Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting What items are always in your pack?

A lot of guys listed 2 headlights. I've never had one fail and fresh batteries will last me weeks.

Have any had to use the backup head light?

No but it doubles as a strobe which the coasties can see a long ways off when flying on nvg.

Some of you all carry a lot of stuff.
Besides the normal tag and extra rounds I always carry:

Havalon piranta (sometimes a fixed blade too, but more and more I just carry the havalon piranta with extra blades)
Mountain money, ass wipe or whatever you want to call it
Nalgene bottle (sometimes a filter too if I am in several miles)
Leatherman
Compass (no map)
Game bags
Camera with spare battery
Cliff bars
Headlamp (just one) with extra batteries
Roll of electric tape for my muzzle, attaching tags and whatever else
One fairly heavy sweatshirt and beanie in case I spend the night unexpectedly
My SPOT
If it's late season or cold, a Gränsfors Bruk hatchet and firestarter (usually just a road flare)




I rarely, if ever carry:

First aid kit, but have used the electric tape to close a knife slip up
Map
Saw
Rope, 550 cord or P cord-I don't hang quarters anymore unless I am in camp. It spreads scent easier and finding a horizontal branch in the pines to hang from is difficult, and so is getting it high enough to be out of reach of bears. I just find a shady spot with brush to lay the quarters on for air flow.

I was climbing in Malaysia and a gal lost her headlamp, I gave her my spare. They are so small and light it's to easy to carry two.

If I'm hiking/backpacking I rarely carry two lamps (spare batteries yes), BUT when I know for certain that a good deal of my time is going to be spent on the trail in the dark (almost all of day hunts include a significant time hiking in the dark, adventure races sometimes the entire night). I had a headlamp give out on me on a trail race that went into the night, fortunately there was another runner close by and he lent me his spare lamp- I figure two ounce insurance.

Fire, water, jerky, nuts, TP, cordage, rope, knife, compass, map and pencils, shelter, emergancy blankets, hand crank flashlight, solar charger, pocket sized ham radio, Rubber gloves, first aid kit. Fishing kit. Varies a bit by the weather.

Nothing should vary, the question is "What items are always in your pack?" Key word here is always.

A month without food outdoors during hunting season? You won't starve to death in a matter of days but you'll be colder and thinking much less clearly than if you had a few calories in your pack. I always pack something in the way of extra food, calorie dense and compact. If nothing else it supplies energy for that long walk back to the truck or camp in the dark. Which in turn will help me bounce out of the sack the next morning at 4:30 and hit the trail.

^ agreed- extra calories for warmth and energy should be high on the list, particularly in cold weather- not talking weeks of food, an extra 1500-2000 calories would easily suffice (6-8 bars or the like) 12-15 oz well worth having, especially if you get lucky and connect w/ a animal

Thanks for the head light answers.

MRE,Zip lock gallon bags,Fire starter,Lighter,First aid kit with decent drugs,Water Filter,Spare knife and sharpener,Two compasses in case one lies.

Sh*t tickets and hand sanitizer....some lessons only need to be learned once

Yeah, back in the original Petzel Tikka days. "Midrange" headlamps have gotten a lot more robust since then, and new el cheapos are higher quality than the old midrange. I've also had a not so great experience where I forgot my only headlamp back at the tent, and ended up really needing it for an awkward water crossing in the dark. So maybe I'm just paranoid now.

I keep most of my "always in your pack" stuff in a small stuff sack. Its got spare buckles, paracord, lighters, lightmyfire cubes, lens wipes, a bug head net, etc. Now I keep a tiny AAA flashlight in there, and just put a fresh battery in it at the beginning of the season. TP and wipes I keep in a separate ziplock, and my first aid kit is loose too. Knives, sharpener, etc are in a different small stuff sack that doesn't smell as good.

One or more pairs of gloves.

The small Orion flares.

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ THIS ^ ^ ^

poncho and liner
at least one space blanket
FULL canteen or water bottle
disinfecting chemical
doans bar
various tinder
fixed blade knife
FAK with immodium and pain killer
rope and cordage ([more than the 30 feet everybody recommends)
leather work gloves

pocket contents are a separate issue

Always on my backpack waiting to do its job

Frankenstud Sling Keeper

Couldn't help it could you?

Truth

Ok Ted.....