Eberlestock half track

Discussion in 'Knives, Gear, Guns And Other Tools' started by BlueDogScout, Mar 2, 2018.

  1. BlueDogScout

    BlueDogScout Member

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    hello everyone. I have heard great things about the halftrsck but I have never been around one. I am looking for advice on it. Or maybe a good video review. Many of the YouTube ones I looked for aren’t that great. Thanks
     
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  2. anrkst6973

    anrkst6973 Member

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  3. AddictedToSteel

    AddictedToSteel Member

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    @Stone
    Batter's up.
     
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  4. Stone

    Stone Member

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    Thanks for the heads up. Late in my long day. I'll be back.

    halftrack hang trail-01.JPG
     
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  5. Wolfman Zack

    Wolfman Zack Member

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    What kind of advice you looking for aside from that you should buy one with all haste?
    Seriously, I have one, it’s amazing, just not exactly low profile, definitely looks very Tactical/military.
     
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  6. BlueDogScout

    BlueDogScout Member

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    Thanks

    Thanks

    Thanks for the pic, on the side pockets are they pass through? I’m trying to figure out how to carry my council tool woodcraft axe and boreal 21 saw on the sides.

    It’s a great pack from what I can see but at $250 I want to make sure, I prefer external frame packs so I’m on the fence. I saw these have the aluminum inserts so I like that it has ridgity like an external frame. I’m hot blooded and internal frame packs make me bake. How are these for airflow? In cold weather I have a big sleeping bag and pad how does it ride with stuff lashed to the top and bottom? Aside from the question above on the upper side pockets, on the lower side pockets I have 2 questions. First, I carry the stainless Nalgene bottle nested in a toaks 750ml cup with bale handle will they fit (4.25” diameter) and still get full use of the upper side pockets? (I carry two of these, thinking one on each side.) I do not really Use hydration bladders so how easy is it to get the water bottles or do I need to take the pack off each time? I think that’s it for now. I was looking at the bigger jackhammer also, a custom malice pack from tactical tailor (more expensive) or the day Ruck from the hidden woodsman to pair with my haversack I have loaded for day hikes. I think I’ll have more questions but it’s a start thanks in advance.
     
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  7. BlueDogScout

    BlueDogScout Member

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    Maybe some pictures of how people load theirs out would be useful. I have most of my gear sorted and refined but can never figure out a pack.
     
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  8. ny700

    ny700 Member

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    I’ve had a half track for about 7 years. It is a well made pack that can handle a lot of weight.

    That said it is not a pack with a lot of volume especially for its weight.

    What do you plan on using this pack for? What type of environment are you typically going to be in?
     
  9. BlueDogScout

    BlueDogScout Member

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    Mostly just bushcraft style camping, I plan on being in the midwestern woodlands hunting, camping and fishing. Aside from the gear I have mentioned above I’ll have extra clothes a stuff sack with my tarp, my cook kit and food, a shotgun and ammo and that’s it. I have a small repair kit and first aid kit. I need around 35-45 liters of space which can include pouches attached to the MOLLE.
     
  10. Bushman5

    Bushman5 Member

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    Hey Brother! thanks for the shout out!

    this hike here I took my HalfTrak......and loaded it to the t*** to almost 50lbs worth of winter gear (despite no snow - it was bitter cold) . The Halftrak did not even blink. I however.......being burnt out from work , did blink at the weight.....lol

    [​IMG]

    another hike, slightly lighter.....

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    you can fit an INSANE amount of gear , and organize it, very well into the halftrack.

    the waist belt takes 90% of the load off your shoulders.
     
  11. Stone

    Stone Member

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    8:45 am Saturday. Caught up reading after sleep (but before coffee ... what was the topic? :confused: Oh, right, electronic dance music music ** . <just kidding; inside joke.** ;) >

    {** Disclaimer: if this thread about my favorite pack that I've ever owned, carried and worn ever goes to sleep for longer than about a month, I may wake it up with some loud music one night. And Bushy may help with that, since we have a big overlap in our music appreciation criteria. :) }

    Bushy and I are probably (two of) the hardest core advocates of the Halftrack (HT) in this neighborhood -- although Bushy is an order of magnitude more hard core than me in terms of bushcraft and adventure ... but I'm older and better looking, so it all works out in the end. :) I also have a bit of a different philosophy of packs and using them than he does (not better or more right, just different), so I may offer a different perspective.

    BlueDog, you and I are a lot alike. I can already tell that. Like me, you research your (big, expensive) gear purchases well before you buy, leaving no stone unturned, weathering criticisms like, "You moron! You're overthinking this! Just buy the damn thing!" Been there, done that.

    I've read your list of (reasonable) questions. I have some responses, or am forming some responses, and considering producing a short video for this thread -- a prototype/draft prelude to a longer (probably an hour-long) video about the HT and the contents I carry in it, which change seasonally, depending on whether the night temps are going to be in the 40 - 60 F range, or in the single digits.

