Lawnboy
Well-known member
Like I mentioned in my other thread I was able to try out the new Stone Glacier Sky 7400 pack on our sheep hunt this year. I don't own one (yet) 
but have enough friends with them that I've have the opportunity to try them out. Last year I took the Terminus and really liked it but was excited to try the new and improved line of packs the Sky series.
Upon getting the pack just before the hunt I noticed many changes over the Terminus. The first being a long zipper down the front for easy access to the bag. This was one of my complaints about the Terminus bag. Now I could unzip and access the load without tearing down through the top. It worked awesome! They also added some interior "slant" style pockets to put things in and so you can access them with the middle zipper. This is another improvement I felt. Because the bags are built for the minimalist in mind they really cut out many pockets. I'm a pocket guy and felt these helped out without any weight gain. The one thing I think I would like to see different with these pockets is having them be not so slanted. It seemed by the time you layed the pack down and went to access them you would find the items just about to slip out. It would be an easy fix just simply not make the slant so steep.
The belt has been redesigned and worked perfectly. Last year the belt with a heavy load would ride up over the padding a rub you. They've now attached it so it can't do that and solved the problem.
The bag can be extended out to full capacity or reduced to a smaller pack which was real handy. One would think that having a 7400 cubic inch bag would be overly massive for day hunts but the way these are set up they compress easily and they never feel "too big".
Having mostly used Mystery Ranch packs the last few years the first thing you'll notice is the difference in feel. The Stone Glacier packs feel more flat backed to me. There isn't much curve of the pack on your back. It feels weird at first usually when empty but with a load on you quickly don't notice it. The thing I like better now over my MR packs is the shoulder strap set up. The Stone Glacier pack uses 2 separate pads on your back versus one middle one and boy does it help with ventilation. You don't have anything touching your spine but 2 pads riding on each side of it. Again I think as with anything new it's going to feel different but the first 15 minutes into the hike you don't notice it.
The things that I love about these packs is the fact that they have a load shelf for the meat and that the bag detaches from the from the frame. The weight is distributed against your back and your gear is clean and not bloody in the main bag. All the Stone glacier packs allow the use of their load lifters even with the bag detached and away from the frame. It's well thought out.
I did try out their gun sling and really liked it over the "Gun Bearer" I used last year. I ended up cinching the barrel part in with the side straps of the pack because of the bipod I had on. One other thing I'd like to see them put on is those locking style buckles. It might of been because of the weight of the gun and stock and because it was wet from the rain but the buckle would slip and loosen up a little. It didn't happen with any of the other buckles so I'm not sure what the deal was.
Overall it's a great pack. There's something about picking one up and feeling how truly lightweight they are that has me wanting one. I've done enough packing now with one in the last 2 years to say that I really like them. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone. As with any gear it would be awesome to try it out without spending the money, but maybe at least go to the store and put some weight in it and walk around. This is my honest review of them. No pack is perfect and there are lots of great packs (still love my crew cab for short hauls) out there but if you want to shave some pounds and have some other neat features not found in other packs you should look at these. Feel free to ask me any other questions about them.
Here's some picts in action from this year.
but have enough friends with them that I've have the opportunity to try them out. Last year I took the Terminus and really liked it but was excited to try the new and improved line of packs the Sky series.Upon getting the pack just before the hunt I noticed many changes over the Terminus. The first being a long zipper down the front for easy access to the bag. This was one of my complaints about the Terminus bag. Now I could unzip and access the load without tearing down through the top. It worked awesome! They also added some interior "slant" style pockets to put things in and so you can access them with the middle zipper. This is another improvement I felt. Because the bags are built for the minimalist in mind they really cut out many pockets. I'm a pocket guy and felt these helped out without any weight gain. The one thing I think I would like to see different with these pockets is having them be not so slanted. It seemed by the time you layed the pack down and went to access them you would find the items just about to slip out. It would be an easy fix just simply not make the slant so steep.
The belt has been redesigned and worked perfectly. Last year the belt with a heavy load would ride up over the padding a rub you. They've now attached it so it can't do that and solved the problem.
The bag can be extended out to full capacity or reduced to a smaller pack which was real handy. One would think that having a 7400 cubic inch bag would be overly massive for day hunts but the way these are set up they compress easily and they never feel "too big".
Having mostly used Mystery Ranch packs the last few years the first thing you'll notice is the difference in feel. The Stone Glacier packs feel more flat backed to me. There isn't much curve of the pack on your back. It feels weird at first usually when empty but with a load on you quickly don't notice it. The thing I like better now over my MR packs is the shoulder strap set up. The Stone Glacier pack uses 2 separate pads on your back versus one middle one and boy does it help with ventilation. You don't have anything touching your spine but 2 pads riding on each side of it. Again I think as with anything new it's going to feel different but the first 15 minutes into the hike you don't notice it.
The things that I love about these packs is the fact that they have a load shelf for the meat and that the bag detaches from the from the frame. The weight is distributed against your back and your gear is clean and not bloody in the main bag. All the Stone glacier packs allow the use of their load lifters even with the bag detached and away from the frame. It's well thought out.
I did try out their gun sling and really liked it over the "Gun Bearer" I used last year. I ended up cinching the barrel part in with the side straps of the pack because of the bipod I had on. One other thing I'd like to see them put on is those locking style buckles. It might of been because of the weight of the gun and stock and because it was wet from the rain but the buckle would slip and loosen up a little. It didn't happen with any of the other buckles so I'm not sure what the deal was.
Overall it's a great pack. There's something about picking one up and feeling how truly lightweight they are that has me wanting one. I've done enough packing now with one in the last 2 years to say that I really like them. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone. As with any gear it would be awesome to try it out without spending the money, but maybe at least go to the store and put some weight in it and walk around. This is my honest review of them. No pack is perfect and there are lots of great packs (still love my crew cab for short hauls) out there but if you want to shave some pounds and have some other neat features not found in other packs you should look at these. Feel free to ask me any other questions about them.
Here's some picts in action from this year.
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