How did my pack get so dang heavy???

[Sam Millard]

I feel your pain. I don't really want to add up all the other stuff, but it's 26 pounds just to shoot the canyon rifle

Ryan is carrying ALL of the dead shit out!

 

[HellsCanyon]

I feel your pain. I don't really want to add up all the other stuff, but it's 26 pounds just to shoot the canyon rifle

Ryan is carrying ALL of the dead shit out!

But you see, you justify it by the added effectiveness don't you? I thought Idaho had a 15 lb gun law?

Mike

 

[Sam Millard]

16 pounds on the gun with attachments. 1 pound per 10 rounds ammo (bringing 20...gotta stay sharp!). RF, dope book, kestrel, video cam in a "shoot kit"=4 pounds. Don't have a comfy Kifaru that will effectively carry a 54" rifle, so it's going in a Eberlestock Gunslinger @ 6 pounds.

I forgot to add in the tripod for the cam, but it's added into the rest of the 64 pound load. I wish I could speak in ounces! But, you are right! The added range allows us to get to a vantage spot and stay there. We will let the rifle do the walking...

 

[SHTF]

Yeah IM up around 50 also and I have super light gear. One thing you may want to look at the Vortex High Country Tripod Its 33 ounces. Youll save almost a lbs there. Just go mine and man am I stoked over this Tripod.

 

[Maah Daah Hey]

I am right at 50 lbs as well. My shelter is a huge weight for me but for now it is all I have. I think you will do just fine with this type of weight.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Yeah IM up around 50 also and I have super light gear. One thing you may want to look at the Vortex High Country Tripod Its 33 ounces. Youll save almost a lbs there. Just go mine and man am I stoked over this Tripod.

I think I'll be upgrading next year on the tripod. The vortex I've heard are decent but heard the heads on them suck. Looking at the slik carbon fiber tripod for next year maybe.

I'm sure I'll be just fine with this weight. If I get a buck down it's going to be a long haul out though. Thankfully mostly all downhill. Really don't want to do two trips!

Mike

 

[SHTF]

Our Spike is only 1.2 miles or so and an easy hike so Im happy about that.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Our Spike is only 1.2 miles or so and an easy hike so Im happy about that.

Nice!
I'm not too bad. About 6 miles in I think. But between miles 2-5 I gain about 3300' so that's the bad part. From there though it's pretty easy going. And I won't be doing much hiking from Friday night till Sunday morning so I'll be good to go.

If i get a buck down I think i'll be spending a few hours back at camp cleaning up the meat. Seems like every time I butcher an animal I always toss a bunch of trimmings cause I'm really picky about trimming off the 'silver' and what not. Probably make mostly burger out of him so should make for quick work! Will also cape the head and remove lower jaw. Not sure if I'll bring the cape out or not. But now I'm gettin ahead of myself...

Mike

 

[dirtytough]

That does seem heavy. I will be under 50 for a 10 day hunt. At least it's an easy hike haha

 

[fillthefreezer]

I think I'll be upgrading next year on the tripod. The vortex I've heard are decent but heard the heads on them suck. Looking at the slik carbon fiber tripod for next year maybe.
Mike

the slik is in a different league than the vortex high country, the slik CF, further widens the gap

 

[HellsCanyon]

That does seem heavy. I will be under 50 for a 10 day hunt. At least it's an easy hike haha

True that!

I just pulled out the diced peach fruit cups and two 1/2 cup almond packets and that saves me another 22 oz with only 560 calories lost (the fruit is heavy per calorie count).

How heavy are your stabilizers archery guys? Mine is pretty dang heavy at 13.5 oz...

EDIT: Just swapped in my old limbsaver stabilizer and verified shots at 40 and 50. That was an easy 8 oz saved... (5.5 oz stabilizer weight)

Also took off the ditty bag attachment off my tripod and that cut 2 more oz.

So that right there cuts a full 2 lbs off my pack weight...

