Pack weight: Does anyone actually care?

[Drenalin]

I track the weight of everything, I replace what I can, and I modify gear to make it just a little lighter (as long replacement or modification doesn’t lead to a serious detriment in functionality). I’m also somewhat of a minimalist. I don’t need a lot and I don’t want to carry any more weight than I have to. I’m getting older and I’ve carried more than my share of outrageous weight. The less unnecessary stress I put on my body now, the better I feel and the better I recover. Being relatively light gives me some freedom to carry along a little extra if I want to as well.

I don’t go so far as to turn any trip into a suffer fest. If I need it, I take it. Lightweight is entirely possible without notable discomfort or loss of effectiveness, but it takes knowledge, experience and sometimes cash to get to that. The idea that you can be either light or prepared is either ignorance or bravado.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

Sleeping gear, shelters, and cookware are the big weight savers. I’m not entertaining food because everyone has to eat. Aside from a pound or so difference in packs, the most you can save by buying lighter gear is 3 or so pounds total. This is comparing good synthetic bags to the best down. And a tarp tent versus a double walled floor in tent. A pocket rocket snd 1/2 titanium pot versus a jet boil. Etc….


Everyone talks about Kifaru fanboys but, this site is over run with Exo fanatics. Touting their packs as much lighter than Kifaru. They aren’t. It’s a pound. And, a pound makes no difference in the end no matter what your brain tells you. None. If it sucks with a 40 pound pack, you won’t tell the difference in a 42 pound pack. Or, a 38 pound pack. It’s still going to suck. It’s 2-3 king size snickers bars guys. Not a gallon of water.


Everyone tries to start as light as they can. And, it can get unruly if you aren’t disciplined. But, we discuss things like this because we aren’t hunting right now. If we were, everyone would be hunting.

How many hunting partners have stopped going or bought a different pack because they can’t hack another pound? See my point.

 

[Rufus]

I'm not ashamed to admit I obsess over every ounce. Everything is an edge. If I can get a half mile farther, a half hour faster, a little more energized and ready for my next task... sign me up.

That doesn't mean I debate over what to bring or not to bring on any given hike. I'm not carrying weird stuff like griddles or camp tables, even if they're titanium, ultralight versions. But my trail weight for an overnight spike-out hunt has gone from 31lbs to 18 (not counting food and water). That's a huge difference. I don't even notice my pack at all any more, and I'm not unhappy at all I spent the time to do it.

I wouldn't say it was all that hard, either. It was just expensive. Most of the areas where you can save the most also cost the most. My Mystery Ranch pack is 2lbs lighter base weight than my old Eberlestock J34 was. My tent is half the weight of my old one, my sleeping bag is a pound lighter, etc.

There are a few nice exceptions though. I spent a little time 3D printing a handle to a Silky Tsurugi saw and got that down to about 3oz. That cost very little (I didn't even buy the original saw, just the replacement blade) and saved me 7oz over what I had been using before. Ounces lead to pounds, and that's a half pound right there...

Honestly, I see this more as an excuse to always bring everything I need.

Hey Taskswap. Would you

I'm not ashamed to admit I obsess over every ounce. Everything is an edge. If I can get a half mile farther, a half hour faster, a little more energized and ready for my next task... sign me up.

That doesn't mean I debate over what to bring or not to bring on any given hike. I'm not carrying weird stuff like griddles or camp tables, even if they're titanium, ultralight versions. But my trail weight for an overnight spike-out hunt has gone from 31lbs to 18 (not counting food and water). That's a huge difference. I don't even notice my pack at all any more, and I'm not unhappy at all I spent the time to do it.

I wouldn't say it was all that hard, either. It was just expensive. Most of the areas where you can save the most also cost the most. My Mystery Ranch pack is 2lbs lighter base weight than my old Eberlestock J34 was. My tent is half the weight of my old one, my sleeping bag is a pound lighter, etc.

There are a few nice exceptions though. I spent a little time 3D printing a handle to a Silky Tsurugi saw and got that down to about 3oz. That cost very little (I didn't even buy the original saw, just the replacement blade) and saved me 7oz over what I had been using before. Ounces lead to pounds, and that's a half pound right there...

Honestly, I see this more as an excuse to always bring everything I need.

