How much does your pack weigh?

[Poser]

With 6 days of food, gear for mid-Oct temps, not counting water, about 50 lbs. Does include rifle, ammo, bino harness, etc.

It takes a lot of hubris to suggest that merely observing how others do this, or any endeavor, is a waste of time.

Well, I think the problem is that a lot of people leave a lot off items of the list that definitely counts as “weight” and don’t qualify such items. It’s the “my pack weights 31lbs, all I have to do is add my food, water, put on my bino harness, grab my rifle, put my phone in my pocket, grab my rain gear, TP and wet wipes, and I’m out the door... btw, I carry a lot of food in my cargo pockets” crowd that confuses the issue. It’s almost as if we need standardized criteria for 3 classes of backpack weight. In some sense, the Rokslide forums have matured through this process pretty well. The hunting FB groups are basically an 8th grade locker room of “my dick is this big” bravado with regards to pack weights with guys claiming 35 lbs for 12 days and similar.

 

[HighUintas]

Just packed up and weighed my pack for Friday. I'll be out on an 8 day trip. I was hoping to be able to keep my pack to no more than 40lbs so I could more enjoyably just keep camp on my back every day. Well, I'm at about 46lbs, not counting 2L of water that I'll carry, my 7.5lb rifle, and 5-10 cartridges. So, shoot. And that's with leaving out my vortex 11-33 spotting scope, vortex summit tripod, and puffy pants. I've done quite a bit of backpacking, and quite a bit of hunting, but I've never combined the two for more than two days. I've never concerned myself with backpacking lightweight because I just throw stuff in the bag and figure any extra weight is exercise. This is the first time I've backpack hunted, so I'd love to cut a bit of weight.

Maybe y'all can help me drop a few pounds. Weather is calling for 30F lows and 55F highs, no rain through Tuesday but I'll be there through Friday.

- Exo 6400 bag w lid
- osprey pack rain cover
- A few small cheapo roll top dry bags, probably a few ounces total
- TP, wipes, ziplocs, permit, license
- toothbrush and paste
- nitecore headlamp w spare battery
- petzl actik headlamp for backup
- 10,000maH battery pack
- spot x gps
- katadyn befree filter
- aquamira drops for backup
- emergency trauma pack - about 9oz
- space blanket, whistle, compass, waterproof matches
- bear spray
- 2L nalgene (empty)
- 20oz bottle (empty)
- 15 dehydrated meals, on avg 700cal each
- 14 Clif bars
- 8 pro meal bars
- tons of instant coffee
- jetboil and med size fuel canister, utensil
- lighter
- kill kit - 3 Allen backcountry bags, 2 caribou bags 24x36", gloves, crkt bez tine knife, sharpener, 3 quick links and nite ize camjam, 100' 550 cord
- 15F sleeping bag
- UST tube tarp w extra stakes and extra 4x7 tarp, 30oz
- thermarest neoair pad, 20oz
- cheap cotton gloves and thicker gloves
- buff
- 4 pair wool socks
- 2 pair wool socks in roll top dry bag for rear shooting rest
- 1 merino long sleeve
- 3 boxers
- 1 merino lower base layer
- mountain hardware ghost whisper down jacket, 8oz
- 1 camo lightweight fleece pullover
- BD rain jacket, 9oz
- ditch the BD jacket and camo fleece pullover for an 18.5oz camo 3L rain jacket?
- Columbia kid's $25 XL rainpants, probably 6oz
- BD apex gaiters
- Maven B2 binos
- Kuiu pro bino harness
- vortex 1800 rangefinder
- BD 3 piece trekking poles

So, like I said, add the 7.5lb rifle, 5-10 cartridges, and 2L water... That's another 10-11 lbs to put my total weight of gear at 56-57 lbs.

That seems like a lot considering what I've got in there and what I'm leaving behind.

 

[Marbles]

Changes that do not involve buying new gear.

Drop the Exo lid, mine is 6.8 oz.

Unless you expect several river crossings or will be using a raft, Etc. drop the dry bags and use one contractor trash bag as a pack liner. My small dry bags weigh 2-3 oz. The contractor bag will weigh about 2 oz.

