three day trip- under 30 lbs with food and water :)

[mtwarden]

binoculars/harness not in the 27-ish lbs, just pack weight- my binos are pretty heavy (2 lbs) and probably a 1/2 lb for the harness

spotting scope and tripod, but it's just a small 20X Leupold and the tripod is Kramer Designs Granite Peak- only 8 oz

https://kramerdesignscorp.com/Granite_Peak_Tripod.html

skin out weight probably just a bit over 40 lbs - 27 lb pack, 2.5 lbs bino/harness, rifle 5.5 lbs, clothing/stuff carried ~ 7 lbs

Tarptent worked great, plenty of room for me (5'11" 180-ish) vestibule held my boots/pack/rifle, but just barely

I've got a new Tarptent- Stratospire LI that's a two person, two vestibule that will probably see more duty hunting once I get some time to set it up in the backyard a couple of times

@sargent - thanks for sharing your gear list!

 

[mtnwrunner]

I’m on a mission to replicate this weight class in my gear. Fantastic!

You'll never do it!!!!!!

Randy

 

[mtnwrunner]

Damn impressive. I'm getting there......or I may just hire a sherpa.

Randy

 

[BBob]

bulletproof coffee- two packs of Via instant coffee w/ a couple of teaspoons of powdered butter (it's a real thing ) and powdered coconut oil- this adds 150-ish calories

Make sure you eat/drink up the butter before it expires or goes too far beyond the expiration, it'll go rancid on you

 

[mtwarden]

Make sure you eat/drink up the butter before it expires or goes too far beyond the expiration, it'll go rancid on you

not seeing an expiration date on mine- it's the powdered stuff; just says it's shelf stable

 

[BBob]

Had some Hoosier Hills powdered go beyond date and it definitely went rancid. Smelled and tasted bad.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

That's an impressive load out! I'm usually lugging a big spotter and tripod with me, so I can only dream of such light loads.

 

[sargent]

How did your Tarptent hold up? Enough elbow room in cooler temperatures?

My tarptent did great. It shed snow like a champ. I did have some condensation/frost on the interior in the mornings, so I had to be careful not to knock it all down on myself, and it was a wee bit cramped for me and all my gear, but you just can't beat that weight. I got this tent after seeing it in several of @mtwarden 's posts and definitely don't regret the purchase. @mtwarden What kind of rifle were you packing?

 

[mtnkid85]

Nice load. Whats your opinion on that tripod? Ive looked at it several times, but I always circle back around to the same spot. If im going to pack my spotter than its going to be too light weight and if Im only going to run my binos then Ill just set them on my trekking poles...

On my recent sheep hunt I was able to get a base weight close to that, but then added 9.5lbs of optics to the load!

I guess Id need to get a ~50mm spotter also, that'll solve the issue!

 

[mtwarden]

Had some Hoosier Hills powdered go beyond date and it definitely went rancid. Smelled and tasted bad.

I'll recheck it- thanks; I think mine is Hoosier Hills

My tarptent did great. It shed snow like a champ. I did have some condensation/frost on the interior in the mornings, so I had to be careful not to knock it all down on myself, and it was a wee bit cramped for me and all my gear, but you just can't beat that weight. I got this tent after seeing it in several of @mtwarden 's posts and definitely don't regret the purchase. @mtwarden What kind of rifle were you packing?
View attachment 343132

Nice pic

my rifle is a Kimber Hunter (.308) I had the barrel cut to 19" (cam 22"), but a ti bolt on it, but the biggest weight saver was removing the dense gel out of the stock (got that trick from this site). 2.5-7X Leupold w/ Talley Lwt rings/bases

 

[Poser]

Had some Hoosier Hills powdered go beyond date and it definitely went rancid. Smelled and tasted bad.

A tub of Hoosier Hills usually last me about a year. I haven’t had any go rancid yet.

 

[mtwarden]

Nice load. Whats your opinion on that tripod? Ive looked at it several times, but I always circle back around to the same spot. If im going to pack my spotter than its going to be too light weight and if Im only going to run my binos then Ill just set them on my trekking poles...

On my recent sheep hunt I was able to get a base weight close to that, but then added 9.5lbs of optics to the load!

I guess Id need to get a ~50mm spotter also, that'll solve the issue!

I really like that tripod, but if using a full sized spotter I'll bring a full sized tripod (I have a carbon Sirui)

I could be wrong, but I think you'd like this 8 oz tripod quite a bit more than using binos off a trekking pole

 

[Pigdog]

This is a great thread. Definitely inspiring me to go though my kit and weight everything. The lightest I was able to get with a hunting load out for three nights was 32lbs with food and 2L of water. That’s using a seek outside peregrine and what
I thought was minimal and fairly light gear. That weight doesn’t count my bow, but does include 10x40s, kill kit and a well equipped but fairly light first aid/trauma kit.
I can’t wait to get the scale out to see what rabbit hole to throw money down next!

 

[ohoopee]

Are you fully "dialed in" or will you change anything after
that trip (ie what would you change?).

Thank you for the post and sharing your experience.

 

[mtwarden]

Are you fully "dialed in" or will you change anything after
that trip (ie what would you change?).

Thank you for the post and sharing your experience.

For that particular trip things went as well as could be expected. The only thing I would possibly consider changing, would be just a slightly larger magnification spotter. There were a few groups of deer I was having trouble distinguishing bucks, granted they were a ways off.

I just got back from a three day trip elk trip with basically the same setup. Didn't bring the spotter (but did bring the light tripod for the binos). Brought a little bit more in the way of clothing as the forecast was for cooler temps- which it was

 

[mtwarden]

I've got another 3 (possibly 4) day trip planned. This will be for mule deer and this time I'm bringing the bigger spotter and full sized tripod- this increases my spotter/tripod setup from 1.5 lbs to 5 lbs. I'm hoping it's worth it

The low temperatures are forecast in the teens so in addition to the 30 degree down bag, I'll bring my 50 degree Apex quilt. It'll serve double duty- increase the rating of my sleep system by roughly 20 degrees and I'll pack it when away from camp for glassing (it has a poncho hole in it so I can drape over everything if needed). An additional 12.5 oz.

Having to add a lid to the Solo pack for more volume, so an additional 6 oz there.

Pack should be in the low 30 lb range all in, will weigh it before I head out.

 

[mtwarden]

should have added to the above, a new shelter this trip- TT Stratospire Li; roomier than the Aeon, double walled and a little more bomber- another additional pound

 

[mtwarden]

34 lbs with a little over 5 lbs of food (4 days) and 4 lbs of water

 

[Cant hit em]

34 lbs with a little over 5 lbs of food (4 days) and 4 lbs of water

You got your shit dialed , good luck this hunt !!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[mtwarden]

You got your shit dialed , good luck this hunt !!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

thank you Sir

tough hunt (30+ miles in three days), but paid off in the end