Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Pack Weight?

I'm just getting back into backpack hunting after many years of the more traditional approach. I could use some advice: How heavy's your pack? <P>I hunt in the mountains of SE Idaho, with elevations ranging from 5,000 - 9,000 feet.<P>For the opener of deer, the first week of October, I'll be "up there" for four days and three nights. There are abundant creeks and springs. The weather can range from low-70's during the the day to well below freezing at night, with snow and rain a distinct possibility, cold wind a certainty. <P>I'm at a pack weight of a shade over 37 lbs., including the pack itself, rife and ammo - everything but the basic clothes I'm wearing. That's to get me and my gear to my camp. I'll be traveling much lighter during the day's hunting. <P>I'm interested in establishing a baseline. Is this too heavy? OK? How much weight are you carrying for an equivalent hunt?<P>I'm 47 years old, 5'10" tall, 185 lbs. I'm in reasonable shape (lift weights and stationary cycle four days a week, and play hard on the weekends).<P>Perspectives from the more experienced would be much appreciated. <P>Thanks in advance, and good luck with this fall's hunts. <P>Greg

Greg<BR>Have spent lots of time with a pack on my back, too often with other people's stuff in there. When hunting on equal footing with other party members (not guiding) I can keep it down in the very low 30# range. When spending over a week the weight rises pretty fast because of the need to start worrying about changes of clean clothing, lest the loft (and your nostrils) start to suffer.<P>The biggest variable is the length of the hunt and the food required to not simply survive, but get down all the calories you can. Any kind of mountain hunting or serious backpacking takes more fuel than you can eat for most of the trip.<P>I have a number of very light mountain rifles which knock off ounces at a time, a Remington 7 in 7mm-08 which is down under 6#. Fleece has reduced the weight of things one must carry, by a lot. I have found a water-proof, breathable set of hunting gear called "Tundra Fleece" which is far superior to anything else I have seen. Would not consider wearing browning brand gore-tex in the woods again.<P>With the tundra fleece a couple layers of fleece under it will be good for well below freezing, and they don't weigh much.<P>I am quite a bit larger than you, 6'4", 230, nearly the same age and have let my physical condition drop a bit more than I should have this year, [img]images/icons/frown.gif" border="0[/img] but I will still make it up the mountain.<P>Best of luck to you as well.<BR>art

37 pounds? How the heck did you manage that?<P>Here's a list of stuff I took on my last elk hunt, an-eight-day drop camp affair in a wilderness area.<P><BR>Dana LongBed Framepack<BR>Crooked Horn Master Guide Daypack<BR>Sierra Designs Alpha Tent<BR>Feathered Friends Ibis sleeping bag<BR>Therm-a-Rest Sleeping pad<BR>Garmin 12 GPS<BR>Silva Compass **1** <BR>Topo/BLM maps **1** <BR>First Aid kit **2**<BR>PUR Water purifier **3**<BR>Platypus water bladder **3**<BR>Safewater 20 oz. water bottle/filter **3**<BR>Primus MFS stove<BR>1 1000 ml Primus fuel bottle<BR>1 Lexan spoon <BR>8 Mountain House food packages (20 oz. Each)<BR>Gorp/Trailmix<BR>3 lbs. quality low-salt beef jerky<BR>Extra food **4**<BR>Primus Trekk Mini-Lantern<BR>1 small LP canister<BR>50 ft. Parachute cord<BR>50 ft. Rope<BR>Benchmade knife **5**<BR>Whetstone<BR>Browning bone saw<BR>Game bags<BR>Princeton Tec Headlamp + spare bulb & batteries **6**<BR>1 Pelican minilight + spare bulbs **6** <BR>Fresh AA batteries<BR>Fresh AAA batteries<BR>Firestarter **7**<BR>REI W-proof matches in w-proof container *8**<BR>2 Bic lighters with childlocks (so gas won&#8217;t leak in pack)<BR>Extra non-cotton emergency clothes <BR>Helly Hansen raingear **9**<BR>Space blanket **10**<BR>Blaze flagging<BR>5 large Hefty bags<BR>Sunglasses<BR>Leupold Lenspen<BR>25 unscented baby wipes<P><BR>Hunting Gear<P>M700 .30-06 + 20 cartridges<BR>Spare Leupold scope in rings<BR>Zeiss 7x42 binoculars<BR>Nikon Spotting scope + SLIK tripod<P><BR>Clothes<P>Meindl Boots<BR>Schnee's Pacs<P>2 polypro sock liners<BR>2 wool socks<P>2 Thermax longjohns<BR>1 camo fleece pants<BR>1 wool pants<BR>1 suspenders<P>2 Thermax crewneck<BR>1 fleece jacket<BR>1 blaze fleece vest<BR>1 packable down jacket<P>1 reversible beanie<BR>1 blaze baseball cap<P>1 gloves<P><BR>Toiletries<P>Toothbrush<BR>Tooth powder<BR>Unscented deodorant<BR>Unscented soap<BR>1 spare pair contact lenses w/spare case<BR>Small contact lens solution<BR>1 spare eyeglasses<BR>Alka-Seltzer<BR>Ibuprofen<BR>Tylenol<BR>Immodium<BR>5 feet dental floss<P>Miscellaneous<P>1 Activ Ankle brace<BR>1 knee sleeve<BR>1 hand towel<BR>1 Louis L'Amour book<P><BR>Closer to 55 lbs.!!!<P>OK, let's see your list, or feel free to modify this one. I'm open to any and all suggestions for deletions or additions.<P>Only the Zeiss binos are untouchable! [img]images/icons/smile.gif" border="0[/img]<P>Rick

