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

Curious what items you always have in your packs that you would never consider going without? I’m talking a daypack. This will give me something to hopefully build off of.

First Aid kit with 2 Tourniquets. Water filter, Knife, head lamp, flash light, matches, protein bars.

tag

GPS and a backup compass. Emergency blanket and several methods of starting a fire.

Toilet paper. And water.

Wet wipes, leukotape

Knife, rope, first-aid kit, space blanket, fire starter, 2-way radio ( I always leave the other one in my pickup set to the same channel I am on.) flashlight w/spare batteries, game bags, 2 garbage bags ( in case I need to make a waterproof shelter, toilet paper, powerbars, and water.

Water + filter, flashlight, lighter/matches, and ass-wipe. Everything else shifts for season and location. I always (ALWAYS) have a knife in my pocket so I might or might not have a 2nd in my pack. Ammo, but it depends on which gun I'm carrying. Seasons vary wildly here. In my little area, we'll generally always have at least one day a year between 105 and 110. It can go 3+ months without a drop of rain but we might get torrential downpours from t-storms. It can ran upwards of a foot a day in some of the canyons (most I ever saw was 13.5 inches in the rain gauge for 24 hours). My favorite trailhead for summer hiking is under 9 feet of snow this morning according to the SNOTEL station. There just isn't a year around set of gear suitable to all conditions that isn't equally excessive for all conditions. Do not need bug spray at 15 degrees. Do not need a 0 degree bag at 105. Etc.

That said, I do often carry most of a year-around kit of stuff in my truck so I can shift stuff into / out of my day pack at need.

Tom

good stuff posted already.

I'd add an extra whistle (assuming you already pocket carry one) in case you get injured and lose your voice. It would suck to see SAR 30yds away from your position and not be able to call out to them. If you can exhale, you can signal with a whistle.

In an emergency, food is way down the list as a requirement. You can live for a month without it, although you'd be darned uncomfortable. Water is much more important.

First aid kit, headlamp, space blanket, whistle, fire starter, matches, pieces of bike innertube, 18”x18” square of heavy duty aluminum foil, 50’ para cord, small flashlight, compass, map, TP, energy bar or two, spare glasses, water purification tablets, light goretex shell, leatherman multi tool, spare battery pack for phone (I use Gaia mapping on phone), water bottle(s), bear spray.

Other items may vary depending on seasons: dry bags, havlon knife, puffy type down jacket, knit hat, gloves, small tyvek sheet, 50’ light nylon twine, spare dry socks, heavier goretex shell, folding saw, extra ammo, pistol.

Alos, if you take daily meds (like for blood pressure, insulin, etc) be sure to have a few in your FA Kit. If you carry an EPI pen, keep it in your pocket.

Lot of good items listed already. For extra water, while I'm out, I like my Sawyer.

My "day" hunts are typically in remote country with at least a fair chance of an unexpected overnight.

Obviously good navigation bits- compass, map (usually printed off the computer via Caltopo) and a gps (my iPhone w/ Gaiagps app)
I bring an inReach Mini with and always leave a detailed as possible itinerary w/ my better half for communication.
For shelter I carry an Apex quilt, it has a "poncho" hood so does double duty as a insulating layer when glassing for very long; a short section (~50") of ccf pad- doubles as a sit pad; and a SOL Escape bivy, Silky Saw- helps construct a shelter, firewood, etc, but I carry a bone blade with it as well- these items would mean a miserable night out, but one that I would survive
Fire kit- a pretty bombproof kit that in addition to normal fire bits (lighter, sparker, reliable tinder)- a small flare and two packs of Trioxane.
First aid kit- more full stocked than what I use for "summer" backpacking that includes items for major trauma that are normally not carried.
Water is usually carried in wide mouth Nalgene as I can worry less about freezing, than other bottles- a half dozen Aquatabs.
Additional clothing- a mid-layer, an insulating layer, if it's early season- a rain jacket, heavy fleece mitts, heavy fleece balaclava
Food- usually a dozen bars (200-ish calories/per), a pretty large lunch- the most I eat on the bars is usually six, the other six are there just in case
Kill kit- two knives (one a replacement blade knife w/ extra blades), small sharpener, bags, 100' of cord, marking ribbon, a 3x6' of Tyvek to process meat (this also doubles as a groundcloth if needed), two pairs gloves, licenses & tape
Headlamp - two headlamps w/ a set of spare batteries, I take two headlamps as they are used almost every hunt- going in and coming out
around my neck I wear a lanyard with a Photon light and a whistle (signaling)

