First Backcountry hunt pack list

[Doc Holliday]

Ramen noodles is one of my favorite things to take in the backcountry, I like a hot lunch. The tupperware container I take to mix it in (I also keep my titanium spoon in there), or if you use your jet boil cup, etc., can get pretty greasy with the ramen, even if you rinse it out with water after each use. These little Palmolive bottles that you often get when staying in a hotel, are perfect. I would just take this to use for washing out dishes/nalgenes, etc. and then use for personal hygiene as well

 

[FlyGuy]

Other than all the stuff that other guys already mentioned, which I agree with, I'd dump the bladder and the rain cover for your packframe.

Personally, I would keep both of these. I use a nalgene and bladder. Nalgene b/c it works great with the steripen; but I stay much better hydrated with a bladder in my pack. I’ve done both, but you can easily drink from a bladder while walking. That’s just me tho.

And I HATE wet gear. If your pack isn’t waterproof, and most of them aren’t, then it SUCKS to have a soaked pack b/c you also have a soaked puffy, a soaked sleeping bag, etc etc….


“What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of spirit.“

Chief Seattle

 

[treeratslayer24]

Personally, I would keep both of these. I use a nalgene and bladder. Nalgene b/c it works great with the steripen; but I stay much better hydrated with a bladder in my pack. I’ve done both, but you can easily drink from a bladder while walking. That’s just me tho.

And I HATE wet gear. If your pack isn’t waterproof, and most of them aren’t, then it SUCKS to have a soaked pack b/c you also have a soaked puffy, a soaked sleeping bag, etc etc….


“What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of spirit.“

Chief Seattle

I’ll be keeping the bladder. I’m the same way. I find a drink much more consistently through one than just a bottle. The straw bounces around and reminds me to take a drink. I lose a bottle in my bag and might drink 1/3 as much water.


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[Titan_Bow]

I always found myself frustrated with with a bladder, because I didnt know how much water I had left until I was out of it. One thing I do like about nalgene bottles is that its much easier to keep track of how much water I have left. I also find I stay better hydrated with nalgenes, because its easier to keep track of how many bottles Ive drank that day. I try to drink 4 L a day minimum, so its easy to monitor drinking 2 bottles in the first part of the day, and 2 bottles in the afternoon.

 

[FlyGuy]

I always found myself frustrated with with a bladder, because I didnt know how much water I had left until I was out of it. One thing I do like about nalgene bottles is that its much easier to keep track of how much water I have left. I also find I stay better hydrated with nalgenes, because its easier to keep track of how many bottles Ive drank that day. I try to drink 4 L a day minimum, so its easy to monitor drinking 2 bottles in the first part of the day, and 2 bottles in the afternoon.

I agree with you about keeping track and not knowing how much is in the bladder. For these reasons, I carry both.

Also, one nalgene wont get me thru a whole day; so I have to carry more; but a bladder packs water much better than a second nalgene (or big smart water bottle) sloshing in your pack.


“What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of spirit.“

Chief Seattle

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Also, one nalgene wont get me thru a whole day; so I have to carry more .....

I carry two one-quart wide mouth bottles just for that reason.

 

[Rob5589]

I'm newer to backpack hunting and my list looked similar to yours in the beginning; too much stuff

Rain cover never got used even in rain and nothing got soaked, ditched
I like a bladder, use the Sawyer with adapter to fill bladder, bring tabs as back up. The Steri pen is one more thing to charge, ditch it.
Sleep system is heavy but if its all you have, not much you can do.
A ton of clothes. When moving around even 25 degrees isn't that cold. That is all individual of course. Ditch the extra socks, underwear, multiple gloves, puffy pants.
Battery pack, a 10000 mah will take care of everything if you stay in airplane mode and keep screen time to min time and brightness. I do like an extra headlamp. What's with all the chargers?
2-3 mini Bics, ditch the flint. I use some of those burn tabs from a military surplus for emergencies. Cannot recall their name.
Toothbrush, paste, deod, soap, ditch them all. I use wet wipes as needed or plain water. Put on a bunch of deod before leaving. I bring a small golf towel, it's in between a wash cloth and hand towel, synthetic and very light. I can soak it in water and wipe down, cool off, etc. It has a grommet with a small carabiner I hang on the pack to dry out.
Keep the wipes wet. I use paper towels as well. More durable, less blow throughs to deal with.
Survey tape, sunglasses, optics cleaner, hot hands, toe warmers, electric tape, all ditch. Keep some duct tape wrapped on your trekking pole.
Food, like others said, mix it up. I tired the "I can eat the same thing for 7 days" deal. It sucked, day three I didn't want any of it.
Fishing gear, spotter, tripod, all subjective. I'm willing to kill anything legal so a spotter isn't needed for me.

