Daypack weight

[mad_angler]

I know this has been discussed a zillion times. But it is the off season so here is one more...

For a day trip, what weight are you carrying?

Here are a few specifics:
- I'm by myself. So I pack a few more "fears" than I would if I had a partner
- I'll be out from 5am until dark
- I like to bring a jetboil for coffee at 10am and a meal at 2pm
- I'll be 1-3 miles from a road and 1-3 miles from my truck
- My bino harness also seems quite heavy. So I'd like that weight too.

I am at 38 lbs with my rifle, binocs, bino harness, snacks, jetboil, and water.

I'm thinking of rethinking everything. What should I consider to be a good target weight and what should be included in that weight?

 

[Randle]

I have only weighed my pack but its at 18-20 depending on what food I take that day and if I take extra water.
Its about as trim as I like so I have stopped cutting things, its pretty dialed with overnight gear and minimal med gear, kill kit and food.

 

[mad_angler]

I have only weighed my pack but its at 18-20 depending on what food I take that day and if I take extra water.
Its about as trim as I like so I have stopped cutting things, its pretty dialed with overnight gear and minimal med gear, kill kit and food.

Does that 20 lbs include shelter, mat, and sleeping bag for an overnight stay? Or did you mean emergency overnight gear?

 

[Deerhunter6250]

I agree with Randle, mine is usually around 18 to 20 pounds. Mine does not include a jet boil unless its really cold. I have a 32 to 48 ounces of water unless I know I can find some to purify, snacks for the day, kill kit with light weight game bags, lighter, small first aid kit, large garbage bag, TP, headlight and extra batteries, down puffy coat and pants, calls, rain gear, pen light and a couple iodine pills. I try and not pack to many of my fears.

 

[mtnbound]

I know this has been discussed a zillion times. But it is the off season so here is one more...

For a day trip, what weight are you carrying?

Here are a few specifics:
- I'm by myself. So I pack a few more "fears" than I would if I had a partner
- I'll be out from 5am until dark
- I like to bring a jetboil for coffee at 10am and a meal at 2pm
- I'll be 1-3 miles from a road and 1-3 miles from my truck
- My bino harness also seems quite heavy. So I'd like that weight too.

I am at 38 lbs with my rifle, binocs, bino harness, snacks, jetboil, and water.

I'm thinking of rethinking everything. What should I consider to be a good target weight and what should be included in that weight?

Everyone has a different perspective when it comes to what gear is needed for a day hunt. Not sure what “fears” you are packing but at 38lbs with everything, I think you are fine.

 

[Randle]

Overnight gear: golite poncho, 330 cord, space blanket, puffy, candle in a tin, drumliner to make a mattress. and an extra protien bar.
Also no stove.
With my weapon and bino harness I am 28-30.

 

[Poser]

I often find myself around 35-40 lbs for day hunts: pack, gear, layers, rifle, spotter, tripod, FAK, water etc.

Dropping the spotter dumps a good bit of weight. The tall tripod weighs a good bit, too. I can go lighter with the 3rd leg system. Sometimes, don’t even need that -just depends on the where and what I am hunting. I personally don’t find the 35-40 lbs range to be an issue, though 25-30 lbs is noticeably lighter.

 

[BigAntlerGetter]

I don’t weigh my pack, you can’t put a weight on safety and preparedness. This is the back country and 1-3 miles can be a deadly distance especially alone. If you think your pack is to heavy you should just train more or find a buddy to split the weight, you can split some weight between you like you have the jet boil he has the first aid kit.

Here’s the necessities
- bino harness
- side arm
- Garmin messenger
- kill kit (2 knives, gloves, extra blades, game bags, caribou tarp, paracord, zip ties, knife sharpener, heavier fixed blade knife, leatherman)
- survival kit (emergency bivy, 2 caribeaner, paracord, duct tape, fire starter media, torch, matches, hand warmers, body warmers)
- rain gear
- glassing pad
- extra liner gloves
- extra beanie
- orange flagging tape
- toilet paper
- emergency medication supply (Benadryl, Tylenol, aleve, DayQuil, NyQuil)
- water filter of some sort depending where I’m at steripen, life straw, smaller gravity filter
- 2 Nalgene bottles of water
- snacks (candy bars, sweet candy, granola bars, beef jerky, mixed nuts)
- kahtoola hiking crampons
- first aid kit
-extra socks


This is my pack as a guide for an average September archery hunt, colder seasons I may add another jacket and more gloves and stuff like that.

