Gear questions and shaving an ounce here and there

[Chris in TN]

Couple more thoughts, you mentioned pulleys, paper towels, duct tape. I don’t bring any of that stuff, you don’t need pulleys for elk, bear or any other animals when packing in.
I have two daughters and a son (all grown now) that hunted with me since they were very young and still do. I made sure to pack enough warm clothes for them that they did not get cold/uncomfortable. That was key while they were young. You mentioned bringing one gun, I did that as well when my kids were with me. Even today, when my youngest daughter (18 now) goes I only bring her gun. I have so much fun spotting for them and talking them through the shot.

One piece of great advice I have heard over the years is to not pack your fears. Over the years I have cut so much out that I used to pack. And with that, I haven’t ever been in dire need of anything.

I bought the smallest roll of duct tape I could find. I might skip the pulleys - I can see the chances of needing them are miniscule - and I agree that being comfortable is key. That's why we're bringing rainsuits. But TBH, if I see definite significant rain in the forecast we are likely to be at the car or sleeping in a cabin. I hate hunting in the rain, even here at home. My daughter certainly isn't a fan of it. I hear you on the one-gun thing. Having kids has made me rethink a lot of things.

If we could have drawn a quality deer tag (by quality, I mean almost any unit with decent odds at a 3 year old buck and fairly low hunting pressure) I think that would have been overall a much better first-western-hunt option, but here we are. Most of the logistic problems with elk happen after the shot, anyway.

ETA: as for dyneema cord vs paracord, the biggest advantage of paracord is that a roll of it is already at my house, paid for. Shaving that ounce of weight isn't worth it to me this year. We are spending a TON of money getting geared up and I can't justify every expense. Most of our stuff is entry level and I'm OK living with the extra weight involved in cheaper gear, for now. We can adjust and upgrade as time goes on.

A buddy of mine just got back from a similar hunt with his (older) son during bow season. I think his pack was close to 70 pounds but they packed a lot of stuff they didn't need - camp comfort stuff. He's stronger than me and probably handled 70 as well as I'll handle 40, but, still, hearing his reports has made me look hard at everything where I can afford to shave it. I don't particularly mind the idea of hiking in once with a lot of gear then figuring out how to get it back to the car with a dead elk. My real fear is hiking in, seeing a need to regroup and move, and *THEN* letting the dread of the weight stop me from making a needed move. That's what scares me.

 

[Chris in TN]

Also - where do you guys stuff your reading glasses while wearing a pack? I always hang them on my shirt collar but the front/top pack cross-strap makes that risky. I need them to be always available but don't want to smush them with the pack strap.

 

[hereinaz]

Also - where do you guys stuff your reading glasses while wearing a pack? I always hang them on my shirt collar but the front/top pack cross-strap makes that risky. I need them to be always available but don't want to smush them with the pack strap.

I am going to sew a little pouch that will clip on my pack strap so I can take it off and put it in my pockets. Super annoying getting old and fat…

I finally got contacts for far vision and binoculars. Makes readers necessary.

 

[Ecampbell25]

There is no way I would not bring the rain fly to your tent period…. Unless I had some form of good rain protection.

 

[Chris in TN]

There is no way I would not bring the rain fly to your tent period…. Unless I had some form of good rain protection.

We have had torrential rains here at home in the last 24 hours and yesterday I had to go outside and do some stuff in the rain and it kinda drove the point home. Being wet sucks.

 

[Chris in TN]

I am going to sew a little pouch that will clip on my pack strap so I can take it off and put it in my pockets. Super annoying getting old and fat…

I finally got contacts for far vision and binoculars. Makes readers necessary.

I think some of my readers came in pouches. I might see what I can rig up there. I'll bring an extra pair, even hiking/camping. I can't read a map without them and certainly can't look at aerial imagery without them.

 

[fmyth]

I think some of my readers came in pouches. I might see what I can rig up there. I'll bring an extra pair, even hiking/camping. I can't read a map without them and certainly can't look at aerial imagery without them.

I keep these readers in the side pouch of my bino harness. I've sat on them, washed them in the washing machine and haven't broken them. They weigh less than an ounce.

 

[Macintosh]

Also - where do you guys stuff your reading glasses while wearing a pack? I always hang them on my shirt collar but the front/top pack cross-strap makes that risky. I need them to be always available but don't want to smush them with the pack strap.