I like a small blow up pillow, it really helps me sleep. Extra release for sure, maybe a few tools to fix bow if needed. I bring a small empty water bottle to use for Mio water flavoring.

Like I said, nowhere near the experienced guys on here but, have been able to pare' down my pack after a few years. Good luck!

 

[treeratslayer24]

I'm newer to backpack hunting and my list looked similar to yours in the beginning; too much stuff

Rain cover never got used even in rain and nothing got soaked, ditched
I like a bladder, use the Sawyer with adapter to fill bladder, bring tabs as back up. The Steri pen is one more thing to charge, ditch it.
Sleep system is heavy but if its all you have, not much you can do.
A ton of clothes. When moving around even 25 degrees isn't that cold. That is all individual of course. Ditch the extra socks, underwear, multiple gloves, puffy pants.
Battery pack, a 10000 mah will take care of everything if you stay in airplane mode and keep screen time to min time and brightness. I do like an extra headlamp. What's with all the chargers?
2-3 mini Bics, ditch the flint. I use some of those burn tabs from a military surplus for emergencies. Cannot recall their name.
Toothbrush, paste, deod, soap, ditch them all. I use wet wipes as needed or plain water. Put on a bunch of deod before leaving. I bring a small golf towel, it's in between a wash cloth and hand towel, synthetic and very light. I can soak it in water and wipe down, cool off, etc. It has a grommet with a small carabiner I hang on the pack to dry out.
Keep the wipes wet. I use paper towels as well. More durable, less blow throughs to deal with.
Survey tape, sunglasses, optics cleaner, hot hands, toe warmers, electric tape, all ditch. Keep some duct tape wrapped on your trekking pole.
Food, like others said, mix it up. I tired the "I can eat the same thing for 7 days" deal. It sucked, day three I didn't want any of it.
Fishing gear, spotter, tripod, all subjective. I'm willing to kill anything legal so a spotter isn't needed for me.

I like a small blow up pillow, it really helps me sleep. Extra release for sure, maybe a few tools to fix bow if needed. I bring a small empty water bottle to use for Mio water flavoring.

Like I said, nowhere near the experienced guys on here but, have been able to pare' down my pack after a few years. Good luck!

Maybe not near some of the guys, but well wrote with explanations. Really helpful, thanks! I feel I tried to use a very simplistic base list to create mine and it’s amazing how you still end up with all the unneeded things!

I really wish I could get my sleep system lighter, I just don’t have the money left to throw at expensive tents and bags this year. That’ll be top priority moving forward.

Already deleted a lot of the clothes. Even probably ditching the puffy coat, it’s just too bulky and overkill. I have a Catalyst jacket I’ll take along with the kuiu fleece.

Again, thanks.


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[Milestone522]

If you want to go light on your toothbrush and paste order one of these sets from Zpacks. less than 1 oz

www.zpacks.com/products/ultralight-travel-toothbrush

 

[stanginthe11s]

so basically just go naked and afraid and dont shower for a few weeks. ultimate UL. oh leave the bow just bring one arrow in your teeth.

 

[treeratslayer24]

so basically just go naked and afraid and dont shower for a few weeks. ultimate UL. oh leave the bow just bring one arrow in your teeth.

I guess that’s how some of these guys do it! I’m more of a happy medium kind of guy. I’ve realized my biggest limitation is my pack though. 45L pack makes 6 days tight lol


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[Titan_Bow]

I’m in the camp of more bag just means more stuff you don’t need, which means more weight…. Lol
I can do a week out of my exo 3500 pretty easily. The biggest contributors to bulk are going to be food and sleep system. Luckily the food diminishes each day.
You said this is your first hunt like this, so just enjoy it, go with what you have, and what you’ve decided thus far. After your trip is when you really want to analyze things.
After a few trips like this, you’ll start to realize what YOU need and what you don’t. You will also start to realize how different conditions, climates, terrain type, etc. will change what goes and what stays as well.
The internet is a great resource to get information for things like this, but there’s still no substitute for OJT.
Good luck on your hunt out here this year. Have fun and make note of items that never left your pack, but more importantly, why they never left your pack. Once you wake up just prior to sunrise in a high alpine basin at 11 or 12k feet, in that ear ringing silence and magical predawn light, all your anxiety and stress about having the right gear goes out the window!


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[treeratslayer24]

Good luck on your hunt out here this year. Have fun and make note of items that never left your pack, but more importantly, why they never left your pack. Once you wake up just prior to sunrise in a high alpine basin at 11 or 12k feet, in that ear ringing silence and magical predawn light, all your anxiety and stress about having the right gear goes out the window!