Rick<BR>I think you missed the point, this is not a drop-off hunt, but a pack-in hunt. Greg used a long week-end for his example.<P>Would you actually carry 2-50' pieces of line on a sheep hunt? I might bring 25' of parachute cord.<P>Looks to me like you might be afraid of the dark, also [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img] I would ditch most of the lighting tools in favor of one mini-mag light with a spare bulb and put fresh batteries in it before I left.<P>I only have one back, so I would bring just one pack and use it all day, everyday.<P>As I make it a practice not to hunt alone in the back country, and because Leupolds never fail, I would ditch the spare scope. I would steal my partners gun if my scope failed [img]images/icons/blush.gif" border="0[/img]<P>With Tundra Fleece I carry only one set of outer wear and adjust inner layers. While I love my wool, it is no longer practical to carry into the mountains, if you are really conserving weight. It eliminates the Hellys also.<P>A DMT brand diamond file weighs less than an ounce and will sharpen a knife quite rapidly. I carry 3 knives usually, a general purpose pocket folder, small, like a Gerber LST; a caping knife which is a huge help when dealing with sheep, goats and caribou, and a big help for everything else; a small skinning knife, only slightly bigger than the LST. The general purpose knife gets the dirty work and the skinning knife is only used to remove hide and cut up meat. I carry a Wyoming saw.<P>I would not carry an extra set of boots either, though I often carry a set of cloth, stocking foot waders when stream crossings are expected.<P>Something you might want to add to your medical supplies would be an inflatable splint. They weigh next to nothing and I have actually needed one on 2 different trips, one of which would have been extremely tough without it.<BR>art

