Shedding weight, what juice is worth the squeeze

[100%DIYazCOUES]

Tripod, chair,stove, kill kit, rain gear(depending on forecast), pillow, and solar panel are all AT LEAST twice the weight of the setup I use. In the case of the solar panel, it’s 7x the weight! Quick math comparing it to my setup, you could save 102 oz easy on the spreadsheet items alone.
I don’t know your financial situation, but I think I’d upgrade every one of those . Could save an easy pound on the sleeping bag too. My x mid 2 weighs 2.5 lbs with everything, not sure the difference there

 

[100%DIYazCOUES]

Do yourself a favor and get a camp time pack stool instead of the btr. I’ve seen several of them break, and it dosent only happen to big guys. I believe it might be lighter then the btr, it’s WAY more durable, a lot cheaper, and more comfortable

 

[drdrop]

I can't believe folks are still recommending a stool. Find a log. Or, learn the asian man squat and pack in a few grams of cigs. https://images.app.goo.gl/SmKFRLmUxiVUCb7T7

 

[100%DIYazCOUES]

I can't believe folks are still recommending a stool. Find a log. Or, learn the asian man squat and pack in a few grams of cigs. https://images.app.goo.gl/SmKFRLmUxiVUCb7T7

That’s funny!
I hunt coues deer most of the time, and all day glassing is SO much more comfortable using a stool for me. Not mandatory, but well worth the weight.

 

[Dave0317]

Tinkering around with my load out for September muzzle loader deer and toying with the idea of shedding a few lbs in the pack, it’s definitely doable but could/would involve spending a bit more money which I am very against. Currently I have a 27 oz chair, I can easily swap for a glassing pad, can drop my 8 oz silky pocketboy, and that’s got me 2 pounds down without spending anything. Then it get tricky, I could drop my active insulation piece or puffy for 13 or 20 oz respectively. I’ve looked at it quite a bit and if I dropped all that, and spent a few hundred bucks getting a lighter tripod (currently have Aziak front country) and a lighter stove, I could shave almost 5 pounds.

Now I’m just sitting here wondering if that juice is worth the squeeze or not. Pack weight 39 lbs without food/water. Assuming that will put me at 60ish.

The saw is an easy cut (not planning on building a fire and have a multi tool for an emergency) but the big free weight cut of the chair and active insulation jacket I’m not sure of. Comfort while glassing should yield more time behind the glass therefore better chances of finding a buck. Puffy, active layer, soft shell, and rain jacket and pants seems like overkill but all very useful tools.

https://lighterpack.com/r/ndh95x

I’m sure I’ll repeat some advice, but maybe that’s good, may help reinforce the good ideas.

Dropping weight the month or two before a hunt can be expensive, and can lead to you bringing stuff that you aren’t as familiar with. So keep your comfort zone in mind and be aware you choose how you want to suffer. Suffer the weight of a heavy pack because of comfy layers and gear, or suffer the cold or wet because you ditched too much insulation or shelter stuff.

I know I can deal with either, but I tend to go with “light is right”.

20 ounce rain jacket? I’d ditch it. Set up your tarp if it rains. Maybe switch to a poncho tarp. Now you have wearable rain gear, and you can set it up as a tarp if needed.

What stove do you have? What size fuel cannister? I can get 5-6 days out of a 110g size fuel, but I don’t boil water at every meal. Often just a coffee in the am and a freeze dried meal in the evening. Everything else is usually cold/not cooked. 3 ounce stoves are not uncommon/expensive, same for 3 ounce pots. The fuel just weighs what it weighs, not lots of options there. I also usually plan on being back by my truck at some point, so, I keep an extra full cannister there if I need it.

Choose solar or power bank, I would not bring both. Power bank is more reliable, but a finite life. Keep the phone in airplane mode, download offline maps, keep the brightness low, and bring a 1.1 ounce flat compass. Navigation is my primary power consumption. So if I switch to at least some analog nav, I can make a phone and power bank last all 5-6 days pretty easy. I only text or call once a day or every other day.

I agree with the others on the kill kit stuff. If I feel I need a saw, I keep it in the truck. I would plan to go back with a load of meat and grab a saw, spare knives, etc then.