I am a firm believer in the lightweight movement. 10 years ago I used to haul 50lbs around for day hunting, I kid you not.
Here is where I found most of my weight to get tacked on gear wise:
1.Pack- Getting rid of the twelve pounder for a sub 6 set up makes a huge difference. Don’t nail me down to one pack as that probably won’t happen, there are three sitting in my office at the moment and I am betting a few more come through before summer ends.
2.Shelter- All summer long I will use a floorless shelter with a carbon fiber pole. Some of the other staffers here at Eastmans’ may use some different options but the principles are the same, keep it light. Mike used a tarp for years and you can see that set up in his chapters on coyoting out.
3.Clothing- I will spend the money on quality clothing because it weighs half of what the cheaper stuff does. I no longer am stuffing a spare hoody into the top of my pack just in case, my top end clothing performs the way that I expect from the beginning. I use a variety of clothing from Sitka, Kryptek, First Lite, and KUIU. It really is a conglomeration of items that do exactly what I expect it to.
Learning to layer properly cut my weight down significantly. Merino base layers paired with lightweight clothing made a huge difference. My rain gear functions as a great outer insulator, as well as a soft shell.
4.Packing- Stick by your list and don’t pack too soon. If you pack too soon you will talk yourself into stuffing things in your pack that you don’t need. Ounces make pounds, and that leads to heavy pack weights.
5.Food- I have my food down to a science. I set out a gallon baggy for each day I will be gone and label it. Then I stuff the appropriate amount of food in each one. Every one of us consumes X number of calories per day. I try and add about 15% onto my normal consumption because I am burning more than normal at the higher elevations.
6.Water- I bring a Nalgene and an MSR dromedary bag with me. The 10 liter bag stays empty until the last possible fill up point. On one hike this year I drank 4 liters on the way in, I just refilled my Nalgene every time I crossed a creek. At my last creek crossing I filled up the dromedary and only had to pack the heavy weight 800 feet rather than the full 4k that is involved in the climb.
I will see if we can take some video of packing for the hunt with Guy this summer. Brandon does a lot as well, so I will see what we can come up with.
