Remember the last time you were standing in line at a register and the lady in front of you was digging for a few pennies to pay her bill through a purse the size of a duffle bag.  She has everything in there but the kitchen sink.  You wondered, if she fell into it, she would disappear and you would see her face on the side of a milk carton the next time you went to the grocery store.  That’s the way I felt having to dig through my backpack out in the field.  I just knew I’d fall in, never to be seen again.  Oh, you’d remember me every time you were driving down the road and passed a poor dead skunk lying on the side of the road.  “What ever happened to that guy who smelled like a skunk?

Last year, browsing through the Wal-Mart Hunting aisle while my wife did the grocery shopping,  (Isn’t that where all the men go), I spotted a backpack, smaller than the one I owned, but covered with pockets and straps.  I got to looking…it even had a bladder for drinking water and the bottom zipped off, meaning I could get two backpacks for the price of one.  Man, I have to go find the wife and beg, plead, make promises I’d regret, to throw one of these into her buggy.

What I’m talking about is the FieldLine Brand of Backpacks.  Here’s a picture of mine, my backpack that is.

I love this thang.  Before, I had a big backpack with one huge compartment and one small pocket on the front the size of my wallet.  My wife bought for me for Christmas and you know you can’t complain!  But out in the field, I would need something and it would always be at the bottom of the pack.  When silence and movement need to be minimized, flopping around in the bottom of your bag to find your glasses or a snack is not good.

The FieldLine Backpack has ten pockets for just about everything you can need sitting in your stand waiting for Mr. TenPoint to come knocking at your door.  And on days you don’t need everything, the bottom fanny pack unzips and detaches from the backpack.  It comes with the Buddylock Modular System that allows you to attach other pouches for items like your GPS or cover scents.

My backpack also came with a bladder for water.  I no longer have to walk to or from my stand listening to water slosh in a bottle.  The bladder secures in a pouch inside the main backpack and has a bite tube that runs out the top and attaches to the front strap.  I quietly reach up and place the tube in my mouth and bite…Nice cold water at my lips!  The back also has contoured pads sewn in to prevent muscle fatigue in your back.

You know what’s good for the Goose is good for the Gander…Well; my wife decided she needed a new one, too.  So as we walked down the aisle, she spotted a smaller backpack with a water bladder.   She doesn’t carry all the items I carry because we usually hunt close to each other.  But she will always be hydrated.  She also has a FieldLine fanny pack that she keeps handy to keep her release and arm guard in.

My advice: Get online  and get yourself a good, quality, durable backpack from FieldLine! 

Looking forward to the Spring Turkey Season,

Ron Parker

This hunt was made possible in part by our sponsors: 

Mathews, Inc. Bushlan Camouflage, Carbon Express,

The Gean-Edwards Company, Rynoskin, Trophy Ridge, VMASS, North Starr Tree Stands, 

Shed Hunter Co., Fieldline, DoskoSport, Lumenok, Tru Fire Corp., Rocket Aeroheads, Quake Industries, Limbsaver

Copyright 2004, Bowhunting North America

All Rights Reserved