    I also have a different packing strategy for when I'm going in to set up base camp (BC -- which for me lasts for 1 - 4 weeks). I'm not interested in covering lots of mileage to base camp any more. Been there, done that, boring to me. I'd rather walk in with gear up to a few miles (say two, far enough off the highway to kill any remnant of the sound of motorized vehicles :mad: ), and am willing to make multiple trips. Then, once BC is set (see image), THEN the mileage begins in exploratory day, sometimes overnight trips using the HT carrying everything I need for a bivy away from BC, whether planned or unplanned.
    ______

    OK, details of this camp (image 1). It's a repeatedly-used (by me only; off trail) camp -- finding the right hammock hang trees in a landscape like this is neither trivial nor easy -- up at Pollywog Gorge, just up from Pollywog "Pond" (it's a freaking lake, but small by lake standards up here) in a 43,000 acre Maine Public Reserve Land called Nahmakanta, amidst hundreds of square miles of wilderness connected in a complex way. Mt Katahdin is only ~ 12 mi N (as the crow flies); I can walk a couple of miles over from BC to see it (at least its base under the clouds) at a famous (marked on the maps) overlook on the AT across Lake Nahmakanta (fourth image).

    This was it last October, my second week there last fall (first was in late September) just a few weeks before first snow. I was in this spot for eight days. It's in the southern edge of designated wilderness that stretches ~100 mi south and north well beyond Katahdin.

    A friend dropped me off at the trailhead, ~ 2.5 hrs north of my apartment; the last hour of that is 25 mi of gravel logging road. I carried all gear UP to camp in two packs -- HT (sitting on a pad in foreground) and my 75 liter Gregory Atlas expedition pack (under the blue rain cover on the tree to the right). I had no car -- closest gravel road is 1 mi; closest paved road: 26 mi -- and no cell phone. (No coverage/signal up there anyway for anyone. But I hope this year to buy an emergency transponder.)

    Eight days later, another friend picked me up at the trail head (on his second try in three days to find me). We got near record rainfall during my stay: over 5" in about five days with ferocious winds. Temps at night were in the high 30's/low 40's F. It was wet, but I stayed dry.

    For the record, I'm 67, not a big person, and proud to still be doing trips like this while most of my neighbors are official couch-potatoes stuck to their big screen TV's that wouldn't give mother Nature a sideways glance.

    I'll be back later with responses to your specific questions. Now, where's my da'ym coffee? :confused:

    Hammock day 7 dialed.JPG

    View uphill from the hammock.

    View uphill from camp.JPG

    Part of the extensive rock ledges that my camp exists among. This granite bedrock is part of a massive granite dome covering (and exposed for) hundreds of square miles. It is continuous with Katahdin, which is the highest part of the dome.

    I plan to spend as much time up there next summer as possible before leaving for Scotland. Here's where I want my main BC next year. It's just a few hundred meters up hill from the one above, but far more protected from winds.

    IMG_2741.JPG

    The last image is Lake Nahmakanta -- one of the small, large lakes in the region. (Moosehead, the largest in Maine, is about 15 miles SW.) For perspective, this is looking across the narrow part of the lake; it's 5 - 6X longer than that. (This is glacially-formed topography, so lakes up high tend to be long and narrow, or the larger ones have long, narrow fingers.)

    The overlook where I shot this is about 2 mi walk from BC on the AT. The entire dark band just under the clouds is Mt Katahdin (5,267'/1,605 m), largest peak on the east coast of the US, I believe; at least in the NE. On the other side of that ridge on the far side of the lake is Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness just south of the park (200,000 acres) surrounding Katahdin.

    This is home to the northern-most 100 miles of the AT -- at least the US AT. The IAT (International Appalachian Trial) that goes into Canada and picks up in Europe after a ship across the Atlantic) starts ON Katahdin. (It's called the IAT over there because back in Pangea days, 100 mya, it was all connected geologically. I'm going to walk on it in Scotland next year. :) )

    This is northern Maine. Canada is on three sides of this region: Quebec to the W and N, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to the east. The weather may at times be beautiful here. Maine is known for its beyond-beautiful, comfortable summers, but even they are regularly punctuated with extreme, at times violent weather. People who go into wilderness here in ANY season either need to know what they're doing and have the right gear to survive, or they die. No foolin'.

    For me, that gear includes an HT. ;)

    IMG_2757.JPG
     
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2018
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  12. anrkst6973

    anrkst6973 Member

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    This forum make me all warm inside.....or it might be the polish sausage with jalapeños I had for breakfast. :D
     
  13. Strigidae

    Strigidae Administrator Staff Member

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    I think the earlier models are pass through side pockets and later they changed that? Am i right fellas?

    Good pack. Solid but heavy. You can put more in it than you think. For me it shines best like the photos above where you put it on a tree and its in pantry mode. All gear easily accessible and organized.
     
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  14. Mountainmistwanderer

    Mountainmistwanderer Member

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    I have been in the woods with someone sporting that pack. While made for toughness and weight it doesn't have the volume to weight ratio. Meaning that it is a low volume pack considering the empty weight. Comes in around 7-8 pounds empty. I would prefer the USMC MARPAT Large ILBE which I have owned until giving it to a hunting buddy. I had 75lbs in it and never felt that weight on my hips or shoulders. Plus the ILBE might have some of the features you're looking for.
     
