DAYPACK WEIGHT, HOW MUCH?

grizzly

grizzly

Long Time Member
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5,706
What does you daypack weigh with EVERYTHING in it?

I see lots of posts recommending a goal weight, but they seem to end with, "plus food, water, spotting scope, tripod, and rifle".

I have got mine down to 27.83 lbs. That includes the weight of the pack, tripod with ball head, 80mm scope, 40oz of water, water filter, 1st Aid kit (a good one that includes 2 knives, 2 firestarters, 2 space blankets, etc...), food, extra socks, coat, gloves, hat, GPS, and trekking poles. It also includes my bow, quiver, release, and arrows.

That does not include rain gear (which I can add as needed) or binoculars, which are around my neck.

Without the bow and spotting scope/tripod, I come in at 14.91 lbs.

Lightweight hunting has become a passion of mine and I'm sure others out there have great ideas and places they can help me out.

How low can you go?
 
LAST EDITED ON Feb-11-13 AT 08:15PM (MST)[p]If I am in an area with good running water, I dont pack water or very little water with me, I take a water filter and 2 small bottles to fill along the way. It saves some weight and its nice to know there is never a shortage of water, for me or the people I am with.
My day pack is really close to the weight of yours if not less, but I dont take alot of the things that you have listed.
 
18 pounds counting rifle...


Government doesn't fix anything and has spent trillions proving it!!!
Let's face it...After Monday and Tuesday, even the calender says WTF!
 
How much is does my daypack weigh?, by day 2, TOO MUCH. My pack usually weighs in around 16-18 pounds, not counting rifle which I carry on shoulder.
 
>18 pounds counting rifle...
>
>
>Government doesn't fix anything and has
>spent trillions proving it!!!
>Let's face it...After Monday and Tuesday,
>even the calender says WTF!
>


18 pounds, including a rifle. Wow.

Do you carry a spotting scope?

My weight included my coat, gloves, hat (since they spend most of the time in my pack while hiking). Do you include that stuff or plan on wearing it?

I can't figure how I can get that low.
 
>How much is does my daypack
>weigh?, by day 2, TOO
>MUCH. My pack usually
>weighs in around 16-18 pounds,
>not counting rifle which I
>carry on shoulder.


So that would put you around 24 lbs with the rifle. You got me beat by a few pounds. Apparently, I suck at this.
 
>>18 pounds counting rifle...
>>
>>
>>Government doesn't fix anything and has
>>spent trillions proving it!!!
>>Let's face it...After Monday and Tuesday,
>>even the calender says WTF!
>>
>
>
>18 pounds, including a rifle. Wow.
>
>
>Do you carry a spotting scope?
>
>
>My weight included my coat, gloves,
>hat (since they spend most
>of the time in my
>pack while hiking). Do you
>include that stuff or plan
>on wearing it?
>
>I can't figure how I can
>get that low.


Ditto,do you take any rain gear,water,food,spotter,or go unprepared? Just scouting hike,or hunting? Game bags,extra knife,sharpener,rope/cord,poncho....My pack is usually about 25#'s just for daytrip,30+ for hunts. I hunt alone so mine may be heavier than some folks,but I rarely get surprized and caught without something I may need in the wild.
 
LAST EDITED ON Feb-12-13 AT 09:39AM (MST)[p]It's taking me a lot of adjusting but my pack weighs 3.4 pounds empty and it has a built in scabburd (Eberlystock) Rifle weighs 9 pounds, I do not carry a spotter...I have one but I don't want the weight. I use Zeiss 10x40 and a Zeiss rangfinder. Don't feel the need for the spotter besides my buddy carries his. I carry 2 knives, food, water, first aid kit, 10 rounds of ammo. I weighed it last year before my Montana trip and it was right at 18lbs


Government doesn't fix anything and has spent trillions proving it!!!
Let's face it...After Monday and Tuesday, even the calender says WTF!
 
Since this is a daypack thread, I am assuming that the hunt is from your truck/camp, so you would be coming back every night, correct? If so, I don't know why everyone is carrying so much weight?

