My Budget DayPack Solution

[DannyBows]

I just wanted to share my solution for small packs for hunting, and just storing stuff. I'm a big fan of surplus military gear. It's hard to beat the quality at the price it goes for. I use several, the first is the Molle Waist/Butt pack. It can be used around the waist, or slung over a shoulder. It has a waist belt that tucks away so you can either use it with the strap, or snap it onto a belt. I love this pack, and use one to carry/store archery gear for everyday practice also.
The second is a Sustainment pack. It's made to be attached to a larger pack, but I picked-up some surplus adjustable, clip-on straps, as it has grommets for them, and use it as a shoulder pack. It can also be attached to a belt. I love this one too, it's very handy.
Both packs are heavy duty with great zippers.
The next one is a 3 day Assault Pack by SDS. I've been using one of these for 16 months everyday to haul my stuff around, as I ride a motorcycle all year. This pack has been abused to the extreme and I still can't tell it's not new. Awesome value in a small/nedium pack. It has a thin sheet of foam and a sheet of hard plastic on the pack panel for comfort and to keep stuff from poking you in the back. It's also Hydration Bladder compatible, with several holes for running the tube out of. Both of the small packs attach to the assault pack also, very versatile option if I find myself needing to haul alot of stuff.
The last I just picked-up. It's a pistol belt with padded shoulder straps. It makes a great platform to attach the smaller packs to. I can add a canteen, knife, or other small pouches as needed. What is nice about it also is as opposed to clipping stuff to your normal belt, which has a tendency to pull my pants down all the time and torment me all day, it's on the top of a jacket, which covers your normal belt.
This keeps all my stuff down low, so if you haul a Climber or other treestand your back is unobstructed for that. It will also keep your back open if you use a back quiver. I plan to use the waist pack attached to the rear of the belt for gear when I am hauling my Hang-on stand. I have several Thigh packs also that make a great place to put stuff you need at hand when moving about. Those can be either military or commercial, but are very handy. I like having gear spread around instead of all in one pack on the back. It's more comfortable and makes getting to stuff so much easier.
The waist packs can be had for about $15 or so shipped, I just got one for $10 shipped. The Sustainment Packs usually go for $10 to $20 shipped. Depends on how patient you are watching the auction site. Just got one of them for $10 shipped also. The Assault pack can be had for around $35 or so shipped. I got the belt w/suspenders for $16 shipped. This is just well made, durable, and very versatile gear at a very affordable price, which goes a long way these days. It works well for me, and I hope some of you might get some ideas from this post. I know the Military guys know about this gear, but not everyone is familiar with it. There are very good videos on YouTube of guys giving reviews on this gear also.

The waist pack.
 


 
The Sustainment pack.
 

 

Assault pack.
 

Belt with Suspenders.
 

[bornagainbowhunter]

Awsome.  It looks like you have your pack situtation taken care of.  I need to find a military surplus store close to the house.

God Bless,
Nathan

[Sc0]

To make things more comfy you can get padding for the belt, also H suspenders are a bit more comfy as well.

picture of the padding:
 http://www.triadtactical.com/Belts-and-Belt-Pouches/

[DannyBows]

Thanks ScD, that does look like a better combo. I'll be upgrading soon.

[Sc0]

Delete: duplicate of the one above.

[wbyrd]

I used to love my assault pack when I was in the Army. I now have a small daypack from REI that I actually call an assault pack. I like the sustainment pack, I might have to look for one of those. And I really like the idea of using the belt with suspenders to keep your pants belt stuff from pulling your pants down, I hate when that happens... When I was in the Army we would pull that back strap up kinda high on the suspenders so the back part of the belt would ride higher than the front. Really helped to get it up out of the way of your kidney pad on your rucksack. And one thing that it looks like you've already done but may not be obvious to others, is you can take the extra strapping that hangs out of the buckles and roll it up and duck tape it so it doesn't flop around.

[highpoint forge]

I'm not telling anyone anything new here, but a lot of "surplus" these days is stuff made overseas that is crap. Junk zippers, un-reinforced garbage. I'm saving for something that will last forever and wasn't made in a sweatshop by a 7 year old....Not cheap but awesome,  3 Day Assault pack from Mystery Ranch.

[DannyBows]

You do have to be careful not to get the knock-off stuff they make for the Airsoft crowd. It's easy to tell the difference. The Paintballers seem to be the target market for that stuff. The Chinese are trying to copy our issued gear. It's easy to spot in picures, let alone if you handle it in person.

[highpoint forge]

PM'd you. No thread-crapping intended......