How much ammunition is really necessary. Just lookin for opinions.pak

OK, guys, here's my list. After reviewing your list, Rick, I'm up a bit from my original. <P>I'm close to water everywhere in this area I hunt, so I'm not hauling any. <P>Art: Where do you find Tundra Fleece? That looks like it has the potential to knock out some weight.<P>On the issue of ammo, I'm carrying seven rounds. If I can't knock down my deer over a weekend with seven rounds, assuming I do my part, then I deserve to be skunked.<P>Let this greenhorn know if I'm missing anything. Thanks, guys.<P>I've used published weights where they were available; where they weren't, I used equivalents:<P>Pack & Sleep System Wt. Oz.<BR>Dana Des. Shortbed Pack 115<BR>Thermarest Ultralight 3/4 Mattress 16<BR>Sierra Designs Wild Bill 2.0 Bag 48<BR>Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight 3 Tent 46<BR>(Other person is carrying tent body) <BR>Subtotal Pack & Sleep System 225<P>Clothing - Worn <BR>Cabela's Worsterlon Outdoor Shirt 10<BR>Duofold Hydroduct Short Sl. Shirt 5.5<BR>Duofold Hydrid Cool-Max Boxers 2<BR>Rail Riders Weather Pants 10<BR>Smartwool Hiker Socks 3<BR>Wigwam Thermastat Liner Socks 2<BR>Cabela's Outfitter Boots <BR>200 gr. Thinsulate 63<BR>Baseball cap 5<BR>Fleece Orange Vest 10<BR>Subtotal Worn 110.5 (6 lbs,14oz.)<P>Clothing - Carried: <BR>Smartwool Hiker Socks 3<BR>Wigwam Thermastat Liner Socks 2<BR>CampTech High Peaks Parka 21<BR>Marmot Precip Pants 7<BR>Sportif Microfleece 100 Zip T 9<BR>Polartec Powerstretch Tights 8<BR>Terramar Qwick-Dri Lightweight Bottoms 6<BR>Terramar Qwick-Dri Lightweight Tops 6<BR>Manzella Polypro Fleece Gloves 2<BR>Manzella Waterproof Shell Gloves 5<BR>Fleece headband 2<BR>All-Terrain Fleece Vest 10.5 <BR>Subtotal Clothing Carried 81.5 <BR>Additional Gear - Carried <BR>Food for 3.5 days @ 1.5 lbs/day 100<BR>Esbit Pocket Stove w/extra tabs 5<BR>PUR Hiker Microfilter 11<BR>Nalgene water bottle 2<BR>"Ten Essentials" Kit 11(incl. 1st aid kit/space blanket) <BR>Cookset with cup/Lexan Spoon 13<BR>CMG Bonfire Tent Light 4.5<BR>Toothpaste/Toothbrush 2<BR>Travelers mirror 0.5<BR>Packtowl (Small) 1.5<BR>Parachute cord/light rope 4<BR>Rifle/scope 117<BR>Binoculars 19<BR>Ammunition 12<BR>Thermarest Lite 20 Chair 10<BR>Small bottle liquid soap 2<BR>Waterproof matches 2<BR>Knife w/diamond hone 13<BR>Subtotal, Additional Gear Carried 329.5<BR>Total, Gear Carried 636 (38lbs,13 oz.)<P>This could be fun. We could end up with the most highly-tuned backpack hunting list in existence!<P>Greg

Tundra Fleece is available from Boondocks Sporting Goods in Eagle River, AK, only. They do not accept credit cards and I do not know how they would be about ordering by mail or phone, but the stuff is far superior to any other membrane fabrics. I tested mine side by side with several brands and none were close.<P>They also have it available in solid colors, or camo.<P>While expensive it actually is cheaper than browning and other big brand stuff, item for item.<BR> <BR>John Calhoun has accused me of looking like a cross between the Jolly Green Giant and Kermit, but he has always had questionable taste [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img] <BR>art<P>PAK<BR>I carry too much ammo, but have no qualms shooting ptarmigan heads when available.

Art:<P>Thnaks for the head's up on the Tundra fleece. I was going to post a modified list with a reduced payload, and immediately experienced backpacker's angst at what to keep and what to delete.<P>Forget it. Can I rent a horse??? [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img]<P>Rick

Rick<BR>With that much weight it is either rent a horse or ride a hearse! <P>Hate to see what that would look like with a big mt. goat on top.<BR>art

