What’s up with counting partial pack weights?

[Gatorgrizz27]

In my quest to put together the lightest backpack hunting setup I can, I’ve discovered that most people are listing their pack weights without a weapon, optics, or water, among other things.

You’ll see someone claiming their pack weighs in at 22 lbs, but when they actually hit the trail it’s over 50. It’s frustrating looking at gear lists and seeing that every item they’re using is heavier than yours or you aren’t even bringing it, yet somehow your pack ends up weighing more.

Heck, my empty pack plus a 6 lb rifle, 10x42 binos, and 3L of water weighs 19 lbs. I wouldn’t count a hat, vest, or gaiters that I’m wearing, but a rifle strapped to my pack as it will be carried the majority of the time, and binos in a harness absolutely weigh you down and should be counted.

Hopefully I don’t come across as whining, I’d just like to see things advertised more realistically.

 

[muddydogs]

I figure my pack weight with water and hunting snacks, I also figure in my bino harness. I know what my rifle weights but I don't figure it in my pack weight because it's never on my back, maybe on my waist belt but usually in my hands.

Why are you worried about other people's numbers? You know what your gear weights so go with it. Heck what do you expect when you get 200 pounds of meat of a deer and 400 pounds off an elk of course a hunting load in a pack only weighs 10 pounds. You should have seen the size of the brook trout I caught last weekend.

 

[veganhunter]

In the UL backpacking world, pack weights are reported as a “base weight” which includes everything you’d take on a trip excluding consumables (fuel, food, water). That’s the standard I use when someone asks and it’s obviously more for a backcountry hunt than a through hike

 

[jhm2023]

The only thing I count into pack weight are things that are in or on my pack. Rifle goes in my hands most of the time, binos are in a separate harness, and I usually go in with an empty Nalgene and filter along the way. That's the way I do it. I see some of these supposed pack weights people list and think "well doesn't make sense". To each their own, but I can see where this might mislead some hunters that are newer to pack in hunting.

 

[FlyGuy]

I look at both. Pack weight and total weight. I think of it as eliminating variables. Example being weapons. There are big differences between rifle weights vs bow weights.(~9-10lbs for an avg rifle, and ~5 for a bow). Eliminating that from the "pack weight" numbers gives a more accurate picture of how efficiently you are getting your pack weight reduced. And it's not really in your pack.

I count my weapon, bino harness & binos in that harness, outside of pack weight. I also don't count water, since that varies dramatically through the day.

So for me personally I would list it as something like:

For a 3 day trip my pack weight is coming in around 29lbs including food, 15x56 binos and tripod, rain gear and splitting weight of shelter/stove with partner. No water. Additional 11lbs for bow and bino harness. Total weight = 40lbs plus water.

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[RosinBag]

Gatorgriz27 I understand what your saying. Most people post those 22 pound packs as a way to make themselves feel good. If you are backpack hunting, total weight is the number to look for as you are responsible for carrying it all, whether in your pack, harness, hip or pockets, it is all on your person.

And early season hunts of five days, most people would struggle to get under 50 pounds for all their gear.

 

[LIWolverine]

I thought the exact same thing on my trip last year. We did 6 days and my starting pack weight with my bow, bino harness and a 32oz of water was ~60lbs. I think it was 63 or so. That puts my pack without that stuff at around 50ish lbs which seemed great to me with all the crap I had. After that first trip I now know I can cut at least 5lbs personally for a 5-6day hunt. Still wasn’t 35-40lbs like I had seen posted. I was so confused and thought I had totally failed when I saw my pack weight. I do know what you’re saying. I just know now what the numbers I see online really mean.


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[Tag_Soup]

For me it gives me a “baseline” for which to add my optional gear so I can quickly calculate my pack weight. In my case it’s 22.1 lbs “base” weight. That includes pack, tent & sleep system, kill kit & game bags, water carrying equipment but not water, water filtration, cook system and 1 canister of fuel, toiletries kit w/ first aide, head lamp, fire kit, insulated coffee cup, rain jacket and puffy jacket, extra base layer, extra socks, and extra boxers.

I would never carry just my “base weight” on a hunt, but it gives me an easy way to figure out what I will be carrying. For example I wouldn’t bring a spotter and tripod on an archery elk hunt, so I don’t put that 88oz into my “base”. That weight would however go in for a high country mule deer hunt. On the archery elk hunt I may have to account for an extra few things like additional game bags or a bugle tube though.

I know I carry about 1.2 lbs of food/day and never more than 3l of water (unless I need to bring back camp water). So on a 5 day hunt I know I’ll be dealing with an extra 12.6 lbs of consumables when I start my pack in, but likely almost zero on the way out.

My weapon and binos are off the pack, but I will count them in my total carries weight category. I will add my archery kit or extra rounds to my “base” weight depending on which I will be carrying. I never count my trecking poles because those are mostly always in contact with the ground for the trip in/out and support my shelter the rest of the time.

So in the case of a 5 day high country mule deer hunt I’ll be carrying:
Base +
5 day Food+
3l water +
Spotter/Tripod/pan head +
Bino harness w/binos +
Bow +
Archery kit

Which works out to:
22.1+
6.0+
6.6+
5.5+
2.7+
4.8+
.8
=48.5 lbs total max carried weight and a max pack weight of 41lbs (until I get lucky and kill something)

Whereas a 3 day archery elk hunt would put me at a total max carried weight of 41 lbs and max pack weight of 33.5 lbs.

