Day Pack Weight- How much is too much?

[Mtndawger]

I do. One major component is the packs weight itself is essential to know as most are wayy too heavy. Especially hunting packs, the hunting community is horribly behind the ultra light hiking community and most hunters still think they need strength over weight... you don't.

Its a little subjective based on how one hunts, but a daypack shouldn't weight over 3lbs max. Neither should an overnight backpacking pack.

One exception is for hunting packs with a meat hauling design, that will add another 2lbs due to the added strength needed to haul that much weight. A good meat hauling pack, that includes the bag, shouldn't weigh over 5lbs.

Really good points on the pack itself. I carry around 20-25 lbs typically, not including rifle, but my general purpose Mystery Ranch (not a hunting specific pack as I find all the zippers and do dads on hunting specific packs to be extra weight. And a lot of fussing) has the meat shelf feature because I want to carry a load out if I shoot something. It weighs close to 6 lbs by itself. I find that lighter packs don’t carry even my day load very well so I figure it’s weigh that “pays for itself” if you will…2+ lb penalty isn’t worth worrying about. The other benefit to this pack is it stands up by itself when I take it off due to the configuration of the hip belt. This is my quick rifle rest if I don’t have a lot of time to find a tree or a rock or get prone. I can drop the pack and quickly get behind it with my rifle on top while sitting or kneeling. If I’m just sitting and glassing, I lean against a tree or rock and the pack is in front of me ready to deploy as a rest as well.

 

[Poser]

If I'm carrying a spotter, tripod, rifle, 3L of water, a full day's worth of food, full kit kit, full first aid kit, a few layers for variable conditions etc, I'm right at 37-40 lbs. That's with high end, premium gear. I sometimes carry less water, but also have found it valuable to not have to go out of my way to get more water, too. Water is heavy, though.

When I ditch the tipod and spotter and carry 1L of water, the weight really drops. I do keep a scale in my truck and weigh my packs out of curiosity for various hunts. I've even compared performance times on the same approaches with varying pack weights.

That being said, I put great effort is my training and the performance difference between 25lbs and 40 lbs isn't very significant for me. Over 40 lbs where is things start really slowing down so I don't get overly concerned with it until I get into multi day trips.

 

[Skerhunter]

My pack weight varies greatly. Good weather during archery season and I am 20-30lbs. End of the day it’s super light with no food or water!

Rifle hunt in poor weather with spotter and I am adding another 10-15lbs pretty quick (spotter 4.5lbs, tripod 2lbs, heavier layers 2-4lbs, heavier weapon additional 2-4lbs).

 

[Poser]

I do. One major component is the packs weight itself is essential to know as most are wayy too heavy. Especially hunting packs, the hunting community is horribly behind the ultra light hiking community and most hunters still think they need strength over weight... you don't.

Its a little subjective based on how one hunts, but a daypack shouldn't weight over 3lbs max. Neither should an overnight backpacking pack.

One exception is for hunting packs with a meat hauling design, that will add another 2lbs due to the added strength needed to haul that much weight. A good meat hauling pack, that includes the bag, shouldn't weigh over 5lbs.

I've found these UL brand packs, be it for backpacking, peak bagging, climbing or skiing, to be entirely insufficient designs. The fabric isn't burly enough for offtrail travel as they are designed to be trail bunnies. Even my burly, cordura hunting packs get rips and holes in them, but the UL fabrics don't stand a chance.

Next up, UL brands don't carry heavier weight well. Most will max out around 35 lbs. Many of them don't even have positive angle load lifters which is just baffling to me. Do designers not understand physics? Many of them have limited adjustability for torso lengths, don't transfer weight to the hips well or at all. The designs also tend to favor little to no muscle on the body. If you have thick spinal erectors, big shoulders and/or a brand chest, they don't fit well. The ones I've tried, I always have to max out the chest strap for example, and even then, its bornerline choking me.

The hunting brands have designed packs that fit a variety of body types with interchangeable components. For example, you can put a medium hip belt on a large frame and lots of vertical adjustment for torso lengths. Modularity comes with some weight, but carrying a lighter pack that won't fit you because of lack of modularity is hardly a worthy tradeoff. Despite being heavier, they carry weight quite a bit better than the recreational brands. I've been going through this with backcountry ski packs for a few years and I hate the designs. By the standards I'm used to with high end, but heavier hunting packs, these brands SUCK by a massive margin.

I'm going to take the counter position and state that its the UL brands that are behind, not because of the materials they use, but because of the modularity and the performance under weight. When it comes to the actual performance of carrying weight on your back and the perceived stress of the load, the hunting brands outperform these recreational and UL brands.

 

[Macintosh]

I’m not used to including rifle in my pack weight. Same with binos in a chest harness. What are you all including or not including in this weight? Binos on a chest harness? Sidearm if you carry one? Rifle? The clothing you are wearing? I kind of feel like its impossible to compare without an equipment list…ex, some if the above weights seem insanely heavy for a day hunt, but then I hear people carrying 12lb rifles or spotters. I have never carried a heavier rifle or a spotter at all. Hard to say another persons pack is heavy, light, etc not knowing what other “necessities” they have that I dont even consider part of my kit.

I think it also depends a ton on water. Where I mainly hunt water is everywhere, so I often carry an 8oz bottle and a befree filter and just re-fill as needed. Some guys I know pack none, they just bring a ziplock freezer bag to use as a cup and drink out of streams. Obviously if I was carrying 100oz of water that adds 6 pounds of weight. That would be very reasonable in many places, while it would be ridiculous where I mainly hunt.

