I'm going through my backpack kit in prep for an upcoming Oct elk hunt. I'm curious what you all carry as the bare minimum for 2-3 day hunt. I tend to 2-3 day hunts - go in find elk, kill one, get out or dont find elk and move onto spot #2.

I have what I consider the essentials - fire + starter material, emergency blanket (not the cheap tinfoil type), water purification tabs, wound dressing, 1 day food, extra compass, extra batteries. I also pack a a bunch of other items I'm starting to reconsider: small leatherman, various meds, whistle, etc. I've been carrying all this stuff for my hunting and backpacking trips for the past 5-6 years but thinking I could trim it down a bit.

What do you guys consider the bare minimum?

Hot topic <G>

fire + starter material, emergency blanket (not the cheap tinfoil type), water purification tabs, wound dressing, 1 day food, extra compass, extra batteries.

This plus satphone or a SPOT, me thinks.

Extra gloves.



Fine sewing needle with dental floss.

Razor blade.

Small tweezers.

Bandaids and gauze.

4 antihistamine tablets.

4 Ibuprofen tablets.

4 antiseptic wipes.

Small magnesium firestarter.

Butane lighter.

Small vial of dryer lint/pine dust/gulf wax.

Toilet paper.

Minimum? Well maybe a PLB and an extra boot lace.

I don't consider fire/shelter emergency items. That's just normal stuff you take in the outdoors.

Food is always comforting, but you can go a long time without it.

even when I'm day hunting, I carry enough stuff to get me through a night

appropriate clothing worn PLUS insulating layer, wind/rain gear, fleece mitts/balaclava

I carry a light (12 oz) Apex quilt that has a hole for my head so it can be worn like a poncho if needed- this doubles as emergency quilt and for glassing in cold weather; ditto on a 40" ccf pad- emergency pad, but also use it to sit on glassing/eating lunch/etc

a rather beefy fire kit, ditto on first aid

water/filter

an extra ~ 1500 calories on top of what I'd normally eat

map/compass/gps on phone

headlamp/spare batteries

mini inReach sat device

kill kit

the above weighs maybe 10 lbs (including 2 lbs of water)

if you ever get caught out for an unexpected night; you'll tend to pack much differently than if you haven't

Bill:

You have memorized the "Ten Essentials", haven't you?

1. Small First Aid Kit
2. Rain Gear
3. Extra Clothes (warm lightweight coat, hat, gloves & sunglasses)
4. Fire Starter Kit (more than just matches)
5. Waterproof Tarp
6. Map & Compass
7. Pocket Knife or Multi-tool
8. Flashlight
9. Metal Pot (small lightweight) for melting snow
10. Food & Water (snacks & water in an unbreakable container)

KC

11. Be able to scream like a little girl, so we can find you.

Yep have all that. I have a smaller zip bag with meds - advil, tylenol, immodium, bendryl, and a couple hydrocodone. I carry 2 knives, 2 headlamps, 10-12 batteries, etc. I'm trying to pare down to a bare minimum. My pack seems to always weigh 50+ lbs with rifle attached.

I have 3 areas on the list this year, 2 are fairly easy 3-4 mile fairly flat pack in but 1 may be a real PITA. Extra weight won't be welcome - so trying to pair down some of the nice-to-have's to bare necessities.

Sometimes it is helpful to review and make a list of the stuff you brought but didn't use. To me, 3 extra AAA batteries are the limit. Since going to a good 18650 headlamp, I don't bring spare batteries. I used that headlamp for 3 weeks at moose camp, and it finally gave out on the last day. My GPS will go 3 years on a set of batteries the way I use it. I put new ones in it every August, because I'm a high roller. On a 2-3 day trip, I'd ditch the camera (sounds like you have) and the GPS and just use my phone. Leatherman is a great tool. For the truck/basecamp.

There is emergency stuff (basic first aid, fire making, tarp), and there is "what if" stuff. Try to go through everything and ditch the "what if". Then pick the one thing from that pile that you're willing to carry and leave the rest at the truck.

This from a guy that has brought 3 different tents (not including tarps) on a single sheep hunt.

How about a Spot, so they can helicopter your ass out of there? I ain't spending a week playing Bear Grylls.

Minimum...a brain full of good sense and experience

This and a PLB that is on your person and won’t get swept away, lost in a huge fall, inaccessible in your pack which you cannot reach, etc.

Put fresh batteries in both headlamps before the trip. If both headlamps fail in a 3 day trip extra batteries probably won’t solve the problem anyway. Also I made the switch to lithium’s. Last way longer and weighs less also.
Is the extra headlamp just a backup? Do you use it in camp for most of your light? I switched to a luci light for camp/tent. They work awesome.
I also always take a small med bag and some bandages/small tube of gel superglue.

What else is in your pack? Maybe list it and there might be a few spots to shave some more weight

Thanks for helping me think through this. Loaded up my pack this PM - with rifle weighs exactly 46 lbs. I even added 2, 16oz waters in the side pockets.

As an FYI, I shed weight in the following areas:

* Cut batteries to 3 of ea - AA and AAA
* Took only bare clothes - kelvin lite hoody, 1 pr base layer, (not going to wear them in for the hike), 1 pr extra sock liners (switch these out every other day)
* Cut food to exactly 3 days - I can live without food for a day if an emergency arises.
* Switched water filters from an MSR mini works to a Sawyer bag type
* Cut back on my emergency kit and meds to just the bare essentials
* Only took 1 knife and 1 headlamp
* Taking my 6.5 Kimber 338 Fed instead of my 7 lb Kimber 280 AI (likely switch out with 280 in 1 spot due to possible distances)
* a couple other things I'm sure I forgot about over the last couple weeks been chewing on this.

I cut 5-6 lbs this year.

I was thinking about you this weekend as I started up the mountain with a 50lb pack...

5lbs is a lot to cut. Way to go man! That’s a pretty light setup. Well done.

Yeah 5 lbs is alot. This will be my first solo backpack trip so I included all the 'what if' stuff. I simply pared down the what if list to stuff I've used in the past and no more. At the end of the day, I'll be 3-7 miles from the truck. I have all the emergency bases covered so the rest is comfort. I didnt lose all my comfort pieces......

How was it

It sucked! But it was worth the weight.

Any luck?

Lots of luck was involved... both good and bad. I'll do a post in the next couple days.

Bwinters, since we both live in same place I could easily hook you up with suture kit and basic med stuff if ever needed. I believe you may still have my cell if not just PM me. Being medical has advantages. Also have some spare zip line sutures. Pretty handy. Look them up and you will see. Easiest lac repair there is.

I am surprised to see no one mention a high-decibel whistle. One can toot a whistle much longer than yell.

Most of my packs have a whistle built in to the chest strap. I fall back on the ability to scream like a little girl if necessary.