Pack weight: Does anyone actually care?

[OKHunter84]

It really depends on the hunt. If I'm going to make it to the truck or the altitude isn't crazy then it's not as big a deal. The first time I went in 8 miles to camp at 11,000 feet, you really start looking at what you actually need and what are just things that will get left in the tent on day 2 or 3. If I don't use it on a hunt then I most likely won't take it again. At the end of a long day there's a huge difference between how my knees feel with a 35 pound pack and a 50 pound pack.

 

[DawnPatrol]

I appreciate folks’ perspectives above.

I never care about how much my pack weighs at the beginning of a trip, but it adds up over the days and miles.

I have started attempting to cut weight as I’ve gotten older (deteriorating knees), more financially stable, and gained more confidence hunting deeper/longer. Still haven’t weighed my pack, though.

When I need to replace gear, I’ll pay up for better/lighter stuff. But mostly it’s been an iterative process of learning what I don’t need. When I started hunting, I had a bunch of stuff in my pack to compensate for my lack or experience and fear of “what if” scenarios.

FWIW, Here are some things I used to carry but ditched or plan on ditching:
Tarp/Tyvek sheet
Saw
Spotting scope
Extra knife
cordage
Kill flask