Elk hunt without hot meals

[Dapper]

Anybody ever go on a backpack hunt without any hot meals? My son and I are planning a 10 day hunt and would like to cut weight. We've cut weight every year and don't have a lot of options left. One of the ways would be omit the backpack stove and fuel cannisters. We've always done it with one hot meal a day, usually a Mountain House after the days hunt.

Dan

 

[armyjoe]

So i've done up to 3 days without a hot meal and let me tell you it sucks! There is something about a hot meal that is therapeutic after long hard days of hunting.

Also, once you start to pack the meals with the calories you require and adding different stuff to break up the monotony of the same thing every day you aren't saving any weight at all. I was within 3oz difference from bring my normal hot meals/fuel/stove compared to a full days worth of cold food meals. Not worth it in my opinion

 

[BroodBuster]

No coffee? Crazy talk I tell you. I'm more inclined to carry an extra fuel canister then to omit the stove.

I agree with ArmyJoe. When things get tough or lonely there's nothing more therapeutic than a cup of coffee and a hot meal.

 

[JeremiahH]

I don't like the idea of bulky canisters so I've made a few of these now and pack a little bottle of denatured alcohol. Maybe something fun as a father son project too. The little altoid can stoves look cool too and just use twigs etc.. To burn. I'm going to try one of those as well.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEGoEPtFDkM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErAvyDXeMxg

 

[tttoadman]

My spreadsheet takes into account the wt of the stove and fuel and burdens the total weight by how many days I am spending in the woods. Short version is...The longer the trip, the more economical it is to bring the stove and hot food. To pack a stove for a 3 day hunt becomes a luxury, but is not as efficient. I agree with Armyjoe, the mental aspect of the hot meal is hard to resist.

 

[Dapper]

Thanks for the replys. I think we'll be reconsidering the no hot meals approach.

Dan

 

[Walker6]

Another option is to use a small wood burning stove like an Emberlit to boil water for your MH meals. They weigh a few ounces and you don't have to carry the fuel. If it rains and the wood is wet, then you can try out your cold meal idea.

 

[moxford]

Lose 1 lb at the gym, take the stove, call it a wash.

 

[fngTony]

Esbit makes a alcohol stove that you can also just feed it twigs. If you don't want to make a popcan alcohol stove SW sells one for about $20
https://esbit.de/en/cookset-with-alcohol-burner-cs985ha/

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

 

[Shrek]

Coffe and hot meals keep you in the game ! I won't be cutting my stove...ever !

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

A stove only weighs a pound. Use Top Ramen and you will save weight on food but still have a hot meal. I've gone on 5 day trips and less without a hot meal but I wouldn't choose to do much more.


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[rayporter]

any metal cup set on three rocks will hold an esbit tablet under it and heat water for coffee or soup or mac and cheese or raman or just water to pour into a mt house. hot food is light wt and easy.

 

[GotDraw?]

Ok, so I'm probably a couple standard deviations from normal...

I run with stripped down MRE's (toss the heaters, condiments, fork, etc) and eat them cold for 2 weeks lunch/dinner. Yes, cold. Time efficiency for me.

Yes, MRE's are heavier than dehydrated, but in a practical sense, you end up carrying water to re-hydrate dried meals anyway.

I am done eating before someone could get their stove out and boil/rehydrate food. I don't want to fuss with rehydration/carry extra water for it, don't want to wait for water to boil, nor carry a stove. Don't want to have to clean anything up. At lunch time, I want to eat fast and get back to hunting and by dinner time (whenever that is), I just want to eat, then hit the down bag. Trail mix or granola for breakfast and snacks BTW- I found it really helpful to mix chopped up beef jerky in with my trail mix. The extra protein is great and it makes the trail mix more palatable (to me).

I am so stoked to be hunting that I don't need a hot happy meal to be happy! But... By the end of the hunt, I am ready for some serious barbecue!

JL

 

[Poser]

️ + =

 

[charvey9]

I've done many shorter trips with packed meals, but if weight savings is your goal there really is nothing ligther than dehydrated food. tttoadman already said it, but the longer the trip the more sense it makes to use dehydrated food and stove / fuel. There is plenty of water where I hunt, so I never need to carry more than I'll drink in a day, dehydrated meals where ever I camp for the night.

If you have access and will be scouting your area during the summer, stash some food and/or a fuel canister on each trip.

 

[chindits]

So your son can carry the fuel canister and you can carry the stove. My stove weighs in at 25 grams which is about 9/10ths of an ounce.That sounds like a good deal to me.

I have used alcohol stoves for years, but they loose their efficiency in cold, humid, windy weather. The long time issue with alcohol stoves was never too important to me, but I can easily justify the luxury of iso/pro gas stove during the hunt. It is fast, or it can simmer slow if you want to do other chores while boiling water. I don't cook, I just boil water and add it to my pre-made meals. Even hot Gatorade can do wonders for your spirit after coming back into camp hours after sunset on a rainy/snowy day. If you dehydrate your own meals it is very affordable and lighter than the commercial offers out there.

However, if you want to stick with the cold camp strategy look at combining various cereals, dried fruits, and nuts then use a high protein muscle powder instead of dried milk. I struggle with loosing too much weight during the hunt so I find that combination puts on the most calories in the lightest package. Water is no issue at the elevation I hunt, so I really never have to carry more than a quart of water at a time.

If you are caching food, be very conscious of bears and even squirrels if you are suspending from trees.

 

[JDZ]

I think the weight of the stove and fuel will be way more than offset by dehydrated or freeze-dried meals over 10 days. I'd take the stove.

 

[tipsntails7]

Ok, so I'm probably a couple standard deviations from normal...

I run with stripped down MRE's (toss the heaters, condiments, fork, etc) and eat them cold for 2 weeks lunch/dinner. Yes, cold. Time efficiency for me.

Yes, MRE's are heavier than dehydrated, but in a practical sense, you end up carrying water to re-hydrate dried meals anyway.

I am done eating before someone could get their stove out and boil/rehydrate food. I don't want to fuss with rehydration/carry extra water for it, don't want to wait for water to boil, nor carry a stove. Don't want to have to clean anything up. At lunch time, I want to eat fast and get back to hunting and by dinner time (whenever that is), I just want to eat, then hit the down bag. Trail mix or granola for breakfast and snacks BTW- I found it really helpful to mix chopped up beef jerky in with my trail mix. The extra protein is great and it makes the trail mix more palatable (to me).

I am so stoked to be hunting that I don't need a hot happy meal to be happy! But... By the end of the hunt, I am ready for some serious barbecue!

JL

I need to shit regularly, so your approach is insane to me.

Cold MRE's are palatable, but trail mix without jerky is not... You sir are an alien.

 

[njdoxie]

I've done it once or twice, swore I'd never do it again.....coming back to camp and rehydrating a favorite meal around a campfire is required, I look forward to it.

 

[bcimport]

I'm with the other guys, hot meals and drinks are worth the weight.