The Initial Ascent IA2K pack just might be the best women’s hunting pack ever made. Designed specifically for a lady’s body, the Initial Ascent Invictus Frame underwent rigorous testing to make sure it was designed to fit the different curves of a woman’s frame.
We’ve gotten the chance to test some of the best hunting packs out there for men, and we really wanted to put together an Initial Ascent IA2K pack review with the Ascent Invictus frame to see if we could find a great women’s hunting pack. After seeing the design and specs of this one, we were excited to test it out. Like always, we wanted this review to come from actual use and field testing where we could really get to know this Initial Ascent IA2K Pack to see if it could claim a spot among the best hunting packs for women out there.
Over the years of hiking and hunting as a woman, it has been discouraging because I’ve always felt like I had to make do with smaller men’s packs and they never fit quite right. There’s a lot of cinching and readjusting of straps, but it always feels uncomfortable or rides funny on the hips. I was super excited to try this Initial Ascent frame to see if it would actually fit my body.
Initial Ascent is a newer company that specializes in backcountry hunting packs. Initial Ascent packs are designed to haul meat, and they give you the ability to come out with as heavy a load as your body can handle. Initial Ascent packs brought their lineup of packs to market a few years back and have been making a splash in the hunting industry with their unique frame design. They are one of the few companies out there to offer a frame specifically for women making them the best women’s hunting pack.
The Initial Ascent IA2K pack provides phenomenal load hauling ability and a well thought out bag design, while still maintaining an incredibly light weight. I had the chance to test this pack in many conditions over the course of this year, starting with a 30 pound sandbag on hikes in the spring to hauling 60 pounds of meat after shooting my first buck this fall. This Initial Ascent IA2K pack with their women’s frame did many miles with camp on my back as well. I’ll go over what I liked and didn’t like about it in this Initial Ascent pack review while searching for the best women’s hunting pack.
Make sure to check out our other latest gear reviews, as well as our other pack reviews! While we certainly haven’t gotten the chance to test them all, we’ve been able to put a good number of them through some hard core field testing over the last few years.
The Testing: Initial Ascent IA2K Pack Review
There really isn’t anything better than just getting out there and using a pack in the field in real world conditions. I used this Initial Ascent IA2K pack with a heavy load on multiple training hikes, scouting trips, hunting trips, and backpacking hunting trips in all types of weather conditions. From hot, summer days to frigid, winter temperatures in the fall where it dipped down to single digits, I tested this Ascent IA2K pack in just about everything and determined it is definitely the best women’s hunting pack out there.
The Specs: IA2K Initial Ascent Pack Review
The Initial Ascent IA2K pack boasts some impressive specs and offers you a very light weight pack, while still handling a load incredibly well. It features 500D Cordura material and their unique Triaxial Carbon Fiber Frame.
Here are some of the Initial Ascent IA2K specs:
- Frame weight: 18.3 oz
- 2500CI (bag and lid)
- Triaxial Carbon Fiber Frame
- Adjustable harness
- Multiple size hip belts
- 3 bag sizes (2K. 4K, 6K)
Initial Ascent Packs: Hip Belt and Harness
The Initial Ascent Pack hip belt is a 3 piece design that features a massive lumbar pad and dual density foam. I found this hip belt to be extremely comfortable, and it really secured a load well. The thickness of foam for the lumbar support makes this pack really stand out as far as comfort rating goes. The only downside is that while the Invictus female frame is designed specifically for a women’s body, the hip belt is not.
The width of the belt, while probably the perfect fit for more men, was too wide on me. If I didn’t ride the pack low enough on my hips, or if the pack started to creep up on me while hiking, the hip belt foam would start to dig into my rib cage.
You are able to take the foam out and cut it down to a size that fits your torso better so this doesn’t happen, but I didn’t try this. I just couldn’t get myself to experiment and cut away some foam on a brand new pack, especially given the price tag. (Most good quality packs that you don’t regret carrying on your back for miles aren’t going to be cheap.) It would be nice if Initial Ascent designed a hip belt specifically for women along with their specialized women’s frame, so it wasn’t so wide. I’m an average 5’6″ tall woman, so anyone shorter than me would definitely have this problem too.
