Where are you willing to carry a little more weight?

Snyd

WKR
Joined
Feb 10, 2013
Messages
808
Location
AK
So we all look to areas where we can cut weight for our backpack, backcountry hunts. But, what area(s) are you willing to carry a little more weight? For me it's my tent. For 2 man sheep hunts in the Alaskan Wilderness I have a Hilleberg Tarra 4 season expedition grade tent. Free standing, 2 vestibules. It weighs 8.5lbs and is bomber. I call it the Bunker and boy is it. When splitting up shared weight of tent, stove/fuel, water filter, etc. it's only 4lbs each for the tent. Thats about what a decent 1 man tent weighs. I've never cussed about an extra 2lbs of tent weight humping in 10-20 miles but man I sure have been thankful for the Bunker on windswept ridges and torrential downpours for days knowing I'm a day or 2 from the truck.

If I had the $$ I'd be willing to carry a Zeiss Diascope 85 as well. Maybe next year.

Here's what packing 2 extra lbs up the mtn gets me :D I can pitch it whereever I need/want to. It sat on this fully exposed ridge for 5 days on this trip while the wind just howled down the big valley. But, it was a good spot, fairly flat near the only water around and afforded us good approach to sheep. We scored one on this trip. I've pitched on gravel/sand and woke up with water running under the tent and through the vestiblue. Spent several days holed up, socked in in massive downpours. It's never leaked a drop and sheds the wind like crazy. Plus it's warm when the temp drops. I love this thing... all 8.5 lbs of it :D

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Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Messages
1,848
Location
Rochester Hills, MI
Badass tent man. I'd carry extra weight of a tent like that in Alaska as well. I carry extra weight in food, or in camp shoes. I'll carry a few snickers bars, and some other snacks like that.
 

littlebuf

Banned
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Messages
1,983
optics and that's about it. everything else is subject to cutting
 

jherald

WKR
Joined
Sep 16, 2012
Messages
833
Location
Alaska
I'm willing to carry more when it comes to my optics, tent and sleeping bag. I feel those are the 3 most crucial. You need good optics to get a good eye on what your looking at or what your looking for. You need a good tent that will hold up and you need a good sleeping bag that will keep you warm in the event of a freak temperature drop which anyone who has spent times in the mountains knows can happen at anytime.

Most everything else I carry is of a lighter weight design.
 
OP
Snyd

Snyd

WKR
Joined
Feb 10, 2013
Messages
808
Location
AK
that thing must take up half your back pack

Nope. It looks bigger in the pics than it is. The inner and outer tent stay together and pitch at the same time so I stuff that in the bottom of my pack bag. Partner packs the poles/stakes, water pump and stove/fuel.
 
Joined
May 29, 2012
Messages
3,474
Location
Lewiston ID
Weapon, Optics, Food... Everything else I'm trying to stay on the light side. I've packed a 12.5 lb rifle for the last 3 years and that WILL change this year! Looking to drop it down to around 9 lbs all done up with LONG range capability. Food I try to pack in stuff I enjoy eating. I'm picky as it is and LOVE to eat so quality tasting and refueling food is a must no matter the weight. Not to mention most of it is gone for the pack out. Optics, I've learned to never leave the spotter in camp, but still bought a 65mm spotter for weight reasons. Need to grab a lighter tripod though...

Mike
 

stephen b

WKR
Joined
Feb 25, 2012
Messages
489
Location
Mckenzie Valley, Oregon
Does Copenhagen count? If so, I pack a can a day.

It sure use to count for me.

Aron- Not to bust your chops at all- cuz I know how tough that stuff is to quit. I must have tried a dozen or so times.

I gave it up 12 years ago- after 20 years of using it. But after quitting I still had an occasional dip while fishing and hunting maybe 2-3 times a year- up to 5 years ago when I stopped even the occasional dip.

My brother is quitting this year ( also after 20+ years). And he is a religious can a day of cope user. For me, I was more of a 2 cans a week guy.

My Brother figures he is going to save right at about $2000 a year on quitting since he said he pays an avg. of $5.50 every day on it. I told him he can buy some stuff for that, or even some nice Christmas presents for his kids. He said when he figured that he has spent almost $35-$40,000 on it for the last 20+ years he literally wanted to be sick.

I myself never really added up what I spent on it- probably did not want to.
 

crumy

WKR
Joined
Dec 27, 2012
Messages
562
Location
Laramie, WY
Ok.. not to hijack the thread but I will say I was a 1 to 1 1/2 cans a day of Copenhagen. Started off using hawkin around 14, then skoal long cut, then fine cut then copenhagen. wanted to quit but just couldn't. Then when I was 23 I was watching a documentary on tobacco (it was late, couldn't sleep). But I got p155ed . They had studies that showed the "natural" progression of users. That is why copenhagen's ad used ot be "sooner or later its copenhagen". So basically for the last 9 years I had been following the path just like it was planned. Well that made me mad and I didn't put a chew in again. Not to say I don't miss it, just I wasn't going to play that game. LOL. Yeah I can be hard headed and stubborn like that.
 

slim9300

WKR
Joined
Feb 26, 2012
Messages
1,703
Location
Olympia, WA
I have a similar tent in the Nallo GT 4. I really do believe that Hilleberg makes the best 4-season tents on the planet for their weight. When the day comes that I get to hunt sheep or goat in AK, it will surely get the nod on the trip. The Nallo GT 4 is the perfect 2 man shelter for nasty weather IMHO (I used to refer to it as my "backcountry castle"). I don't know if I could handle such a bright color though with that red. Makes it hard to be discreet (and I realize why it was designed that way). :)

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123 4/8 P&Y

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
May 17, 2012
Messages
276
I splurge and carry extra socks and underwears. Enough to wear a fresh set every day. And I went with a 0 degree bag instead of a 15 or 20, because I don't sleep well when I am too chilly.
 
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