all fits in a 20 liter pack

anybody carry a folding saw? had a couple occasions would have been damn handy but dont know which one to get? typical challenge light but big enough sturdy enough

Silky F180 is worth looking at, 5 oz and cuts like the dickens! Can also get a bone blade for it

thanks ill look into it!

Always: 2 headlamps. GPS and compass. Extra batteries for headlamp and GPS. My primary knife and a back up Havalon. (light) Extra tape for barrel, ammo. TP. Tags for all available species. Game bags for two animals. (it happens) Cell phone. In my area, you climb up, you have signal. Binos. Iodine tablets and a few water bottles. Minimal food. Iodine tablets. Probably forgetting a few things.

Usually: range finder, spotting scope, extra clothes.

Sometimes: VHF radio

Very hard to not bring the kitchen sink. I cut things like saws and lots of heavier food.

2x headlamps, wipes, compass and small first aid/trauma kit. Everything else is situational.

For back country hunting:
Kill kit
Small bag of supplies
In Reach
Water purification

The Ten Essentials for hiking include:

Map & Compass
Extra clothing (rain gear, hat, gloves, warm light coat or sweater).
Headlamp or flashlight
First-aid Kit (more than just a few Bandaids)
Fire Starter Kit (matches + butane lighter + fire starters)
Pocket Knife (Swiss Army Knife or Leatherman Multi-tool)
Water in an unbreakable container
Small metal pot or big metal cup (for melting snow)
Siltarp or Space Blanket + 50' x 1/8" Woven Nylon Chord
1/2 Foam Pad

In addition I always carry a Bandanna, Toilet Paper and Sunglasses.

A bit much imo. I would cut the pad and cup. Extra clothing is bulky and not very necessary if you have good clothes.

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.....

Subtle....

Mt or anyone else- What kind of bars do you normally carry with you? Been looking at a few options lately.

Probars are good, about 400 calories each. Add a foil pouch of Justin's Almond butter slathered on top and that's 600 calories that are about the size of a hockey puck. My other favorite is Kind bars.

I make sure my partner has everything and I go light.

Kind Bars are my favorite. But I am really not that picky and will eat just about any of them. However on my one or two day trips I take a Burrito from Chipotle with me. I don't get sour cream or guac on it just rice, beans, meat, and whatever extra's you like. It keeps really well and is a solid meal that is filling. No cooking, cleaning, just fast easy real food.

Generally I pack Mojo bars (Cliff)- like the taste

Not a bar, but I almost always have a couple of bagel/peanut butter/bacon/honey sandwiches with too- they keep very well and loaded with calories.

Last year on day 1 of the Bob Marshall Open, I packed a large burrito with for lunch- I'm telling you that tasted really good!

Me too Clint, poor Greg is gonna be loaded down!!! Haha

[quote=mtwarden]Generally I pack Mojo bars (Cliff)- like the taste

Not a bar, but I almost always have a couple of bagel/peanut butter/bacon/honey sandwiches with too- they keep very well and loaded with calories.

Nothing like a butthole sandwich huh. Do you use precooked bacon or cook your own when making them?

I had mine fail years ago on Kodiak with a bag full of bloody deer meat, just as night fell and we were still a mile from camp.

Talk about pucker factor!

Luckily, the guy I was hunting with was an Airborne Ranger and quickly provided me one (of his two) backups.

That was the first time I'd heard the adage "one is none, two is one...."

Since that day, I carry duplicates of most of the small essentials.

Bet it took you a full day to unclench!

