There is always something you can get by without, but 50 lbs wouldn't bother me that much for 8 days. Every meal lightens the load. Leatherman or similar, are valuable tools, but there are a lot of lighter models. It also depends, if you are trekking every day or heading for a destination to base your hunt out of. If packing up to move on every day then I look at the tent, food, stove choice etc..
"Often the context of the question is lost in the answers."
Outdoors Research Bivy sack, WM Ultralite mummy bag, Emberlit titanium folding wood stove, 3/4 length thermarest = about 6lbs or so.
I've accumulated hiking gear since the mid 80's, and since then I have sacrificed some comfort for a lighter pack due to my advancing age.
I used to carry a Sony Walkman, 10 cassette tapes and a pair of shitty speakers powered by 4 D cells.
I did a 10 day hunt this year. Was about 65lbs with 4L of water in my pack. We had a leatherman with a saw blade it was likely the most used tool on the trip. Used it to cut branches to make camp site on sides of mountain. I brought home a bunch of food so will pack less of that. I had 1.6lbs of food per day which was a bit much. I brought my I phone and put a Gaia gps app and kindle app so my phone was a camera,gps,book and back up flash light.
i will be buying a bigger tent for next time weather was so bad and in a tiny tent above tree line in a foggy rain storm sucks. Want to be able to make coffee and play cards,sometime a little extra weight can help on the mental side of things when bad weather hits
Last edited by jac; 09-04-2019 at 10:36 AM.
After just returning from my trip and doing a bag dump I can easily lose a few things.
Too many Extra batteries for headlamp and gps and battery bank for in reache
Too much ammunition
Could drop some socks, underwear, shirt, puffy vest, and spare gloves
Could easily shed some weight with food. We dehydrated our own meals and had food bags just over 1.4 lbs, I had extra snacks left over every day.
I am selling my Hilleberg Anjan tent and going with a big Agnes copper spur. The hille is more tent than we need.
With 2 guys there is a ton of duplicity if you really think about it.
What I wouldn’t give up:
My exped down mat, slept like a baby
My kuiu rain gear
My Kuiu super down puffy and pants
Easiest way to lessen the weight of what has to be carried up a mountain comes off your gut. Lite gear is heavy on the bank tho.
Also lessen the weight of water. Know your land where your hunting and carry less water. Water purification tabs are a heck of a lot lighter than carrying 6L of water.
I support PETA!
People Eating Tasty Animals!
We carried a sawyer squeeze with one dirty bag ( platypus) each and a Nalgene plus one spare clean bag. Most convenient water system I have ever used. Didn’t hurt that it rained and snowed for a week. Water everywhere.
Someone needs to invent powdered alcohol ... just mix with water and tang on the mountain top
Unfortunately, the rifles are getting lighter because we are getting heavier and more unfit as a society. This is the key to the mainstream acceptance of the short magnums. - Nathan Foster