This is my list for my 2024 California mule deer hunt.
Would love to get some advice on cutting weight from this gear list. The obvious things I can see cutting are below, but I'd like to avoid it because I think they increase my capabilities:
I had a similar list a few years ago and here's what I cut:
1. One trekking pole. I still carry one but I realized I almost always just used one, to keep one hand free, and that saved a pound.
2. This is very opinionated but I ditch my rangefinder half the time. I'm really only good to about 300yds as a shooter. I have my rifle zero'd at 150yds so from 100-200 I don't even have to adjust. If the shot seems very far I just hold over (two ticks on my scope). The difference between 240 and 260yds isn't going to make much impact for me in the end.
3. I carry less ammo. 5 in the rifle (4+1) and one extra mag already loaded. It's only a round or two less than you but I "stopped packing my fears" - I have NEVER shot more than 3 rounds, so I decided that twice that was plenty of backup. Ammo is heavy.
4. Looks like you have 3 bic lighters. Ounces turn to pounds - maybe just carry two? I only carry one now. My "backup ignition" option is now a "Spark Lite" with a few Tinder Quik stubs (
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EXQD91O0). I don't carry the whole kit, just the sparker and 3 tinder pieces. They're half the weight of a lighter, work great, and never run out of fuel. If I use up the tinder (never have) I can go bushcraft and shave it out of pine stubs.
5. That power bank is huge! Don't ditch it - just carry a smaller one. They're almost linear in weight vs. capacity so a 10,000mAh pack will cut its weight in half and if you're careful with your energy usage (phone in airplane mode is a big one) you can get several days out of that even actively hunting. I've actually switched down to a 5,000mAh pack with a built-in connector, saving another ounce of cable weight.
6. The Steripen is nice but for my trips I prefer a Katadyn Befree. It's about an ounce lighter and works in both gravity and "drink from bag" mode which I like because I can use it on the move. I rarely camp near water because that's where the elk go sunrise and sunset. This way any stream I cross I can scoop up a liter, then walk another mile to where I plan to camp and filter it there. I also carry two 1gal ziploc bags. They're great for packing out trash (especially after cleaning an elk) and I can also use them to grab another gallon of water to filter at camp later. And MUCh lighter than the Osprey bladders although you do have to be careful with them.
7. YMMV but I ditched my hydration system. I've worked hard to get more in shape for mountain hunting but at altitude I still need to catch my breath sometimes. I can't be sucking on a mouthpiece while I do that, so I realized I wasn't using it very much. I just carry two 1L SmartWater bottles in my pack's side pockets and I drink from those, which is almost as fast and much easier for me. I can also wash my hands or rinse a cut or whatever, which is hard to do with a bladder. So that weight (including tube and mouthpiece) is gone for me. Plus this way I can filter water directly into my drinking bottles.
One thing I added in terms of weight that saved other things was a 1L titanium Bot Pot. It's a cook pot but with a silicone sealing ring and threaded lid. I can filter water in here for dinner at night, make tea, then go to bed using it as a hot water bottle in my sleeping bag, then heat the remainder for breakfast when I get up, then if I have any water left over that won't fit my drinking bottles I can store it in here without it leaking in my pack the next day. I do this mostly when the days are warmer and I'm drinking more, or i'm in more dry areas, but it works great and it's similar in weight to the Toaks cook pot. (I ditched my Nalgene this way.)
8. If you have the budget, the Tricer LP and BC tripod system might save you some weight for your spotter.
9. Ditch the dry bag and use a trash bag. If you want to avoid deodorizer scents, get "compost" bags, they have no chemicals. I carry these anyway for field dressing as pack liners, and they work great. I store my sleeping bag in one and my cold weather gear in another.
10. YMMV but while you're saving weight, I would personally carry an extra pair of socks. Man, wet feet SUCK to hike in, and it's really bad for your feet. I have this on my list under "emergency gear". If your boots get soaked, in a pinch you can use trash bags as liners, you just have to walk slower.
11. Again if you have the budget, there are dyneema UL tents that would cut your tent weight in half. Zpacks even makes a combo "dry bag / pillow" that you can pack a sleeping bag or quilt into, then stuff with your jacket to us as a pillow at night (one side is lined with felt). Personally I prefer an air pillow but it could save 2oz.
12. Zpacks also sells a combo ground sheet / poncho at <6oz. I've used it and it does work great, and saves some weight. But here in Colorado it makes sense because it doesn't rain that much in the seasons I hunt - if you had to use it daily (e.g. Oregon) I personally think it isn't that great as an actual poncho.
13. If you carry Aquatabs or other pill-form items, ditch the bottles. Buy "pill bags" - they're tiny ziplocs that weigh almost nothing and pack small too. I repack all my meds in these and mark the bags with a Sharpie for what they have.
14. You have several ways to get water. If you're hunting an area with a lot of it, don't pack water in. Water weighs 8.4lb/gallon - it's almost always the heaviest thing you carry, and it's easy to see 1L as not that much but that's still 2.2lb - 35oz! One liter of water weighs more than your bino's! If I'm hunting an area with known water, especially in colder seasons when I'm drinking less (and there might be snow to melt at camp later) I'll chug as much as I can stand at the truck before setting out (at least 0.5L), wait 10 mins, chug some more (it's amazing how well this works), then only carry 0.5L with me. I force myself to drink at EVERY stream whether I'm thirsty or not and this way I often find I still have water left at the end of the day even though I wasn't carrying much.
