How Do I Choose a Bow Hunting Backpack?

Short answer: Three things decide it: capacity (2 L for a day, 3 L for long days or hot weather), the liner build (EVA or TPU), and whether your pack actually has a bladder sleeve and a tube port. A bladder is only useful if the hose reaches your mouth without stopping to unshoulder — so check the tube length and the routing, not just the litres.

The decisions

Bladder or bottle?

The numbers

What to check before you buy or specify

• Tube length. 36.22 in of tube is what lets the hose run from a sleeve, up over the shoulder and still reach the bite valve.
• The sleeve. Confirm the pack has a dedicated 2 L / 3 L sleeve and a port for the tube to exit; a hydration sleeve is a standard structural position on our packs.
• Closure size. A wide screw cap is far easier to fill from a stream and to dry out afterwards.
• A shut-off bite valve. It stops the line draining into your pack when the hose sits below the bladder.
• Liner features. Our liner is quoted as light weight, odour-free, heavy-metal-free, highly transparent and soft yet tough — ask for those in writing.
• Weight. The insert is light by design; if it is not, you are carrying water you did not need.

Why brands source hydration from us

GAF OUTDOOR has 10+ years of OEM/ODM experience and 50+ brand customers in the US, Europe and Australia, from a 3,300 ㎡ plant with 20 production lines and 350+ staff. Bladders, bottle pouches and hydration sleeves run on the same nylon, hardware and colour library as our packs — sample in 7–15 days, custom OEM from 300 pcs per style, branding an existing design from 50 pcs.

Short answer: A hunting meat bag is a lightweight, washable sack for carrying quartered game out of the field. It keeps meat clean and away from your back, and organises the load on a frame pack's load shelf. Our range runs two directions — a 34 L / 70 L drawstring bag and a 10 L / 20 L zipped bag — in nylon, weighing 0.11–0.17 kg each.

What the bag actually does

• Hygiene and cooling. Meat travels in its own clean sack, not against a pack that has been in the truck bed all season, and a loose bag lets a quarter cool as you walk.
• Load organisation. On a load shelf, it turns a shapeless quarter into a balanced load.
• Keeps your pack usable. Blood and fat stay out of the pack body, so the same frame pack carries your camp the next morning — and two bags weigh under half a kilogram between them.

Size and spec

Which size you need

• 10 L / 20 L — boned-out meat from a deer, or one smaller quarter. Good when the bag rides inside a pack and is only filled at the end.
• 34 L — a full quarter from a deer, or a smaller elk quarter.
• 70 L — a whole deboned animal, or a pack-out where you want one load per trip instead of three.

What to check before you buy or specify

• Closure type. A drawstring is faster one-handed in the dark; a YKK zip with a flap holds a shape and stays closed in a pack.
• Attachment points. Look for webbing loops or buckles so the bag ties down to a load shelf instead of shifting.
• Weight against capacity. A 70 L bag at 0.17 kg is the point — you are already carrying the meat.
• Visibility. A high-visibility orange option helps you track a bag in deep cover or after dark.

Why brands source bags from us

A meat bag only works if the pack can carry it, so we build both: our lightweight aluminium frame pack is quoted with a 150 lb / 68 kg meat bag and a load shelf, and a game bag pocket is a standard structural position across the range. GAF OUTDOOR has 10+ years of OEM/ODM experience and 50+ brand customers in the US, Europe and Australia, from a 3,300 ㎡ plant with 20 production lines and 350+ staff. Bags use the same nylon, YKK hardware and camo library as our packs — sample in 7–15 days, custom OEM from 300 pcs per style, branding an existing design from 50 pcs.

Short answer: Choose on three points. How you carry — a plain webbing strap is enough for the walk from the truck, a padded sling is for full days on foot, and a wide padded sling is for a heavy rifle. How it attaches — sling swivel studs, quick-detach push-button swivels, or a clip. And how quiet it stays — soft webbing and foam instead of loose hardware knocking the stock. Our range runs 14 models, GS-001 to GS-014, and the GS-001 is rated to 300+ lb / 136+ kg.

The decisions, in order

Six things to check

• Load rating. Ask for it in kilograms or pounds and get it in writing; the GS-001 carries a 300+ lb / 136+ kg rating.
• Foam and a non-slip backing. Low-density foam spreads the weight; a textured back pane stops the sling creeping off the shoulder.
• Adjustment range and buckle. A single easy-adjust buckle is faster to set than two sliders, and it holds better.
• Hardware noise. Metal swivels that rattle against the stock undo the point of a quiet hunting rig.
• Swivel compatibility. Check the stud or QD socket on your rifle before ordering, and confirm the swivel size.
• Width versus bulk. Wider is more comfortable and more to carry; match it to the rifle, not the catalogue photo.

What we build

The sling line covers GS-001 to GS-014, plus the HX series. The GS-001 is the reference build: jungle camouflage material, durable lightweight webbing, low-density foam with a non-slip texture back pane, an easy-adjust buckle, and your logo embroidered on the pad. Camo, solid black and khaki colourways run across the range, with mesh and padded variants and a blaze-orange panel on one model.

Why brands source slings from us

GAF OUTDOOR has 10+ years of OEM/ODM experience and 50+ brand customers in the US, Europe and Australia, from a 3,300 ㎡ plant with 20 production lines and 350+ staff. Slings use the same camo library and hardware as our packs and cases — sample in 7–15 days, custom OEM from 300 pcs per style, branding an existing design from 50 pcs.

