A backpack that’s been properly designed and constructed is one of life’s pleasures, and Spika’s Drover Hauler pack and frame bring joy when you’re facing the most unpleasant back-country hunting conditions.
This is a hunter’s backpack that’s every bit as good as some of the best of the big-brand hiking packs, designed not just to be comfortable and cart camping gear but to also carry your rifle and the meat and trophies you’re hoping to bring home.
There are two parts to the Drover Hauler system, the frame and the pack, which can be separated. There are two pack sizes — 40 and 80 litres — which both fit to the same frame.
The 40L pack is intended for shorter hunts of a day or two, maybe three, while the 80L one will give you self-sufficiency in the bush for a lot longer. You can buy one frame and both packs, swapping depending on the hunt you’re doing.
The one I’ve been trialling is the 40L pack, and its overall design is exactly the same as the 80.
The pack has one large compartment, a smaller secondary compartment, two pouches on its hip straps, and ammo storage in the hood. There are two external pockets on the sides, plus webbing, straps and loops to attach all manner of things to.
It carries a rifle centred on its back and supported in a fabric boot.
But its real trick for hunters is its frame-mounted meat tray — more of a sling than a tray — which allows you to securely carry any haul of meat in a game bag between the frame and the pack. You could also carry a trophy there.
I have loaded this pack up to my limit with meat, all without having to worry about how to deal with the existing contents of the pack, and carried it out without excessive strain (if you ignore the burning legs and heaving lungs!).
I won’t describe how to use it because Spika has excellent instructional videos on its website.
However, I will say you should pay attention to how you get it balanced because I found the added weight and bulk of the meat changed the way the pack hung from the frame and, if I didn’t readjust various straps, it increased the load on my shoulders. By easing straps, the balance came good again so that my hips carried most of the weight.
It’s all about using the Drover properly, and it’s a complex enough setup that you should familiarise yourself with it before you are way out bush with a dead sambar at your feet and a knife in your hand.
There is so much adjustment in the frame and the way the pack attaches that it can be set up to fit almost any adult — and fit well. Again, I won’t explain as there’s too much to say: watch the videos and take your time to get it right before you head bush.
The main compartment of the pack opens at the top with a roll that’s covered by the removable hood. However, there’s also a zip right down its back which I used most of the time for access.
Another zip beside that one opens the secondary storage, which is very handy for keeping the things you reach for most often: snacks or whatever else.
Hangers and a pouch in the main compartment are designed to accommodate a water bladder.
At 40 litres nominal capacity, there’s tons of room for a couple of days out in the scrub with enough basic camping gear and food.
If it rains, the Drover is water resistant to a significant degree but there’s a rain cover in a small pocket on the base of the pack.
The whole system is built extremely strongly. The frame has aluminium supports and the main canvas is thick. The zips are YKK and the clips are Duraflex, brands that have a good reputation.
The stitching, seams, cord, everything is specified and finished to a high standard — you can see the pack is built to survive heavy use and to last for years.
It’s no lightweight, at about 2.9kg. That’s not overly heavy, though, and seems entirely acceptable considering the hard use Spika intends for the Drover.
I’ve got into the habit of just taking the frame when I’m hunting fallow or goats locally, simply because it makes it ten times easier to cart out the meat. The pack’s biggest outing was sambar hunting in remote country, where it was filled with equipment and food for the walk in and loaded with added meat on the way out. It has always performed perfectly.
Several of my mates each bought a Spika Drover after seeing me using it.
The strength, flexibility and capacity of the 40L Spika Drover Hauler are all very good. It’s a fair dinkum backcountry hunting backpack that’s exceptionally well designed and executed.
You can find them in gunshops and online. The 40L pack and frame combo costs $489.95 and the 80L setup is $549.95. The packs are available in olive or Biarri camouflage.
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