With that being said, the hip belt and lumbar pad on the Initial Ascent IA2K packs are more substantial than many others on the market making it really pleasant to wear, even with a lot of weight. The lumbar pad has a great balance of softer foam (but not too soft) on the outer layer with a high density foam under that for when you really cinch the pack down with a heavy load.
Some people might not like a more dense lumbar support in a day pack or when not using their pack to carry much weight, but honestly, it felt just as comfortable as other packs I’ve used with a less dense lumbar support. And it came in handy when coming out heavy and adding weight to it on the pack out. I wouldn’t have it any other way!
The other more unique feature when compared with other packs is the design of the harness- the straps that go over your shoulders. While not specifically designed for women, the shape of the harness actually fits a woman more comfortably than others, which is another added bonus about this pack.
Many harness straps go straight down, along the underarm, and others only slightly curve in towards the chest, but the Initial Ascent IA2K (along with all of their other packs), really curves in toward the chest, making it more comfortable and secure around the bust. I honestly thought the harness was specially designed for women since I hadn’t seen a pack with one like it and it was noticeable as soon as I put the pack on.
With that being said, this doesn’t mean it’s uncomfortable for men in any sense. My husband has the Initial Ascent IA4k in the men’s frame and loves it! The amazing design of the harness is just an added bonus in making this the best women’s hunting pack on the market.
IA2K Initial Ascent Pack Review: Unique Frame
Initial Ascent packs feature their Carbon Fiber Invictus frame specifically for women which is a game changer making it the best women’s hunting pack on the market. Doing this Initial Ascent pack review was not daunting at all, as wearing this thing was a breath of fresh air. The first time I wore it I carried a 30 pound sandbag on a short hike, and it only took me 10 minutes to say Wow! This actually fits me and is comfortable! I didn’t know it could feel this good wearing a pack! Right away I was excited to use it during hunting season.
While excited at first about this Initial Ascent frame, I was still cautiously optimistic. It definitely takes some wearing and hiking with a pack to know for sure if it’s all it’s cracked up to be and if there are any trouble areas. I was pleasantly surprised, when after hunting with it during archery season in September to rifle season in late October, my thoughts on this impressive pack were still the same, maybe even better. I had found the best women’s hunting pack, something that actually fit me!
This frame is the product of many renditions to get the curvature exactly the way they wanted it to fit a woman most precisely. Most notable on this Initial Ascent Invictus frame is its solid one piece design, curved to fit a lady’s back while providing great air flow with its unique extensions on each side of the frame.
Another awesome design feature of the Initial Ascent Invictus frame is that the top portion of the frame extends out wider on each side creating a great place to hook your gun sling which makes all the difference in the world. I used to hate carrying a rifle during rifle season as it’s so awkward, but this unique frame design is an absolute game changer.
What’s the Difference Between the Two IA Frames?
How the Initial Ascent IA2K Pack Handles Weight
How a pack handles a heavy load is one of the most important things for me and most serious backcountry hunters whether you’re a man or a woman. A pack might feel great with a little bit of weight in it, but the real test is how it handles 50+ pounds for a woman. For this Initial Ascent Pack review I was able to not only test it on some spring hikes but also taking out some weight after my son and I both shot a buck within minutes of each other and had to haul out two big game animals
The Initial Ascent IA2K pack more than passed the test. In fact, it was as comfortable or more comfortable than any other pack I’ve tested so far. At one point, my son and I decided to switch packs so I could try another one and he could try mine (He’s 11 so women’s packs fit him well) and after finishing a hike up to camp, I couldn’t switch back to this Initial Ascent IA2k pack fast enough! It was like night and day comfort-wise. This women’s Initial Ascent frame makes all the difference in the world!
Bag Configuration: Initial Ascent IA2K Pack Review
The Initial Ascent IA2K pack gives you a great pocket configuration that is very functional without adding a bunch of weight.
IA2K Bag Shape: Initial Ascent IA2K Pack Review
Another unique feature the Initial Ascent Bag is its wedge shape. It becomes shallower (depth-wise) at the base of the bag and grows in depth as you move up towards the top of the pack. Why is it designed like this you might ask? This design helps keep your gear from working its way down to the bottom of your pack and helps keep your load riding in the middle of your pack where it should be.
