Ideal Pack Weight

[Nuts]

What's your ideal pack weight going in on a pack trip ? If you want to go further break it down. I will at some point. I have some options as far as what I choose to put in that I own. 1 member of our party is at 26lbs with no food. Another is at 46lbs with no food. The 46lb guy is working to lower. I go back and forth between spotting scope with 8x binoculars or 12x binoculars and no scope. A couple other choices to be made. Being prepared for 2 weeks in the field if need be.

 

[Happybuck]

What kind of hunt and what time of year? I’m 27-45lbs for sep. Archery and 65+lbs for Nov Elk.

 

[cgasner1]

46 with no food? I bet that gear list has chapters

 

[Nuts]

46 with no food? I bet that gear list has chapters

100% it does. I have pack hunted with him before. Not a big guy. Watched him turn into a turtle when a pack pulled him over backwards. Helped him up and off he went. If your gonna be dumb you better be strong. In this case he knows he needs to drop weight.

 

[Nuts]

What kind of hunt and what time of year? I’m 27-45lbs for sep. Archery and 65+lbs for Nov Elk.

Caribou and moose. Start out early September. Our weight does include pack rafts. They are 5-6 lbs. We would not be packing out a moose. We would use the small pack rafts to float a smaller tributary to a river where a local would meet us in his jet raft to take us out.

 

[ccc23454]

My most influencing factor of pack weight is water and its avaliablity at my camp spot. Once i started paying attention to items I actually use and how many times during a hunt its amazing how many things I trimmed from my pack.

 

[Straight Arrow]

Once i started paying attention to items I actually use and how many times during a hunt its amazing how many things I trimmed from my pack.

I have considered that, as most of those items hopefully will never be used as they are for first aid, warming & drying out, or for hypothermia treatment. They add weight ... but if ever needed, they are gold. (full disclosure: I have used some on occasion.)

 

[brymoore]

I won’t say that I always meet this goal, but I like 50 pounds or less, not counting the rifle. I’ve tried for years to cut weight as much as I can and it’s rising some for comfort.

A days food weighs two pounds. 2 pound sleeping bag. I’ll leave the tent occasionally if the weather is good enough for no rain. My favorite tent is a heavy Hilleberg tent but I own lighter tents. I’ll only carry a Nalgene of water if I have the ability to replenish the water during the day. I drink a bunch of water first thing in the morning to hydrate. Optics are binos, 15x and spotter. 90% of the time the 15s and spotter are split with someone. If I’m by myself, I’ll only take one of the two.

 

[cgasner1]

I’ve always found it kinda funny how little the difference a pack is for one night compared to 5 for the most part it’s just adding food. Putting a 5-6 pound raft in adds a lot do you guys divy up gear or all pack your own rafts?

 

[Rack Daniels]

I believe last year on my 5 day bowhunt, my pack was around 45 lb WITH food. I even brought a backpacking chair.
I hate diddling with a water bladder anymore so I just stick to a Nalgene.
Jealous bout the moose/bou hunt. Good luck guys.

 

[Nuts]

I’ve always found it kinda funny how little the difference a pack is for one night compared to 5 for the most part it’s just adding food. Putting a 5-6 pound raft in adds a lot do you guys divy up gear or all pack your own rafts?

We all have our own rafts. We divy some stuff up. First aid kits, shade tarp, boot dryer get split up. I prefer lighter over comfort. No sleeping pad for me. I can lay on a rock and sleep. Minimal clothes. Minimal food. I count on catching fish , shoot ptarmigin, or ducks for a meal a day. If i cant get them I go hungry. Sucks to suck. I will have powdered meals as back up with a meal bars amd dehydrated for others. Adding blueberries to about everything. Plus eating them as a snack. We have done canned food caches in the past but dont any longer.

 

[cgasner1]

We all have our own rafts. We divy some stuff up. First aid kits, shade tarp, boot dryer get split up. I prefer lighter over comfort. No sleeping pad for me. I can lay on a rock and sleep. Minimal clothes. Minimal food. I count on catching fish , shoot ptarmigin, or ducks for a meal a day. If i cant get them I go hungry. Sucks to suck. I will have powdered meals as back up with a meal bars amd dehydrated for others. Adding blueberries to about everything. Plus eating them as a snack. We have done canned food caches in the past but dont any longer.

That’s wild everyone packing their own raft but you probably about need to given the size of a moose

 

[Nuts]

Small rafts.