Minimalist Mindset Towards Gear

[16Bore]

Curious if anyone has this way of thinking, or if you're just piling stuff by the bucket? Over the past several years, I've taken a pretty hard look at my crap and have been in a constant state of thinning, narrowing, refining, reducing overlap, and separating shit from Shinola. Been doing a bit of "two for one" where 2 mediocre pieces of gear get replaced with one superior piece. Not sure if it's just the fun of farting around with stuff, boredom, or being tired of digging through stuff I don't use for the things I do. Not sure how I ended up with 4 tents and 4 stoves, but I'm sure it had something to do with thinking it was getting me somewhere. Chasing ounces being another conundrum.

Anyhoo, slow day at work.....already.

 

[5MilesBack]

I've been fine tuning my gear for over 35 years now. I have definitely bought and sold more stuff in the last 5 years than the 30+ previous to that, however.......what I actually use for hunting has remained fairly consistent over those same 5 years.

 

[Brendan]

I recently found myself in a position where my parents sold the house I'd grown up in, and they'd been in for close to 40 years. Lost a bunch of storage space, had to get rid of a bunch of old crap, and spent a lot of time "thinning" and moving stuff. Then I ended up having to clean out another house with 50 years worth of crap for another family member. Both experiences were eye opening and I've been doing my best to get rid of all the crap I don't need or use. Fewer pieces of better gear, but trying to let go of the "maybe I'll use it someday" mentality... I don't want to get to the point where all my crap becomes a burden...

I'm sitting here thinking about listing two packs and a tent for sale because they're just not getting used right now...

 

[MuleyFever]

I save as little stuff as I can. I hate crap laying around. If it hasn't been used in a year it will go up for sale or in the trash in most cases.

 

[mtwarden]

I've been doing more selling of late (but still a fair bit of buying ). I had way too many packs, too many knives and a few two many quilts/bags and shelters- I'm slowly thinning things down.

I make damn sure my wife sees me mailing off stuff I sold, but try to beat her to the packages on the front steps!

 

[justinspicher]

Definitely thinning gear out. I never bought much gear until I joined Rokslide. Then I had to move to Kansas and didn't have much to do but buy gear. Now I'm back in Colorado and have a ton of gear I don't use so it's being parted with.

I like the idea of going light, it's the challenge that intrigues me. However, I live close enough to elk country I don't ever really need to stay out overnight.

 

[D_Eightch]

Every trip out camping I find something else I don't need to lug with.

I've always told myself i would start a spreadsheet or something similar, but still just bring a bit too much each time

 

[charvey9]

For sure. That's what its all about! I've done a lot of refining over the past 4 years, and can honestly say I'm at the point where not much is changing this season. I still love to try new things and will experiment here and ther, but I'm pretty set on my core gear for hunting.

 

[xziang]

Every trip out camping I find something else I don't need to lug with.

I've always told myself i would start a spreadsheet or something similar, but still just bring a bit too much each time

I've done this. also get a digital scale that goes up to 10-15lbs to start weighing stuff too.

What was/is a real eye opener for me is to create a spreadsheet with what you buy and how much you paid for it and keep a running total. That can be scary!

 

[FreeRange]

What I never used to do and I try and do now before every trip is empty my pack completely and pack it up. For safety sake and weight it's really nice. Always surprising how many old batteries, snack bars or head lamps you'll find, or realize all the spare lighters you thought you had are nowhere to be found. It gives a good visual feedback of what you have and where it is before setting out on your next trip.

As far as the minimalism goes, it's a bit tough to have one kit that works for all seasons but I've gotten to the point where with 3 shelters, 2 quilts and a sleeping bag and 2 pads I'm as light as possible and comfortable from 0 deg to 80 deg. In the future I'll probably shed my "20 degree" bag for a zero and then I'll be set forever. Yeah right!

 

[D_Eightch]

I've done this. also get a digital scale that goes up to 10-15lbs to start weighing stuff too.

What was/is a real eye opener for me is to create a spreadsheet with what you buy and how much you paid for it and keep a running total. That can be scary!

If my wife ever came across that, I have a feeling I would have one less set of something to carry in.