We have a lot of headlamps. I'm a believer and will have a spare.

yeah that would be the name of them

I cook the bacon at home; I've used them up to five day trips without any problem- I'll sometimes use the mini bagels instead of the regular size ones and pack two for every one of the regular, eat a late morning one and then another in the afternoon

One trick with the bagels is put them in a ziplock with a book or plate over them and stand on it until they’re flat. Same nutrition and packs way smaller. I like the “everything” bagels.

Bacon and peanut butter, I'm gonna try that combo this year. I like to use pita bread for my packable sandwiches, it's indestructable.

A hind quarter of something that had fur on it...Couldn’t resist 😁😎

I always have a couple peanut butter taquitos in my pack

A slice of bacon inside those might be great!!

You pack those in??

That is truly badass.

I believe you guys from Cali and Colorado are forgetting one thing that I know is always on your list

That's right, a first aid kit. On account of I'm always running into folks from Alabama and they always need first aid

I am always horseback, so I take a few extra things. A saw and hatchet, a slicker, bare bones horseshoeing stuff, quick tinder of some kind, my daypack, extra wool socks and leather gloves, a spare clip, spotting scope and short tripod and cheesecloth. Tea and a Billy Paul....'bout it.

Then after I bandage 'em up, they look right, look left, and whisper sideways "hey man, you got any weed?"

I always carry an egg, bean , cheese, sausage burrito in my pack. Make a bunch at camp and throw in cooler. Always throw one gig one wrapped in foil in my pack when I head out.

I have a little packable Wyoming saw with a wood blade and a bone blade that's in my elk pack 90% of the time. Weighs 1 pound. When you need it, you really need it. It the years I've carried it, I have used to to gather sticks for one emergency fire, cut off elk heads/ skull plates many times, removed branches that would have precluded me from butchering the elk and cut off leg bones. Useful 1# tool

So much good stuff here

Good list of stuff here, I like to pack a tomahawk, flagging, some coffee, life straw for water purification and of course a flask. No tent, for overnight camping. Tarp and pcord work fine. Knife sharpener is always handy

Probably about the same as most others but this is my list.

My friends give me crap because I always take pb&j. If I'm concerned about calories I use pancakes instead of bread, a couple of those and water will meet my needs for a while.

bedroll
tyvek
paracord
extra socks
rain gear
beanie
fingerless rag wool gloves
trekking poles
headlamps
garmin inreach (I like to let my girlfriend know if I'm going to be late and I can give my friends coordinates when I'm calling for mules)
stove
steripen
spork
water bottles (1 empty nalgene for the steripen and 2 L of sams club plastic)
matches
lighter
firestarters (twine dipped in wax and wrapped into a ball on a short dowel and/or Mautz fire ribbon)
knife
moleskin
bandaids
first aid tape
superglue
eyedrops
ibuprofen (lots of it)
paper towel
baby wipes in a ziplock bag (you'll be hooked after the first use)
hand sanitizer
2.0 reading glasses (getting splinters out by feel sucks)
pb&j sandwiches
nuts
energy bars (iced ginger clif bars are my favorite)
salted nut rolls
gummy fruit snacks
life savers
freeze dried meal (a hot meal is always welcomed and lifts my spirits)
via coffee
propel flavorings

maduros

spotting scope
binoculars
hunting stuff is a different list

Tag

Water bottle and life straw, knife and sharpner. TQ and combat gauze, 2 small bic lighters, tp and wipes, 25 ft paracord. Change of socks. Merino beanie. Compass, pen, food bars and almond butter packs. Toothbrush. Asprin, allergy med. Vasolene cottonballs.

A lot of variables depending on the time of year and purpose, but these are pretty constant.

Shelter (10x10 tarp or Silvertip, seasonal)

Fire starter (Ferro rod, Bic, waterproof matches....all three)

Knife (typically a simple Mora Companion)

Water (usually 1 qt Nalgene canteen)

Snacks (clif bars or similar)

Chapstick

Gloves

Extra hat (seasonal)

Extra layer (seasonal)

tag

Big yep on the baby wipes