Wash backpack or not?

[npaden]

Okay, after packing out an elk last week, my pack now stinks like elk pretty bad.

I'll be elk hunting again in a month, would you wash your pack or leave it stinky?

 

[Oak]

I wash mine. Don't like carrying around the scent of blood with me.

 

[Lawnboy]

In our neck of the woods only a fool would keep hunting with a bloody pack that will only continue to smell like rotting animals as the days go on. Too many bears and such.
Wash that sucker.

 

[Travis_Mt]

Wash pack out

I found the best way to wash my backpack out after pack out is to first rinse it out in the yard with a hose. This gets a lot of the blood out of it and also keeps the wife off your back by not bringing it in the house all bloody. Then I fill the bathtub up with water and let it soak. Rinse it a time or two, until the water is clear. Then I add scent free laundry detergent and rinse. Also recommended to do at the end of the year, to keep zippers free of dirt and operating correctly etc. Good luck and hopefully you need to clean it a few more times... Just remember to clean the bath tub out, this way it will looks like you are cleaning the bathroom and your will get bonus points!!!

 

[drahthaar]

I do exactly what travis just said. On about the third rinse with the water pretty clear, I throw a little oxyclean in the water and agitate it, soad for a while and then hang dry.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Wash it out now or throw it away in a month... your choice.

 

[Goldtip]

Yep, wash it out. I soak it in shop sink full of cold water over night, or a cooler or whatever you have handy. Rinse it and then I hand wash mine with scent free soap as well and rinse real well.

 

[npaden]

Thanks for the input.

Just to clarify, it's not all bloody or anything like that, it just stinks like elk. We hung the quarters overnight and they weren't bloody when we carried them out. I hauled the cape for a bit and it is what stunk the most. That makes the 4th bull carried on that pack without washing it in the last 12 months so I don't think I'll have to throw it away if I don't wash it, but it is getting smelly enough that I think I will wash it now.

Hopefully I'll be hauling another elk out in it in a month or so.

Thanks, Nathan

 

[Dinkshooter]

Personally, I give mine to my squaw to clean, after I return from the great hunt.

 

[hardscrabble]

Dink,
I thought Buschy cleaned your gear for you. Or... is that who you spoke of?