 

[elkyinzer]

My wife calls me a packrat which I would agree with. My cellar looks like a tornado went through it this time of year as hunting seasons are wrapping up.

I am by no means a gear junkie, but when I do upgrade I typically hold onto the old stuff thinking I may have a use for it. Been trying to change my habits but it's definitely something ingrained in me.

 

[TWP]

Yes, I thinned out tons of stuff! I highly suggest "Essentialism" a fantastic book.

We buy gear/stupid shit for two reasons 1) We have been trained since we were little than spending money feels good, same with my two boys and new toys 2) most of the us only get to hunt a couple weeks out of the year, and buying new crap helps us enjoy the build up to the season. Imagine what kind of hunting I could do if I took all that energy and time spent screwing around thinking/talking about hunting and built a business that actually afforded me the time to be in the field more????????

 

[Laelkhunter]

Definitely thinning gear out. I never bought much gear until I joined Rokslide. Then I had to move to Kansas and didn't have much to do but buy gear. Now I'm back in Colorado and have a ton of gear I don't use so it's being parted with.

Yep. I have a problem with looking at Camofire several times a day. That can get expensive buying stuff I didn't know I needed.

 

[16Bore]

Id like to finally get to the point where I pack my crap when it's over, then don't touch it until things start again. Seems there always a bigger better deal. My ex FIL was quite the opposite. Stuff got hung up, and that was it. Just be careful when you grab what you think is a bag of this years jerky. Box of Corloks sat in the door pocket year round.

Pretty damn funny. But the guy could hunt for sure.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I refined and thinned some gear I carry, etc. Around home I've sold off some gear that has value but have lots of stuff that isn't particularly valuable to resell but still has life. That stuff I have piled up here and there but I have 3 little kids so my plan is to see what stuff they use and then after that purge.

 

[16Bore]

Couple years back I did a "mystery box" that was loaded with odds and ends. Good stuff though. Filled up a large flat rate box, and only charged shipping. Caveat was that it had to go to a kid and he had to PM a pic if he got anything that year.

It was pretty cool. Dude sends me a pic, grinning ear to ear, and told the story of his hunt.

That's hunting fellas........not this bullshit selfie look at me now I'm a hipster hunter cool dude 'cause I can google stuff.

Anyway, I digress.....

 

[Laelkhunter]

Couple years back I did a "mystery box" that was loaded with odds and ends. Good stuff though. Filled up a large flat rate box, and only charged shipping. Caveat was that it had to go to a kid and he had to PM a pic if he got anything that year.

It was pretty cool. Dude sends me a pic, grinning ear to ear, and told the story of his hunt.

That's hunting fellas........not this bullshit selfie look at me now I'm a hipster hunter cool dude 'cause I can google stuff.

Anyway, I digress.....

That's a great idea. I was thinking of doing something similar with some of my outdated (but still in excellent condition) hunting items. I was going to take them to a local Hunter Ed class, and let the Instructor give it out to whomever could use it.

 

[Superkodiak38]

I have one small pack I carry for everything. I strap it to my stand for whitetails, it gets a limb saw, pull up rope, harness, bow hanger, wind checker, bleat can and grunt tube for that purpose, certain things come out and other things go in for muzleloader / shot gun seasons then back to archery, right now it has a couple boxes of steel shot in it for geese. I keep tags, license, TP, paracord, fire starter etc in the front pocket all the time, never comes out unless it's getting used. I like to keep it simple and only carry what I need, instead of having three bags I just switch out the gear. I don't like to keep it around if I am not going to use it. That being said I have two boys that hunt so I keep things for them, buy them stuff and try and keep their gear straight and that makes me crazy ! lol

 

[jmez]

I pretty much have my stuff where I want and need it. I only replace things if worn out or broken now. I used to sell off all of my gear I wasn't using but I have four boys and figure why sell it when they can start using it in a few years. I keep everything now.

When I started I was of the minimalist mind set to a degree. I didn't spend a bunch of money to shave a few oz's here or there. I don't even weigh my pack or gear anymore. I'm not leaving anything out that I take so the weight really doesn't matter. Pack it the same every year and go.

I have everything that I need and couple of things that I want in my pack.