Ideal total weight ?

Shawn Hultquist · Mar 29, 2015

Fairly new to backpack hunting. When I started I just bought middle to bottom end gear. So now as I slowly learn and upgrade I ponder what's and ideal total weight for your total outfit. Say 5-7 day bow hunt

Thanks Shawn

Tanner · Mar 29, 2015

35ish lbs would be about what I expect to take for 5-7 days.

Tanner

dotman · Mar 29, 2015

You really have to clarify on what you want as not all consider the same thing in their total weight. Other then my naked body I shoot for under 70lbs for everything from the clothes I wear, weapon I carry and everything in my pack. etc.

For me total weight includes everything not just items in a pack.

Shawn Hultquist · Mar 29, 2015

Total weight. Meaning the pack itself and all your gear clothes food .... Whatever you leave the trail head with. What's that weight ?

luke moffat · Mar 29, 2015

Tanner said:
35ish lbs would be about what I expect to take for 5-7 days.

Tanner

Haha I wish I could swing that!!! Lucky!

Poser · Mar 29, 2015

I try to keep the pack weight under 40 lbs (including water) with a total loadout (weapon, boots, clothes etc) under 50 lbs.

Tanner · Mar 29, 2015

luke moffat said:
Haha I wish I could swing that!!! Lucky!

Obviously the locale being hunted will cause some fluctuations in that, because I know I couldn't get away with it in Alaska! For a bowhunt in Colorado though, it's a different story. Lighter tent, less food, less stuff in the pack in general.

And I'm not carrying any pack rafts

Tanner

Shawn Hultquist · Mar 29, 2015

Thanks for the input fellas

Ironman8 · Mar 29, 2015

My "skin out" weight (includes everything) last year in Idaho for a 9 day late rifle hunt was right at 58#. I'm sure I could have been lighter, but I did my best to only bring only what was necessary.

However, you'll have to decide what gear is right for you, how much you can afford ($) to go lighter and what comfort level you need back there. What works for one guy may not work for the next.

luke moffat · Mar 29, 2015

Tanner said:
Obviously the locale being hunted will cause some fluctuations in that, because I know I couldn't get away with it in Alaska! For a bowhunt in Colorado though, it's a different story. Lighter tent, less food, less stuff in the pack in general.

And I'm not carrying any pack rafts

Tanner

Not so much that.

Food for 7 days is 10 pounds
Pack is 7 pounds
Spotter/Tripod-6.5 pounds
Binos/Camera/Rangefinder-4 pounds
Rifle/Ammo-6 pounds
3 Liters of water-6.6 pounds

Thats over 40 pounds right there and I have even put my sleeping pad, puffy clothes, rain gear, shelter, sleeping bag, game bags, extra set of socks.

Summer backpacking when I am leaving stuff like all the optics and rifle at home then sure easily get sub 35 pounds and use a lighter pack. But its all the hunting crap that adds up.

dotman · Mar 29, 2015

luke moffat said:
Not so much that.

Food for 7 days is 10 pounds
Pack is 7 pounds
Spotter/Tripod-6.5 pounds
Binos/Camera/Rangefinder-4 pounds
Rifle/Ammo-6 pounds
3 Liters of water-6.6 pounds

Thats over 40 pounds right there and I have even put my sleeping pad, puffy clothes, rain gear, shelter, sleeping bag, game bags, extra set of socks.

Summer backpacking when I am leaving stuff like all the optics and rifle at home then sure easily get sub 35 pounds and use a lighter pack. But its all the hunting crap that adds up.

i think people overlook the true weight of what they take, I head straight in with 4l of water.

Tanner · Mar 29, 2015

luke moffat said:
Not so much that.

Food for 7 days is 10 pounds
Pack is 7 pounds
Spotter/Tripod-6.5 pounds
Binos/Camera/Rangefinder-4 pounds
Rifle/Ammo-6 pounds
3 Liters of water-6.6 pounds

Thats over 40 pounds right there and I have even put my sleeping pad, puffy clothes, rain gear, shelter, sleeping bag, game bags, extra set of socks.

