Backcountry hunters seem to continuously tinker or tweak their various set ups. Creating a piece of gear that is unique to you instills a sense of pride whether it’s a set of custom colored bowstrings or arrow fletchings or a rifle that has been dipped to match your favorite camo—we all understand how the tiny details are incredibly satisfying. When it comes to backpack hunting, shaving off every ounce you can makes a major difference. Cutting edges of maps or the tops off of Mountain House meals might seem a little crazy to some hunters, but not to those who hunt the backcountry and live out of our backpacks. Your pack is no different; many of us have been tweaking our packs for years to fit exactly what we need without adding any extra weight. Some packs these modifications will do more for, others you can still modify to best suit your specific situation.
The most comfortable packs are typically the heaviest or so it can seem. This is why I am excited to run with a specific piece of gear this year: the Mystery Ranch Marshall backpack. Mystery Ranch is notorious for being both extremely comfortable and nearly indestructible. The Marshall has a layout that fits well with my style of hunting and, with a few tweaks, will fit it perfectly. In the following article, I’ll show you how I have made it “my Marshall” and, along the way, most likely illuminate a few of my own OCDs.
Changing Zipper Pulls
Stock zipper pull cords.
Old zipper pull p-cord weight of 18.2 grains.
The first change that I made to the pack was to cut the zipper pulls off. They were a little long so I shortened them and made them out of 1.8mm cord.
New zipper pull p-cord weight of 8.8 grains.
I used orange with a reflective thread in it, which has the little added bonus of being visual when you are looking for your pack in the dark after an evening stalk. Orange will also be my bowstring color this year—have to please those OCDs.
Drawcord Change
New 1.8mm p-cord on the snowcollar drawcords.
I also switched out the drawcords at the top of the pack: one on the snow collar and one on the main pack closer. I did this mainly to make the pack unique to me, but it also cut some weight, albeit less than an ounce.
Removing the Fanny Pack Belt
The next modification that I made was cutting out the fanny pack belt from the lid. I can tell you that I have never used a pack lid in this function and they always seem to get cut from my packs. This might be a nice function for some, but it doesn’t work for me.
I used a Havalon Piranta Edge knife although scissors might have been better.
Use caution when you start cutting and burn the severed ends to keep them from fraying.
There's also another section of fabric to remove on the top lid.
Continued Below.
Main Compartment Cutting
Moving on into the main compartment: There is a dividing shelf that separates the bottom compartment from the top.
It is sewn in on the one side and uses buckles to attach to the other side. Because I prefer one big compartment, I cut out this shelf.
In the same compartment there is also a compression strap that is used to hold items like a sleeping bag in place. I don’t plan to use it so I cut it out, too.
Additional Areas to Cut Weight
Cutting backpack straps to lose weight
There are several other areas in this pack where you could easily reduce weight. For instance, the daisy chain that runs down the back might get the knife along with the excess strapping on a few of the compression straps; however, for now, I’m happy with my current modifications that improve functionality and decrease weight. So, if you wanted to dive even further on modifying this pack, I could easily reduce the overall weight by at least a pound (which I might still do in the future).
Weight savings of a Mystery Ranch Marshall backpack
Item | Zipper pulls |
|---|---|
Oldweight | 18.2 gr. |
Newweight | 8.8 gr. |
Weightsavings | 9.4 gr. per zipper |
Total weightsaved | 79.2 gr. |
Item | Snow collar cord |
Oldweight | 132.6 gr. |
Newweight | 108.6 gr. |
Weightsavings | 12 gr. per cord |
Total weightsaved | 24 gr. |
Item | Fanny pack |
Oldweight | 435.8 gr.402.0 gr.99.2 gr. |
Newweight | 0 |
Weightsavings | -- |
Total weightsaved | 937 gr. |
Item | Sleeping bagcompartment |
Oldweight | 513.8 gr.245.8 gr.239.8 gr.223.6 gr. |
Newweight | 0 |
Weightsavings | -- |
Total weightsaved | 1,223 gr. |
Item | Total in ounces |
Oldweight | 5.17 oz |
Item | Oldweight | Newweight | Weightsavings | Total weightsaved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Zipper pulls | 18.2 gr. | 8.8 gr. | 9.4 gr. per zipper | 79.2 gr. |
Snow collar cord | 132.6 gr. | 108.6 gr. | 12 gr. per cord | 24 gr. |
Fanny pack | 435.8 gr.402.0 gr.99.2 gr. | 0 | -- | 937 gr. |
Sleeping bagcompartment | 513.8 gr.245.8 gr.239.8 gr.223.6 gr. | 0 | -- | 1,223 gr. |
Total in ounces | 5.17 oz |
Cubic Inches per Ounce of Pack Weight
Right off the bat it might not seem like taking 5.17 ounces of weight off the Mystery Ranch Marshall backpack is that much. But, this turns a 6,408 ci pack that used to weigh 7 lb. 2 oz., into a 6 lb. 12 oz pack. To take it a step further the pack weighs 108 ounces and the amount of cubic inches per ounce is 59.33 or 0.0168 ounces per cubic inch. A quick look at a similar backpack, the Stone Glacier Sky 5900 weighs 5 lbs. 8 oz. and is 5,900 cubic inches. Or 88 ounces and the amount of cubic inches per ounce is 67.05 or 0.0149 ounces per cubic inch.
One word of caution: making modifications this extreme will definitely void most warranties for many pack manufacturers.
12 Comments
Curtis Jackson
8/3/2017, 8:41:39 PM
Not sure why all the negative comments. Thanks for taking a lot of time and effort to put this together. And for all of those telling people to just ""lose some weight"" your argument is flawed. First of all, weight doesn't only fall off of your back and shoulders when you lose it, thereby decreasing the load on your shoulders, back and hips. It falls off of various parts of your body therefore negating any benefits of losing weight. The benefits lie in getting into shape, not the actual losing of the weight and this is why: In all weightlifting competitions, whether it's Olympic lifting or Powerlifting, there are weight classes for a reason. Heavier people lift heavier things easier. That is because the weight lifted is a smaller percentage of total body weight as you get bigger. For example, 50lbs is 25% of a 200lb man's weight while it is 33% of 150lb man's weight. Put simply, the bigger you are the easier it is to carry and lift heavy things. So, please drop the uneducated ""just lose some weight"" argument. It holds zero water in real life or scientific validity. I'd much rather be my 200lbs carrying a 100lb pack than 150lbs any day of the week.
Chad Dollick
8/3/2017, 12:15:05 AM
Yep, I'm on board with Dominic N. and Scott B. Buy gear that is lighter up front and get in shape!
Brandon Evans
7/26/2017, 3:00:38 PM
@ Anders C. Thanks for reading the article, glad that you found it useful. I get mine from a local hardware store, but Amazon has the same thing. Just search 1.8mm paracord and there are quite a few on there. Best of luck this season!