I'm not ashamed to admit I obsess over every ounce. Everything is an edge. If I can get a half mile farther, a half hour faster, a little more energized and ready for my next task... sign me up.

That doesn't mean I debate over what to bring or not to bring on any given hike. I'm not carrying weird stuff like griddles or camp tables, even if they're titanium, ultralight versions. But my trail weight for an overnight spike-out hunt has gone from 31lbs to 18 (not counting food and water). That's a huge difference. I don't even notice my pack at all any more, and I'm not unhappy at all I spent the time to do it.

I wouldn't say it was all that hard, either. It was just expensive. Most of the areas where you can save the most also cost the most. My Mystery Ranch pack is 2lbs lighter base weight than my old Eberlestock J34 was. My tent is half the weight of my old one, my sleeping bag is a pound lighter, etc.

There are a few nice exceptions though. I spent a little time 3D printing a handle to a Silky Tsurugi saw and got that down to about 3oz. That cost very little (I didn't even buy the original saw, just the replacement blade) and saved me 7oz over what I had been using before. Ounces lead to pounds, and that's a half pound right there...

Honestly, I see this more as an excuse to always bring everything I need.

Hey Taskswap. Wondering if you would be willing to share your gear list. I’m working on weight reduction myself (in more ways than one! ) and it sounds like you have figured some things out. Thanks. -Rufus

 

[Mule3006Elk]

I have my gear list which has been refined over the years. Every item is needed so I don't worry about the weight. When I started I packed way too much.

 

[Marble]

I try to find a combo of the lightest, most durable stuff applicable to my needs. Price matters a little but not as much as my need.

Depending on the trip, I'll take some things I wouldn't normally. I don't obsess over it.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

 

[trophyhill]

There is no way the average hunter gives a flying fk about ultra light. Most hunters are not backcountry hunters. I don’t always hunt backcountry. But when I do, I go in heavy and stay late, comfortably. If I could figure out how to cut my food weight in half I’d be onto something but carrying a pack that’s 2 lbs heavier than an ultra light isn’t gonna make a damn bit of difference on what I carry in and may be a liability coming out heavy.

 

[Marbles]

Weight does not matter, until it does. Light is great, until it is not. There is a balance.

Depending on what one starts with, it is easy to save 10 pounds in pack weight.

 

[Hnthrdr]

I’m not super paranoid about weight, that being said I will usually favor lighter gear to a point. I don’t typically weigh my packs, but for a 6 day hunt I like to come in around 30ish lbs of gear, 8+/- lbs of food, and I typically only carry 3/4 liters of water at a time if the area I’m going is wet. (September) mind you. Backpacking in late October/December you can easily add another 10lbs of gear. Those are ball park estimates. Depending on where I’m going I will spike out, so I’ll just carry a day pack with a kill kit and some snacks/ water & filter. It is easier to chase elk when you are light, but sometimes it’s better to be able to camp in the next drainage or two over.

 

[Spoony]

I buy the lightest weight possible, concerning value, robustness, and quality. If I need it, it goes in the pack. My packout is going to be 100+ lbs, so what is a pound or 2. All I know is that my pack varies from 30-40 lbs but I have not weighed it in years. I am much more interested in weighing in a pack full of meat from a solo hunt in the backcountry. See if I still got it, I am getting older.

 

[CMF]

I weighed everything in my pack starting out in 2019 and was close to 40lb base pack weight for 4 days, Hard to know exactly cause I split weight with the wife and I hauled more. I didn't do another thorough look until recently when I put it all in Lighterpack.com to see what it looked like and previously I didn't weigh bino harness or worn clothes, so I added all that to get a skin-out weight. Here's my pack for archery season https://lighterpack.com/r/tc8zg5
I don't weigh every trip or anything like that, I just only take what I need and don't carry just in case items or things I can go without, like saws, chairs, and camp shoes.
There are still things I'd like to upgrade, like trekking poles that would save some ounces, but I just can't justify the money for the weight savings right now.
I'd like to add a lighter stove option, and a dyneema tarp and bivy for a solo shelter.

 

[SwiftShot]

If I need it, it goes. There is a difference between want and need. If I want it, well I try to keep it lightweight. I am not paying 3 times the price to shave off an oz though.

