Best meat analog for pack training?

[COEngineer]

I have been hiking near my house with a weighted pack in preparation for fire season (volunteer wildland firefighter) and backpack archery elk hunting. I think the best weight to stuff my pack with is a weighted blanket (or two). I've tried dumbbells rolled up in a towel or blanket - works well, but removes that weight(s) from the rack for other workouts, water bottles and jugs (they slosh around and risk leaking), bags of sand - they leak and make a mess and are a little too dense so the weight settles too far down the pack. What have you guys tried and found to work well?

 

[JoMo]

I have a few different ones from Go Ruck that I filled with a combination of small gravel and rubber mulch to get the right weights I wanted. I found that with the combo of rock and rubber, you can get it pretty full while still leaving some flexibility / not getting too rigid. I like it as it actually feels more realistic for practicing lifting and carrying loads that don’t behave perfectly in real life while also not settling or leaking. The various sizes are nice for different workouts and for also simply loading onto the meat shelf of my pack for pack training. They are super durable too.

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

Bag of dog food

 

[El Jason]

A bag of water softener salt.

 

[brymoore]

Bag of rice

 

[jpc01101]

I was going to say bag of corn from your local farm store. But Dog Food, Water Softener salt or rice would all work well.

 

[jpc01101]

on second thought, I'd likely not put dog food in my hunting pack because it tends to smell.

 

[mplane72]

Sand bags. I have several weights. Started with 80#. Removed sand to desired weight. Resealed and wrapped with duct tape.

 

[Burn Pile]

Water softener salt. You can put duct tape over it to toughen up the bag and help it keep its shape. As long as you're not close to the border

 

[Gellar]

water softener salt. 40lb bag

 

[WildWill]

Children.

 

[TOGIE]

Children.

*your children, to be sure

 

[MNElkNut]

Wood pellets for your pellet grill. Cheap. Work perfect and only give out a woodsy smell.

 

[belshawelk]

I bought a weighted vest. Mine is 30 lbs. I have 2. I throw them in my pack. Problem is the only you cant train for is the weight shifting with terrain.

 

[Mountain Mule]

Just shoot em closer to the road and skip the training.

I like to use a large water can (7gal) and a weight if I feel I need more. I just put it on my meat shelf of my mystery ranch.

 

[Sheltowee]

on second thought, I'd likely not put dog food in my hunting pack because it tends to smell.

lol, might be tricky to explain to a game warden in a non-bear baiting state.

I like sand in a roll top dry bag like these: https://www.basspro.com/p/cabelas-boundary-waters-roll-top-dry-bag?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions&ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=BPS|Shopping|PMax|Camping|P2|NAud|Google|NMT&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23824284230&gbraid=0AAAAAD1TgtdI_mAOksuw4YoD9teE4BVex&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-MDTBhCgARIsAKAkdlTX-Qs8NBGFvd8d6-2I_ekqfez_COXB2n1zbHegKtYhDbGfMyfd2rQaAvd9EALw_wcB

 

[Hunting Wife]

Children.

But that’s live weight.

Right?

 

[SC Living Outdoors]

I take a 40lb dog food bag and fill it 1/2 way with dirt. Wrap tape around it to keep it packed tight and load it up. The dirt will harden up and become like a block that is formed to the shape of your pack. Pretty cheap and very effective.

 

[WildWill]

But that’s live weight.

Right?

As long as they stay well behaved.

 

[cgasner1]

Learn to call and shoot them inside of 100 yards of the road