ALPS OutdoorZ
ALPS OutdoorZ Pursuit
The ALPS OutdoorZ Pursuit is one of the best-selling budget hunting day packs in America: 2,700 ci (44 L) of quiet brushed-tricot storage on a light aluminum frame, with a drop-down bow/rifle boot and an included blaze-orange raincover for around $100. It's a fixture in Midwest treestand and spot-and-stalk deer hunting, though the suspension isn't built for packing quarters.
Specifications
Features
Pros
- ✓The drop-down bow and gun boot is the standout feature — Rokslide users call it a system that 'works great and keeps everything tight' for hands-free climbs to the stand.
- ✓A blaze-orange raincover comes in the box at ~$100 — a feature the $400 Badlands 2200 doesn't include at four times the price.
- ✓The brushed tricot fabric is genuinely quiet in brush, which is why whitetail bowhunters repeatedly pick it over stiffer, crinklier packs in its price class.
- ✓Reviewers single out the lumbar and lower-back padding as far better than a sub-$100 pack has any right to have.
- ✓The waist-belt pocket swallows a rangefinder or release, keeping essentials reachable without dropping the pack.
- ✓At 2,700 ci (44 L) it carries more than most similarly priced day packs, with a big front pocket, mesh bottle pockets, and a hydration sleeve keeping it organized.
- ✓At 4 lb 7 oz it undercuts the Badlands 2200 by well over a pound while offering nearly identical volume.
- ✓Amazon owners consistently rate it among the best value hunting packs sold, with years of reviews describing it as 'more pack than the price suggests'.
Cons
- ✗The Rokslide verdict is unambiguous: it will not comfortably pack out elk quarters — the thin harness collapses under real meat weight despite the aluminum frame.
- ✗Cheap plastic buckles are the recurring failure — multiple forum owners report broken buckles and shrug it off as 'you get what you pay for'.
- ✗The one-size harness runs short: reviewers over about 5'11" consistently say the torso and shoulder straps don't fit them properly.
- ✗The zippers are noticeably loud — an ironic flaw on an otherwise quiet pack that bowhunters call out at close range.
- ✗ALPS's limited warranty only covers manufacturing defects, a big step down from the unconditional lifetime coverage Badlands offers in the next price tier.
- ✗The solid foam back panel has no ventilation channels, so early-season hunters report a sweat-soaked shirt on warm hikes in.
- ✗There's no meat shelf or load sling — hauling anything beyond backstraps means improvising with the lashing straps.
- ✗Forum users generally treat it as a starter pack — most who get serious about western hunting replace it within a couple of seasons, so don't expect it to grow with you.
Compare the ALPS OutdoorZ Pursuit
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