How heavy are your packs and for how many days do you go out?

[Beardeddeer91]

I'm right around 45 lbs with all my gear and food/water for a week, which is lighter than most. I cut anything that isn't necessary (if you carry 3 times and don't use it, get rid of it), and buy gear that has great performance for the weight. Food is the heaviest overall thing in your pack and most people carry way to much IMO. I won't even consider a food item unless it gives me 100 cal per oz (except protein) with most coming in much greater. I consume about 3000 cal a day in the backcountry and that food will weigh 1.5-1.6 pounds per day. There are some great resources online with pack list that are very light if you want to get an idea of that. Steve Speck has his pack list on Exo Mountain Gear and Pure elevations sites and it's a example of a light pack with little to no redundancies.

 

[Lukedc]

Trekking poles are a must. 4 wheel drive. Would you go in the mountains without it?

That was the wordage that hit home. I get your point, my poles should be almost here by now.

 

[Lukedc]

I'm right around 45 lbs with all my gear and food/water for a week, which is lighter than most. I cut anything that isn't necessary (if you carry 3 times and don't use it, get rid of it), and buy gear that has great performance for the weight. Food is the heaviest overall thing in your pack and most people carry way to much IMO. I won't even consider a food item unless it gives me 100 cal per oz (except protein) with most coming in much greater. I consume about 3000 cal a day in the backcountry and that food will weigh 1.5-1.6 pounds per day. There are some great resources online with pack list that are very light if you want to get an idea of that. Steve Speck has his pack list on Exo Mountain Gear and Pure elevations sites and it's a example of a light pack with little to no redundancies.

Hey thats a good resource, thanks for sharing. Im looking at it now.

 

[Danehunter]

I'd say for a 7 day trip that 30-32 lbs. (with 2 liters of water) should be your top weight.
That means:
1. light solo tent or very light 2 person tent (2 to 2.5 lbs.)
2. light 3 season sleeping bag, preferably down
3. light but comfortable pack - this requires testing with a full load before purchase ("Many are called but few are chosen.")
4. a stove that is light and very fuel efficient ex. Jetboil Flash stoves, Trail Designs Caldera Cone ESBIT and wood stoves, some white gas stoves (MSR Whisperlite Universal) for sub freezing conditions
5. freeze-dried and dehydrated food - no retort pouch or "MRE" type food
6. light but warm insulating clothing - DWR treated down (Dri-down, Down Tech) or best synthetics like Climashield (Fleece is nice but much too heavy for the warmth-to-weight ratio and it's bulky to carry in pack.)

Of course you have to add to all this a 9 lb. scoped rifle and ammo and a field dressing kit. Now you're looking at 40 lbs. and praying you're in good enough physical shape.

Get a few good books on lightweight backpacking and sift through them to see what you already have and what you absolutely need.
For example:
>National Geo's "The Ultimate Hiker's Guide" by Andrew Skurka, a renowned long distance backpacker
>"Lighten Up!" by Don Ladigin, a pioneer of UL backpacking

Remember, a $350. tent becomes very reasonably priced when compared to 7 nights in a motel. Same with a good down bag from, say, LL Bean or REI.

Eric B.

 

[clownbuster]

Your weight sounds right. The vids from Exo Mtn are a great start.
You have to be the total package to hunt in the backcountry. Invest in yourself and your gear. #1! Get in and stay in great shape. Won't matter how light your pack will be when 50 lbs feels like 150 to you in any steep country. #2 Pack only the absolute necessities and forget the rest. And #3 if possible, then invest in the best top quality ultra-lightweight gear you can afford.
It's comical to me and my crew how many guys we see are lopsided on one of these areas. They will have a full spectrum of the latest Sitka gear, 1000 yard Proof factory rifle and bellies that literally hang over their belts and can't climb from here to there. Or in decent shape but can't get far with their heavy, limited gear and open sight 30-30 Marlin dad left them because they're frivolous with their money. Backcountry hunting is best enjoyed far away from others, so do whatever it takes to get yourself to that point.

 

[ofbandg]

Lots of good advice here. The only thing I do a bit differently is leave the tent in favour of a large tent fly which I make into a lean-to, and my "stove" is a folding wind deflector with a lightweight grill over it. (I'm an old timer.) I can get away with this because I always camp in the thickest timber I can find. If I have to camp above timberline a tent and proper stove is a must. Internal "A" frame packs are the best in steep going but external frames are good in open rolling hills. Don't go lightweight on your boots and use heavy high quality socks with a pair of ultralight liners, (take an extra pair of liners). Leave your Bowie knife at home and take a one with replacement blades so you won't need a sharpener. Plan for success. Get some lessons on how to properly bone out and cape an animal. Lots of weight can be saved by bringing out only what is absolutely necessary. If there are two of you think about bringing a lightweight folding saw. Finally, it may seem superfluous but an ounce of super strong vodka mixed into your hot drink at the end of the day is a nice muscle relaxant.

