Pack Training

[TKvamme183]

Are you guys running the same pack/frame for workouts/hikes as you are for hunting? I have a muskeg but am curious what everyone’s doing and if I should get a separate bag solely for rucks. Thanks


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[amp713]

I generally try to treat it like an actual hunt/hike. Packing it full of actual gear will help you dial in your system for the year. I have an apollo as well as I used to have a 5k muskeg. I switched to the apollo during summer and love that bag honestly but I dint think it is a need. I got a quarter panel thinking id use it for sand bags and I never have used the thing

 

[GLB]

I use my hunting pack. I slip a sandbag in the meat shelf and rain gear, binos, clothing for layering as needed in the main compartment.

 

[TKvamme183]

Thanks for the feed back. I generally use the sand bag and an old sleeping bag under it.


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[TKvamme183]

Amp713 what made you go away from the muskeg? This is my first year running it and it’s done what I’ve wanted it to. I read some reviews about gear still getting wet. We got rained on a few days and all my gear stayed dry


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[amp713]

Amp713 what made you go away from the muskeg? This is my first year running it and it’s done what I’ve wanted it to. I read some reviews about gear still getting wet. We got rained on a few days and all my gear stayed dry


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I went from the 5 to the 7 and it was WAY too much bag. I'm actually planning to go back to the 5k. Just running my apollo with a bane right now to get by. No big hunts planned so I dont need the 5k just yet. Hoping to find one for sale for a good deal in the off season.

 

[justinspicher]

I generally try to treat it like an actual hunt/hike. Packing it full of actual gear will help you dial in your system for the year. I have an apollo as well as I used to have a 5k muskeg. I switched to the apollo during summer and love that bag honestly but I dint think it is a need. I got a quarter panel thinking id use it for sand bags and I never have used the thing

I do this exact same thing. I don’t take sandbags on my hunts so I don’t see the point in carrying them for training.

 

[*zap*]

For training I do my hikes at the gym on a treadmill. Right now using a MR Guide Lite with a molle radio pouch attached up high, can fit 2/25# plates in that pouch nice and tightly secured and when I get up to more weight I will use the MR with a load sling and my SG's with the load sling for the plates. I use a pack frame that I will use hunting. I always have those pouches on my pack frames for keeping heavier items high and close to my back.

 

[Desk Jockey]

There are a few threads on this worth searching up.

Over the years (too many) I had the pleasure to do a lot of ruck training in .mil and still train for hunting and backpacking. I think it is worth pointing out that people define training differently and it covers a spectrum of activity. To bookend that idea, I would say you can train in a “controlled” situation - treadmill in a gym, roads, trails near you home where there is next to no chance of getting lost, etc. or you can train in the “wild” by taking long adventurous hikes, backpacking or scouting.

While I agree that “training like you fight” with your actual hunting rig is a fine option, I have evolved to a dedicated training rig like zap. I still occasionally put sandbags in my hunting or backpacking rig as I train up, especially if my training is in the wild like an actual hike into the woods, but most of my practice is done with the dedicated rig in a “controlled” situation - parks or trails near the house. For that training I use an MR crew cab with sand bags wrapped in duck tape and furniture blankets. It stays ready to go in my garage and has water , a set of boots, walking sticks and a reflective vest attached to it so I don’t have any excuses. I will move some of the sand bags to my actual pack if I wanted a weighted hike that is more “wild”. I like the sandbags because they are cheap to home brew and semi disposable if necessary. I have tried weight plates, ammo cans, bags filled with lead, tools, kettlebells, (mortar base plates, cases of MREs, 5 gallon water cans, tripods, ammo) and a whole other host of weight options and I keep coming back to sand bags for their compactness and ease of use.

$12 of play sand, a few gallon zip locks, contractor bags and a roll of duct tape. You’ll get 80# of weight for $20. I make mine in “pills” of #10 and #20 so I can mix and match.

 

[TKvamme183]

Thanks for the feed back guys!


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[mtwarden]

well if I could fill my hunting pack w/ elk meat- I guess I wouldn't need to hunt

in lieu of that I add a sand bag (I have a 30 lb, 45 lb and 60 lb bag) on the meat shelf; I could use backpacking gear, but after a couple of weeks of training I'm over my typical backpack hunt load, so sand it is

someone posted a really well thought out ruck plan (replete w/ some scientific studies cited) recently- I thought it one of the better well rounded and reasonable plans I've seen- worth searching for (was just a couple of weeks ago)

 

[TKvamme183]

I generally try to treat it like an actual hunt/hike. Packing it full of actual gear will help you dial in your system for the year. I have an apollo as well as I used to have a 5k muskeg. I switched to the apollo during summer and love that bag honestly but I dint think it is a need. I got a quarter panel thinking id use it for sand bags and I never have used the thing

Hey amp713 just saw a muskeg 5k pop up on the classifieds this morning. Just FYI


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[mtwarden]

here are the articles I was referring to (posted previously in another thread by a member)- a very reasonable approach to ruck training imo

https://www.otpbooks.com/mike-prevost-ruck-training-programs/

https://www.otpbooks.com/mike-prevost-ruck-training-part-2/

 

[Newtopen]

here are the articles I was referring to (posted previously in another thread by a member)- a very reasonable approach to ruck training imo

https://www.otpbooks.com/mike-prevost-ruck-training-programs/

https://www.otpbooks.com/mike-prevost-ruck-training-part-2/

These articles are awesome, thank you very much!

 

[Coach Chris]

These articles are awesome, thank you very much!

This good too

132 | How To Hike Heavy

As backcountry hunters, we depend on hiking to move us into, through, and out of the backcountry. We do this movement with a load on our backs — whether that’s the light load of a day’s essentials, a moderate load of gear for a multiday hunt, or the heavy load of success on our backs. The...

player.fm

 

[*zap*]

Video by the same person, Mike Prevost.