Lightweight help

[Mazenblu3]

Good afternoon everyone, I'm going into my 3rd season of serious OTC back country elk hunting. My biggest hurdle I'm yet to get over is weight. I'm looking for any tips you more experienced back county guys can provide. I'm in the service so unfortunately money is my biggest concern, I'm all for quality gear just don't want to break the bank getting it. Thanks in advance guys.

 

[Werty]

Load your pack with everything you think you need. Go on a hike, then go through your pack again.
Look into sheep hunting threads. You will find a ton of info on lightweight backpack.
I dont know the number, but a lot of the outdoor gear manufacturers have military contracts, and maybe you know that.

 

[brockel]

If going with a buddy just make sure you guys aren’t doubling up on things that you don’t need double of

 

[Scott85]

Ton of great discount for military members, you can pm me and I’ll give you a list.

 

[elkduds]

Welcome to the forum, along w a giant Thank You for serving to protect our freedom. Water is one of the heaviest items in your pack, so take a filter and grab water as you go. Provided your terrain has surface water available. Spend time on forum classifieds to find deals on used gear being replaced by someone who has to have the newest every year. HT ads are a good start, don't forget Rokslide..

 

[arwhntr]

I'm a gear nut for the ultra-light hunting. There are some great threads over on Rokslide regarding cutting weight out of your pack. I would check those out. One exercise you could do is put your entire gear list into lighterpack.com then share the link and ask for ideas how to cut weight.

Every ounce counts..

 

[Bluejeep]

Like high_rise said, weigh everything and put it in lighterpack.com.

After that, make a list of what you want to replace and with what specific item and how much weight that will save you.

After you have your dream list of new items, figure out your cost per ounce of weight saved, then replace the items you get the best return on first.

No point in spending $100 to save an ounce or two on a knife if you can spend $50 and save 10 ounces on a new cook system.


Also check out rokslide.com. there is a ton of threads on lightening your pack and reviews on gear you would probably be considering. There is also a good article on saving weight and where to save first (sleeping bag/tent/air pad is only carried to camp, but pack/clothing/kill kit ect is carried all the time)

And don't over look your food. A lot of weight can be shaved by really getting that dialed in

 

[RockinU]

Bargain shop as well, When I wanted to get a lighter tent, I decided on a model and watched ebay, ended up finding a nearly new one for significantly less than retail...saved me a ton of weight. Consider switching to a quilt, I did and it saved me a ton of weight as well, and if you shop around, they also can be had cheaper than many high end down bags. Tent and bag/quilt are two of the heavier "necessary" items we carry.

 

[Pucky Freak]

Here are a couple of "big picture" guidelines:

The most important thing to consider is not bringing unnecessary items with you. Many a newbie backpack is filled with 10-15 lbs of stuff that is never used, or would not be useful in an emergency. Give each item you carry careful consideration as to whether it is necessary, helpful, likely to be used, or essential in an emergency. If you're uncertain about a particular item, check with someone who's experienced to get their opinion. It's easy to bring too many clothes. I typically have one set of weather appropriate that I wear, and another base layer plus first outer layer as a backup in case of emergency.

Consider your boot weight. While it's never a good idea to skimp on quality footwear when hiking in the mountains, also make sure not to try and save a few bucks and have bricks on your feet. The "felt weight" of boots is five times greater than weight carried on your back.

Speaking of felt weight, the two most important gear items IMO are pack and boots. A quality pack will distribute the load well, have good padding, and fit your body. It will make it feel like you are carrying less weight. Plan on using a big chunk of your budget on these 2 items. Used quality packs are easy to come by, and for boots check out military discounts, factory seconds, or labor day sales.

Excessive "envelopes" add up. Think about how many compartments your pack has, then pockets on your clothes, compression sacks, stuff sacks, waterproof bags, etc. The list goes on and on. Personally, I use a stuff sack for my stove, a compression sack for my sleeping bag, an ultralight stuff sack for my hammock, and a single compartment pack. Everything else is various sizes of double seal Ziplock freezer bags. This shaves about 2 lbs in excessive layers of packaging for your gear.

Bring the correct amount of food, and don't pack in wet food. You can prepare your own dehydrated food at home in advance, which saves money and weight. Make sure you're not bringing extra things you have to pack out such as extra servings of condiments, or double packaging. If you want to be really precise, count calories.

As others have pointed out, beware of diminishing returns on weight vs. cost. A regular raincoat might weigh 16 oz, and a backpacking model might weigh 12 oz and cost about the same. Try shaving that coat down to 10 oz. and you're spending an extra $150 - not worth it if you're on a budget.

My personal plan for 2019 is the "year of gear" to prepare for backpack elk hunting. I have no tag, and instead am spending approx $1800 on gear that I'll be using next year. I'll be hunting solo and carrying 50 total pounds of stuff. I could have spent $800 and hunted this year with the same amount of weight; the extra $ is for quality and not weight reduction. I could also have waited longer and spent $4000 on gear, and shave weight down to about 40-42 lbs total, but I have other things I'd rather spend that money on, and 50 lbs is a very doable load for me.