Art:<P>I hate it when you make sense!<P>I'm going to play with the list some, see what I can come up with. I pretty much have to start from scratch. For example, neither pack I listed makes sense on a 4-day pack in. Maybe a Kifaru or a Dwight Schuh instead. If water is available readily, the 20 oz. Safewater is plenty. No purifier or 100 oz Platy needed. The Trekk lite is a nice convenience in camp when a horse is carrying it in and out. On a pack in, it and the LP canister stay home. A two-man Clip Flashlight tent or a one-man Kelty Clark can replace the three-man Alpha. Rations can be cut in half, and the Tundra fleece can make a big difference! I suppose I could make do with a dozen shells instead of 20, and I can make them 150 grainers instead of 180's. A closed-cell foam pad is lighter than the Therma-rest, and would probably do for 3-4 nights (weeping on that one). One pair of good boots should be plenty if no horseflesh is available. Louis L'Amour is out, but the ankle brace definitely stays. I guess I can even switch the 7x42's for some lighter 10x40's.<P>OK, that's enough for one session. Now I must self-administer Prozac or Scotch. [img]images/icons/laugh.gif" border="0[/img]<P>Rick

Rick, trade your 180 grainers for 150 grainers?!<P>Quick, breathe into a paper bag. Put your head between your knees. You're suffering from Backpacker Psychosis.<P>At this rate you'll be working up slower loads to save a few grains of powder weight.<P>Take a good leak before you start out, keep the 180 grainers if you like them, and you'll come out ok. Hey, water weighs 8.3 POUNDS per gallon!<P>Kidding aside, I've found this thread profitable. Good hunting, Talus

I'm doing some serious tweaking on my list ("Tweaking" - it's a technical term) and I'll be back soon with it much lighter. <P>In the meantime - Art: I found a web site for a manufacturer called Red Ledge that makes a membrane-lined fleece called Tundra Fleece. Is this the same beast? They call their membrane "T4" if I recall correctly. The web site wasn't functional when I visited, and I couldn't get past the first level, so I couldn't see the product. <P>I've found this string valuable as well. Thanks. <BR>Greg

Have any of you guys tried the Patagonia line of fleece ? I know, they are opposed to some hunting, etc. But their stuff is half the weight, and passes moisture better than anything I've tried. E

Greg<BR>I do not know if that is the same Tundra fleece or not, I suspect not? The membrane is not gore-tex, but I honestly do not remember what Don told me they use.<P>They have the 3 layers of fabric laminated and have a different contractor make the garments.<P>Do not have a phone book at hand to give you the number, but if you cannot get it from information I will post it later. Don Hanks will give you the info. <P>E<BR>I have been given and used a number of pieces of Patagonia fleece of several different generations and it is very nice inside stuff, but have not tried rain gear from them. I have a vest from them that I have used for over 20 years and it is still 100% functional.<BR>art

Rick, I'm probably going to be doing like you, and re-figgure my figguring. I was going, and still want to keep down to 40 pounds, but that wasn't including my rifle. At any rate I should have everything by the end of the week, and able to start weighing in soon.<P>Phil

