Back Country gear list

[vthokee]

So this will be my 3rd elk hunt but this year I am going to be doing it a little different than in the past. I plan to hike into the back country and hunt from higher elevations than in the past. This gives me a chance at some of the herds that do not get the pressure from the four wheeler/jeep traffic and your average hunter camping at the trail head or a pull off spot. I have attached a list of what I currently have and what I still need to buy. If some of the more experienced guys could take a look at this and let me know what you think I could either add or take away that would be great. Also I will be hunting in Northern NM.


Mystery Ranch Metcalf pack
Steripen 2.9oz
Nalgene bottle 3.5oz
Snugpak Sleeping bag 3.5lb
Human gear Cap 1.4oz
Garmin GPS 9.2oz
GSI Cook set 10.9oz
MSR rocket stove 3oz
Fuel Canister x2 8oz
Tent 4lbs 13oz
Polycryo(tent footprint) 3.65oz
Knife w/extra blades 6.4oz
Game bag kit 1.5lbs
Sleeping pad 1.8lb
Primus Lantern 6.8oz
Headlamp w/batteries 3.4oz
Fire kit 2.5oz
Rain Gear 1.3lbs
First aid kit 3.60z
Water treatment 2oz
Bugle tubew/diaphragm calls
MSR Water Bladder 8.7oz
Extra pair Merino Wool boxers and socks
Core4element Primaloft jacket 8oz
Binos 24.2oz
Rangefinder 6oz
Food???
25.3lbs without food

 

[Dinger]

Might want to add in the hunt duration so you get some more refined responses.

Dinger

 

[cocky84]

In my experience, i have never burned through more then one fuel canister. Probably not even half of one. But i dont use it for heat, just cooking. You might experiment with that to see if one will work for you. Is your knife a havalon? If its not you could probably shave a little weight there. I think mine with extra blades is less than 2oz. Whats your tent? You could shave a little there if you wanted to spend a little cash on a big agnes. They have some that are around 1.5lbs.
I like to carry a small tarp too. I bought a light weight one at walmart for like $10.

Your list looks great, just sharing some ideas.

 

[cocky84]

I also now carry a large handwarmer. Few years ago i got soaked and it would not quit raining(48+ hours straight). I was freezing. Setup tent , took off clothes and got in sleeping bag and opened that handwarmer. I cannot believe how much heat one of those put off inside a down bag. Saved me from having to walk out. I always carry one now.

 

[pierceje]

I think you could shave a lot of weight on your sleeping bag/pad and your tent. I use an enlightened equipment quilt and love it. I think it's around 20oz, don't quote me, a paratarp (13oz), outdoor research Bivy(18 oz) and a 12oz sleeping pad.


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[tttoadman]

So this will be my 3rd elk hunt but this year I am going to be doing it a little different than in the past. I plan to hike into the back country and hunt from higher elevations than in the past. This gives me a chance at some of the herds that do not get the pressure from the four wheeler/jeep traffic and your average hunter camping at the trail head or a pull off spot. I have attached a list of what I currently have and what I still need to buy. If some of the more experienced guys could take a look at this and let me know what you think I could either add or take away that would be great. Also I will be hunting in Northern NM.


Mystery Ranch Metcalf pack
Steripen 2.9oz
Nalgene bottle 3.5oz
Snugpak Sleeping bag 3.5lb
Human gear Cap 1.4oz
Garmin GPS 9.2oz
GSI Cook set 10.9oz
MSR rocket stove 3oz
Fuel Canister x2 8oz
Tent 4lbs 13oz
Polycryo(tent footprint) 3.65oz
Knife w/extra blades 6.4oz
Game bag kit 1.5lbs
Sleeping pad 1.8lb
Primus Lantern 6.8oz
Headlamp w/batteries 3.4oz
Fire kit 2.5oz
Rain Gear 1.3lbs
First aid kit 3.60z
Water treatment 2oz
Bugle tubew/diaphragm calls
MSR Water Bladder 8.7oz
Extra pair Merino Wool boxers and socks
Core4element Primaloft jacket 8oz
Binos 24.2oz
Rangefinder 6oz
Food???
25.3lbs without food

That tent is likely a monster. I am sure you could trim a little fat there. If it is a heavy duty tent, it likely doesn't need a ground sheet. Cut the groundsheet down to a single pad size and partner that with a small spike tarp for those overnighters when you sleep on the herd. For early season, you may not need a big pad. I have a Klymit Inertia Ozone(little hollow one with a built in pillow) for early season. It is the size of a pop can, and does just fine down to 30deg and I am a wus.

I don't see a complete breakdown of your clothing. Make sure you have the 4 basics. merino base layer, midweight shirt or a super light jacket, insulation jacket(your C4E), Raingear. I ditched my midweight shirts and replaced with a light jacket. I think it is just more practical. I have the Jetstream light jacket. The wind and light rain protection is worth an extra couple oz compared to a fleece shirt.

Gaiters are your friend.
Water storage such as a 4L Drom Bag
I don't see a backup headlamp. A phone can serve as this in a pinch.
Make sure you have some paracord or some of the better lightweight cord on the market to hang meat.

Trekking poles are a big deal for most of us. Very few people try them and don't like em. This also helps your spike tent setup.

Based on the bugle tubes, this looks like early season. Make sure you have some plastic bags to dunk meat in a creek if needed.
This sounds like an archery hunt. Some will slip some bow tools in the bag somewhere.

Your base weight seams pretty good for some of the heavy stuff like you bag and pack. You have the gear to be in the woods and be succesfull. Any money spent now would be more for comfort and convenience.

 

[ChrisS]

In my experience, i have never burned through more then one fuel canister.