Thank me after your trip.

Barat Reader

The Barat style features rectangular lenses with a soft and foldable headband that adjusts at the temples providing you with a perfect fit.

cliceyewear.com

 

[Chris in TN]

Thank me after your trip.

Barat Reader

The Barat style features rectangular lenses with a soft and foldable headband that adjusts at the temples providing you with a perfect fit.

cliceyewear.com

Those are super neat. I bet I could still lose them though.

The daughter and I did a full test run with our packs this afternoon here in the yard, started with empty packs and walked through all our what-ifs and where to pack things. We answered questions like who totes the food, how to strap the rifle to my pack, and so on.

My sleep pad weights 0.75# less than hers. I may swap hers. My sleeping bag weights 5.5#. I may exchange it for something lighter. I don't honestly want to trim our food.

Counting water (4# each when we leave the car), right now I'm at a 41 pound pack. She's at 22. That ignores extra underwear/socks and other wearables and ignores our chest packs full of everyday stuff and emergency stuff. I trimmed where I could, I decided my rainsuit and snow gaiters didn't need factory packaging and there was no use carrying our kill bag in its own bag when I could just wrap it all up in one of the meat bags and cinch it with the drawstring - it'll be in the pack until needed anyway.

I can't make my stove any lighter. I already swapped in the smallest gas bottle I could find.

I could get rid of my fixed blade deboning knife and lose the better part of a pound but I reaaaallllllyyyyyyy hate to do that as I've grown to like that knife in the last 25 years. At this rate I may decide to keep it.

On a positive note, after thinking through how to pack them, neither pack is 'full' and has room to expand as needed for, say, meat hauling.

 

[Chris in TN]

Colorado is eerily quiet at night.

Man, middle TN is NOT.

We slept out last night in the yard to start some gear testing. If stuff's gonna not work I want to know before we're miles from the car.

Our farm animals paid us no attention last night but the neighbors about a mile away have some cows that mooed throughout the night. Also, we live about a mile off the highway, and every so often a car went by. Plus the usual coyotes, not close, but loud enough to wake me. So 'eerily quiet' would have been nice.

Our sleeping pads worked fine. I've ordered a lighter pad to replace my heavier one I mentioned in an earlier post, but now that I know it works and is comfy, I may just keep it. I'll have to try the other one now I guess.

Sleeping bags are comfy, though 55 degrees is no test of their warmth. I had to sleep unzipped due to heat, which I suppose is a good sign.

It rained here over the weekend. The dew this morning immediately made me appreciate the value of a rain fly before I was even out of the tent. Skipping it would have been dumb. Thanks, y'all. But the tent is plenty big enough for the two of us to sleep comfortably and still have room for at least part of our gear. Also, I'm convinced now that I need two pieces of tyvek - one to make a porch under and in front of and behind the tent, and one, if the campsite allows for it with some trees around, to make sort of a cover to help keep the dew off our gear. The tent is double-fly and double-vestibule so both of us can have a spot to get dressed.

We had an almost full moon most of the night. Made sleep difficult, so this morning I checked the October CO moon rise/set times and it looks like we'll have much darker nights for sleeping. That's good.

One excess I think I'm going to tolerate, is to bring an actual pillow, not an inflatable. I don't want to trust an inflatable pillow. I'm not thrilled about trusting an inflatable mattress, honestly, but see it as a necessary risk and a safe one after I've tested the pads a few nights. The pillows.....no. I might get some sleep on hard ground but there's no way I'll sleep without proper head support so I'm picking up some camp pillows.

ETA: And of course the other kids wanted to 'camp out' with us, so we ended up with a full campsite and roasted marshmallows for the kids and all of that stuff. Not a bad way to spend a night at all.

Also - I may be crazy but I think I'm going to get a very small, very lightweight second pack for day hunting. It'll hold water for both of us, a kill kit, and a bit of food. I just don't think I want to lug the bulk of our regular packs around all day.

And last but not least.....I am in far better shape than I used to be but it has really hit me the last few weeks that my single biggest weakness right now is that I need to lose more body fat. I'm overweight, not obese, but it's really hitting me that the easiest way to trim pack weight would be to forget what the pack weighs and just carry it on a lighter body.

