Hercules...Hercules....Hercules!!!!

[luke moffat]

Maybe I'm not doing it right but I couldn't roll over with my load this year around 100 lbs. I did the turtle method alright...the one where you put a tutrtle on its back and watch it flail around!!!!! I couldn't get turned over. Had to take it off and put it on a stump.

This is why I have had a luggage scale at the truck or base camp since 2009. Just fun to guess what we think we are carrying and nice to know what we are truly carrying rather than guessing. Simple for our general knowledge of what is safe for us to carry. I have personally only measured 4 loads that I have carried that were north of 120 pounds with the heaviest being 135. Often terrain is a bigger factor in how much is safe to carry than total weight as well. Sometimes 80 pounds is too much in certain terrain so multiple trips are required to ferry things around to more workable ground too. I am not too worried about guys hauling 150+ all the time. More power to them if they can do it without wrecking their bodies. Personally I already feel some aches in my knees at 32 that certainly weren't there at 25. But bringing the luggage scale along helps me better guess what I am loading my pack in the future and hopefully will help me make wise choices on what I should safely be doing in the future.

 

[TBossHSauce]

I once strapped my lovely bride into my new pack just to see if I could. This was after a few bottles of nice red though to get her in the mood. She's wittal bitty and comes in around the 100-110lb range fully loaded. I was surprised how a good pack didn't hurt with that weight. I didn't pack her out a mile but did go up and down the stairs at my house without falling on my face. She wasn't very amused...I was very amused. I now know I could pack her out of Armageddon if necessary. Or leave her behind and take food or drink instead...only the apocalypse will tell. There is a video to prove it but I can't post it because I can't afford the divorce so you'll just have to believe me.

Now which one of you is next to try it out...you know you want too....

 

[Ucsdryder]

Can we start a gofundme to get boss to post up his video?

 

[AK Troutbum]

I won't even attempt to pack super heavy loads anymore. The last heavy load I packed was a few years ago, mountain goat and camp with my hunting partners help, approx. 4 miles (probably a little less), and mostly down hill. I would guestimate the pack wt. at around 120-130 pounds, and it took around 2 weeks for the size of my knees to return to normal, and a little longer than that for the pain to go away. Last year it took me two loads and four days to pack my goat off the mountain and back to the lake that I was flown into. The total distance was around 8 miles and I had a spike camp set up half way in between the goat kill site and lake. When I was flown out, 9 days after killing the goat, I weighed it all up (four quarters bone in, misc. other meat, and head/cape), on the freight company's scale for a total of 162 lbs. That worked out pretty well for me and I suspect that I will continue to do it that way from now on, even if it takes me multiple trips. I'm almost 50 years old and I'd really like to be doing this for a couple more years or decades and I don't want to take too much of a risk trashing my joints or back prematurely. Another big thing I think about is taking a wrong/bad step with 120+ pounds on your back vs. taking that same step with 60 pounds on your back. The difference in wt. that you're carrying in those two scenario's could result in two dramatically different outcomes. You couple that with being on a remote, solo trip in inclement weather and you could very well have a life and death situation on your hands. No thanks.

 

[TheCougar]

I tend to think that at least half of what I read is keyboard bravado... I packed out my buck this week and I estimated the weight between 80-100lbs. This was all the quarters and the head, plus the contents of a full day pack and my bow. I think the distance was around a mile at 4000' elevation, at night and off the trail. The terrain was a "5", where a "0" is in Texas where you shoot a buck off a feeder and it falls over into your truck bed and a "10" is a Kuiu ad. It wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't terrible either. I think 80lbs is a realistic limit for 2-3 miles, depending on terrain. It was also my first pack out with my kifaru frame and Exo bag and I absolutely loved it. It isn't a contest and as I was packing out in the dark, bushwhacking, I realized that I'm not out there to impress anyone. I'm there to get the meat to the truck in a reasonable time and not hurt myself in the process.

 

[Capra]

This is the best one I've seen yet.
Check out them light weight boots!

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

This guy is legit ! I love the walking stick axe.

All kidding aside, I have to agree that pack weights are like fish stories. However I have hunted with a few guys that were animals and I'm not sure that I can tell you why. I suppose they are just tougher because it is not a body size thing.

I just do what I can safely handle and come back for another load.