If you ever want to question your choice of gear, decide to stay out for a night without just your normal day pack and treat it like an emergency situation whether that be you have an injury or you got stuck in a storm and couldn’t get out. It will either make you add stuff or throw stuff, I never thought about needing a leatherman until a small saw or pliers was a need, I ditched the fixed blade knife for replaceable blades until I tried to make kindling with a havalon knife.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rayporter]

you can cut weight and volume by switching to fuel tablets instead of the jetboil. and still have your coffee everyday.

 

[Big Sky Guy]

It’s a difficult concept for most to come to but if you know you’ll be going by water that is a great spot to cut weight. I rarely have more than a Nalgene anymore and then my squeeze filter so if needed I can pack 2 liters of water from a water source. It’s a bit psychological too, a mile away from water might seem crazy but that’s just 15-30min walk. My wife has to have water on her at all times and gets anxious/nervous when she gets low or runs out, so don’t do that if it’s you. I even have friends that don’t pack water and just use the squeeze filter at water sources but with hunting I like to be able to have water where it isn’t.

Now if I’m going to be on a ridge or arid area then I’m packing water for sure. But taking a Nalgene and just squeeze filter has been fine for me.

I basically never take a stove on a day hunt unless not far and want luxury of coffee or hot meal.

 

[Skerhunter]

Your weight and list seems very reasonable. Everything adds up pretty quick, especially when you plan to be out all day.

Once my tag is filled and I don’t have to carry a weapon/kill kit the hiking gets exponentially easier !

Standard list
-weapon
-trekking poles
-2-3L water + can of coffee
-1500-2500 calories of food
-kill kit
-steripen
-TP
-bino harness
-hand gun (when without rifle)
-rain gear
-tarp (optional)
- in reach
-head lamp x 2
-insulated foam sitting pad (optional)
-puffy coat, mits, hat, pants are optional
-med kit
-tripod (optional)
-spotter (rarely pack)
-stove (rarely pack unless I want a hot lunch)

 

[BustedRagHorn]

I think there are two parts to a day pack that are needed and a third that you can add. 1 is everything you need for hunting, kill kit, knife, game bags etc.. I have found these items you can find a lighter option and maybe cut a redundancy but over all it is difficult to cut weight from. 2. Is the gear you need when something inevitably goes wrong and should be on every outing. This would fall into what many others stated as being able to survive overnight. These items would be satellite communication, water, calories, way to start a fire, rain gear, first aid kit, etc.. You can really balloon these items as it is difficult to argue with safety. If you want to cut items from this category you need to practice your survival skills out in the environment. For example hypothermia is one of the biggest risk in a survival situation. If you don't know or have never practiced making a bed from pine bows you might consider taking a emergency space blanket to avoid the heat loss from the ground or air. Third is all the nice to haves of a day pack like a woobie, excessive extra layers, butt pad, spotting scope, tripod, etc.. Your jet boil would fall into this category. I have found at times these things can be more of a 1 or 2 group item like on a sheep hunt you best believe I am hiking my spotter in. On a late season cow hunt it is staying in the truck. This category you either tough it up, or find other ways to gain comfort/benefit without weight. For example if I carry instant coffee in my day pack I drink it cold. If I really want it warm I changed out my Nalgene for a single walled stainless water bottle, so I can start a fire to warm up the water. The smell being the obvious down side. Point being, split your gear into these categories. If you want to cut weight remove everything from the third category, improve your survival skills, and finally spend the money on lighter weight or multifunctional options. Just one guys opinion but I hope this helps.

 

[Ross]

Routinely around 17. Fear can make you pack the kitchen sink. After 46 years of doing this, I’m not packing much that I won’t use on a daily basis.

 

[Chris in TN]

I can see having a jetboil for the evening meal or maybe morning coffee *at camp* but not midday stuff in a daypack.

I don’t weigh my pack, you can’t put a weight on safety and preparedness. This is the back country and 1-3 miles can be a deadly distance especially alone. If you think your pack is to heavy you should just train more or find a buddy to split the weight, you can split some weight between you like you have the jet boil he has the first aid kit.