Carry one headlamp. If you need a back up light get a small keychain light that runs on a coin cell (if you are hunting solo then keep the back up headlamp).

Only bring two pairs of wool socks total, one on your feet and one in the pack. My wool socks are 3.2 oz per pair, so this should cut almost 10 oz.

Only bring two boxers, the one you are wearing and a spare. Wash in a stream if you need to.

Bear spray is heavy. Unless I'm hunting solo I just use my rifle for bear protection. Though I use a Kifaru Gun Bearer so I have quick access. If you strap your rifle to your pack this does not work.

Use something you are already carrying (such as your sleeping pad) for the rear rest, drop the 2 pair of socks and the dry bag.

Dehydrate wet wipes.

Drop the cotton gloves. If you feel a need for them, get cheap rag wool gloves. I would not bring two pairs of gloves for warmth for those temps. Honestly, I would bring a single set of leather gloves for hand protection and call it good.

Drop either the space blanket or the extra tarp.

Consider food weight and that it will get lighter as you go. For 8 days the food alone could be 10-16 lbs and there is little you can do about that other can switching to more calorie dense foods such as bringing oil or butter.

 

[HighUintas]

Thanks! These are great suggestions. I'll have to implement as many as I can and weigh again tonight. Anyone interested see below in orange:

Changes that do not involve buying new gear.

Drop the Exo lid, mine is 6.8 oz. I'll drop this. I didn't realize it's so heavy! I've just always like the convenience of having those easy access small items pockets

Unless you expect several river crossings or will be using a raft, Etc. drop the dry bags and use one contractor trash bag as a pack liner. My small dry bags weigh 2-3 oz. The contractor bag will weigh about 2 oz. I haven't weighed mine, but they're supposedly about 4oz. They're these walmart dry bags. I'll drop them

Carry one headlamp. If you need a back up light get a small keychain light that runs on a coin cell (if you are hunting solo then keep the back up headlamp). I am going solo. I do have a backup battery for my nitecore, so if I have my backup headlamp, I guess I could drop the extra battery. I'm guessing that is 2oz.

Only bring two pairs of wool socks total, one on your feet and one in the pack. My wool socks are 3.2 oz per pair, so this should cut almost 10 oz. I'll drop them all but two pair. My socks tend to get very gross after two days, despite them being merino. Do you carry any biodegradeable soap for washing them or does a wash in the stream if needed seem to do well enough?

Only bring two boxers, the one you are wearing and a spare. Wash in a stream if you need to. Will do.

Bear spray is heavy. Unless I'm hunting solo I just use my rifle for bear protection. Though I use a Kifaru Gun Bearer so I have quick access. If you strap your rifle to your pack this does not work. I've got exo's gun bearer. It does provide relatively quick access when it's mounted to the side of my pack. I would feel comfortable just using my rifle, but my wife wants me to have the spray for easier use when sleeping.

Use something you are already carrying (such as your sleeping pad) for the rear rest, drop the 2 pair of socks and the dry bag. Will do.

Dehydrate wet wipes. Haven't thought of this. I'll do it!

Drop the cotton gloves. If you feel a need for them, get cheap rag wool gloves. I would not bring two pairs of gloves for warmth for those temps. Honestly, I would bring a single set of leather gloves for hand protection and call it good. Will do! Most of my time will be spent moving, so I doubt I'll need more than 1 pair anyway.

Drop either the space blanket or the extra tarp. The UST tube tarp is reflective on the inner side, so I guess my space blanket isn't really necessary if I have camp on my back at all times. I can probably drop that. The extra tarp is about 8oz, which I usually use as a ground cloth and clean space for laying meat bags on. I'll think on that one.

Consider food weight and that it will get lighter as you go. For 8 days the food alone could be 10-16 lbs and there is little you can do about that other can switching to more calorie dense foods such as bringing oil or butter. Weight is about 152 oz, or 9.5lbs, which is somewhere around 2200-2400 cal per day. I may swap out as many clif bars for probar meal bars as I can... they have double or more the amount of fat as the clif bars.