 

[rmyoung1]

I learned the following bit of rock-solid truth right here on this forum:

Light, Strong, Cheap.... pick two.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

The most important thing to consider is not bringing unnecessary items with you.

No hatches, handguns, or machetes.

These are the dumbest things you can bring on a backpack hunt.

 

[Straight Arrow]

... and remember, that 50 pounds in your pack doesn't go away if you down several hundred pounds of elk in the backpacked backcountry. It all has to be packed out.

Likely (depending on how far in you backpack) you may need to stay overnight at the trailhead, so some or all of the 50 pounds of gear will go out with first load.

 

[Mazenblu3]

Thanks for all the input guys, got a ton of ideas and things I'm going to change.

 

[MW357]

The most obvious weight reduction that's often overlooked and it cost nothing but your effort. YOUR BODYWEIGHT! Even the average in shape guys can loose 5 to 10 pounds for a hunt. Your body is your number 1 piece of gear. Unless your a 1 % bodyfat crazy ultra fitness person, you can loose pounds and it cost no money.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

The most obvious weight reduction that's often overlooked and it cost nothing but your effort. YOUR BODYWEIGHT! Even the average in shape guys can loose 5 to 10 pounds for a hunt. Your body is your number 1 piece of gear. Unless your a 1 % bodyfat crazy ultra fitness person, you can loose pounds and it cost no money.

Don't forget to poop.

 

[Duck-Slayer]

Or spend $100 and 18 months, buy 2 pack goats! In that 18 months save $400 for packs and panniers or buy used like I do and spend 1/2 that! I have 7 pack goats with full gear for each one and have spent a total of maybe $800. Than about $100 a year for hay and shots. Now I only carry my bow!
Matt

 

[Bambistew]

Lots of good advice here. Shop second hand for quality gear. The good stuff is made to last.

Focus on the the items what will weight the most, where you will get the biggest gain...
The pack itself (10lbs down to 6lbs)
sleeping bag (3.5lbs down to 2lbs)
pad (1.5lbs down to <1lb)
tent (4.5lbs down to 2.5lbs)
camp cooking including fuel (1.5 down to 1lb)
rifle (9.5lbs down to 6lbs)
water filter (1lb down to a few oz)

The above items from my first to current set up is nearly 13lbs less than when I started many years ago.

Don't over pack clothes. You can wear the same clothes you have on for easily a week to 10 days. Bring a change of underwear and a couple pairs of socks. You don't need $2000 worth of clothing to survive. Minus my boots, including rain gear, puffy, gaiters, and everything I wear on a trip, I'm into my system maybe $500.

Don't over pack gadgets, and things that need lots of batteries. I take one small backup battery pack, and use my phone for navigation and pictures, keep it in airplane mode, and use it sparingly. I can get 6 days out of a charge. Batteries are heavy. Speaking of which lithium batteries for all other standard electronics such as head lamps, flash lights, etc.

You'd be surprised what you can live without... just forget something and you'll find out. I forgot my stove and water filter one trip.

Depending on length of a trip, I pack around about 1.25-1.5lbs of food per day. On longer trips I take less, I tend to eat less as a trip goes on, and have food left over from previous days. I take "wet" shelf stable food such as cheese, salami, smoked salmon, etc, with freeze dried for most dinners. Take things you want to eat, not have to eat.

My sheep hunting pack usually weighs in around 55lbs with 10 days of food, water, rifle and spotter. This year I'll be under 50, someone else is packing the spotter, and a smaller tent.

 

[Pucky Freak]

The most obvious weight reduction that's often overlooked and it cost nothing but your effort. YOUR BODYWEIGHT! Even the average in shape guys can loose 5 to 10 pounds for a hunt.

This is true for most, but not everyone. I'm a fit 5'11" 165 lbs and I'd rather put on 10 lbs of muscle rather than lose 10 lbs of fat. Fat keeps you warm, and if you lose too much of it not only is sleeping on the ground uncomfortable from loss of padding, but you need heavier clothes and heavier sleeping bag to keep you warm enough (extra weight to pack). Once you've shaved off most of your fat, further weight loss mostly reduces muscle mass. I've backpacked at 145 lbs and at 170 lbs and at 170 I did not notice the extra weight, but 145-150 lbs was very uncomfortable.

 

[RockinU]

Don't forget to poop.

Mountain House chili mac can lighten you right the hell up...

 

[CORN]

Check out Expert Voice for military prodeals. Big Agnes make great high quality lightweight gear and gives military a nice discount.

I save weight by not bringing a new pair of socks and baselayers every day. If you get wool socks/baselayers you can rotate two pair (hang one inside out in your tent to dry, and rotate each day), wool doesn't smell or get nasty nearly as fast as cotton or synthetic.