Updated November 2026: this guide was rewritten around the packs Venator carries now.
The pack is the one piece of gear that can end the hunt on the way out
A rifle that doesn't fit costs you a few groups at the range. A pack that doesn't fit costs you the pack-out, at mile three, with a load riding wrong and your shoulders doing the work your hips should be doing. So this guide skips the brochure language and sorts the packs we sell by the job: all-day hunts, treestand and saddle sits, multi-day trips with meat coming out, waterfowl, and run-and-gun turkey.
How we built it: Venator has not field-tested these packs. The lineup was chosen by people who chase whitetail, and every spec below comes from the manufacturer's listing on our store. Where a listing doesn't publish a number (capacity, empty weight, torso range, load rating), we say it isn't listed rather than guess. If one of those numbers decides your purchase, email info@venatorhunting.com and we'll ask the maker before you order.
The quick answer
| Pack | Best for | Capacity | Key features (from the listing) | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forge Creek Expedition Pack | Multi-day hunts with a pack-out | 85L (5,100 cu in) | Adjustable, removable gun/bow boot; 2L hydration bladder; rainfly with carry bag; ripstop and water-resistant accessory pouches | From $191.99 |
| Forge Creek Icon Pro Hunting Day Pack | All-day hunts from the truck or camp | Not listed | Ripstop fabric; YKK zippers; glove-friendly hardware; padded shoulder straps and back support; hydration compartment | From $113.99 |
| DSG Outerwear Lightweight Hunting Backpack with Tree Stand Shelf | Treestand whitetail | Not listed | Built-in tree stand shelf; multiple compartments and pockets; padded shoulder straps; sternum strap | $99.98 |
| Twisted Iron Tree Hugger Gear Pack | Saddle and mobile hunters | Not listed (Regular: 14 in wide, 27 in tall open; 1 lb 13 oz) | Straps to the tree with metal buckles; waterproof polyester; MOLLE loops; smooth nylon pocket linings for quiet access | From $69.99 |
| Dry Pocket Waterproof Floating Backpack Dry Bag With Shell Bag | Waterfowl and wet country | 30L | IPX8-rated magnetic auto-sealing closure; detachable shell bag that holds over 75 shells; TPU shell; 2.4 lb empty | $164.99 |
| Forge Creek Icon Pro Waist Pack | Turkey and run-and-gun hunts | Not listed | Oversized hip-belt pockets for mouth calls and shells; main compartment sized for pot and box calls; lashing points and D-rings for binoculars and a rangefinder | From $50.99 |
Prices are the current variant prices on our store; "from" means the camo or size options are priced differently.
Forge Creek Expedition Pack: the multi-day hauler
This is the biggest hunting pack we carry and the one built for hunts where camp goes in on your back and meat comes out the same way. Forge Creek's listing gives it 85 liters (5,100 cubic inches) and says it ships with a 2-liter hydration bladder, an adjustable and removable gun/bow boot, a rainfly with its own carry bag, and both ripstop and water-resistant accessory pouches. The boot matters on the first trip out, when the rifle or bow is riding on the pack along with the first load. Large side pockets round out the storage.
What the listing doesn't tell you: empty weight, torso range, frame type and a load rating. For a pack you plan to load with boned meat, those are the numbers that matter most, so ask us before you buy if you need them. Price: $191.99 in Olive, $197.99 in Strata.
Best for: western elk and mule deer hunts of several days with a pack-out built in. If you are hunting out of the truck and coming back every night, it's more bag than you need.
Forge Creek Icon Pro Hunting Day Pack: the all-day pack
Forge Creek calls this its premium hunting day pack. The listing describes ripstop fabric with YKK zippers, glove-friendly hardware, padded shoulder straps and back support, breathable materials, and dedicated compartments for hydration, small accessories and bulky gear. That covers the day kit most hunters actually carry: water, layers, a kill kit, calls and lunch.
What the listing doesn't tell you: capacity in liters, empty weight or a load rating. Treat it as a day pack, not a meat hauler, until the maker says otherwise. Price: $113.99 in Olive, $119.99 in Strata.
Best for: spot-and-stalk, still-hunting and day hunts from the truck or a base camp, including the mule deer hunts where we'd rather point you at this than sell you an 85-liter bag you'll never fill.
DSG Outerwear Lightweight Hunting Backpack: the treestand pack
The feature that sets this one apart is a built-in tree stand shelf, so the pack becomes storage once you're set up instead of something hanging off a hook. The listing also describes multiple compartments and pockets, padded shoulder straps and a sternum strap for stability on the walk in. It comes in Stone Grey, one size.
What the listing doesn't tell you: capacity, weight or dimensions. Also note the listing marks it final sale: no returns or exchanges. Price: $99.98.
Best for: whitetail hunters who walk in, climb and sit, and want their gear organized at the stand.
Twisted Iron Tree Hugger Gear Pack: the saddle organizer
The Tree Hugger isn't a hiking pack. It's a gear pack built for saddle hunters: you pre-pack it, and once you're in position you open it and strap it directly to the tree with its metal buckles, so everything sits in front of you. The listing describes waterproof polyester, heavy-duty zipper pockets with rope pulls, a deep wedge-style pocket with a cinch cord for larger gear, two cinch-cord pouch pockets, an elastic flashlight pocket, a 20 oz drink pocket, a zippered mesh pocket, a protective cover flap that buckles closed for the walk in and out, MOLLE loops throughout, and smooth nylon pocket linings for quiet access.
This is one of the few listings that gives real numbers. The Regular is 14 inches wide, 27 inches tall open and 14 inches closed, and weighs 1 lb 13 oz. The Mini is 12 inches wide at the same heights and weighs 1 lb 8 oz. Capacity in liters isn't listed. Price: $79.99 Regular, $69.99 Mini. It comes in Strata camo and Bottomland camo.
