Pack weight

[Marx09]

Hey guys! I’m probably beating a dead horse here but... I’ve got my pack weight down to roughly 25 pounds with everything I think I will need for back country archery elk hunting in Idaho this year except for food, water and clothing. I’m just curious what everyone else’s packs weigh and what your thoughts are on saving weight. Thanks for any help guys! Here is a rough list of gear I have in my pack;

Kuiu icon pro 5200 pack
Kuiu summit refuge tent with floor and stove jack
Kelty cosmic 20 degree bag
Game bags
First aid kit
Random off brand sleeping pad
Source water bladder
Random batteries, zip ties, tape, flagging tape and a bunch of other little things I may need
Sawyer squeeze filter
Garmin rino 750
hiker hunger trekking poles
Jet boil micromo

 

[idahohikker]

I personally would ditch the jet boil and GPS. I would eat dry food, it's pretty popular with backpacking these days. I'd also use OnX on my phone and maybe have a paper map.

 

[Owenst7]

Not sure what my pack weighs after removing most of my stuff.

Including my rifle, food for 5-7 days, 3 liters of water, binos, etc I hover a few ounces under 50 lbs. That's for weather down to single digit nighttime lows.

 

[Squirrels]

I don't have a full list but I'm right around 45lbs with pack, gear, bow, food for 7 days, and 4 liters of water. My bino harness is not included in that weight, which isn't bad since it doesn't house very much.

 

[Marx09]

I’m planning on spiking out 3 days at a time. Is it possible to get the calories I need with dry food? What do you pack for food?

 

[Marx09]

I don't have a full list but I'm right around 45lbs with pack, gear, bow, food for 7 days, and 4 liters of water. My bino harness is not included in that weight, which isn't bad since it doesn't house very much.

I’m figuring on 45-50lbs when everything is said and done with similar setup. Hopefully less but we’ll see!

 

[bsnedeker]

I’m planning on spiking out 3 days at a time. Is it possible to get the calories I need with dry food? What do you pack for food?

I think you would have a MUCH harder time if you were packing wet food!

I'm assuming you mean you want to go with nothing you need to cook, you can get by this way easily. Just stick to stuff that is over 100 Cal/oz and you'll be fine. Lots of guys do this and it seems to be gaining popularity. A hot breakfast and a hot dinner are my favorite parts of the day when I'm out hunting though so I'll suffer with the weight for now.

 

[Marx09]

I think you would have a MUCH harder time if you were packing wet food!

I'm assuming you mean you want to go with nothing you need to cook, you can get by this way easily. Just stick to stuff that is over 100 Cal/oz and you'll be fine. Lots of guys do this and it seems to be gaining popularity. A hot breakfast and a hot dinner are my favorite parts of the day when I'm out hunting though so I'll suffer with the weight for now.

I was trying to reply to idahohikker with that comment but I’m planning on using mountain house style meals for breakfast and dinner for sure. This will be my first time backcountry hunting and I’m sure there will be a lot to learn by just going out and trying things. Thanks to the input!

 

[Owenst7]

I’m planning on spiking out 3 days at a time. Is it possible to get the calories I need with dry food? What do you pack for food?

I carry 2400 Cal/day at 18-22oz packaged in daily gallon ziplocks. I shoot for 80-100 grams of protein and as much fat as possible (fat is 9 Cal/gram, carbs and protein are 4 Cal/gram). Olive oil can easily be snuck into a meal to up the cal/ounce. Better beef jerkies will be higher in protein concentration, which helps keep weight down vs smoked salmon/tuna packets.

Mountain houses are pretty low on calories, and are hard on your body for more than a couple days at a time. If you don't have much experience with them on longer trips, you may want to do some experiments ahead of time and make sure you can handle them day after day. There's a lot more nutritious options that are a lot cheaper.

I guess I should try getting a bigger bino harness so my carried weight will be lower.

 

[weekender7]

Knives, sharpener, saw, lights, rope/cord?

 

[mntnguide]

I would consider ditching the mountain house breakfasts.. at least i always do because where i hunt, usually water is hard to come by and i conserve it as best as possible. There are other options like pro bar breakfast bars or one of my favorites are Erin Baker breakfast cookies...i also prefer to get up and going without waiting on a 10 minute dehydrated meal. But i very much look forward to my mountain house type meals for dinner and would never ditch my jet boil out of my core gear

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[idahohikker]

Yes, I'd likely just start to think about a stove spiking out for 5+ days. Lots of options for sufficient calories. Google dry backpacking food list or something like that, options include jerky, summer sausage, tuna packets, etc.

 

[Marx09]

Thanks for the input guys! Gonna try some different things and figure out what is going to work best for me!

 

[elkstabber]

Beware of the MH breakfasts. They make me explode! Try them to make sure they work for you, otherwise you'll run out of toilet paper.

 

[Marx09]

Beware of the MH breakfasts. They make me explode! Try them to make sure they work for you, otherwise you'll run out of toilet paper.

Haha, I just tried the breakfast skillet on Saturday morning at the northwest mountain challenge, it wasn't bad but I could see how eating to many of them would probably mess up my guts!

 

[RustyHazen]

A hot dinner tastes great, helps you sleep warmer, and studies show improves mood and morale, all of which are important on extended backcountry trips. The majority of Mountain House meals are well over 100 calories/ounce. My stove and fuel to just boil water for a 7 day trip weighs 4 ounces. I can't imagine leaving that at home. Lose 4 ounces of fat before your hunt and enjoy your dinner...

 

[JWP58]

I would say keep a few creature comforts and lose a few lbs of body weight.

 

[ChrisAU]

Didn't realize the jet boil stuff was so cheap and light until this thread...going to Academy this week ha.

 

[bsnedeker]

I would say keep a few creature comforts and lose a few lbs of body weight.

I'm actually taking this seriously this year! I'm down 30 so far, hoping to drop another 10 before I hit I mountain. It's amazing the difference it has made in my training so far.

 

[Squirrels]

Didn't realize the jet boil stuff was so cheap and light until this thread...going to Academy this week ha.

I picked up a jetboil cup (the smaller one that came on the SOL model) and bought one of those little titanium stoves of Amazon. This way I still had the efficient part of the flux ring on the cup and shaved weight on the actual burner. I added the titanium plate adapter some guy make for this setup. I'm sure someone can chime in where to get them because I forgot.