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

[mtwarden]

Well I guess I should update this thread.

I'm no longer using the Leupold 20X spotter or the Kramer tripod, instead I'm using a Swaro ATX and an Aziak tripod. This change added 2 lbs weight, but better optics and I can shoot off the Aziak (with a Spartan Davros head).

Everything else remains pretty much the same

 

[CMF]

Also would it work almost the same to use a cleaned mtn house meal bag in place of the Hyperlite?

I've done the cleaned mtn house bag and it works fine, but can't compare to the hyperlite.

 

[mod7rem]

I repackage all my meals with food saver vacuum sealer and use a fareshare mug for rehydrating. My food for backpack trips is always roughly 1.4 lbs/day.

Fairshare Large Camping Mug with Insulated Sleeve | GSI Outdoors

Eat your fair share with the new and improved GSI Outdoors Fairshare Mug II. It is the perfect cup, bowl, mug for rehydrating food while backpacking or collecting huckleberries. Eat, drink, store. Backed by a lifetime warranty.

gsioutdoors.com

It works great but the ziploc bag with Hyperlite bag combo would save another 5oz and I may try it.

For those that use it, do you get many leaks in the ziplocks from handling?

 

[mtwarden]

I’ve never had any leaks (knock on wood) with probably 80-100 meals. The bags need to be freezer bags, they’re significantly tougher.

 

[BBob]

For those that use it, do you get many leaks in the ziplocks from handling?

The only time I've had a leak was by spearing the boiling hot bag with a spork while stirring it up. Oops!

 

[Dkerwin78]

Did a little three day excursion last week into an area I have a deer permit for. Was trying to keep things as light as possible and managed a 27-ish pound pack all in (including 3 days of food 4.5 lbs and 4 lbs of water)- my rifle was in hand (but it's pretty light too- 5.5 lbs). I was as far back as 12 miles at one point, so humping a light pack was nice- if I would have harvested a buck that far back it would have been critical.

SG Krux frame w/ a Solo bag
Feathered Friends Flicker 30 bag/quilt
Thermarest XTherm pad
Tarptent Aeon Li shelter- all of 17 oz w/ stakes

I brought a small spotter (Leupold 20x50) and a very lightweight tripod- Granite Peak; used the spotter a couple of times, but most of the spotting was done with 10x42's on the same tripod.

Weather was pretty nice (as forecasted)- 50's day, 30's night- so I didn't take a lot of extra clothing- a Apex insulated puffy & beanie, shell mitts (light gloves worn most of the time), my rain jacket/windshirt was a Sitka Flash, spare dry socks

MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe and Titan pot

the normal stuff- first aid kit, fire kit, repair kit, map/compass, inReach, toiletries, kill kit, etc- all with an eye towards lightening as much as feasible

Saw 50+ deer, but the mature bucks were hiding pretty well- our rut will get going in a week or so, so I'll be headed back

That’s awesome!

 

[CMF]

For those that use it, do you get many leaks in the ziplocks from handling?

I’ve never had any leaks (knock on wood) with probably 80-100 meals. The bags need to be freezer bags, they’re significantly tougher.

Same, I usually use the great value, but if you're worried the ziploc brand may be even better, idk.
The ziplocs pack down better than vac seal too.

 

[TaperPin]

I repackage all my meals with food saver vacuum sealer and use a fareshare mug for rehydrating. My food for backpack trips is always roughly 1.4 lbs/day.

Fairshare Large Camping Mug with Insulated Sleeve | GSI Outdoors

Eat your fair share with the new and improved GSI Outdoors Fairshare Mug II. It is the perfect cup, bowl, mug for rehydrating food while backpacking or collecting huckleberries. Eat, drink, store. Backed by a lifetime warranty.

gsioutdoors.com

It works great but the ziploc bag with Hyperlite bag combo would save another 5oz and I may try it.

For those that use it, do you get many leaks in the ziplocks from handling?

I’ve never had a leak using ziplock freezer bags, but I think it’s important to put everything for a day into a second larger ziplock that take any abrasion and holds food from moving around. Of course if a single ziplock is placed in a pack in direct contact with the rest of a pack’s contents bad things will happen.

 

[mtwarden]

^ same—I keep my current day supper in the Hyperlite bag and store the rest of them in another gallon sized ziplock

 

[CMF]

I’ve never had a leak using ziplock freezer bags, but I think it’s important to put everything for a day into a second larger ziplock that take any abrasion and holds food from moving around. Of course if a single ziplock is placed in a pack in direct contact with the rest of a pack’s contents bad things will happen.

I just use the non zippered, twist tie gallon bags, lighter, more packable and cheaper, to separate each day.

 

[TaperPin]

I just use the non zippered, twist tie gallon bags, lighter, more packable and cheaper, to separate each day.

That’s not a bad idea - I have some of those two gallon bags that are super thin and tough, kind of like good grocery store bags.