I have, it sucks. It was my fault, but it still sucks. Be sure those suckers are screwed on right. I was boiling water for dinner and it wasn't putting out a lot of heat and was taking longer than I expected, but by the time I noticed it was already nearly empty.

I imagine he's got two on the list because of the primus lantern. I have one of those and it's handy as hell.

No camera or phone? I've got a RINO that I use when we're in a group and I need the radio, but if I'm by myself I just use my iphone with Gaia, which also doubles as my camera. Two weeks ago I hiked back to a brook trout area to fish for the weekend and I forgot my headlamp, but got along just fine with my iphone flashlight and the lantern. I imagine it would be different if I needed to bone out an animal in the dark, but just for hiking, the iphone puts out a considerable amount of light and doesn't chew through much battery.

 

[cocky84]

Gotcha ChrisS, didn't see the latern. So therefore if ya wanted to ditch the latern and the extra fuel canister and substitute with extra set of lithium batteries for your headlamp you could shave some weight there.

I guess its all in what you are wanting help with. If you are wanting advice on how to shave some weight or if your wanting advice on some items you might be forgetting. I really try to shave all the weight I can and every time I go hunting I take a mental note of which items I did not use and they don't make the cut for next time. Also always trying to find new gear that can serve as more then 1 function. Example= I carry a havalon and a multitool. well this year havalon came out with a multi tool so save few ounces there.

 

[vthokee]

Wow.. Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. My hunt is going to be Sept 1-14th but I am only looking at spending 3-5 days up in the back country and then I will be back down near the trail head to resupply from my truck. My tent right now is a SlumberJack but I have found a Big Agnes that I might pick up and it will cut the weight down about 1.5lbs. I have a lighter sleeping bag that weighs 1.9lbs but it might not be warm enough when I am at 11,400 ft. I will be wearing C4E Switchback pants with merino wool boxers and Icebreaker merino wool top on the hike in. A few mentioned phone,para cord, extra light. Those are items that I hadnt added to the list but will go with me. I am looking to see if there are any big necessary items that I am missing. I will do a trial run sometime in mid July to see how everything packs in and stay out there for a couple days. In my opinion field trial is probably the best way for me to decide what works for me. Again thanks for all the advice so far. This site is great.

 

[JDZ]

You might need more than a merino shirt and a 8 oz jacket to keep warm. Long underwear, another shirt/jacket, beanie, etc.

Weapon.

Personal hygiene items, like TP, wipes, toothbrush, etc.

Do your bino and rangefinder weights include harness or pouch?

 

[camelcluch]

/\/\/\ x2 on the tp and such. I would also add Chapstick.

 

[tttoadman]

Don't forget the sun block

 

[tipsntails7]

Tp? aside from shaving weight off stuff seems good to go. I like 2 headlamps though.

 

[bikerdavet]

There are some really good threads on here about gear lists from past years. You might check out Aron's youtube on whats in your pack.

 

[vthokee]

So I changed out my tent to a big agnes seedhouse and also changed sleeping pad. Tent is right at 3lbs and the sleeping pad is 20oz. Saved a little weight there. Adding in an extra base layer will probably be something I do as well. The main thing is seeing how all this fits in the Metcalf. Of course right now all the weights are going off of mfrs websites. I am sure as I take out unneeded items I will shave a little weight there. I am looking to spend 5 days up in the back country and then come back out for a night and hit it again with new supplies if needed.

 

[frankrb3]

Is this an archery or rifle hunt and where will you be? We have grizzly in my area and I never go into the woods without bear spray or a firearm. This can be a touchy subject and your safety is ultimately your responsibility, but if you do actually intend to get away from the crowds and push further into the back country then you may want to have some means of deterrent from dangerous animals(or weirdos for that matter). I take bear spray no matter what hunting season it is because if I can avoid killing an aggressive bear by spraying it then I will. This may not apply to your location but even black bears can be a pain, especially when you bring food into the backcountry, and typically where there are Elk there's some kind of predator.

 

[vthokee]

Is this an archery or rifle hunt and where will you be? We have grizzly in my area and I never go into the woods without bear spray or a firearm. This can be a touchy subject and your safety is ultimately your responsibility, but if you do actually intend to get away from the crowds and push further into the back country then you may want to have some means of deterrent from dangerous animals(or weirdos for that matter). I take bear spray no matter what hunting season it is because if I can avoid killing an aggressive bear by spraying it then I will. This may not apply to your location but even black bears can be a pain, especially when you bring food into the backcountry, and typically where there are Elk there's some kind of predator.

It is an early season archery hunt in Northern NM. No grizzlies but there are black bears in the area. Either myself or the other guy hunting with me is bringing a side arm. It will prob be me with my Glock 27 .40 cal.

 

[fngTony]

What kind of pad are you using? Your lighter bag may work if the pad is insulated. glassing gloves? A tarp is a must for me even with rain gear its nice to make a roof around camp or glassing.

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[kingcon14]

I'd say your gear list looks pretty good. The only suggestion I'd make is purely for comfort. When on an extended backcountry trip, especially without a stove, I'd add an extra set of base layers along with your boxers and socks. I keep them all in a dry bag. Nice to have something dry while in camp and to sleep in when you can't get dried out. Not necessary, but nice to have. Especially with my luck. I always seem to find a way to get wet. Either from rain or an unplanned swim during water crossings.... Also, I love my Primus lantern, but be extra careful using it in an ultralight tent. The rising heat from the lantern doesn't play well with the bug netting....

 

[MT_Wyatt]

Make sure you have some plastic bags to dunk meat in a creek if needed.

Solid advice right here - I failed to think of this last year, and really could have saved some stress in having a few bags in my pack to allow for creek dunking.