Here’s the necessities
- bino harness
- side arm
- Garmin messenger
- kill kit (2 knives, gloves, extra blades, game bags, caribou tarp, paracord, zip ties, knife sharpener, heavier fixed blade knife, leatherman)
- survival kit (emergency bivy, 2 caribeaner, paracord, duct tape, fire starter media, torch, matches, hand warmers, body warmers)
- rain gear
- glassing pad
- extra liner gloves
- extra beanie
- orange flagging tape
- toilet paper
- emergency medication supply (Benadryl, Tylenol, aleve, DayQuil, NyQuil)
- water filter of some sort depending where I’m at steripen, life straw, smaller gravity filter
- 2 Nalgene bottles of water
- snacks (candy bars, sweet candy, granola bars, beef jerky, mixed nuts)
- kahtoola hiking crampons
- first aid kit
-extra socks


This is my pack as a guide for an average September archery hunt, colder seasons I may add another jacket and more gloves and stuff like that.

If you ever want to question your choice of gear, decide to stay out for a night without just your normal day pack and treat it like an emergency situation whether that be you have an injury or you got stuck in a storm and couldn’t get out. It will either make you add stuff or throw stuff, I never thought about needing a leatherman until a small saw or pliers was a need, I ditched the fixed blade knife for replaceable blades until I tried to make kindling with a havalon knife.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's awfully close to what we toted daily last fall. Add a puffy. After a couple days of using puffies for morning cold sits, we tossed them and took a thin puffy banket big enough for us to sit under it together. It was perfect. Made a huge difference and we were downright toasty on 25-28 degree mornings before sunrise.

Add a saw. (ETA: I am OCD about sawing limbs that are in my way. Sometimes they're too big to break but still gotta go if they'd interfere with a shot from a good vantage point) Subtract one knife from the kill kit - because in my case both of us had pocketknives in our bino harnesses in addition to one knife in the kill kit.

Also, some lightweight (dyneema?) cordage.

Last fall I was with my daughter and don't plan on being totally alone for the foresseable future several years at least. So you can gain some efficiency by splitting non-essentials between two of you - one kill kit, maybe one bigger pad to sit on, and so on - but emergency stuff needs to be in your bino harness so it never, ever leaves your side.

A small squeeze bottle of wind checker is good to have, too. Don't forget license and hunter's safety card. Stow your kill kit in the right shape and it can be a pretty decent pad to sit on - for that matter just sit on the whole pack if it's packed right.

 

[CMcCormick1805]

My daypack sits around 20-25 pounds, whether dependent for Rifle Mule Deer and Bear hunts. That’s including glassing gear. My pack is lighter during archery season or any Elk only hunts. I drop weight off through glassing gear.

I figure it’s easier to have non-negotiable items that stay in my pack year round. They include:

-Dewalt Drywall hand saw with blade.
-Knife
-Possibles Pouch
-First Aid Kit
-Water purification kit or jetboil
-3000 cal of food
-1 pair of socks
-Beanie
-Thicker gloves

 

[butcherboy]

Wow, some of you guys pack a lot of gear for a day hunt. You can cut weight by not carrying a jetboil and fuel. Do you really need to drink coffee that bad or have a hot meal at 2 pm? Can you be just fine drinking water? Do you really need to carry a tripod and spotter? I carry the bare essentials for day hunts. Only what’s necessary for the day and an emergency if it happens.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

I'm right around 38# skin out for an archery day hunt. That includes all the clothes im wearing plus food, weapon, water, literally everything.

 

[mad_angler]

Wow, some of you guys pack a lot of gear for a day hunt. You can cut weight by not carrying a jetboil and fuel. Do you really need to drink coffee that bad or have a hot meal at 2 pm? Can you be just fine drinking water? Do you really need to carry a tripod and spotter? I carry the bare essentials for day hunts. Only what’s necessary for the day and an emergency if it happens.

A jetboil is defintely a luxury item...

I like to leave camp pretty quickly in the morning. I'm in too big of a rush to make coffee. And I'm certainly in too big of a rush to enjoy a cup of coffee.

After the morning rush, there isn't much to do between 10 am and 3pm. I like to have a cup of coffee at 10am. Drinking that coffee while looking out at the mountains is a highlight of my day. I also plan the rest of the day while drinking the coffee.

And I like to have a meal around 3pm. That lets me use the "idle" time a bit better. And I'm in less of a hurry to get back to camp if I've already sorta had dinner.