 

[Stickmark]

Good thread. My data point is as follows:
three nights helping a friend on limited opportunity elk tag....not counting the spare rifle I brought in case Murphy showed up, 35.6# going in, 27 out. Includes heavy binos and 50 rifle rounds.
Temps were 20-25 degrees, and I left tent in car. Friend gave me a spare wool sweater to lay over my legs in the sleeping bag, but otherwise, perfect.
His pack coming out, 50 pounds. He is 13 yrs younger.
No animals were harmed on this venture.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Three day 30# load out with food and water would be a dream come true!

 

[mtwarden]

This is a recent (week ago) trip where I decided to bivy. The bivy only saves about a 1/2 lb over my solo tent, but allows me to get into very tight spots. Just under 30 lbs w/ food & water (no spotter this trip, but with tripod).

 

[Rufus]

This is a recent (week ago) trip where I decided to bivy. The bivy only saves about a 1/2 lb over my solo tent, but allows me to get into very tight spots. Just under 30 lbs w/ food & water (no spotter this trip, but with tripod).

Hey Mtwarden. Always learning from your posts. Thanks for taking the time. Would like to hear more about your bivy setup. I had a military goretex bivy given to me. It’s heavy and not really what I want to end on, but it is allowing me to learn more about the bivy process. What bivy sack do you use? Are you using a tarp over it all the time or just when weather dictates? Do you find the bivy adds noticeable warmth to your system?

Thank you. -Rufus

 

[mtwarden]

Hey. My bivy is a Mountain Laurel Designs Event Soul bivy (made w/ eVent fabric on the upper and dcf on the lower). As far as waterproof bivies go, this breathes better than most, but still a stretch to being very breathable. It's pretty light at 12 oz and it does keep rain/snow /wind out, but if it's zipped fully (or close to fully) condensation will form on the interior.

I used to carry a tarp with it for rain/snow, but by the time I added the tarp it was about the same weight as my solo tent and the tent is much more livable. I try use the bivy when there is very slight to no chance of precip and not bring a tarp.

It does add a little warmth to the system; hard to put a number, but not a lot in my experience—maybe 5 degrees???

It is handy in that I camp just about anywhere and it takes just a few minutes to setup "camp".

I find I use it more in the deep of winter where it's fun to build/dig a snow shelter; the bivy does a good job of keeping snow/moisture out.

 

[Freezing Moon]

With your freeze dried dinners in zip locks, how do you mix them with boiling water?

I bought a grip of these. They're reusable after some washing out. I fill them with the contents of #10 cans from Mountain House. It's nice because you can dial in your calories for each meal. And yes, the company name is pretty ironic

Boil Cook Bags

Plastic Stand Up Bags for Rehydrating Freeze Dried and Dehydrated Backpacking Foods; MRE storage bags for freeze dried meals - store and rehydrate your meals in these pouches meant for high temperature (boiling water).

outdoorherbivore.com

 

[DrBeetleKill]

Ok, I know this is an older thread, but I have definitely been inspired by the content on this fantastic conversation. I run a pretty heavy pack and really need to start shaving some weight as the knees ache a little more each day. I have a few questions on some of the topics mentioned throughout.

1. How does the bag/quilt layering process work? I have never ran a quilt before, so is the quilt just laid over the top of the sleeping bag? I am a visual guy, so does anyone have any pics of what this looks like? What are others running in this combination? The bag is a piece of gear I am reevaluating right now to try and save some weight. I run a heavier synthetic now. I have a North Face 20 degree as well.
2. Do you ever run a wood burning stove? If so, how does that change your shelter setup?
3. For colder weather, what additional pieces of clothing do you bring? I saw mentioned an additional puffy. I usually wear a base layer, fleece grid/primaloft mid layer, and a ghost whisperer puffy. I tend to still get chilly for October/early November hunts so I am looking at other puffy options.
4. The food list is dialed in and I appreciate you breaking it down. I need to repack my meals and save some space.

Thanks for posting this. I don't spend enough time in the backcountry as I would like, so I always appreciate others sharing to help us all grow and be more efficient.

 

[mtwarden]

1-the lightweight synthetic quilt goes over the top of the down bag. the quilt has a couple of small bungee like straps that secure it the bag. the quilt I have has a “poncho” hole so doubles as a glassing layer

2-occasionally, complete different shelter- pyramid with a stove jack—adds significant weight with a larger/heavier shelter and stove. With two guys splitting the weight, much better

3 I have a ghost whisperer jacket, only use it in the summer and favorable early season hunting. Look at the amount of down fill (and the grade ie 850 fill) when comparing different down jackets. Feathered Friends makes a couple of warm, but still light jackets; Katabatic does too- there are others too. Nunatak used to make custom synthetic jackets that are great, but no longer. They do have a down jacket that looks good though.

 

[F3RubiconBallistic]

@mtwarden you still taking the Cheese slices for lunch? Have any issues with them over multiple days when it is hot out? I love beef stick, cheese, cracker combo, but the cheese always worries me after 2 days of non-refridge in 90+ heat ...