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  15. BlueDogScout

    BlueDogScout Member

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    That looks great I like the expanability with MOLLE pouches, I can see gear lashed in the first photo. I like the reducing weight from the shoulders, that’s one carry requirement I’m looking for. Until I joined this forum last week I honestly never heard of the halftrack. I saw a few photos and enough reference while reading older posts I decided to look into it. Seems like the “right” pack but the eberlestock site has a poor description for the details I need and the photos don’t show much. Off to YouTube I went. Some reviews where better than others but most were empty packs showing features. That was great the first 5 times after that I needed more. I like seeing the fit and function not to mention different load options. I always adapt for the trip so the versatility of MOLLE intrigues me but a good MOLLE pack has eluded me. So thank you all and keep the input and photos coming!

    PS- is that black med kit the eberlestock med kit? I tend to like multiple pieces of gear from the same manufacturer... ;)

    Both?

    I hope you are wrong I want the pass through for the axe and saw so that all my pockets and MOLLE are free.... I really like the pantry mode idea. Other than a school backpack all of mine have been top loading I like the front loading.
     
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  16. BlueDogScout

    BlueDogScout Member

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    Thank you, I know what I have been hearing on the halftrack has been selling me on it but I want to investigate all options before I buy.
     
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  17. BlueDogScout

    BlueDogScout Member

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    First off thank you and WOW! Normally I post the random factual information on sites but you sir have me beat hands down. I grew up in Maryland and Pennsylvania on the AT and I reference Pangea all the time but I didn’t know the AT went into Europe. (I knew about Canada lol) Your camping locations are beautiful and make me miss the east coast even though I’ve been in the Midwest for twice as long now. Great camp set up by the way looks great and comfy. I want to say that if I make it to 67 I hope to be as awesome as you are and I mean that whole heartedly. If this was the response you gave prior to coffee I can’t wait to see the post coffee post! I would love to watch that hour long video and see any pictures. I also prefer the base camp methodology which is why I use a haversack or belt kit in addition to the main pack. My main gear and stuff for fire, repair, hunting, fishing, gathering and first aid stay in the haver sack, my cooking gear, food, shelter and sleeping stuff are the main pack. The “pantry mode” that works as mentioned in another post on this thread I like for that base camp mentality. I also like the shelf
    The bag has so my haversack can just be packed in as is and easily removed. A bag within a bag with other bags in that! Now that’s OCD level organization lol... thank you all for the great input so far, keep it coming. As my first real post on this forum I am happy to see the community for what it is. I was already devoted to ESEE knives so I’m glad to see the quality and value translated to the forum!
     
  18. Wolfman Zack

    Wolfman Zack Member

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    @BlueDogScout I think @Stone covered it well, but I agree with his points fully.
    The HT is at its best as a long day/overnight pack, rather than a typical multi-day pack which typically has a lot more volume.
    For 2-3 nights in temperate weather, it’ll hold the weight fine, it would be more of an issue of packing somewhat light and avoiding bulk.

    As for strapping things to the outside, I have not been overly satisfied with it, but a small tarp or poncho is fine, but I wouldn’t attach a full bedroll or sleeping bag to the outside, the one attempt at that that I Made resulted in the sleeping bag flopping around and hitting me in the arse every step, not pleasant.
     
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  19. BlueDogScout

    BlueDogScout Member

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    I did a quick google search to look at the pack. Looks like it might be a candidate... it’s a little on the large size, I was looking for 35-45 liters with the MOLLE option to expand. I’m not a camo guy, since coyote brown is a marine Corp thing do you know if they come in that all I saw was the marpat, marpat is a deal breaker for me. I know I will get flack for that buy astetics matter to me and camo just is not my “thing”. I will look into the pack though.
     
  20. BlueDogScout

    BlueDogScout Member

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    Thank you that does help. In scouts I had your basic jansport and Keith external frame packs. As I got mor into Bushcraft and away from car camping and wwii reenacting I started looking into modern gear again. I started with the alps commander external frame and I like it but at 70 liters it was too large and I started packing unneeded gear just to fill it. I then bought the Llc bean Continental Ruck. Great day pack with the scouts but lacks good expandability or lashing options. Does still require my haversack, belt rig option. I then went to the Swedish LK-35. Once again a great pack, I added better shoulder and hip straps but still it doesn’t take the weight from my shoulders and lashing beats my legs up. It’s annoying at least. The size of the LK-35 is great but although it has lashing options no MOLLE expandability with moding and it’s top loading. I make some gear and can mod and repair but I’m not satisfied with other aspects I can’t change so what’s the point? The LK35 is a little small for winter camp. Thus my requirements; 35-45 liters, lashing and MOLLE expandability, taking the load off my shoulders and now after learning of the halftrack front loading. (And as mention above, no camo, I prefer browns, tans, and greens although orange is my favorite color so I’m okay with that! Lol)
     
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