I hunt out of my fanny pack for most trips from my truck/polaris. I carry a knife, sharpener, rifle, ammo, snacks, and water for the most part. I wear a binocular harness system as well. The fanny pack comes in at about 4 pounds, I would guess.

If I am packing in and staying overnight, that is a different story. Last year, my pack, along with my rifle, weighed in at 34 pounds. This was for a trip from Thursday-Sunday.
 
For those that asked, I don't normally carry a spotter on elk hunts as the areas I have hunted don't lend themselves to long distance spotting that well. My daypack weight of 18 pounds includes food, survival gear, first aid kit, water, field dressing essentials, spare gloves, flashlight etc. I do normally have a horse nearby that carries a little bit of extra food, game bags, extra raingear. I have carried packs in the 25 pound range and was always looking to take something out to lighten the load.
 
Well, maybe I'm not doing that bad on my weight then. If I'm under 15 lbs including food, water, pack weight, survival gear, first aid, GPS, knives, water filter, coat, gloves, hat, two trekking poles, etc...

Obviously I have to also carry my bow and I can choose whether or not to bring the spotting scope/tripod, depending on the area. Those few items together weigh 13 lbs. That's where all my weight is coming from.

Maybe I should go with a 65mm scope instead of 80mm. That will save me about 8oz. I don't know if it is worth the lost performance though.

I appreciate you guys sharing your thoughts. It helps to hear what other people are doing.
 
>Since this is a daypack thread,
>I am assuming that the
>hunt is from your truck/camp,
>so you would be coming
>back every night, correct? If
>so, I don't know why
>everyone is carrying so much
>weight?
>
>I hunt out of my fanny
>pack for most trips from
>my truck/polaris. I carry
>a knife, sharpener, rifle, ammo,
>snacks, and water for the
>most part. I wear
>a binocular harness system as
>well. The fanny pack
>comes in at about 4
>pounds, I would guess.
>
>If I am packing in and
>staying overnight, that is a
>different story. Last year,
>my pack, along with my
>rifle, weighed in at 34
>pounds. This was for
>a trip from Thursday-Sunday.

Man chevy_dog, you have more guts than I do. I hunt alone in some nasty wilderness area, but I don't have the balls to go that lean.
 
If I leave the truck or camp to hunt for the day, I pack as if I may be gone longer. You never know what can happen, and I hunt alone mostly. I'm gonna be comfortable for a night or two if need be. mtmuley
 
I pack a "kings" hip pack for the day hunts. It is large enough to carry everything I need and has the shoulder straps for comfort. I worry if I carry a normal size back pack that I would end up filling it up with unneccesary things like extra food, water, clothing.

I also check the weather and pack acoording to what the report is. I never carry extra clothing, not even socks. I carry means to start a fire and If my feet get wet, or I get wet, I start a fire and dry out. You would be surprised what a good fire will do for you out in the bush. It puts the life back into you!

I don't pack the spotter for the elk hunt because the area is too thick to need one. My snacks are light weight and could sustain me for a couple of days if needed. My guess is my pack does not weigh more than 12 pounds for the elk hunt day hunts and no more than 20 lbs for the deer hunt. I hunt steeper terrain where a spotting scope is needed and extra water to get me out of the hell holes I seem to find myself in.
 
Just a comment about including the spotting scope. i started using a daybag in the 70's just because i needed something to safely carry the spotting scope.

The scope is always in my bag or it's in use, i don't go anywhere without it. Then, being i had the space, i started carrying all the rest of the stuff the bag allowed me to include. In the years before that, i hunted with what was in my pockets and didn't really feel limited as long as i was dressed properly.

Sorry, have no idea what my bag outfit weighs in at but i will say this: i have often thought that i needed to carry a lighter rifle scope combo but have never complained to myself that my daybag set-up was too heavy.

Joey



"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"
 
My daypack usually only weighs about 10 pounds but I usually only get 5 miles or so away from the trailhead.....Most guys feel the need to haul the kitchen sink and thats ok but if the weather has been in the 60's for 10 days and more of the same is forcasted I dont see a need to be prepared for a blizzard.
 
Two schools of thought here.
I'm with the minimalist crowd.