Because of this design, the bag is also wider, which helps spread the weight across your back rather than out away from your back. Again, a well thought out design. The closer your gear is to your center of gravity, the less it will pull away from your back and cause shoulder pressure. The pack isn’t so wide that it interferes with drawing a bow or shooting a rifle.
The Lid: Initial Ascent IA2K Pack Review
The lid is large and very deep with a unique center zipper for easy access which helps keep your gear from falling out when you open up the lid. The lid also features a small pocket on the underside for your license, bow repair kit, keys, etc. or any other small item you don’t want to lose track of.
I love knowing right where my license and keys are and not worrying about them falling out when getting in and out of my pack in the backcountry. This pockets allows you to leave it and forget about it as it’s not a pocket you’d otherwise unzip. Finally, the lid has a Velcro pocket for a bladder to make sure you keep a water supply with you at all times since this pack is designed to always have the lid with it.
Because the lid is so deep, I found myself putting TONS of my gear and snacks in it. Nearly everything, with the exception of my extra jackets, fit in it there for the day, making it super convenient to access things. No need to undo the entire pack to get to what you need.
The only downside to the lid is that it isn’t designed to fit on the women’s Initial Ascent frame. Since the Invictus frame is more narrow to fit a woman’s body, the lid is wider and the place where it fits onto the man’s Initial Ascent frame doesn’t match up. You can still cinch it down with the other straps, however, it does tend to sag a bit since it isn’t attached directly to the frame up on top. Hopefully in the future they design a lid that goes with the women’s Initial Ascent frame.
Another unique feature to the lid is that it has a pocket with some serious velcro for a special horizontal water bladder you can purchase from Initial Ascent. This is a great concept as your water bladder is super accessible making refilling it much easier than having to take your pack all apart. The pack itself still does have a traditional size and location for a water bladder, so you don’t have to go this route.
The downside obviously is that you have to purchase this specific bladder. I tried one out for this Initial Ascent pack review and loved the luxury of ease with which I could refill the bladder. However, I quickly found that you have to really pay attention to which way you insert the bladder and where the tube feeds. It got pinched off on me several times making it impossible to get any water out without readjusting. This was more likely user error, but I haven’t had trouble in the past with other hydration setups, so I thought it was worth noting.
Organization: Initial Ascent IA2K Pack Review
Field testing for this Initial Ascent Pack review is where I really got a feel for the layout and design of the organization of this pack.
If you like having your gear further organized, you can pick up some of their Initial Ascent Pack Sacks and organize your gear in those, then throw them in the main bag. While field testing for this Initial Ascent Pack review, I found that using a couple of the Initial Ascent Pack Sacks was really useful. If you are someone who likes to have a bunch of pockets integrated into your pack for organization, you may want to look at another pack as the Initial Ascent pack isn’t really designed to have a ton of pockets, however, it does have more pockets than some of the other packs out there.
Accessories: Initial Ascent IA2K Pack Review
Initial Ascent Packs offer you a number of great pack accessories to complete your pack for just about any hunt. I’ve had the chance to play with a number of them, and I can say they all serve a specific and defined purpose. You’ve got the option to add:
- Initial Ascent Bow Holder
- Initial Ascent Dry Bag
- Initial Ascent Hip Belt Pouches
- Initial Ascent Rifle Holder
- Initial Ascent Water Bottle Holder
- Initial Ascent Rain Cover
- Initial Ascent Pannier Load Carrier
- Initial Ascent Decoy Lanyards
As you can see, there are a ton of different accessories available for Initial Ascent Packs. For this Initial Ascent pack review my pack had the lid, two hip belt pouches, the Initial Ascent pannier load carrier, and water bottle holder. They all have their place, but for me personally, I find myself always taking the Initial Ascent Pannier Load Carrier and a Hip Belt Pouch. In my opinion, the Pannier Load Carrier is a must have of the accessories as it keeps your load secure and tight to the frame and is great for packing out meat. I’d still like to add a pack cover to my setup as well, to help keep my gear dry in wet weather.
