - 95 lbs area with the hide at that point. The pack handled the weight fine, obviously you can tell that little pack ends up fairly far off the vertical plane of my body. While the weight was a lot, I wasn't feeling any pain/pressure points and was able to descend from base camp for about 3/4 of a mile before another buddy met us coming up from the trailhead. I was easily able to detach the small pack and have him walk that out.

I'm super happy with this pack. I agree with kwyeewyk that using both bags at the same time would not be a norm for me. I was definitely pleasantly surprised with the carrying capacity of just the frame with pockets. I wasn't expecting to have enough room to day hunt with just that. I didn't experience any issues with the shoulder harness system when fully loaded and I think that was in large part because of that larger belt they made for me. I think like most I prefer my shoulder harness to be only semi-tight, but not tight allowing 80% of the weight to end up on my hips. I did notice that my waist belt had about an inch of padding all around it while the MR pack had about 1/2" but I think that was simply an MR decision to reduce weight for their Pintler pack. Guessing their waist belt is thicker on beefier models. I do think this pack would have failed had I not had 8" inches added to the length of the belt. I've shared this with the owner for future consideration.

a couple of sneaky features that I liked....the load shelf on the frame has a pocket so I was able to stash my game bags in there. The pocket for my water bladder was also part of the frame so I was never without water in any configuration.

 

[Maxxis31]

Good work on the hunt. I’m a little late to the ball game but did run the full curl system for several years. It worked ok for me but my newer more expensive packs haul heavy or large loads so much more comfortably. I’ve done several backpacking trips with the HH system and when used all together things just end up too far away from the body making it difficult to maneuver. Not sure how much that load weighed but I ended up with both of my kids packs and my wife’s sleeping pad on my back before getting back to the truck. It was 8 miles out and my boys were only 6 & 9 at the time.

I still recommend the full curl system all the time as an entry level pack, I got a lot of use out of mine and it served me well.

 

[A207X2]

@sacountry Great thread and write-up. Thanks and congrats on the successful hunt.