 

[Poser]

Man, middle TN is NOT.

We slept out last night in the yard to start some gear testing. If stuff's gonna not work I want to know before we're miles from the car.

Our farm animals paid us no attention last night but the neighbors about a mile away have some cows that mooed throughout the night. Also, we live about a mile off the highway, and every so often a car went by. Plus the usual coyotes, not close, but loud enough to wake me. So 'eerily quiet' would have been nice.

Our sleeping pads worked fine. I've ordered a lighter pad to replace my heavier one I mentioned in an earlier post, but now that I know it works and is comfy, I may just keep it. I'll have to try the other one now I guess.

Sleeping bags are comfy, though 55 degrees is no test of their warmth. I had to sleep unzipped due to heat, which I suppose is a good sign.

It rained here over the weekend. The dew this morning immediately made me appreciate the value of a rain fly before I was even out of the tent. Skipping it would have been dumb. Thanks, y'all. But the tent is plenty big enough for the two of us to sleep comfortably and still have room for at least part of our gear. Also, I'm convinced now that I need two pieces of tyvek - one to make a porch under and in front of and behind the tent, and one, if the campsite allows for it with some trees around, to make sort of a cover to help keep the dew off our gear. The tent is double-fly and double-vestibule so both of us can have a spot to get dressed.

We had an almost full moon most of the night. Made sleep difficult, so this morning I checked the October CO moon rise/set times and it looks like we'll have much darker nights for sleeping. That's good.

One excess I think I'm going to tolerate, is to bring an actual pillow, not an inflatable. I don't want to trust an inflatable pillow. I'm not thrilled about trusting an inflatable mattress, honestly, but see it as a necessary risk and a safe one after I've tested the pads a few nights. The pillows.....no. I might get some sleep on hard ground but there's no way I'll sleep without proper head support so I'm picking up some camp pillows.

ETA: And of course the other kids wanted to 'camp out' with us, so we ended up with a full campsite and roasted marshmallows for the kids and all of that stuff. Not a bad way to spend a night at all.

Also - I may be crazy but I think I'm going to get a very small, very lightweight second pack for day hunting. It'll hold water for both of us, a kill kit, and a bit of food. I just don't think I want to lug the bulk of our regular packs around all day.

And last but not least.....I am in far better shape than I used to be but it has really hit me the last few weeks that my single biggest weakness right now is that I need to lose more body fat. I'm overweight, not obese, but it's really hitting me that the easiest way to trim pack weight would be to forget what the pack weighs and just carry it on a lighter body.

What part of Middle TN you in? I lived in Murfreesboro and East Nashville for a 9 year stretch: 1999-2008

 

[Chris in TN]

What part of Middle TN you in? I lived in Murfreesboro and East Nashville for a 9 year stretch: 1999-2008

We're between Columbia and Lewisburg, off 431. I have several friends scattered around M'boro. We moved here before the current rush started. Man, it's getting crowded.

Also - our tent came with about a dozen little stakes. I used six last night, one on each corner plus one on each vestibule apex(?). If I stake both sides of the vestibule I can't open it. So, I'll cut those extra stakes, bring 7 total. Weight saved.

My daughter slept on the lighter sleep pad. She gave it a good report, so I'm going ahead with ordering the second one. Those two cuts are maybe a pound. Now I have to add back pillows, and I am considering bringing a light blanket so we have a backup plan to stay warm if it gets cold. I can pack that in the car and leave it in the car depending on the forecast.

I'm thinking about possibly toting *part of* camp on our scouting days. Not the first day, but perhaps by day 2-3-4 of scouting I'll begin to have an idea of where we want to hunt, and if it's worth perhaps bringing some gear on a scout trip and dropping it off once I've confirmed that's where we want to camp. That depends on a lot of factors, of course, but I'm trying to think ahead on my options there.

I'm also starting to split stuff up into backpack things and a separate 'car stuff' list. Extra food and backup camp basics to allow us to sleep at the car if we get into a meat-packing scenario that puts us at the car with camp still up on the mountain. Extra frozen water in the cooler.

Also - I threw an empty spray bottle with a couple ounces of citric acid powder in it, in the kill bag. If the weather is forecasted to be cold I might remove that. If warm, it probably should stay. If we need it we can just dump a quart of drinking water in it.