What I liked: IA2K Initial Ascent Pack Review
After spending many days in the backcountry of Idaho with this Initial Ascent IA2K pack this year, from the spring time hiking the foothills in Boise, to archery season in September with incredibly hot temperatures, to rifle season in the cold and packing out heavy loads, I was able to get a true feel for this pack.
It’s the best women’s hunting pack I’ve come across so far in my search for a woman’s hunting pack. The specially designed Initial Ascent frame (Invictus) makes this extremely comfortable for a woman’s body day in and day out, offers a well-thought out bag configuration, and is packed with features. After all of the testing was done, here are some of my absolute favorite things about this pack for this Initial Ascent Pack review:
- Incredible load handling ability
- Specially designed frame for women (Invictus)
- Extra large lumbar pad (and rubberized grip)
- Rifle sling hook (built in to the frame)
- Harness curvature that fits women better
- Lid depth, convenient zipper location, & small pocket for important easy-to-lose items
- Pannier Load Carrier
- 4 large zippered pockets on the main pack
- Main zipper design
Load Hauling
First and foremost, the thing I loved the most after doing this Initial Ascent Pack review was the way this pack carried a load and fit my frame so well. Personally, it is the most comfortable women’s pack I’ve tested so far. These Initial Ascent Packs and their specially designed women’s frame really have earned their place for “Best Women’s Hunting Packs.” It’s one thing to say a pack is comfortable with just a few things in it for quick day trip, but it’s an entirely different thing to say it’s comfortable with a bunch of meat strapped to it or all of your weekend camping gear for that matter, and the Initial Ascent IA2k accomplished that extremely well.
Lumbar Pad
The lumbar pad on all Initial Ascent Packs is super beefy and probably the most stout of all that I’ve tested to date. It was awesome and proved to be extremely comfortable. Of course, all won’t love a lumbar pad this large, but it was perfect for me. My husband loves it on this pack but told me some people don’t. With me having a smaller frame as a woman, I thought I wouldn’t like this, but it was super comfortable with or without a heavy load in it.
harness design
While not specifically designed for a woman’s body, this harness might as well have been. The curvature of the straps and how it goes in at the chest rather than straight down along the underarm, make it super comfortable around the bust for a woman to wear. This design makes it the best women’s hunting pack I’ve found so far.
Number of Pockets
The Initial Ascent IA2K offers 4 large, zippered pockets, two on the outside, and two on the inside. I ended up not even using them all, but loved that they were there if I needed to keep things organized. They aren’t bulky, so if you don’t use them, you hardly even know they’re there. The two on the outside are very deep, and the two on the inside are smaller and more shallow. I found myself using the pockets to keep things separated so I could quickly find my toiletries and essentials for the evening, or locate with ease what I could ditch for the day while out hunting without having to rummage through the whole pack.
Zipper Design
I love how the bag completely unzips all the way to the very bottom on this Initial Ascent IA2k. This comes in handy when you’re really trying to pack things as tightly as possible and not lose any space. I start with my pack completely unzipped, with full access and a visual on the bottom of the bag, and then begin to stuff it, zipping it up as I fill up the pack. It makes packing for a trip so much easier with a bag that fully unzips!
Initial Ascent Frame Design for Women
This frame is a rarity on the market, as you can get the Initial Ascent IA2K pack with the Invictus frame, designed to fit the curvature of a women’s body and narrower back. This is a game changer for women who like to to hunt. The search for a comfortable women’s pack is finally over! Though once thought unattainable, this Initial Ascent frame does the “impossible.”
Rifle Sling Hooks
When I set out to do this Initial Ascent Pack review, I was just excited to try to find the best women’s hunting pack. But along the way, I fell in love with one of the frame’s other features. It as a hook that can be used for your rifle sling and it proved to work amazingly well. It kept my rifle super secure, and I now no longer dread the awkwardness of carrying a cumbersome rifle in the backwoods. This was a HUGE plus in my book and makes this pack really stand out among some of the other packs on the market.
Lid Design
I loved the size and usability of the lid. The ability to put a 2 liter bladder in the underside pocket if needed, and the small pocket on the underside with a large main pocket, made this my favorite lid of all the packs I’ve tested. The centered zipper is great to access your things without a bunch of items falling out.
