Always pack too much

[WTNUT]

Not sure where to post this, but dang it is really hard to get your gear down to a bare minimum for a 18-19 day wilderness hunt. Going to Alaska next month, and my goal is to weed out as many items as possible. I have to ship the gear to Cold Bay in a couple weeks. I wanted to get it down to two totes, a gun case and a bow case. Not sure I am going to make it.


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[TheAri]

A 19 day hunt should be the same as a 5 day hunt, except more food.

 

[doc holiday13]

A 19 day hunt should be the same as a 5 day hunt, except more food.

I dunno.. I'd probably double up my underwear, socks, and base layer shirts and have a 2nd pair of pants

 

[cumminsbassguy]

Would definitely agree to these mentioned items. 19 days is a long while, yes. But an extra of the skin contact layers (undies, socks, base layers ) should get you by.. I'm sure there will be a creek or flowing water of some sort to wash some items, I can fit all of my hunting gear minus sleeping bag into a black and yellow costco tote (pack included) it's how it gets stored for the off season. Do you have to bring all your own food or is it going to be provided ? Pack items into your gun and bow case such as sock, shirts, pants. Wear your boots and pack the Crocs, saves on weight and space in the totes.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Nice problem to have…#jealous.

More of a general suggestion, but I started making gear lists / inventories of what I take. I figure it might help for a lost bag claim or something but my favorite thing to do is use it to keep track of what I packed but DID NOT use. After a trip or three you start to question some of those habitually unused items. You can do the same thing without the list just by keeping track as you unpack.

Another interesting exercise is to divide your gear into the “must take” and “what if” piles. Focus on the “what if” stuff and really think about the likelihood of whatever contingency it covers. IMO “what if” stuff can weigh an awful lot and take up a lot of space.

 

[jamandt]

When I assess the "what if" items I try to do 2 things. First determine if it solves a problem or inconvenience. Second try to be creative about is there another way I could fix the problem. For example, a small hole in a tent, might get some bug bites. Can fix with a repair kit or I can take a piece of TP which I already have and stuff it in there to block the hole.

 

[Macchina]

I have this problem because of things I needed in the past and didn't have. For example my tool kit has expended beyond a multitool to include torx bits, zip ties, spare buckle, etc.

I could leave out the torx bits (which also work for most socket heads), but I've seen 3 times a scope has come loose and ruined a hunt for someone. I debate these things but allow myself an extra pounds for these types of things.

Another is a torniquet. I was on a hunt 3 years ago where a guy sliced his arm bad (all the way up his forearm) gutting a deer. He was loosing blood fast and wandered around in a delirium. A guy found him and put on a torniquet and called a helicopter. The torniquet saved his life they said.

Having said that, I've started to really look at any duplicates I have as mentioned above. What am I bringing that something else could do too? An inflatable seat pad does almost as much as a packable chair, and can be my pillow. An eating cup can also be your cook pot, The Sawyer squeeze bag can hold unfiltered water to carry extra if needed when away from camp. My sleeping pants are now pants I can wear as a second pair if my main pants are soaked.

Whatever you do, don't leave your Kindle at home. There's a lot of good books to be read in 19 days!

 

[CMF]

Post up a list of the gear in question