I did switch from a Jetboil to a BRS stove with a Toaks 550ml pot. Cut the weight in half and saved money at the same time.

 

[NorthernHunter]

I have my gear list which has been refined over the years. Every item is needed so I don't worry about the weight. When I started I packed way too much.

This is exactly how I feel. First trip way too many clothes. Second trip still a little too much gear. 3rd and beyond I have what I need and the weight is what it is.

 

[Macintosh]

Coming from multiple decades focused on climbing and mountaineering, and being somewhere on the ocd spectrum, I counted ounces for many things, and in some cases still do. Still remember a few lightbulb moments (realizing that simply switching to the first wire gate carabiners across an entire rack of gear would save multiple pounds; the first LED headlamps vs the old petzl zoom, switching from plastic ice boots to leather, etc). That said, I also grew up in an arctic maritime climate where the typical fall/winter weather pattern is 2 days of soaking rain and slush at 34 degrees, followed immediately by a 30-degree temperature drop and windstorm, I’m quite certain hypothermia was perfected (if not invented) here. I will think nothing of going pretty light and doing a 24-hour push on a very long day trip simply to avoid backpacking at all. But I guess once it becomes a sleep out kind of a trip, I’ve spent one too many nights shivering in a too-thin sleeping bag or not quite enough damp clothes to want to take backpacking to anything resembling an extreme. At this point most of my gear is pretty old too, it was top of the line when purchased but in a lot of cases that was 25+ years ago or more. I’ve had a lot of things break on me or itineraries not go as expected. Pack straps break or pull through fabric, rain jackets tear on brush, stream crossings become “adventurous”, trails get overgrown, etc. I dont carry a lot of stuff at all (my saw is a small swiss army knife, etc), but, Im more likely to bring a more durable item than anything ultralight that I think might fail. I bring stuff like spare batteries, a stove I can tear down and fix, i like my water filtered b/c iodine makes my throat scratchy, I like an extra warm layer because I get cold, and I dont like being hungry so I bring plenty of food including often an extra meal for those trips that take a little longer than planned. My back is all sorts of stiff, gone are the days of sleeping on a flaked-out climbing rope, I bring a nice thick, wide air mattress (and a repair kit!!). It all adds up and puts me on the heavy side of moderate weight, but Ive found that I am better rested and able to sustain for a longer period of time with gas in the tank, without looking forward to the end of the trip, than I am if I go much lighter. And I have no idea what it actually weighs.

 

[jmez]

Have never weighed my pack and don't care. Has everything I need a some things I want.

Sent from my moto g power (2021) using Tapatalk

 

[MuleyFever]

If I need it, it goes in the bag. If I don't, it stays.

This has been my approach.

I do find ways to cut weight where I can when buying gear but when its time to go hunting I take what I need and leave what I dont.

 

[Decker9]

My pack is generally heavier than most, if it were on a scale. I personally can’t tell the difference from 50-60, or 60-70 pounds on my back. I’m 100% just bring it if I need it.

How a pack is loaded and set up I find makes a difference.

 

[jimh406]

I don't have a target weight for packs, but I do weigh items from time to time. It can be surprising how much some items weigh. You'll never know if you don't weigh them.

 

[Poser]

When I used to come out west for hunting trips, I weighed everything. Once I moved out here and started spending 50,60,70+ nights a year out backpacking, I stopped concerning myself with weight. I trust my intuition and experience: I have a lot of ultralight gear, but like others, I have reverted back to some heavier gear for purposes of comfort. I carry 3 pillows, for example.

 

[Dos Perros]

I tend to be pretty weight focused, and then add a ridiculous amount of optics weight on top of my gear. So I'm trading function/weight/durability in my gear for more optics performance, and I think that saves me more walking. Would you rather walk a mile with 50 pounds or 5 miles with 40 pounds? That's kind of how I think.

 

[WI in the west]

im still relativly new to it all, going on my 6th season out west and probably 15th trip counting shed hunting, but early on i found it helpful to weight and list my stuff, but only to use as a reference to other gear lists to make sure i was in the ball park, and not over or under packing. now i got a decent feel for what i need/want to carry and dont worry much about weight cause im not taking unnecessary items. ive also learned to make multiple uses for items so you can eliminate extra things like that.