To Heavy for Day Hunt?

Everything loaded I'm coming in at 23lbs.

-3L Water
-Leki Trekking Poles
-Games Bags (4 Large & 2 Medium)
-Kill Kit (Gerber Vital w/ Extra Blades, Gerber Gator, & Gerber Knife Sharpener)
-Super Down Puffy
-Rain Coat
-Synthetic Mid Layer Hoodie
-Merino Gloves
-Waterproof/All Out Cold Glove
-2 Extra Pair of Socks
-Head Lamp
-GPS
-Extra Batteries for Head Lamp & GPS
-Range Finder
-50' of Rope
-Goal Zero Nomad 30
-Fire Starter and Waterproof Matches
-Toilet Paper & Wet Wipes

Pack is a KUIU Icon Pro 5200

My hike in is between 3-4 miles depending what route up I take. Maybe it's just the steep hills that get to me, but just want to see what others come in at. Weather dropped big time, and I'm leaving the house around 3am for the 2 hour drivea. I have both any deer and and elk tags with me. Hoping to get one filled before seasons end.

Thanks!

I'd get rid of 1 liter of water, battery charger, 1 pair of socks, probably the rain coat, depending on the type of rope I'd probably get rid of that, and possibly the hoodie if I'm wearing a jacket at the trailhead.

I carry much the same. All my clothes are on me in the morning except the rain shell and a down jacket. I wear a light pair of gloves and carry some mittens. 2 liters of water and a sawyer mini filter if I need refills. In my book 23 lbs isn't unreasonable. I thrown in gaiters if it is going to be wet or snowy. I've taken to carrying an extra headlamp rather than extra batteries. Weight difference isn't that much and it's nice to have a second light. My pack is heavy so I can't get it down that light. Someday I'll spend $500 and save 5 lbs......or just loose 5 lbs and come out the same and a little healthier.

If you have locally available water? A steri-pen water purifier is a lot lighter than 2L of water, if you have a fairly good stream to tap. I would replace "rope" with parachute chord, unless you have to do some repelling. I would pick binoculars over a rangefinder. Don't forget lunch.

I don't know what it weighs, but I'm sure my daypack is more than yours. I like your clothing selection, but I wouldn't take more than 1 pair of extra socks (I usually have none). I would add food, take the full 3L of water, only 1 pair of gloves, I take a beanie in addition to the ball cap I wear, P-cord instead of rope as suggested....just some ideas. Everybody has their preferences. I carry as spotter and tripod, an Inreach, a Power Rock instead of the Nomad, extra ammo and camera (not on your list), emergency bivy in certain situations, etc. I have lots of non-essential items that I could ditch if I wanted to, but I figure carrying them just toughens me up.

Oak said:

I don't know what it weighs, but I'm sure my daypack is more than yours. I like your clothing selection, but I wouldn't take more than 1 pair of extra socks (I usually have none). I would add food, take the full 3L of water, only 1 pair of gloves, I take a beanie in addition to the ball cap I wear, P-cord instead of rope as suggested....just some ideas. Everybody has their preferences. I carry as spotter and tripod, an Inreach, a Power Rock instead of the Nomad, extra ammo and camera (not on your list), emergency bivy in certain situations, etc. I have lots of non-essential items that I could ditch if I wanted to, but I figure carrying them just toughens me up.

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This is where I'm at as well. Although I can leave the spotter & tripod as terrain dictates and stick w/ the binos. No Inreach or power charging system. I figure that between the rifle & gear, I'm rucking 25-35 pounds.

Mthuntr said:

I'd get rid of 1 liter of water, battery charger, 1 pair of socks, probably the rain coat, depending on the type of rope I'd probably get rid of that, and possibly the hoodie if I'm wearing a jacket at the trailhead.

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I don't know if I can ditch the liter of water. I've been in the same area twice (scouting trip and hunt) and the last time I ran out of water which sucked. Started cramping and had to start the hike out earlier then I wanted. The extra socks I can do without, thanks for that. The extra hoodie is for warmth and quietness. It's synthetic and dries fast. I hike in with a merino base and that thing hold on to my sweat all day long. With the temps in the low 40's now I'm either going to hike in with a synthetic, or swap out base layers when I get to where I want to be. Plus the puffy is loud lol. I walk in with my cold temp pant with hip vents open, and my upper is the merino base and synthetic mid layer for warmth.

rideold said:

I carry much the same. All my clothes are on me in the morning except the rain shell and a down jacket. I wear a light pair of gloves and carry some mittens. 2 liters of water and a sawyer mini filter if I need refills. In my book 23 lbs isn't unreasonable. I thrown in gaiters if it is going to be wet or snowy. I've taken to carrying an extra headlamp rather than extra batteries. Weight difference isn't that much and it's nice to have a second light. My pack is heavy so I can't get it down that light. Someday I'll spend $500 and save 5 lbs......or just loose 5 lbs and come out the same and a little healthier.