Mike

 

[ozyclint]

What food and how many calories are you taking per day?

i've got absolutely no idea of the calories i'm packing. that's too hi tech for me. we have 7kg of food for 14days that's all i know. this is a days ration for us- we have a backcountry meal(mountain house in your lingo) at night. 100gm ziploc bag of museli with protein powder(just add water and eat out of bag)for breakfast. smoko's are little salami sticks and a wedge of that processed cheese and some crackers, 2x granola bar and a small mars bar. we have 6 cup-a-soups over duration of trip plus tea bags. we always end up bringing food out.

you'll never be as light as you would like to be. i just pack my backpack and hunt hard. determination and persistance more than makes up for lack of 'ultralightness'

 

[hflier]

Looks good! You have a lot of optics weight, but that is the way you are rolling so I'd say this is your weight.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Looks good! You have a lot of optics weight, but that is the way you are rolling so I'd say this is your weight.

Yep. I really don't see my pack getting any lighter for this trip. Only thing to really improve on would be to go to a lighter spotter and lighter tripod with 8X binos. Could drop 5 oz by going to a ground cloth instead of a bivy, pack a poncho instead of rain jacket, drop some tasty food for more efficient food, or swap to a Stone Glacier pack. Everything else I have is within a few oz of the lightest quality proven gear out there. Weapon/Water/Optics are the biggest things here. Just glad I have that other quality gear to make them easier to carry and offset their weight! I could easily be 60+ lbs without it.

Mike

 

[OR Archer]

I see some redundancy in the items you packed. For four days Id get rid of a few of your clothing items. Id opt to just run the First Lite bottoms and leave the boxers back home. Leave one of the beanies behind also. Id also drop the smaller bladder as well unless there's a critical need for it. Take only one head lamp. You could even ditch the bivy with the use of the bug out shelter. Doesn't add up to much weight savings but it's still some.

 

[dotman]

So what are you plans for wiping your butt? Maybe I missed it but I see no dried out wet wipes unless their in the misc items.

Other then that looks about right, only difference between my 3 day setup and 10 day is food and a few minor clothing items.

 

[HellsCanyon]

I see some redundancy in the items you packed. For four days Id get rid of a few of your clothing items. Id opt to just run the First Lite bottoms and leave the boxers back home. Leave one of the beanies behind also. Id also drop the smaller bladder as well unless there's a critical need for it. Take only one head lamp. You could even ditch the bivy with the use of the bug out shelter. Doesn't add up to much weight savings but it's still some.

High's will be in the low 60's so I don't think I'll leave the boxers at home, I'd overheat always wearing the merino bottoms. Though I might leave the merino bottoms at home now that you mention it.

I could drop the Core4 beanie.

Bivy could be dropped. Would want to take a ground sheet though the savings here are minimal. And a bivy helps with the bugs. I'd be more inclined to drop it if I had a full bag.

Extra headlamp could be dropped I guess.
I'll pull some of these items then see what they weigh. Thanks for the suggestions!

Dotman,
I got 1/2 roll of toilet paper, part of the 'misc' category

EDIT. Dropping the beanie, extra headlamp and merino bottoms drops another 12.5 oz off. I just hope my Valhalla pants are warm enough for 40* mornings. I think they will be alright, legs normally don't get cold easily.

Mike

 

[BigMac]

You should be fine. I wore my Valhalla pants with Core4 base layer down into the teens last season, but my legs don't get too cold either.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Face it, you can only trim out so much stuff before it starts getting a little ridiculous. All my gear weighs the same, but I dropped 10 pounds of body weight this summer. Best part is, it didn't cost me a darned dime!

My gear list is pretty close to yours, and my pack is going to be around 50 pounds too for an 8 day trip. I don't worry so much about food weight as I do worrying that I have enough calories. If the machine ain't running, the hunt won't be much fun.

Good luck on your trip.

 

[Mikeha33]

Thank God you posted this. I finalized everything last night, and I was at 46 lbs before my water, 3L, so I'll hit the 50lb mark easy. I know it could be lighter, somewhere, but for my first trip doing something like this, I am in the school of thought, better to have it than not need it, than need it and not have it. Ill refine once I get more comfortable in the mountains, but I can handle 50, so I'll be fine, just thought I was a little heavier than everyone else.