Eberlestock Mainframe Pack

This pack carries very well. I'm 62, 6' at 173 lbs and mostly hike and backpack solo. This pack allows me to tailor my load to the type of excursion and season. The strap system allows me to secure any type of load in any configuration I need. As an external frame it provides excellent structure to the load with a slight cost of extra weight. I uses a 41 quart Rubbermaid industrial waste basket as my main pack basket and carry my sleep system in a 30 liter dry bag at the base of the load. In camp I can take all that off and haul whatever needs hauling. I can also empty the basket and use it to fetch kindling and/or water as needed. I purchased a 20 liter pack cover at REI which is held down with 1" web lashings to cover the basket and protect the contents. I'm very pleased with this pack. One recommendation I have is to purchase the extension straps in case one needs to carry something with a bit more girth (perhaps a 50 liter dry bag in winter?)

I love the concept of this pack. The ability to expand with a dry bag which can then be replaced with your meat-laden game bags. Good idea. However it needs some serious tuning to be functional and worthy of the price tag being asked. Pros: Comfortable adjustable padding and straps Quality, durable materials Light weight Cons: Tiny. I should have sent it back upon receipt when I realized how small this is, even when fully expanded. But I wanted to love it so kept it and regretted doing so for more than just its tiny size. The zip-in batwing gear pouches (ordered separately) zip from bottom to top which means gravity is always working against them. One side had a latch-hook to secure it from unzipping. The other does not. This was a problem more than once. Lashing/Straps. These 4 adjustable straps are for securing your expansion load (dry bag) or your meat (if successful). Aside from being a bit too short, they must also be secured and cinched over your gear pouches. If the pouches are full, their too-short length limits the capacity of your meat load or dry bag and requires your straps to put a lot of pressure on whatever contents are in the gear pouches (optics, range finder, etc). Not good. Slippery Buckles on Straps: the buckles on the straps that allow adjustment and cinching, don’t hold well, and loosen as you hike. Letting your load start to rock and potentially slip out. Freighter shelf: related to the tiny size of the pack, the flat spot where you’d stack your load is small/shallow meaning your meat load cannot be fully supported. This pretty much assures you’re gonna loose / drop your game load at some point. Especially if you boned out the meat... any load secured here must be rigid (bone in, or perhaps heavily bound by twine to stiffen the load) and it cannot be too girthy since the shelf is small and the straps are so short. I used this on a Mtn Goat hunt in SE Alaska. We got weathered out for most of the trip preventing us from getting into the goats. Perhaps what was a blessing. My son shot a small black bear, which we skinned and boned out. I carried the hide in my pack. He carried the meat in this F1, and the 2 mile hike down the mountain was a train wreck because of the issues listed above... I do not recommend this pack if you plan to shoot something larger than a Coos Deer.

I ordered military green. I like the frame. Adjustable for size, comfortable with a load. I haven't been able to get a Transformer Pack in same color, and have tried for several months. I tried the bat wings, which are ok in fair weather, but don't have the capacity needed in colder/wet weather. Looking around, I found Hill People Gear makes a bag they call the Decker Pocket for their frame system. Minus the zippers, the Decker Pocket is a good match for the Mainframe. Three external pockets on the Decker Pocket make it more useful than the duffels, and the strap system on the Mainframe works well with the strap system on the Decker bag. The Decker bag is also significantly lighter than the Transformer. The Decker Pocket even came in a matching green color among others that are available.

This pack frame has a multitude of uses. It is comfortable to carry. You can attach about anything you can think of to it between the straps and molle. I also have the transformer pack, duffle, and dry bag. The zipper system used for attaching the optional packs is questionable to me and the reason I dropped one star. I am not sure that it will be durable over the long haul. I would rather have had buckle attachments. I have just seen too many failures with zippers. Time will tell.

I have owned and tested a lot of Eberlestock gear and sometimes they overthink stuff and this at times this comes across in the gear. however this is by far the best exception to this i have seen, after a few little mods to suit my use i have a great tool. if your really carrying lots of weight (meat ect) then this is worth a look. I alpine hunt and this has become my friend in the hills.