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I walk in with my gaiters (which helps a lot) due to what grows up to knee level. On my last trip out I took a spare headlamp and batteries, just removing the spare headlamp was noticeable to me. My main headlamp uses a single rechargeable battery, which I have a spare charged up.

Ben Long said:

If you have locally available water? A steri-pen water purifier is a lot lighter than 2L of water, if you have a fairly good stream to tap. I would replace "rope" with parachute chord, unless you have to do some repelling. I would pick binoculars over a rangefinder. Don't forget lunch.

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Unfortunately I don't. I slowly gain elevation away from the creek the further I hike in. The cliffs and steep hillsides are more then enough to convince me to carry a full water bladder ha ha. Parachute cord! That's what I was looking for, but I couldn't remember the name of the type of rope to save my life. So I got the 50' of rope that was $8. I will look for parachute cord next time I'm out. Thank you. The rangefinder is for knowing my distance. I only bowhunt and I don't know my distances well at all. Binos are on me the whole time though.

Oak said:

I don't know what it weighs, but I'm sure my daypack is more than yours. I like your clothing selection, but I wouldn't take more than 1 pair of extra socks (I usually have none). I would add food, take the full 3L of water, only 1 pair of gloves, I take a beanie in addition to the ball cap I wear, P-cord instead of rope as suggested....just some ideas. Everybody has their preferences. I carry as spotter and tripod, an Inreach, a Power Rock instead of the Nomad, extra ammo and camera (not on your list), emergency bivy in certain situations, etc. I have lots of non-essential items that I could ditch if I wanted to, but I figure carrying them just toughens me up.

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I will ditch a pair of socks. I have an extra pair of merino socks, and a heavy duty merino wool sock for the weather. I think leaving the heavy duty cold sock would be a good choice. My food is simple lol. Wife's cookies, a bag of Frito's, and 3oz of jerky. I hike in with a beanie, and that thing stays wet all day as well. It's just my old beanie which I've had for longer then my kids were alive lol. I have a cold weather beanie, but it doesn't have a brim. I really like my beanies with a small brim on it. I wish I could use a ball cap as I'd prefer to use one, but I can't due to my string touching the bill. I found this out wondering why my shots were so off all of a sudden. Then I realized my hat that I wore that day was pushing on the string. I need to get a smaller spotter. The 20-60x85 is waaaaaaaay to big for me, and the cheap tripod is big as well. Looking to get smaller versions of both next year. So they stay home and I depend on my 10x42 binos. I like to carry non-essential items as well because I never know what will happen and I want to be prepared incase the unplanned happens.



I appreciate everyone's help. Looks like I can shed a few more ounces, and now I can truly say every ounce matters ha ha!

Thank you!

Ditch a pair, maybe both pairs of extra socks.
You don't need a goal zero on a day or really on anything under 3 days.
I would add a SOL (survive outdoors longer) emergency bivy and a small Hilleberg tarp, and puffy pants. never know when you have to stay out, and you'll do it fairly comfotably in temps above 20f with this.

If water is an issue in the area, you gotta bring that much. If you can refill, ditch some.

You're probably slightly more than 1/2 the weight of my daypack. I'm guessing I pack around 45 pounds. Got a lotta crap!

MTGomer said:

Ditch a pair, maybe both pairs of extra socks.
You don't need a goal zero on a day or really on anything under 3 days.
I would add a SOL (survive outdoors longer) emergency bivy and a small Hilleberg tarp, and puffy pants. never know when you have to stay out, and you'll do it fairly comfotably in temps above 20f with this.

If water is an issue in the area, you gotta bring that much. If you can refill, ditch some.

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I will look in to that SOL. Is that the same thing as an emergency kit with the foil blanket and other stuff? For the longest time I've been meaning to look up what BIVY means because I see it everywhere in post. I will do that after this. I do have puffy pants, I will throw those in. Tomorrows high is in the low 40's, and early morning temps will be below freezing. So I'm willing to bet up in the mountains it'll be a few degrees cooler. I was actually in the lumber store today and looked at a 6'x8' blue tarp, I'll look up what a Hilleberg Tarp is. This may be a pretty silly reason for me bringing the Nomad along, but I'll try to explain. I don't know how to read a topo map effectively (thus me climbing up some ridiculous hillsides lol), or enough to be completely comfortable just cruising the the mountain with my GPS. The area I am at is completely new to me, and I don't really know what's over the next hill or ridge. I use my phone a lot with Google maps/earth to look at the trails, or get a good visual of exactly where I'm at in relation to where I want to go, and where I am standing. It's helped me hike in when the trail dissapears. I can just zoom in with my phone and find it again. It's my big security blanket at the moment, and it makes me feel a whole lot safer when walking around. I will be better next year!