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Can’t wait! Gives me chills


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[Rainman89]

I love to flyfish as well but I'd ditch that stuff altogether and focus on hunting unless you were certain you are going to be around really great fishing a lot. Chances are if you are around great fishing you wont be where you want to hunt elk as a lot of high country lakes and streams have some human activity around them.

This, I always want to bring fishing gear, but glassing is more paramount for hunting success.

 

[Rainman89]

Unless this is hunting in an area that allows for a ton of glassing, I'd leave the tripod and spotter at home too. They are nice once you have them there, but not so much to get them to and from. Given it's your first backpack hunt you probably (although not for sure) aren't going to nitpick a 320" vs. 340" bull or 150" vs. 160" buck to make a decision on a play on it, so leave it behind. Use your trekking pole with your binos and save a lot of weight. YMMV

Solid advice. Save weight, be more mobile, give yourself more chances to learn/be successful.

 

[JustSomeGuy35]

I spent 14 years backpacking into the nasty, steep and deep stuff that most hunters avoid. Just hunting on weekends, I'd average 15+ miles of going up and down canyons. If I got an animal, that number would go well over 20 miles. A few times a year, I'd do 5-7 day trips as well. Here's my thoughts on your clothes and toiletries:

- Do not ditch the extra socks! You only get one pair of feet issued to you for life so take care of them! You can go without undies but not having a fresh pair of socks each day is asking for trouble.

- You need foot powder. Sweaty feet rubbing against your boots is what makes a long hike suck and tears up your pups.

- Wet wipes and foot powder are all you need for hygiene. Every night I'd wipe down with wet wipes and then powder my armpits, nether regions, and feet.

- Do not ditch your toothpaste and toothbrush. The people who suggested that must be masochists.

That's all I got for now. Just remember: If you travel too light, you'll freeze by night.

 

[treeratslayer24]

I spent 14 years backpacking into the nasty, steep and deep stuff that most hunters avoid. Just hunting on weekends, I'd average 15+ miles of going up and down canyons. If I got an animal, that number would go well over 20 miles. A few times a year, I'd do 5-7 day trips as well. Here's my thoughts on your clothes and toiletries:

- Do not ditch the extra socks! You only get one pair of feet issued to you for life so take care of them! You can go without undies but not having a fresh pair of socks each day is asking for trouble.

- You need foot powder. Sweaty feet rubbing against your boots is what makes a long hike suck and tears up your pups.

- Wet wipes and foot powder are all you need for hygiene. Every night I'd wipe down with wet wipes and then powder my armpits, nether regions, and feet.

- Do not ditch your toothpaste and toothbrush. The people who suggested that must be masochists.

That's all I got for now. Just remember: If you travel too light, you'll freeze by night.

Thanks! I have sense added foot powder, and I’ll throw the extra socks back in.

Yeah no way I’m ditching tooth brush. Bad enough my body will stink, don’t need my breath stinking when I’m whispering to my buddy on a stalk lol


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[Ferrulewax]

As creator of "the gear list thread" go ahead and out your list in there man. I really didn't intend for it to be only for the weight weenies, more just a resource for everyone to see what each other are packing. It helps to see packing lists from all kinds of places, skill levels, and styles of hunter.

 

[treeratslayer24]

As creator of "the gear list thread" go ahead and out your list in there man. I really didn't intend for it to be only for the weight weenies, more just a resource for everyone to see what guys are packing.

Ok will do. I’ve tweaked it some more since this post too so should be more useful.


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[Rainman89]

I spent 14 years backpacking into the nasty, steep and deep stuff that most hunters avoid. Just hunting on weekends, I'd average 15+ miles of going up and down canyons. If I got an animal, that number would go well over 20 miles. A few times a year, I'd do 5-7 day trips as well. Here's my thoughts on your clothes and toiletries:

- Do not ditch the extra socks! You only get one pair of feet issued to you for life so take care of them! You can go without undies but not having a fresh pair of socks each day is asking for trouble.

- You need foot powder. Sweaty feet rubbing against your boots is what makes a long hike suck and tears up your pups.

- Wet wipes and foot powder are all you need for hygiene. Every night I'd wipe down with wet wipes and then powder my armpits, nether regions, and feet.

- Do not ditch your toothpaste and toothbrush. The people who suggested that must be masochists.

That's all I got for now. Just remember: If you travel too light, you'll freeze by night.

This guy is my hero. Happy feet make for a happy trip. Weight is good to watch, but a couple extra oz's of supplies to keep you on the mountain is a no-brainer.