I guess very long story short, having that “base” number makes it easy to know how much I will be carrying and where I can trim weight. To each their own I guess.


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[Gatorgrizz27]

Thanks for the replies, I’m not so much worried what my pack weighs compared to someone else’s, I’ve just found it misleading when you’re choosing the lightest gear and still end up with a heavy load.


My cook kit weighs 4.7 oz plus an 8 oz fuel canister, my rain jacket and pants weighs 14.8 oz, no spotting scope, tripod, etc. Obviously weapon and water weights will vary, but it’s easy enough to say “my pack weighs 44 lbs with a 7 lb rifle and 2L of water.”

I get the base weight thing, it seems that’s the norm that is discussed though, not what you’d actually carry on a particular trip.

It’s not the end of the world, just something I’ve found frustrating coming from backpacking without hunting gear and trying to keep weight as low as possible with the extra equipment needed.

To the point about having a heavy load when packing meat out makes having the lightest gear all the more important. Take a 50 lb pack and add 60 lbs of meat, you’re at 110 lbs. I’d rather start with a 20 lb pack and be at 80 lbs total. Obviously, unless you’re packing the whole animal out in one trip you wouldn’t lug your camping gear back and forth.

 

[sr80]

It kind of seems like its a competition these days as to who can have the lightest pack weight. Someone blurbs 30 lbs for 12 days and then everyone wants to see the gear list. Then you realize that doesn't include water, and or maybe it only has one days worth of food etc.

 

[JFKinYK]

Maybe we can all wear our backpacks as chest rigs and have pack weights of zero?

 

[5MilesBack]

The only thing I count into pack weight are things that are in or on my pack.

This ^^^^. But even then I really don't even weigh my pack......it is what it is when I strap it on and go. But my weapon is rarely ever attached to my pack, and my binos are slung around my neck and under my right arm, and my G20 is on my hip so I would never count those in the pack weight. Those are carried even without a pack.

But in the end it shouldn't matter to anyone except who's carrying it. I don't care if it's 20lbs or 60lbs, the only person it affects is me.

 

[bmart2622]

I dont understand why it seems to be a contest who has the lightest pack either, but that weight should include food, water, fuel, sleep system..... The way I see it is I take what I know I need and the weight is what it is.

 

[seldomseensmith]

I dont understand why it seems to be a contest who has the lightest pack either, but that weight should include food, water, fuel, sleep system..... The way I see it is I take what I know I need and the weight is what it is.

Right?

 

[Boxerboxer]

But in the end it shouldn't matter to anyone except who's carrying it. I don't care if it's 20lbs or 60lbs, the only person it affects is me.

Generally I agree but in this case OP is benchmarking other people to try to gauge what's possible and set goals for his own pack rather than playing the "who is the lightest" game.


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[Gatorgrizz27]

I dont understand why it seems to be a contest who has the lightest pack either, but that weight should include food, water, fuel, sleep system..... The way I see it is I take what I know I need and the weight is what it is.

Generally I agree but in this case OP is benchmarking other people to try to gauge what's possible and set goals for his own pack rather than playing the "who is the lightest" game.

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Exactly. I don’t care what everyone else wants to carry, but at 6’ 160 lbs I’m far from the biggest guy out there, so having a light pack makes a big difference to me. You look at people’s gear lists, drop several G’s on the lightest gear out there, with what seems to be a reasonable goal in mind, but still end up toting close to 50 lbs. My fault for not doing more reading, you just wonder how the hell guys are claiming a 33 lb pack with an 80mm spotter and 2 sets of extra clothes.

Maybe I’ll try to talk my hunting buddy into carrying the camping gear and optics while I haul all the food. We will start out the same but I’ll have a better time as the hunt progresses.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Maybe I’ll try to talk my hunting buddy into carrying the camping gear and optics while I haul all the food. We will start out the same but I’ll have a better time as the hunt progresses.

Or better yet, slip some of the heavier items into your buddies pack when he's not looking. I slipped a 4-pk of 16 oz. beers into my hunting buddies pack once right before heading up the mountain. At the end of a very hard, almost all day, climb, we settled in to make camp for the night and the look on his face when he found those beers will stick in my mind for a very long time. Needless to say, after the first sip of the still very cold beer (the high that day was about 35 degrees), he managed to turn that frown upside down.

 

[5MilesBack]

Generally I agree but in this case OP is benchmarking other people to try to gauge what's possible and set goals for his own pack rather than playing the "who is the lightest" game.

That's generally not the best way to do that. Not everybody can carry the same weight, not everybody carries the same stuff, not everybody hunts the same way, everybody has different levels of comfort, etc.

The only one I'm competing against is the elk, and I don't think they really care how much weight I'm carrying.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

Its the craze. Go as low as you can. How else can you explain people dropping $700 on a newer pack system? I often wander if those people stop to consider skipping a second helping come meal time or, cutting portion size for two days is much cheaper and, more effective at losing those 4 ounces. Oh well, it is their money. They can do what they want with it.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Its the craze. Go as low as you can. How else can you explain people dropping $700 on a newer pack system? I often wander if those people stop to consider skipping a second helping come meal time or, cutting portion size for two days is much cheaper and, more effective at losing those 4 ounces. Oh well, it is their money. They can do what they want with it.

Or just stop drinking beer....kidding, just kidding.