My Day pack, meaning I plan to return to camp at night is usually a med sized fanny pack.
With a half gallon of water it weights about 8 lbs, maybe 10 lbs in below freezing weather.
If I am taking the optics package, a tri pod and a pair of 15s in a small pack, it might weight 16 lbs tops.
 
Looks like I'm the odd ball here. I carry the kitchen sink. I'm always around 30 lbs and that is a guess because I don't want to know. My old Ruger is a Bull barrel but it sure shoots straight. I carry 5 pillow cases and a sheet for every animal I might get. So that is usually two but sometimes one. Extra socks and rain snow gear. I pack at least a half gallon water with me and a filter. I've been caught in snow storms on Sunny days. Once we sat under a tree for four hours while it snowed more than a foot. Walked out in the dark that night with half of a 200 lb buck over my shoulder. I carry 100+ feet of rope (mule tape) if I have it. Some granola bars and a bit of jerky. my first aid kit is more than a pound. I stabbed myself once bad. Sure glad I had what I did that day. My spotting scope is on most trips with a tripod. In the bottom there is always several rolls of black tape and spare batteries. I like a full roll of TP as it is great for a lot of things. Also can't have enough fire starter stuff lighters matches flint & steel ect. I love the picture so two or three ways to get it done. Video camera, cell phone, digital camera. GPS is always there too. I carry a Cutco knife the DD edge drop point, it is a big knife. So what I tell myself is toughen up. Carrying the extra weight will make me tougher. Oops I almost forgot, I always have a couple cans of kipper snacks on board. I've had the straps sewed back on my packs a few time too. Sorry to be so long winded.

DZ
 
I have this buddy that was super freaked out about weight for a long time. He was always all proud about how light his setup was..."dude, check it out, 14 lbs, 4.35 ounces!!" We were all kind of weight geeks in general at that point, being involved in silly activities like bike racing and alpinism; but he was the worst. So on a little three day traverse we did one time, we started hiding rocks in his pack. He didn't even notice the first one till that night, and it was easily a 5+ pound rock. Man, he was frosted when he discovered it, he thought it MUST have robbed him of some unquantifiable performance value...so we did it off and on over the next couple days, and got him so paranoid that he'd be convinced there was a rock in there, pull over when he could, cursing us the whole time, rip the pack apart, and... nothing!! I didn't notice that the 'ultralight' improved his performance by any measurable amount, but we sure enjoyed the entertainment when he was freezing his arse off cause he was so undergeared. When we got back to the trucks, while he was off in the woods, we loaded up the footwells of his extracab with some good sizers, nice 15-20 pounders, and covered em up with all the crap he had thrown back there. He didn't even find em for weeks..."you guys SUCK!!!" :)

Anymore, after having all kinds of ultralight stuff fail, too many times needing something I didn't have, and mostly, finally ridding my mind of
of the 'lighter is better' notion, I now probably have more in common with Dz above. My daypack is a mystery ranch 65, and I just throw a bunch a crap I need in there and take off. I find all kinds of nice surprises I forgot I had in there throughout the year ;)

The most hardcore lightweight dudes I know are a couple old sheep guides that wear long oilskins with liner pockets for scope and tripod. They wear their binoculars, and otherwise have their jeans, their knife, and their hat, and whatever's in their pockets. Neither of them guys seems to drink any water or eat much more that a can of oysters or something over a day in the high country.
 
Won't change weight of pack but throw away the space blankets and use a contractor garbage bag. Space blankets are usually to small to wrap around and cover a grown man head to toe. Wind will whip right around a space blanket.
 
^those $.99 clear plastic ponchos from wally world are good too, and they have a hood...I agree about the space blanket, all my experiences with them have been, er...miserable? ;)
 
Mine is right at 32.5lbs.

If I am bow hunting in Grizzz country add 3.8lbs for my .454 pistol and 5 of the 6 bullets.

I have to ##### it to get a bullet into the firing position--so only 5 of 6 bullets.

