I just stumbled across the Nunatak Bears Ears 50 pack today and am very intrigued. I use a Bearikade Expedition a lot, and packing around it is a pain… and carrying it in a lightweight pack when packed to the max for a long trip is never comfy for the first few days.
The recommended max weight for the Bears Ears is 35 pounds–sounds pretty good for a ~28oz pack if it actually sits comfortably with that load. I do a lot of off-trail scrambling, and the low position of the bear can looks really stable.
My first pack was a Gossamer Gear G4 [edit: the original G4, not the G4-20 that the forum is auto-linking–why did they ever stop making the G4, anyhow?]. I loved that design, but it didn’t sit so well with a heavily-loaded bear can (was never meant for that). This looks like it might have some of the style of the G4–a simple shape that’s easy to toss your stuff into without a lot of detailed sorting and stuffing, and a huge stretchy outside pocket where you can keep a lot of things out for easy access. They only publish a volume for the main compartment, 35 liters, but the outside pocket looks roomy.
Also like the G4, this looks like it’d be reeeeeal sweaty against my back on a hot day.
My next purchase will be my third pack. My current, second pack is a Zpacks Arc Blast that’s starting to fail. It’s a great pack but simply NOT comfy with 15lbs of food in the bear can. I’m still considering replacing it with another Zpacks (maybe the Arc Haul) and simply suffering a little on those heavily-loaded days in exchange for how light and comfortable it’d be once I’ve had a few meals. Packs I’ve seen suggested for heavy bear cans are just so dang heavy compared to what I’ve been used to. Bears Ears looks like a possible compromise, heavier than the Zpacks but lighter than most of the recommendations for heavy bear cans (HMG and ULA packs come up a lot on those threads).
I found some positive comments on the Bears Ears from early last season when it was new; pinging to see if any of you have follow-up comments now that you’ve had time to put more miles on it.
