Predator hunters have different pack requirements than other hunters. A predator pack must be big enough to haul a moderate amount of gear, but not too large for short day excursions. If it has the room to carry a wet hide back to the truck or storage for an electronic call that is a big plus.

The predator pack needs small compartments to keep knives and calls separate for organization as well as stealth. It must be durable and able to withstand cold/freezing, wet weather. Weak straps, poor quality zippers or inferior material that can’t hold up to these conditions are worthless. While these are core requirements, we keep an eye peeled for new innovations, cool touches and functional ideas that will make a difference.

This PX pack test was done as a service to our dedicated readers. It’s not marketing hype or sales copy, but honest tests and field evaluations to help you find the perfect pack. For 2009 we poked, prodded, soaked, froze and worked these packs over so you won’t have to.

Waterproof Testing

Very few packs on the market, with the exception of whitewater rafting dry bags with pack straps, are truly waterproof. It is nearly impossible to combine material, stitching, flexibility and zippers into a package that is truly submersible. If they were, hunters would not be pleased with the trade offs. Waterproof packs would be heavy, noisy, and expensive – all overkill for most hunting needs. That being said, many packs are very water/weather resistant, meaning they can sit out in a rain storm, or be plopped down in a puddle or snow bank for an extended period of time and the contents inside will remain dry. Some features to look for in a water resistant pack are storm flaps, separate rain covers, waterproof zippers, treated or waterproof material. Our tests reflect real life hunting situations. We soaked the packs for an extended period of time to simulate a rain storm, set them in a pan of water to simulate wet ground or snow and then let them sit for an extended time before checking the contents for moisture. Almost all of the packs tested met our requirements for real world hunting conditions, the ones that didn’t were noted in their individual reviews under overall impressions.

Packs in the Cold

Since much of the time spent afield chasing predators is done in the winter, we decided to see how these packs hold up in the cold. While you won’t see a category listed for each pack as to how they did in the cold conditions, this test did affect our overall impressions. Since we tested these packs in the summer, we brought each pack into a walk in freezer, let them freeze for several hours then brought them out and started pulling zippers, opening and closing compartments, as well as twisting and bending the material. Packs that got noisy, brittle or stiff in cold weather received remarks to that effect.