For a busy 2013 season of guiding, hunting, and packing I chose to use the Remedy 7 Solution pack by Blacks Creek Guide Gear. The pack was able to fit my guiding needs from day hunts in the desert for Coues’ Deer all the way up to backpack, week-long trips for Alaska Dall Sheep. Here are the 4 highlights of the pack in my view;

Fit: The feel of the Grip Frame on my back and waist feels more comfortable than any pack I have previously used. With the adjustable support and strap designs, the Solution always tucked in tight to my back, allowing for stable support under heavy loads.

Straps: At first glance you will notice the Solution has more straps than you may have ever seen on a backpack before. After using the pack and placing your gear in the desired pouches, the straps tighten down to make everything feel secure and solid. After the kill when the work begins, there are plenty of straps to secure your load, extra gear, meat, hide, and antlers so that extra rope is not needed.

Bag: The Solution bag is made out of a thick material that can handle sliding down shale rock chutes and being drug through thick alder brush. The full length side storage pockets allow me to store my 80mm spotting scope securely on one side and my tripod on the other. On overnight trips my sleeping bag gets tucked into the bottom pocket which is designed to compress a sleeping bag and keep it protected. However, on day trips, my wet rain gear is stored in the lower pocket, making it separate from the dry gear and readily accessible when that thunderstorm comes rolling in.

Frame Expansion: August 10th, opening day of the Dall Sheep season, I found myself 8 miles from spike camp with a happy client and a dead Dall ram. Other guides asked me before the trip, how will you carry meat out with just a 4800 cu in pack? Well the secret is in the frame. The Solution bag is simply unzipped, exposing the frames internal strap system. I lowered the entire load of sheep meat into my game bag, and tucked it against the frame, between the bag and the Grip frame. The straps are plenty long, allowing me to secure 75+ pounds of meat tight in between the bag. Cinch the bag up to the meat and you are ready to go! In 8 miles of up and down with the full load, the meat never shifted or sagged.

This Solution backpack and the Grip frame will haul all that you can throw at it with plenty of straps and support to make it comfortable. The backpacks made by Blacks Creek Guide Gear leave no personal modifications to be made and are ready for the most grueling hunts you can take them on. It is the Solution for all the backpack complaints and troubles you have ever had.

—
Austin A Atkinson
Professional Guide

Thx again for the pack, I’m definitely going to be using your products from here on out .I was amazed on how comfortable the solution felt with the ram’s head and cape in it plus all my additional equipment. I packed my ram out of the wilderness 2.5 miles and the solution made it a very easy hike. I have put the pack thru 5 months of scouting and thru two different hunts now and the pack has held up to everything. Excellent pack and would highly recommend to anybody that is serious about hunting.