Summer backpacking when I am leaving stuff like all the optics and rifle at home then sure easily get sub 35 pounds and use a lighter pack. But its all the hunting crap that adds up.

At home (CO), I use a way lighter shelter, a lighter pack, less food, no rain pants, only one sleeping pad, and I carry my rifle in my hands more often than not so I don't count that as part of it, but I probably ought to. Seems like everything I used in AK last summer was a lot heavier, but that will change this year. At home I just seem to take a lot less 'stuff' and I'm always surprised at my pack weights being so low.

Tanner

Tanner

luke moffat · Mar 29, 2015

Tanner said:
I can get away hunting for 5 days in Colorado with a 35-40lb pack... Not much more to it than that, for me.

Tanner

Care to post your list man? Maybe I can learn where I can cut a couple pounds....or 7-10

dotman · Mar 29, 2015

Tanner said:
I can get away hunting for 5 days in Colorado with a 35-40lb pack... Not much more to it than that, for me.

Tanner

That's just your pack weight, so doesn't include weapon, boots, clothes, trekking poles, binos and harness, hat, clothes, side arm or spray etc?

Tanner · Mar 29, 2015

luke moffat said:
Care to post your list man? Maybe I can learn where I can cut a couple pounds....or 5-7

I edited my post to try to explain my discrepancies a bit. I think probably the biggest thing is I don't count my rifle weight like you did, as I carry it in hand more often than not!

Tanner

luke moffat · Mar 29, 2015

Well crap I guess I just need to carry more stuff in my hands to lower my "pack weight"

Gotcha well that certainly helps no doubt.

Tanner · Mar 29, 2015

I should have listed that to begin with to avoid confusion, and should probably count it as pack weight because I alway end up strapping it to the pack after killing. I didn't count binos either as I wear them on a harness. Guess my mentality was, if it's not in my back-pack then it's not part of the pack weight. I don't even want to talk about how much my binocs weigh

Tanner

luke moffat · Mar 29, 2015

HAHA I hear ya....my binos and rangefinder aren't in my pack either. You likely don't start with 3 liters of water either I imagine. I would bet the total amount of weight of "stuff" we bring on a backpack hunt are more simialr than we originally thought. Just a matter of what you choose to count as "pack weight".

I didn't even list my shelter weight or rain pants weight. That 40 pounds was just the stuff I listed in my first post.

Even with the rifle out of it I am still at 34ish pounds before adding all that other stuff. If I go down to just 5 days I'd be down to roughly 30 pounds, then still gotta add a shelter, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, first aid kit, sat phone, trekking poles, game bags, rain gear, puffy clothes, base layers, and isobutane fuel/stove/pot and such.

Tanner · Mar 29, 2015

I need to mess with some different shelters for taking to AK; those Hillebergs are badass but good lord they are heavy! The Jannu is like 3x heavier than the Big Agnes I use here in Colorado. I see you guys have been having some good luck with the Go-Lite stuff, right? I thought I recalled seeing a photo you posted with a Seek Outside tipi too but could be wrong.

Just ordered a Highcamp 7k with a Longhunter Lid so we'll see what the pack weight is when that gets here, and then I'll see if I can do a little better breakdown of everything I take and not just what goes into the pack... it'll be near 50#, I imagine.

Tanner

luke moffat · Mar 29, 2015

I hear ya. Yeah I only pack the Hille if I truly need it (like fly outs on Kodiak and such) as they are not light at all. Been using the 2.5 pound SL-5 since 2010 so its not like my shelter is crazy heavy

Otherwise I am saving the weight with a floorless. I am likely right at 50 pounds as well. Not much would change really I don't think if hunting CO vs. AK except maybe leaving the rain pants at home....though that seems foreign to me to not have to worry about rain

Ideal total weight ?

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