As I was saying last night, looks like I got allot of re-figguring to do. Thought I was going to be doing pretty good but doesn't look like it.<P>Hunting Gear Checklist<P><BR> <BR>Item Weight-lbs./oz. Option <P>Backpack<BR>&#61623; Cabela's Deluxe Alaskan 3, with rifle hanger, 4,670 cu. in. 10/0.0 <P>Tent<BR>&#61623; Mountain Hardware, 3.1 Arch, full with Fly 13/0.0<BR>(minimum, without Fly and Vestibule) 10/14.0<BR>&#61623; Mountain Hardware, Ground Cloth/Footprint 1/0.9<P>Sleeping Bag, and Gear<BR>&#61623; Integral Designs, Emperor , 0 degree 4/10.3<BR>&#61623; Integral Designs, Single Layer Primaloft Liner or Lite Bag and/or 1/6.2<BR>&#61623; Therm-A-Rest, Camplite (full) 2/12.5<P>Clothes (not wearing)<BR>&#61623; North Face/Mountain Light Jacket 1/11.5<BR>&#61623; North Face/Fleece Jacket Liner 1/11.0<BR>&#61623; North Face/Mountain Light Gore-Tex Pants 1/7.0<BR>&#61623; 1pr. Leather Palmed, Fleece Lined Gloves 0/6.9<BR>&#61623; 3pr. Ultimax 17" Sock Liners 0/6.9<BR>&#61623; 3pr. Ultimax Heavy Weight Boot Socks 0/14.4<BR>&#61623; 1pr. Cabela's Gore-Tex Stretch Thinsulate Socks 0/6.0<BR>&#61623; 2pr. Polyester Fleece long johns (tops & bottoms) 2/11.4<BR>&#61623; 3-Tee Shirts 1/6.6<BR>&#61623; 3-Boxers 0/8.3<BR>&#61623; Silk Balaclava 0/1.0<BR> <BR>First Aid<BR>&#61623; REI-Backpacker, Modified 2/6.6<P>Water Treatment<BR>&#61623; MSR Mini-Works Water Filter 1/3.1<BR>&#61623; MSR Dromedary Bag, 4 liter 0/4.1<BR>&#61623; 1-Potable Aqua, 2 Bottle-2 Step Treatment 0/2.2<BR>&#61623; Water, 3 liter's 6/10.4<BR> <BR>Food, and Spices<BR>&#61623; 2-Multi Shakers, 10 Spices 0/10.2<BR>&#61623; ???????? UNK<P>Stove<BR>&#61623; MSR-Dragon Fly 1/1.8<BR>&#61623; Stove Stand 0/4<BR>&#61623; Fuel Bottle/MSR 33oz, 30oz. Actual Capacity 0/7.5<BR>&#61623; Fuel MSR White Gas 30oz. 1/8.4<BR>&#61623; Maintenance/Spare Parts Kit 0/1.6<P>Cookware<BR>&#61623; Wire Cook Grid/Open Country, 12 1/2"x 6 1/2" 0/12.7<BR>&#61623; 3pc. Cook Set, Titanium, with Utensils 1/11.1<BR>&#61623; 2-Lexan 6 1/2" Bowl's 0/4.6<BR>&#61623; 2-4pc. Flatware Sets, Polycarbonite 0/3.3<BR> <BR>Misc.<BR>&#61623; Camp Stool/Chair-3 Leg 1/4.0<BR>&#61623; Candle Lantern, UCO single 0/8.1<BR>&#61623; Spare Candles (3) 0/5.4<P>Unless my figgures are wrong, this comes out to a total of 63 pounds.<P>Phil

GreyGhost,<P>Your tent weighs 13 pounds? That seems like twice the normal weight for a backpacking tent. If it's going to be shared by a couple hunters, remember to split it (and the weight) between you two.<P>What about...<P>game bags<BR>novel (this is mandatory to me)<BR>knives<BR>hunting regs<P>Take one pot with lid, you can use the lid for a plate. I bought a Thermo-Rest chair kit, which converts my pad (3/4 length) to a chair. The cover stay's on the pad, and there's four fiberglass poles which you add when you want to sit. I'd suggest getting a smaller fuel bottle too.<P>Double check that tent weight. [img]images/icons/smile.gif" border="0[/img]

What about camera gear, unless I missed it.pak

Brian, tent weight's correct, though it can be gotten down to just under 11 pounds by leaving out certain items. As you all know, I'm making my plans for Tom's Slam in Colorado this October. If I can partner up with someone, and split the tent weight up, all the better. Also if I can get the ATV into a secluded area Legally, I can leave most of the stuff on it. Some of the stuff I've ordered from Cabela's isn't in yet, such as the game bags. But I should have everything by Tuesday, and better able to get an idea what everything's going to weigh.<BR>Allot of the stuff, such as GPS, binos, maps, and compass I'm going to figgure seperate, as it will be carried on a waist belt. Who knows depending on where Tom puts his base camp, might just go out on day jaunts. I'm going up early, so hopefully altitude won't be a problem.<P>Phil

Pak, I have a 12 year old Minolta underwater camera that takes great pictures. Weighs 1 pound 2 ounces with battery, and film. Last year for Alaska, I bought a new SLR with telephoto lenses, filters, the whole works, even black and white film which I love, then never used it. Still sits in the bag. But I might just take a camcorder for use in camp. Would like nothing better than to catch Tom, and Tex doing an Irish Jig around the campfire (grin) maybe we could even get NO to play the pipes. And who's bringing the fiddle. Maybe that'll be Joe, Me I'm tone death, and can't carry a tune. But I can take pictures. <P>Phil