Dave Acosta

ArizonaDesert Ram

How often do we find ourselves searching through the Magazines or forums reading articles and listening to others opinions on products that are new and improved?  We all have our likes and dislikes on items.  We depend on our fellow brothers and sisters in the outdoors to give us their feedback on products so we can make a choice on what item will be best suited for your type of ventures.
My name is Dusty Bourasa and I have been a Pro-Staffer for Blacks Creek for quite some time.  I have had the opportunity to be involved in a lot of the products that have been born from this great company.  We as staffers put in our ideas to make the best products that we can and keep the products that we make on the cutting edge.  We are an American made product and proud of it.
This year I was asked to try out one of the new packs that came out for the 2013 product line up.  This new pack is called the “Cure”.  This sweet little gem is a fanny style pack that offers 1200 cubic inches of storage in the main compartment and 9 smaller storage components that can be used for storing any kind of knick knacks that you choose.  This product also features to side pockets that can be used for water containers or just whatever you decide to put in them.  The “Cure” features a R7-2 waist belt with a full lower lumbar support and a shoulder harness.  Now this sounds like most fanny style packs on the market right?  Wrong!  We at Blacks Creek have gone one step farther.  We have added a meat shelf to this fanny pack.  Yes, you have read this correctly, a meat shelf.
I am one that would prefer to use a day/fanny style pack above all others.  They are simple, small, and when it is hot out, you do not have as much surface area covering your torso.  I sweat like a canary at a cat convention so that is why I choose this style of pack.  But like a lot of you out there in the hunting world, you have to take another pack with you just in case you harvest an animal.  How many times have we wished that we had our frame with us in the field to save one trip off of the mountain?  I know that I have thought of ways to carry out a load on my older style fanny packs.  I used the bow/rifle pocket to support the leg bones of a quarter and then the strap on top to secure the heavy end.  Just to save that one extra trip. Talk about rough on a guy.
No more do I have to worry about this problem.  I used this pack to its fullest capability that it was designed for and even more.  I did my normal early season archery for mule deer and shanked a dandy 185 4×4 muley in full velvet and also was blessed to kill a small bull elk.  The pack fit like a great pair of Armani shoes and its features were stellar.  But the best test was when I packed my bull out.   It took me five trips to get my bull out of the abyss that I had killed him in.  Sure, I could have made my loads heavier but why burn your body up.  I also could have made the 3 mile hike back to the rig and get my “Solution” with a grip frame but I chose to use this pack and really put it to the test.  I removed the main compartment by simply unzipping the zippers on either side of the pack and detached two buckles.  This will expose the interior meat shelf that we have designed in the pack.  Simply undo the four small buckles and lay the load supports to each side.  This fabric is made of 1000D Cordura and is stitched into the frame itself.  The lower meat shelf made of the same material will lie facing you.  Simply put your load of choice on the frame.  Then take the two side wings and buckle them together and tighten them with your load adjustment straps.  Then take the lower wing of the pack and simply attach the buckles at the top and use your load straps to tighten.  Every load that I packed that day felt good on my back.  No hip fatigue or sourness to my shoulders.  Even on the last load of loose meat and the head, it wore like a glove.
I did tell you that I put it to the test on the elk hunt but I even went one step farther.  I was fortunate enough to do a Rocky Mountain Goat hunt with a couple of buddies.  We hiked into the mountains about 12 miles round trip every day.   On the second day of our hunt towards the afternoon we found 2 very large Billies bedded in an alpine basin.  After a short stalk and final judgment, we had a 52 and 1/8 inch Billy on the ground.  One of my buddies used my “Solution” and I used my “Cure”.  He packed a front and hind quarter and my friend Ed packed the other.  I packed the loose meat and the full head and hide of this majestic beast.  I did not take a weight of this pack but I am going to say that it was in the 70 pound range.  Now this pack is not designed for heavy loads, but if it was going to fail (broken buckles or other connectors) it would have done it on this trip.  I have news for you folks, it handled that trip flawlessly.

So now that Christmas is just around the corner and you are looking for that perfect gift, come check out the New “Cure” from Blacks Creek.
Whether you hunt from a tree or the ground, this pack will meet every requirement that you will need in the field.
Thank you for taking the time to read this review.  I have used this pack and guarantee you will love it
American Made and American Strong!

Dusty Bourasa, Oregon

The 2013 big game hunting season is all but in the bag, with all its ups and downs! One of the highlights of the 2013 hunting season for me wasn’t necessarily the tags placed on big game, which was great, but rather the new pack that I had the pleasure of using this season! I was fortunate enough to pick up the Remedy 7 (R7) Alternative pack to start my year off right! I have used several packs over the years and have liked most of them; however, the one thing I would complain about all of them was the fact that I had to take two packs with me on every hunting trip. One for packing around my gear and one for hauling out meat, if I was on foot, I hated that because that generally meant hiking back down off the mountain to grab the frame pack after putting an animal on the ground. Well, the R7 Alternative was a game changer this year! Equipped with the Grip Frame, the Alternative is the all-in-one solution to my plight of taking two packs with me on hunting trips!

When I first saw the Grip Frame I was impressed, to say the least! At first glance I didn’t even notice the ingenious feature, but once I was shown how it worked I was stoked to get out there and use it! With 3,000 cubic inches of space to put all my gear, I loaded it up and I was ready to go! To add to the great features like the Grip Frame, I immediately noticed how comfortable the Alternative was when loaded down with my gear. The six compression straps made it easy to fit the pack snug to my back and adjust to my comfort level. I tend to carry a lot of weight in my pack because I like to go prepared. So when I went on my first hunting trip of the season at the end of August I was loaded down with camping and hunting gear. No matter what pack you have weight is weight and it will wear on the legs, but with the Alternative I noticed a significant difference in comfort compared to previous packs I had. After putting on roughly 13 miles our first trip in I was completely sold on the R7 line of packs!

Later in the season I was able to put the Grip Frame to use on a buddy’s bull by helping him pack out his cape and some meat. The Grip Frame worked like a charm! I love the way the main compartment zips off the Grip Frame and how easily it clips back on once the frame is loaded. In the future if I decide I need more cubic inches for more gear I can easily upgrade to the Solution pack by just buying the main compartment and zip it right to the Grip Frame!

The Grip Frame, compression straps, pockets, comfort, and high quality material are just some of the selling points of this pack. Versatility is what it’s all about and with the R7 line that’s what you get! I recommend every hunter out there try one of Blacks Creek Remedy 7 packs. You won’t be disappointed! To top it all off, all the Blacks Creek packs are made right here in the USA!

Travis Long

HuntAddicts.com
Antler Addicts Anonymous
Idaho Deer Alliance