Bulldog0156 said:

You're probably slightly more than 1/2 the weight of my daypack. I'm guessing I pack around 45 pounds. Got a lotta crap!

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This offseason I will better myself conditioning wise. There is absolutely no comparison to the gym, and what the man above has created for us to play in. I was humbled quickly the very first hill I climbed lol!

Oh, I get my butt kicked, but I'd rather be overprepared. Plus I have to have a ton of snacks with me just in case it hits the fan and I get stuck somewhere.

Bulldog0156 said:

You're probably slightly more than 1/2 the weight of my daypack. I'm guessing I pack around 45 pounds. Got a lotta crap!

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Yup. I have a heavy pack and end up with abt 45 lbs. I've given up dumping it out and reassessing all the time. I'm getting used to it

Some guys day hunt with the following:
Knife
Water Bladder
Snickers Bars

Way too much gear for a day hunt and way too big of a backpack for a day hunt. If you carry a giant pack you have the temptation to fill it with tons of gear.

But... If you carry a giant daypack, you can bring 3/4-whole deer and 1/4 atleast of elk out with you, without having to return to the vehicle to fetch a big pack.

I carry a Stone Glacier sky6200 even if the only thing in it is short day hunt material.

My typical daypack is...

-3l of water
-Leki Corklite Poles
-Garmin Oregon
-Delorme Inreach
-Benchmade Hidden Canyon & Havalon
-80mm spotter
-Slik 634cf tripod with panhead
-First Lite Puffy
-Sony RX100 Camera
-Kill kit/game bags
-Headlamp although lately I think I might start bringing an extra.
-Clif bar or some kind of bar and an apple.
-Rain coat
-Beanie
-rangefinder
-binos
-mechanix gloves
-emergency kit (fire starter, baby wipes, med kit)

I've never thought I would need an extra pair of socks or charging device for my stuff for a dayhunt. Depending on where I am at and time of year I might throw in a tarp or my bivy and a quilt. My daypack isn't light but I like having the ability to do just about anything out of it. I also tend to drink more water than humanly possible although it seems the only water located where I hunt are trampled down stock dams filled with cattle piss and crap.

I'd take all the water you can carry up. It's always steep uphill or downhill, and if you need water, and don't have any it sucks. I keep some water purification tablets, but I'd think one of the straw things would be better.
I carry a pair of goretex rain pants and a goretex shell. a down vest, beanie and a pair of ragg mittons for my weather gear. I usually hike in a Long sleeve t shirt, carry a dry one to change into when I stop to sit. I know I'll be sweaty. Over that i've got a camo outershirt, something from cabelas, I think. I don't carry extra socks on a day trip . In an attempt to keep my feet and legs dry, I frequently wear gaiters.
Havalon knife, old fixed blade Remington knife. Spare ammo, usually an en bloc clip from a garand, because that's how my dad carried them. package of 4 game bags, two trash bags, and a reflective tarp (the kind sold as a survival tarp) matches, lighter head lamp, hand held flashlight. 50 feet of para cord (think army navy store) . I do have a very small first aid kit with a couple of big bandaids, a couple of butterfly bandages, and some mole skin. For a GPS I carry my phone, same for camera,remember to put it on airplane mode and battery lasts at least all day. I do carry a range finder and binoculars. Besides that I carry assorted food crap, depends on what I can find in the cabinet, or what I stole from the kid's halloween basket. I haven't weighed my day pack but I know it's too damn heavy, but there's nothing in it I haven't used at some time.

If you were considering the blue tarp, think about cutting a sheet of Tyvek to the size you want. Usually lighter than a tarp, pretty darn tough, and if you soak it in the clothes washer for a couple of hours and then run it through the wash cycle to agitate it, it actually comes out fairly soft and not very loud. I use them under and inside my tents to protect the tent floor, and have one in my pack to put game bags or meat on when field dressing an animal.

Just keep in mind that you are in Idaho and the weather changes can and do come fast, and out of no where. Just make sure you are prepared, please.

I'd have most what you do along with a first aid kit, camera, tripod, spotter, range finder and food. My typical day pack is probably around 30lbs with a gun. I don't bring a lot of extra cloths on a day hunt. A puffy and rain gear depending on time of year.

MTGomer said:

But... If you carry a giant daypack, you can bring 3/4-whole deer and 1/4 atleast of elk out with you, without having to return to the vehicle to fetch a big pack.

I carry a Stone Glacier sky6200 even if the only thing in it is short day hunt material.

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+ 1 on that!