Robb
 
Depends on the conditions, but I am no where near as light as most of you. I carry 2 liters of water and a 12 oz can of Dr Pepper. My lunch is two sandwiches, trail mix and an apple. For caring for my kill, I have enough game bags for all the meat, a bone saw, two knives, a waterproof bag to pack out a game bag full of meat, a rag, two sets of latex gloves, some string for the tag, surveyor tape and some parachute cord to lash the meat and head to my pack. Spotting scope and light weight tripod. Head lamp, GPS, camera, range finder and two sets of extra batteries. A small packet of toilet paper and sanitary wipes. Matches, compass and a radio if I'm not hunting alone. Ten rounds of ammo in an ammo pouch (although I've only used 2 cartridges twice in all the years I've hunted). My jacket ends up in the pack when it's warm and my rain gear is in the compression straps if there is a chance of precipitation or severe cold as its my final windproof layer. Depending on which rifle I carry, that's another 8.5 or 9 lbs. The rifle is on the gunbearer on the pack. All up, I'm 24 lbs at the lightest and over 30 when I'm heavy. If the situation dictates, I may add a first aid kit and a survival kit to keep me alive for 24 hours. The rag is nice to have to clean up my kill for photos. I'm not one to eat and drink with bloody hands on the way out, so the latex gloves are used while boning out the meat. The sanitary wipes clean up any blood outside of the gloves and keep me from chapping my ass on those hot hikes. I leave camp in the dark and return in the dark, sometimes after midnight if I kill at last light. I can't imagine heading into the field with anything less or just a fanny pack.
 
>Depends on the conditions, but I
>am no where near as
>light as most of you.
>I carry 2 liters of
>water and a 12 oz
>can of Dr Pepper. My
>lunch is two sandwiches, trail
>mix and an apple. For
>caring for my kill, I
>have enough game bags for
>all the meat, a bone
>saw, two knives, a waterproof
>bag to pack out a
>game bag full of meat,
>a rag, two sets of
>latex gloves, some string for
>the tag, surveyor tape and
>some parachute cord to lash
>the meat and head to
>my pack. Spotting scope and
>light weight tripod. Head lamp,
>GPS, camera, range finder and
>two sets of extra batteries.
>A small packet of toilet
>paper and sanitary wipes. Matches,
>compass and a radio if
>I'm not hunting alone. Ten
>rounds of ammo in an
>ammo pouch (although I've only
>used 2 cartridges twice in
>all the years I've hunted).
>My jacket ends up in
>the pack when it's warm
>and my rain gear is
>in the compression straps if
>there is a chance of
>precipitation or severe cold as
>its my final windproof layer.
>Depending on which rifle I
>carry, that's another 8.5 or
>9 lbs. The rifle is
>on the gunbearer on the
>pack. All up, I'm 24
>lbs at the lightest and
>over 30 when I'm heavy.
>If the situation dictates, I
>may add a first aid
>kit and a survival kit
>to keep me alive for
>24 hours. The rag is
>nice to have to clean
>up my kill for photos.
>I'm not one to eat
>and drink with bloody hands
>on the way out, so
>the latex gloves are used
>while boning out the meat.
>The sanitary wipes clean up
>any blood outside of the
>gloves and keep me from
>chapping my ass on those
>hot hikes. I leave camp
>in the dark and return
>in the dark, sometimes after
>midnight if I kill at
>last light. I can't imagine
>heading into the field with
>anything less or just a
>fanny pack.

My pack is pretty close to what sagebrush carries... With the exception of the Dr. Pepper... How can you drink that stuff? It's water and gatorade for me.


Dan
 
My pack too is comparible. 25-30 pounds on avg for my day pack depending on when and where type of thing. Tough to shed weight even when its warm out, in that case I replace cold weather items for more fluids if water is scarse in the hunt area... Im a light eater, so only 1 sandwich with a few goodies for snacks. I also carry a small roll of electrical tape and extra sandwich bag. Tape for end of the barrel or to tape the tag on, and I also put the tag inside the sandwich bag so if the game warden wants to look at it he doesnt tear the tag to shreds in the process. I also carry a small tarp when its muddy or snow on the ground. Comes in handy to sit on for long periods of glassing and after a kill have a organized spot to sit everything with out getting lost in the snow or getting wet. Also be dubbed at a emergency item. I also have a set of shooting sticks I carry, seldom use em but nice to have if needed.
 

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