Best for: saddle and mobile hunters who want quiet, no-digging access at the tree. Pair it with whatever you use to carry your platform and sticks in.
Dry Pocket Floating Backpack Dry Bag With Shell Bag: the waterfowl pack
Dry Pocket's listing (the model is called "The Murphy") describes it as a backpack dry bag, blind bag and tackle bag. The main compartment is 30 liters with an IPX8-rated magnetic auto-sealing closure held by two Fidlock magnetic buckles, a waterproof TPU shell, padded back straps with carabiner hooks, and internal pockets including a removable pouch. A second waterproof shell bag with two web pouches detaches by four magnetic buckles and, per the listing, holds over 75 shells. Full, it measures 22 inches tall, 17 inches long and 7 inches wide, and it weighs 2.4 lb empty. The listing also says it floats.
What the listing doesn't tell you: how it carries under weight; it's a dry bag with straps, not a framed pack. Price: $164.99.
Best for: duck and goose hunters wading to the blind or running a boat, and anyone hunting country where a wet pack ruins the day.
Forge Creek Icon Pro Waist Pack: the run-and-gun option
Forge Creek pitches this as a lighter, more streamlined alternative to a turkey vest. The listing describes ripstop fabric and YKK zippers, padded waist wings and a back panel with foam and air chambers for ventilation, a main compartment sized for pot calls, box calls, strikers and pruning shears, oversized hip-belt pockets for mouth calls and shotgun shells, dual zippered accessory pockets, a shove pocket, and exterior lashing points and D-rings for binoculars and a rangefinder.
What the listing doesn't tell you: capacity or weight. Price: $50.99 in Olive, $53.99 in Strata.
Best for: spring gobblers and any hunt where you move often and carry little.
How to choose
1. Start with the hunt: day, multi-day or meat-hauling
- Day hunts from the truck or a base camp: a day pack such as the Icon Pro, or a stand-specific pack like the DSG or Tree Hugger if you sit more than you walk.
- Multi-day hunts where camp rides on your back: you need volume for shelter, sleep system and food on the way in.
- Meat-hauling: volume only decides whether the meat fits. The frame, hip belt and load lifters decide whether you can carry it. Our elk pack-out math runs the trip-by-trip numbers for a bull, and the mule deer pack-out guide covers when a frame pack beats the drag rope.
2. Capacity
REI's backpacking guidance is a reasonable starting point: 30 to 50 liters for 1 to 3 nights, 50 to 80 liters for 3 to 5 nights, and 70 liters or more for trips of 5 days or longer. A hunting pack has to do one thing a backpacking pack doesn't, which is bring out more weight than it carried in, so size for the trip out as well as the trip in. Of the packs above, only the Expedition Pack (85L) and the Dry Pocket (30L) publish a capacity.
3. Frame
An internal-frame pack is built to move the load onto your hips and stay stable on uneven ground. REI notes that frameless packs are "much more uncomfortable under heavy loads," which is why they belong on fast, light day hunts rather than pack-outs. None of the listings above publishes a frame type or load rating, so if you're buying for meat, ask us to get those numbers from the maker first.
4. Fit
Fit by torso length, not height. REI's method: measure from the C7 vertebra (the bony bump where your neck meets your shoulders when you tilt your head forward) down to the line across the top of your hip bones. When you adjust a loaded pack, go in this order: hip belt first, with the padding hugging the top of your hip bones, then shoulder straps, then load lifters (snugged to roughly a 45-degree angle back toward the pack), then the sternum strap. The goal is for the majority of the load to ride on your hips. Our elk pack-out tips cover how to load the meat itself.
Every pack we carry is in our hunting backpacks and bags collection. First-time customers can use WELCOME10 on packs.
Frequently asked questions
What size hunting backpack do I need?
Match it to the trip. REI's guidance is 30 to 50 liters for 1 to 3 nights, 50 to 80 liters for 3 to 5 nights, and 70 liters or more for 5 days or longer. For day hunts, a day pack is enough. If meat is coming out on your back, size for the trip out, not only the trip in.
Do I need a frame pack for hunting?
For day hunts, no. Once you might carry meat, yes: an internal frame moves the load onto your hips, and REI notes frameless packs are much more uncomfortable under heavy loads.
How do I fit a hunting backpack?
Measure your torso from the C7 vertebra to the top of your hip bones. Then tighten the hip belt over the top of your hip bones first, followed by the shoulder straps, the load lifters (about 45 degrees) and the sternum strap. Most of the weight should ride on your hips.
Which pack do you carry for hauling out elk or mule deer?
The Forge Creek Expedition Pack, at 85 liters, is the largest hunting pack we carry and is built for multi-day hunts. Its listing doesn't publish a frame type, empty weight or load rating, so email us if you need those before you buy.
Has Venator tested these packs?
No. Venator hasn't field-tested them. The specs come from the manufacturers' listings, and we say so when a number isn't published.
Keep reading
- Elk Pack-Out Math: How to Choose a Pack That Can Carry It
- Elk Pack-Out Tips: Load Order, Meat Care and the Proof-of-Sex Trap
- Mule Deer Pack-Out: When a Frame Pack Beats the Drag Rope
- The Out-of-State Hunt Packing Checklist
- Hunting Gear Reviews: Optics, Knives, Packs and Boots
Sources: product specifications and prices from the manufacturers' listings on venatorhunting.com (checked November 2026); REI Expert Advice, "How to Choose a Backpack" and "How to Size and Fit a Backpack."
