Do you leave extra gear at the trail head?

[gobbler1662]

Okay am i the only one that keeps a spare everything at the trail head in case of failure? Usually i keep a tote full of extra gear. Head lamp, extra stove, extra sleeping pad,extra sleeping bag, plus extra game bags, fuel cannisters, extra knives. I have never had to hike out and use any of this stuff so i am wondering what you guys do. Do you just take your pack and whats inside and thats it or do you leave extra gear at the trail head. Now if i did have a critical failure in my gear, blow out my x-lite, stove melt down etc, id likely have a 5 or 6 hour drive to get to a decent backpacking store for replacement items. On the other hand i feel like ive never needed this in the past so why am i taking up valuable space in my truck. Your thoughts. Now i will continue to keep munchies, extra food and beer at the rig. Theres always gotta be reward at the rig if your packing out meat.

 

[dotman]

I only keep extra clothes, food, arrows and a complete tool kit. Never have taken many duplicates but if you have the extra gear why not take it and leave it in the truck.

 

[fulldraw1972]

I only keep spare clothes and arrows in the truck as well. I keep a couple knives in there year round.

 

[a3dhunter]

I use to keep a spare everything at the truck, but started trimming back. Ran into a big problem last year, ended up breaking my string on my bow and found the toolbox with my portable press and my extra strings was back at home 4 hours away. This was Saturday afternoon, and by the time I made it home my weekend hunt was over.
Would have been nice to press the bow, throw the string on, check my sights and get back to hunting within an hour or so if I did have everything at the truck. Lesson learned!

 

[Justin Crossley]

I'm almost always way too far away from the truck to make it worth my time to hike out and back in again.

 

[G Posik]

I keep a lot of spare stuff at the truck. An entire camp. This way if I haul some meat out I do not have to bring my camp with me. Maybe a bite to eat, quick nap if needed and back at it. Carry a spare bow string with me all the time(Longbow or recurve).

Glenn

 

[sab]

If I have two of something, one is in my pack, and the other is in my truck at the trailhead. Why the he11 not have spares? As much time and money as we spend on this obsession, it makes perfect sense to ensure the smallest possible disruption when the SHTF...

Regards,
Scott

 

[OR Archer]

I keep as little at the trailhead as possible. To many dang thieves out there anymore.

 

[123 4/8 P&Y]

I take at least 1 extra of everything. EVERYTHING. If my car gets broken into the sheriff deputy's report will reflect that I lost EVERYTHING. Including a couple of handguns.

 

[jlivgren]

Backup bow, food, sleeping bag, clothes, and boots about covers me

 

[5MilesBack]

Failure is NOT an option, so I don't need spares.

Seriously though.......I've been tweaking my gear for years so that I don't have to worry about failures. Obviously things can and do happen, but most of my gear is to the point that it has the highest probability of NOT failing. If my stove has a meltdown, I'll drink cold coffee and eat cold meals.......not a big deal to me. I remember growing up and my dad having like 4 or 5 lousy chainsaws on hand for when the others would break down. And with those, it was just a matter of time before they did break down......sometimes only seconds into work. As soon as I was on my own I bought a Stihl.......it has never failed me or broken down once in the 25+ years that I've owned it, and I cut a lot of trees and wood every year.

If I can do everything in my power to reduce the probability of failure for every piece of gear I use before the hunt, then I shouldn't need to bring backups. I used to bring an extra bow and leave it in the truck, but haven't done that now for the past 4 or 5 years. Haven't needed it, and I've taken some pretty good head over heels tumbles and slides with my bow down the mountain. I don't even take Allen wrenches with me. Haven't found a need for them yet either in the backcountry.

Now, having said all that........ya, I have some spare stuff in the truck.

 

[TJ]

I usually pack my bow kit so I can repair my bow if needed. I also bring an extra sleeping bag, tent, stove, game bags, and food so I can spend the night if needed for meet hauling purposes.

If it's a weekend trip then it's just too far to think of going back out to hunt though.

 

[InDeep]

I keep a extra water bladder and food

 

[In God We Trust]

I keep some extra food, a spare bag, and a pair of boots in my truck. I also keep extra clothing in my truck. I don't trust people enough to keep a bunch of valuable gear in my rig. I also always keep a .22 rifle in my truck but is just that, a truck gun.

 

[Kevin_t]

I keep extra food and sometimes a basic base camp at the trailhead just in case.

 

[jmez]

I leave a lot of extras at the truck. Clothes, bow repair kit, boots, extra food, water bladders, sleeping bag etc. Drive a long way to hunt so bring extra gear. If I don't need it no harm in it sitting in the truck.

 

[rodney482]

Yep locked in my truck

extra bow.. Etc

 

[Hunt'nFish]

If I have two of something, one is in my pack, and the other is in my truck at the trailhead. Why the he11 not have spares? As much time and money as we spend on this obsession, it makes perfect sense to ensure the smallest possible disruption when the SHTF...
Regards,
Scott

I totally agree. I like to have a whole nother camp at the truck. WHY? Because when I kill and take a load out, I have comfortable gear to crash on and feed myself to fuel up for the next load tomorrow. Besides who doesn't like a little cold adult beverage after a meat run. My truck gear is not super light or expensive gear just the basics: bedroll & pad, stove, food, water, cooler.

During archery season this last year we had a camp already in the wilderness and when we went back in for the final week we bumped elk 1/4mile from trailhead. We backed out, slept at the truck w/ truck gear, and killed a nice 6pt bull the next morning. Sure was glad we had extra bedrolls and cook gear in the truck since most of our backpack gear was 5miles in at base camp. We felt smart & well prepared.
Hunt'nFish

 

[sab]

I don't trust people enough to keep a bunch of valuable gear in my rig.

That's why my spare gear is stored in a big steel job box locked to my truck and locked with two big padlocks in their recessed lock pockets.

Regards,
Scott

 

[justinspicher]

I do, and probably will continue to do so. I have been slowly taking less and less gear though. It is still nice to know that there's chow and warm dry clothes at the rig though.