 

[Marbles]

Thanks! These are great suggestions. I'll have to implement as many as I can and weigh again tonight. Anyone interested see below in orange:

On socks, I don't find the stink bothers me, I will wear one pair and let the other air out by strapping them to the outside of my pack if need be. Some of it is I don't notice the smell in the field, and some of it is that my feet don't get as bad as some peoples. Washing them in a stream is a good option, but I have not done it (though I have washed socks in a sink while traveling).

Solo I would carry the bear spray as you can keep it on your person and readily accessible while cleaning your kill. A rifle out of arms reach is not much good. When I go solo I actually take a wheel gun with me, which is much heavier than bear spray.

You can also get the 18650 batteries in a USB rechargeable version, that way you can charge it from the battery bank if needed. https://www.streamlight.com/communi...ium-ion-battery-with-integrated-charging-port

If the charging cable you normally carry does not fit the battery, get an adapter to convert it and avoid carrying two cables. I wrap braid fishing line around the adapter and superglue it in place with a 3 inch or so loop, then use the loop to connect it to my cable so that I don't loose it. If you get one with a rubber loop, those loops breaks pretty easy and should not be trusted.

Sounds like you have your food pretty dialed in. I need to work on my food weight, for 8 days I would be taking about 250 oz. I hate being hungry, so I carry more than I should and need to get over it.

 

[HighUintas]

On socks, I don't find the stink bothers me, I will wear one pair and let the other air out by strapping them to the outside of my pack if need be. Some of it is I don't notice the smell in the field, and some of it is that my feet don't get as bad as some peoples. Washing them in a stream is a good option, but I have not done it (though I have washed socks in a sink while traveling).

Solo I would carry the bear spray as you can keep it on your person and readily accessible while cleaning your kill. A rifle out of arms reach is not much good. When I go solo I actually take a wheel gun with me, which is much heavier than bear spray.

You can also get the 18650 batteries in a USB rechargeable version, that way you can charge it from the battery bank if needed. https://www.streamlight.com/communi...ium-ion-battery-with-integrated-charging-port

If the charging cable you normally carry does not fit the battery, get an adapter to convert it and avoid carrying two cables. I wrap braid fishing line around the adapter and superglue it in place with a 3 inch or so loop, then use the loop to connect it to my cable so that I don't loose it. If you get one with a rubber loop, those loops breaks pretty easy and should not be trusted.

Sounds like you have your food pretty dialed in. I need to work on my food weight, for 8 days I would be taking about 250 oz. I hate being hungry, so I carry more than I should and need to get over it.

I made all of those changes and now I'm at 42lbs without my gun, water, and ammo.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Nillion]

Just packed up and weighed my pack for Friday. I'll be out on an 8 day trip. I was hoping to be able to keep my pack to no more than 40lbs so I could more enjoyably just keep camp on my back every day. Well, I'm at about 46lbs, not counting 2L of water that I'll carry, my 7.5lb rifle, and 5-10 cartridges. So, shoot. And that's with leaving out my vortex 11-33 spotting scope, vortex summit tripod, and puffy pants. I've done quite a bit of backpacking, and quite a bit of hunting, but I've never combined the two for more than two days. I've never concerned myself with backpacking lightweight because I just throw stuff in the bag and figure any extra weight is exercise. This is the first time I've backpack hunted, so I'd love to cut a bit of weight.

Maybe y'all can help me drop a few pounds. Weather is calling for 30F lows and 55F highs, no rain through Tuesday but I'll be there through Friday.