Short answer: A hunting stool pack — also called a chair pack — is a rucksack with a folding metal seat frame built into it. You carry your gear on your back, and when you reach the stand you sit on the pack. It is the standing answer to European driven hunts and long ground sits: one load instead of two, and no separate stool left behind in the truck. Capacity runs 25–30 L, and the seat frame on our 30 L model is rated to 120 kg.

Stool pack vs the alternatives

The line at a glance

A detachable frame folds flatter for shipping and can be replaced without replacing the bag.

What to check before buying or specifying

• The rated load on the seat frame. Ask for the figure in kilograms. 120 kg is what makes a frame safe for a heavy hunter in winter clothing.
• Detachable or fixed frame. Detachable ships flatter and is serviceable.
• A gun rest. On a driven hunt the rifle is in your hands for hours; a rest built into the frame is worth more than another pocket.
• Quiet fabric. Rustle gives you away — brushed shells are the quietest option, with waterproof 500D nylon when weather is the bigger risk.
• Waist belt and back panel. You are carrying the pack and the frame, so a padded belt and a ventilated back panel decide whether hour four is comfortable.

Who needs one

Driven hunts with a stand number, roe and red deer stalking with long glassing sessions, and any ground hunt where you sit for hours in one spot. If you walk for miles and rarely sit, a plain day pack is lighter; if you sit more than you walk, the stool pack wins.

Why brands source them from us

GAF OUTDOOR has 10+ years of OEM/ODM experience and 50+ brand customers in the US, Europe and Australia, from a 3,300 ㎡ plant with 20 production lines and 350+ staff. Stool packs use the same quiet shells, camo library and hardware as our day packs — sample in 7–15 days, custom OEM from 300 pcs per style, branding an existing design from 50 pcs.

Short answer: A hunting vest is a sleeveless carry system worn over a shirt or jacket that keeps the gear you reach for constantly — shells, calls, a rangefinder, water — on your chest and waist, and puts what you harvest in a rear game bag. The three types are the turkey vest, the upland or bird vest, and the general-purpose hunting vest. Capacity runs from a few pockets to a 25 L rear pack panel.

The three types

What a vest should carry

• Shell loops or a shell pouch within reach of your reloading hand.
• Dedicated call pockets, so a slate and a box call are not fighting for the same space.
• A rangefinder or GPS pocket on the chest, where you can reach it while sitting down.
• A rear game bag, front-access if you walk — that is what keeps a bird cool and out of your hands.
• A detachable seat cushion. On the 905-054 it is 5 cm thick and unclips instantly, which is what makes a long sit workable.
• Water. A bottle sleeve or hydration sleeve beats a bottle loose in a coat pocket.
• Blaze orange panels for upland seasons that require visibility.

Fit and construction notes

A vest is worn over layers, so the harness has to adjust across a heavy jacket as well as a shirt — buckle-adjustable shoulder straps rather than fixed webbing. Look for mesh where the vest meets your back, and check that the game bag drains: a wet bird left in a sealed compartment is the fastest way to spoil a hunt.

In production terms a vest is a small order item — fewer panels than a pack, but more hardware and pockets per unit — which makes the pocket layout the single biggest decision in the technical pack.

Why brands source vests from us

GAF OUTDOOR has 10+ years of OEM/ODM experience and 50+ brand customers in the US, Europe and Australia, from a 3,300 ㎡ plant with 20 production lines and 350+ staff. Vests run on the same camo library, MOLLE webbing and hardware as our packs — sample in 7–15 days, custom OEM from 300 pcs, branding an existing design from 50 pcs.

Short answer: Hunting gaiters are fabric tubes worn over the boot and lower leg to close the gap between the boot top and your trouser hem. That gap is where water, mud, briars, ticks and seed heads get in — and in snake country it is where a strike lands. Our range covers eight models, from 390 mm snake gaiters to short canvas gaiters, in M / L / XL calf sizes.

The four types

Sizing

On the GA-001, the complete pair weighs 0.48 kg in bonded canvas. Measure the widest point of your calf over the trousers you hunt in — that, not shoe size, is what decides M, L or XL.

What to look for

• A full-length front closure. A zip backed by hook-and-loop opens wide enough to fit over boots and stays shut in brush.
• A top cinch strap. Without one, a gaiter slides down the calf within an hour of walking.
• An under-boot instep strap. This is what keeps the hem anchored to the boot; a lace hook alone is a weaker alternative.
• A reinforced front panel on snake models, where the shin takes the contact.
• Quiet fabric if you stalk. 500D nylon is tough but audible; bonded canvas and brushed faces are quieter.
• Camo matching to the rest of your line, or Pantone colour matching for solid colourways.

Where they fit in a hunt

Gaiters are the cheapest way to extend a boot you already own. They turn a 6-inch boot into over-calf protection for wet ground, snake country or a briar field, and they pack flat when you do not need them.

Why brands source gaiters from us

GAF OUTDOOR has 10+ years of OEM/ODM experience and 50+ brand customers in the US, Europe and Australia, from a 3,300 ㎡ plant with 20 production lines and 350+ staff. Gaiters run on the same camo library, hardware and QC process as our packs — sample in 7–15 days, custom OEM from 300 pcs, branding an existing design from 50 pcs.