Pannier Load Carrier
The Pannier Load Carrier is a must have with this pack system. I love its functionality and the way it holds a load and is a must have accessory for this pack. Not only is the Pannier Load Carrier the accessory that is used when you are hauling out your trophy, it can also be used in “Day Pack Mode”, as it has enough space to carry your essentials for a day hunt (as long as you have the lid as well). This is a great option if you want to go light and fast and don’t need a full bag.
What I didn’t like: IA2K Initial Ascent Pack Review
There are a few things that I didn’t care for after doing the field testing for this Initial Ascent Pack review. None of them are deal breakers for me, but just a small nuisance. If these things were tweaked, this pack would be even more amazing.
- Water bladder inconvenience
- Lid isn’t designed to fit on the women’s Invictus frame
- Hip belt is too wide
- Sometimes the pack would ride up on me
Water Bladder Inconvenience
One small complaint I had after doing this Initial Ascent Pack review was the inconvenience of having to somewhat disassemble the pack to refill the bladder each day if you choose not to purchase and use the bladder designed to fit in the lid. While the lid conveniently offers you a place to stash a bladder up to 2 liters, which I did use, I typically like using a 2.5 or 3 liter bladder, particularly during archery season, so I can’t put mine in there.
The bladder setup for the lid, while conveniently accessible, seemed to more regularly pinch off the water flow and cause me to readjust it in order to get a drink. Again, this could have been user error, but I haven’t had much trouble with a traditional water bladder that goes vertically in the standard pocket of packs, including this one.
Lid Doesn’t Fit the Frame
Currently, the lid Initial Ascent offers is only specifically designed for the men’s frame but not the women’s Initial Ascent frame, the Invictus. While it can still be used and cinched down just fine using other straps, it did tend to sag a bit as the hole placement on the lid doesn’t match with the narrower frame of the Invictus. Making a lid specifically for this women’s frame would be an easy fix to this problem.
Hip Belt Width
While the hip belt is super comfortable and great for a man’s generally larger size, I found that it was just a bit too wide for a woman’s body. Occasionally the hip belt would dig into my rib cage as the distance between by hips and ribs is not as wide as a man’s. You are able to unzip the fabric and cut it to size, which is a solution to this problem, I just couldn’t get myself to customize it and cut away at it and wished it just came a bit more narrow for a woman.
The Hip Belt Would Ride up Occasionally
This is a problem I’ve found with every pack I’ve tried, so maybe this is a personal issue, or perhaps it’s just one that hasn’t been adequately addressed in a woman’s pack. Even with weight in the pack and having the hip belt cinched around the top of my hip bone, the whole pack would sometimes begin to ride up around my waist. Women tend to have wider hips and smaller waists, whereas a man’s body is about the same width all the way up until the chest, so that’s probably why it’s not a problem for them.
Because we get more narrow from hips to waist, the larger width of the hip belt tends to slowly creep up around the waist where we’re built more narrowly. Believe it or not, even having the help of gravity and some weight in the pack, it would still do this. I noticed it more when climbing, as the movement of my hips was greater, pushing the pack up.
Again, this isn’t an issue specifically with Initial Ascent, but with every pack I’ve tried. And as far as finding the best women’s hunting pack, this Initial Ascent IA2k is definitely still it, but I’m wondering if there could be a hip belt, and not just a frame, specifically designed for this difference in a woman’s build that would help solve this problem.
Check out our IA4K Initial Ascent Pack Review Video!
How The Initial Ascent IA2K Pack Ranked
Weight
Load Hauling
Value
Bag Design
Quality
Daily Comfort
Overall Rating
Conclusion: IA2K Initial Ascent Pack Review
After nearly a year of doing testing for this Initial Ascent Pack review I would ABSOLUTELY recommend Initial Ascent packs with the Invictus frame for women! Initial Ascent has definitely helped fulfill a need out there in the market for a good hunting pack for women.
It’s been a long search, but I’m pleased to announce there finally is a pack and frame that feels made to fit me. I hope other women out there give it a try. I think they’ll be extremely pleased and surprised to know there really is a best women’s hunting pack out there. It’s a game changer and will leave you wanting to spend even more time pursuing your passion in the backwoods.
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