- Exo 6400 bag w lid
- osprey pack rain cover
- A few small cheapo roll top dry bags, probably a few ounces total
- TP, wipes, ziplocs, permit, license
- toothbrush and paste
- nitecore headlamp w spare battery
- petzl actik headlamp for backup
- 10,000maH battery pack
- spot x gps
- katadyn befree filter
- aquamira drops for backup
- emergency trauma pack - about 9oz
- space blanket, whistle, compass, waterproof matches
- bear spray
- 2L nalgene (empty)
- 20oz bottle (empty)
- 15 dehydrated meals, on avg 700cal each
- 14 Clif bars
- 8 pro meal bars
- tons of instant coffee
- jetboil and med size fuel canister, utensil
- lighter
- kill kit - 3 Allen backcountry bags, 2 caribou bags 24x36", gloves, crkt bez tine knife, sharpener, 3 quick links and nite ize camjam, 100' 550 cord
- 15F sleeping bag
- UST tube tarp w extra stakes and extra 4x7 tarp, 30oz
- thermarest neoair pad, 20oz
- cheap cotton gloves and thicker gloves
- buff
- 4 pair wool socks
- 2 pair wool socks in roll top dry bag for rear shooting rest
- 1 merino long sleeve
- 3 boxers
- 1 merino lower base layer
- mountain hardware ghost whisper down jacket, 8oz
- 1 camo lightweight fleece pullover
- BD rain jacket, 9oz
- ditch the BD jacket and camo fleece pullover for an 18.5oz camo 3L rain jacket?
- Columbia kid's $25 XL rainpants, probably 6oz
- BD apex gaiters
- Maven B2 binos
- Kuiu pro bino harness
- vortex 1800 rangefinder
- BD 3 piece trekking poles

So, like I said, add the 7.5lb rifle, 5-10 cartridges, and 2L water... That's another 10-11 lbs to put my total weight of gear at 56-57 lbs.

That seems like a lot considering what I've got in there and what I'm leaving behind.

One thing that jumps out at me is the Nalgene. I know they're the holy grail water bottle for hunting, but they're damn heavy. Look into Smart Water bottles as a replacement. A 1L Nalgene weighs 6.2 oz, while a 1L Smart Water bottle weighs 1.2 oz. They're the preferred method of water carry for the ultralight backpacking crowd and I've never had an issue with their durability.

 

[HighUintas]

One thing that jumps out at me is the Nalgene. I know they're the holy grail water bottle for hunting, but they're damn heavy. Look into Smart Water bottles as a replacement. A 1L Nalgene weighs 6.2 oz, while a 1L Smart Water bottle weighs 1.2 oz. They're the preferred method of water carry for the ultralight backpacking crowd and I've never had an issue with their durability.

Smart water the brand that I'd find at a gas station? If so, I'll probably just grab one on my way out!

I've never weighed a nalgene, so I didn't know they were so heavy. I've also always used it to connect to my msr miniworks filter since the threads match, but since my wife for me the katadyn befree for a present the nalgene isn't really needed.

I may ditch my 20oz bottle as well, because I'm pretty sure it's about as heavy as the nalgene.

 

[nettereo16]

Smart water the brand that I'd find at a gas station? If so, I'll probably just grab one on my way out!

I've never weighed a nalgene, so I didn't know they were so heavy. I've also always used it to connect to my msr miniworks filter since the threads match, but since my wife for me the katadyn befree for a present the nalgene isn't really needed.

I may ditch my 20oz bottle as well, because I'm pretty sure it's about as heavy as the nalgene.

Yeah those SmartWaters. They are light and hold up well. I used them last week for a hunt and they were pretty loud (both material crinkling & water sloshing inside). I preferred my Platypus bottles as nalgene replacements since they are silent and fold up empty.

 

[prm]

Those smart water bottles work great. I use one of those and a lightweight nalgene-like bottle. The items that stood out to me have been mentioned; two pr socks, two u-wear, definitely keep two headlamps (I learned hard way), and ditch the tarp. No forecast for rain, no rain pants for me. Seems like a lot of heavy food. I go with one dehydrated, one green belly bar, one power bar, and a little dried fruit, nuts and one small snickers for each day. Perhaps not too much lighter, but more variety. Otherwise you seem to be in the ball park.

 

[Mn Hunter17]

My last trip rifle hunting in MT with buddies I was at 65. Including rain gear and 3 liters of water.

 

[cmaidl]

My buddy and I just spent 5 days in Idaho, rifle hunting. Our packs were averaging 47lbs. We used kifaru gear; sawtooh and woobies!

 

[mp12]

My buddy and I just spent 5 days in Idaho, rifle hunting. Our packs were averaging 47lbs. We used kifaru gear; sawtooh and woobies!

Woobies ftw!