Packing your food for your hunt

Luked

WKR
Joined
Apr 3, 2014
Messages
938
Wasn't really sure what section to put this in.
I havw my food list for what I am going to take this season. Enough for 10 days. About 3500 calories on average per day.
The question I had for you all is how do you pack it up in your pack?
Do you use just a large zip lock bag for each day?
Reason I asked is I had thought of putting each day in a vacume sealed bag and seal it up that way just due to space. Seems like the vac bag would take up less space inside the pack vs just a zip lock bag.


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Drenalin

WKR
Joined
Nov 15, 2018
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I do a gallon Ziploc for each day, but if I had a vac sealer handy and was tight on space, that would be a great way to do it. It also helps to get stuff out of the bulky packaging it comes in and re-bag with smaller Ziplocs.
 
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Messages
7,410
Location
S. UTAH
I can fit one days food in a 1qt ziploc. I may also have a few other things like a bag of jerky or peanut M&Ms or something. I put it all in a small drybag so its easy to keep everything together and pull out if I feel I need to put my food away from my tent.
 
Joined
May 29, 2012
Messages
394
Location
Elizabeth, CO
Yeah 10 days of food is a lot and takes up some serious real estate in your pack. Ive always gone the gallon zip lock bag route but the vac seal would be better. Ive always ripped the tops off my freeze dried meals and got the air out of them if they werent already vac sealed, to help with space. If it was me and it was an option i would hike my 10 days of food in before season and hang it in a tree where i was planning my first camp site.
 
Joined
Feb 16, 2021
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Eastern Oregon
Yeah 10 days of food is a lot and takes up some serious real estate in your pack. Ive always gone the gallon zip lock bag route but the vac seal would be better. Ive always ripped the tops off my freeze dried meals and got the air out of them if they werent already vac sealed, to help with space. If it was me and it was an option i would hike my 10 days of food in before season and hang it in a tree where i was planning my first camp site.
I’ll go a step further and dump the contents of most of my freeze dried meals into ziplocks and only keep a couple for cooking. Just rinse the bag out after eating. That saves a crazy amount of space.
 

fishslap

WKR
Joined
Jan 8, 2017
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892
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Longmont, CO
Gallon ziplocks for each day then I put them in a light weight outdoor research dry bag. That’s what I hang it in. You can get the air out pretty good in just a ziplock. If you’re not using dehydrated meals already vac sealed, you might transfer and vac seal those, or just put them in quart freezer bags.
 

Randle

WKR
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Dec 30, 2012
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Nope
Gallon ziploc and as you are sealing it up put a straw in the last bit if the zip suck the air out a seal it up. Works great
 
Joined
Jun 17, 2021
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39
I do each meal in a quart ziplock to rehydrate in the hyperlite insulated pouch. The pile of meals is kept in the zpacks dyneema bear bag.
 
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
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Tulsa Ok
gallon ziplock. I never carry more than 4 days though. I keep the dehydrated meal for the day inside as well and push as much air out as possible. Smaller freezer bags tolerate boiling water well, so if really tight your could get rid of the bulky meal bag and throw it in there.
 
Joined
Feb 16, 2021
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Eastern Oregon
gallon ziplock. I never carry more than 4 days though. I keep the dehydrated meal for the day inside as well and push as much air out as possible. Smaller freezer bags tolerate boiling water well, so if really tight your could get rid of the bulky meal bag and throw it in there.
One of my buddies did that, rehydrated everything in the ziplocks...kind of grossed me out. Maybe it's fine though?
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2015
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Lenexa, KS
I make my own dehydrated meals and put them in mylar bags from Amazon:


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You could repackage freeze dried in there too.

I think there is a company called RePack that has a solution too, but I haven't used it.
 

tuffcity

WKR
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
Messages
557
Location
YT
Here's a different option. We (wife and I) use a lightweight dry bag- used the kuiu ones for years- and put all breakfasts in one and dinners in another, etc. Our trips generally range from 10-14 days.
 
Joined
Jan 15, 2022
Messages
1,563
Instead of putting daily portions in Ziplocs, I separate types of foods (beverages, dry dinners, dry breakfasts, pastries, dry snacks, tins of "canned" goods, dry snacks, sausage/cheese, crackers, Pringles, dry soups, etc) and put individual types in Ziplocs. That's for remote backpack hunting.
 
Joined
Feb 5, 2014
Messages
1,324
Location
Tulsa Ok
Instead of putting daily portions in Ziplocs, I separate types of foods (beverages, dry dinners, dry breakfasts, pastries, dry snacks, tins of "canned" goods, dry snacks, sausage/cheese, crackers, Pringles, dry soups, etc) and put individual types in Ziplocs. That's for remote backpack hunting.
I don't have the discipline to do that. If I have my rations packed by day, I know that's all I get. Just a mental thing but helps me make sure I have enough to last. We also do ramen(might be too bulky) potato buds and/or minute rice to supplement. I usually just throw these in with the "mountain house" for the day and rehydrate all at once.
 

Poser

WKR
Joined
Dec 27, 2013
Messages
5,033
Location
Durango CO
Call me a slob, but I lay out all of my food for the trip and then pack it up in one or 2 dry bags. I then select the food that I want to carry for the day each morning based on my mood and caloric expectations. Gonna be a big day? -might go extra on fast carbs. Cold day? Might wants some extra fat.

When I get back to camp, I then rummage through my selection of dinners like a menu until one of them sounds particularly appealing for the occasion. While I get the aspect of not having to think about your food, sometimes certain foods sound better than others. I spend enough time In The backcountry that I can easily get burned out on certain foods.
 
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