 

[kdguns]

Man, I pack a gallon of water per day which is about half of my pack weight. I need to stay off the mountains and hunt where there's water. We used to have snow in the SW. I leave most of the water I pack in my camp, but it's a long haul in with 3 or 4 days' supply. I've packed in water and stashed it before a hunt which is a big help as well as a life saver on an ibex hunt.

 

[clownbuster]

My six-day backcountry pack list -

Inside the pack:
Exo Mtn Gear K2 3500 pack
EE Enigma 10° quilt - Regular/Wide
ThermaRest Neo Air Xlite pad
BA Fly Creek HV2 Platinum w/Tyvek footprint
Vortex Razor 20-60x85mm spotter
Slik 634 CF tripod
Benro S4 fluid head
ThermaRest Z Seat
Samsung Note 4 with Phone Skope, OnX hunt and Strelok Pro apps etc
Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD power bank
Vortex 10x50 Razor binos
Fenix HL60R Headlamp - rechargeable
Darn Tough merino socks - 1 pair
Merino undies - 1 pair
Merino 1/4 zip hoodie
Merino longs
Sitka Kelvin Lite Hoody
Sitka Couburst jacket
Jetboil MicroMo
Jetboil Fork
Hydrapak
Sawyer Squeeze filter with Evernew dirty bag.
Ovis Game bags - 2 XL's, 1 regular (regular doubles as pillow with Kelvin jacket stuffed in it)
6 Mtn House
6 2000 calorie meal packs (about 1.3lbs / pack)
Vaseline slobbered cotton balls in film canister
Fire steel stick
Deet spray (early season)
Black Diamond carbon fiber poles
First Aid kit, windproof lighter, tenacious tape, pad/tent puncture repair, paracord, compass, laminated map, Tylenol, toilet paper toothbrush, 16oz. wide-mouth Nalgene bottle, pre-workout powder and recovery powder.

Kill kit:
Havalon + extra blades
Leatherman Skeletool
Latex gloves
Outdoor Edge saw
Two thin black garbage bags

Wearing:
Sitka Timberline pants (late rifle) or Ascent pants (early bow)
Sitka Core shirt
Sitka Jetstream jacket
Beanie
Garmin Fenix 5 rechargeable watch (doubles as my GPS)
Darn Tough socks
Hanwag Tatra Top GTX Boots w/Superfeet Guide insoles

Weapon/rangefinder:
Either a Hoyt Carbon Defiance Bow w/Leupold RX1000 RF, or titanium/carbon 7mm-300WSM (8.5lbs) or titanium/carbon 6.5 SAUM (8.3lbs) and Gunwerks BR2.

Pretty basic, no luxuries. I haven't weighed it but my guess is around 24-25lbs before water fill up and weapon?? At 46 years old I'm staying in great shape, but I feel it after a week in and sleeping on the ground...

 

[johnlittletree]

On a practical not horse back and quads are popular for a reason. I prefer a horse. I rent them when I can. I do not own a horse but every Summer I worked on an Uncles Ranch and really horse back riding was a must to get around. So I highly recommend it when you will be out away from home for days at a time hunting if you can swing it! If not quads can be useful noisy but if deployed well can be a real game changer.

 

[johnlittletree]

Oh and if I had to pack it all in and out with me everyday I would not exceed 30% of my body weight in gear and be very selective. In this way you will have plenty of capacity left for the meat especially with multiple guys in the party to help pack it out.You do not want to make a habit of packing heavy unless you do not have to carry it!

 

[Barrelnut]

If not quads can be useful noisy but if deployed well can be a real game changer.

Know exactly what you mean! I've come up on quys with my quad 3 or 4 miles back on the trail and have blown right past them. Once had my elk and on my way back out before they ever got to the hunting area. Crazy.

 

[Danehunter]

johnLT,
You may pack out a front quarter of a deer with your backpacking gear if you are in excellent shape. Otherwise you'll be doing at least two and possibly 4 trips to your vehicle if you are the only person packing out your meat (hopefully fully boned).

Eric B.

 

[Wyodog]

My pack for 5 days comes in at about 45 lbs if I take mostly freeze dried food. I could do a little better because I always seem to have an extra butane bottle. Their are times when I minimized the freeze dried food though. I don't like to drop 2000 feet to get water supply and freeze dried food requires a lot of water. I will usually pack some water up the hill before opening day but i can't seem to carry 5 days worth of water with all my gear if I have to rehydrate all my food. In that situation my pack starts out hevier but is lighter on vertical climb to elevation because i have to fill water containers be for I leave the creek. The extra gallons of water is brutal. I can also make it 1 small butane bottle when i have food that doesnt require boiling water.that system seams to work for me. If there is a spring on the mountain I'll take more freeze dried food.

 

[philsummers21]

I'm about 35# without rifle for 5 days