Anyway, I just did some quick math. My gear I carried for day hunts last week, all pre-dawn thru after dark hunts in the mountains here, possible rain, several miles into the backcountry, temps low 20’s at night and 40’s during day, mostly a 1.5-2mile hike in on a trail then a couple miles off-trail, including 8.5lb gun, ammo, compact binos, water, food and pack and all gear, and all clothing that “ever” goes in pack, was about 20lb, maybe a touch over. This is a meat-hauling pack I can carry a quartered deer in.

 

[Koda_]

You must not count water. With a minimum of 100 ozs of water on board, just for example, you'd be over 6 lbs. in water alone. True, some carry more or less depending on circumstances.

I know, I know, "no one counts food or water". If I can weigh it, it's counted. YMMV.

Several items in my pack I don't normally need day to day. Until I do, then I really need them.

That and, I'm not as tough as I once thought I was so there's a few ounces of comfort thrown in. Again, YMMV.

I was just referring to just the weight of the pack itself to show how it contributes to the total weight. I count water in my total weight, typically my day pack total weight is around 20lbs or less for day hunts. I typically carry a full nalgene of water.

 

[Miguy]

Bare minimum!

 

[fngTony]

I’m not used to including rifle in my pack weight. Same with binos in a chest harness. What are you all including or not including in this weight? Binos on a chest harness? Sidearm if you carry one? Rifle? The clothing you are wearing? I kind of feel like its impossible to compare without an equipment list…ex, some if the above weights seem insanely heavy for a day hunt, but then I hear people carrying 12lb rifles or spotters. I have never carried a heavier rifle or a spotter at all. Hard to say another persons pack is heavy, light, etc not knowing what other “necessities” they have that I dont even consider part of my kit.

I think it also depends a ton on water. Where I mainly hunt water is everywhere, so I often carry an 8oz bottle and a befree filter and just re-fill as needed. Some guys I know pack none, they just bring a ziplock freezer bag to use as a cup and drink out of streams. Obviously if I was carrying 100oz of water that adds 6 pounds of weight. That would be very reasonable in many places, while it would be ridiculous where I mainly hunt.

Anyway, I just did some quick math. My gear I carried for day hunts last week, all pre-dawn thru after dark hunts in the mountains here, possible rain, several miles into the backcountry, temps low 20’s at night and 40’s during day, mostly a 1.5-2mile hike in on a trail then a couple miles off-trail, including gun, ammo, binos, water, food and pack and all gear, and all clothing that “ever” goes in pack, was about 20lb, maybe a touch over. This is a meat-hauling pack I can carry a quartered deer in.

I don’t count anything that’s constantly on me or worn a majority of the time. So for early season I count my midlayer since it will be in my pack most of the time. On colder trips I don’t count my midlayer because I’m always wearing it. That saves some pack weight but then I swap my puffy for a heavier one so it’s almost a wash between the two. Also being a day hunt I really minimize my kill kit saving about a half pound. Deer hunting vs elk I can leave a couple game bags behind.

 

[johnnycake]

I'm not a big guy. Not even 5'8" unless I'm in the right boots. I can't afford to have my day pack be over 20lbs when I get an animal down. It always puzzles me when I am hunting with somebody and they have a day pack that weighs as much (sometimes more) than my all in kit for a week backpacking.

Maybe I'm flirting with danger, as I go pretty light even in some rough environments up here in AK. When I was in the L48 my day packs were even lighter. Usually a soft backpack, way more water, a knife, binos, gun, and phone. Packed more than one elk out by throwing quarters over a shoulder and hoofing it out.

 

[Snowwolfe]

10 pounds max for me and that includes the soft Badlands daypack. I wear my binoculars constantly so pack contains some snacks, toilet paper, a knife, fire starter, space blanket and maybe insect repellent and a roll up pad to sit on when glassing.

 

[The Guide]

My view of what is too heavy to carry changed the end of January 2023. I slipped on a hand sized piece of ice while walking down my stairs and stepping off my porch. My foot slid forward about 8 to 10 inches and caught traction again. My forward momentum caused my heal to rotate forward to where my toes should have been and I rotationally broke my tibia at the ankle and fibia at the knee while standing. I never fell, I didn't hit anything, I twisted my leg and broke it. Even though I was at home I was fubared. I couldn't stand up. I couldn't crawl back up the stairs. My body wouldn't let me. If I had been in the woods, I could have been in real trouble. I called my wife and she came out and helped me. She and my daughter got me some duct tape and a hardwood board and we made me a splint. Once my leg was stabilized I could move around and we got me in a vehicle and to the hospital.




This showed me that even though I'm 6'6", I'm not bullet proof. I now carry an emergency bivy/sleeping bag and a tarp every where I go in the woods. I have a InReach Mini that goes every where with me. If I'm going to be hiking off trail or in steep areas, I have trekking poles with me. I don't care how heavy my pack is if those things will help me if I'm injured. I also carry around 3 liters of water since many of the areas I hunt are several miles from water sources. Might be near a river but I'm hunting 2+ miles from the water and a 1000' vertical above it.



Get stronger. Buy the best packs available that you can afford. Carry what you need to stay alive when you get injured. Tell people where you will be. The InReach let's the people I love track me while I'm out of service. I used to do all day hikes with a belt knife, a bottle of water, and 5 extra shells. I'm not that guy anymore. My K3 3200 weighs a minimum of 30# for a mountains day hike. My soft side pack is about 18# for a couple hour walk in flat lands after work. I built lighter rifles to carry more gear.

Jay