Food Weight on Backpack Hunts?

hansol

hansol

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Hey guys,

I have a thread going on another forum, and that got me thinking, what is everyone's typical food weight for a 5-7 day backpack hunt?

I have always carried canned food, and apparently this is weird. I mentioned this to some hunting buddies, and they lost their minds. So I made up a bit of a list, figuring out approximate weights, and for me, for a 6 day hunt I have about 23lbs of food.

So that got me thinking, what are your guys' typical food weights on a backpack hunt?
 
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Holy shnit, 23 pounds :eek:. I am glad you are carrying it and not me!

I don't weigh my food very often, just overall pack weight. But I do know my food for a week is allot less than that. How much does your pack weigh including food? Must be crazy heavy!
 
Water is what makes up most of the weight in food. That's why they came up with the freeze dried stuff. Tin cans will also add up fast. 23 lbs for 7 days of food does seem a little on the heavy side, but not unreasonable.

George
 
haha thanks for the input guys. My pack is around 60lbs give or take. Most of that is food and water though. Here is the breakdown, for those who are curious. This is an estimate, as I just googled the products to figure out weight:

Type.........................Weight.........#Carried....Total(oz)
Campbells Soups...........18.3oz..........11........201.3
fruit tin........................416g............8.........117.39
granola bars..................26g.............18.........16.51
fruit snacks...................18g.............10..........6.35
tea...............................2g.............26..........1.83
sugar...........................................................6.0
coffee mate..................................................7oz
oatmeal.......................................................6oz
powdered milk...............................................6oz
protein powder..............................................6oz
snickers bars................1.75oz..........4...........7.04
..............................................................________
Total.................................................381.42oz/23.84lbs

This works out to 23.84lbs in total for a 6 day hunt. Factor in 5L of water, that's another 11lbs. Total calories, not including cups of tea and granola/protein powder for breakfast (it's hit or miss if I bother making this concoction in the mornings), BUT including the trail mix that I always carry in a pocket(not listed above though) is around 1500 calories per meal. Usually I eat a big lunch and big supper, and some snacks and tea in the morning, so I would guess I'm at about 3800-4200 calories consumed per day with this setup.

I guess I should throw this out there too then: what are your guys' regular pack weights generally?
 
What the heck are you carrying 5L of water for? I am having a hard time believing you about your pack weight from the list above and the last pic you posted out hunting.

My pack is generally just over 50lbs for a week. That is everything including ammo, just not my rifle.
 
Your canned soups seem to be twelve pounds of canned water. Potentially, you could reduce the weight you start with by almost half if you can use a dry soup mix. Of course, if that means you have to pack in all the water, you are only gaining some flexibility in your water use, not saving weight.

I've never weighed the food component when I've carried a pack, but for more than a couple of days I would be carrying a lot of instant oatmeal and instant noodles and if possible, finding the water they need en route.
 
Well what the heck, I have nothing else to do tonight save for listen to kids yell "trick or treat" at me, so I'll drag the gear out and post a photo. I hopped on the scale with everything loaded, and it showed a 60lbs increase in weight, so I'm just going by that. Give me a bit and I'll get 'er posted.
 
5 day hunt pack hunt.

10 Mountian House or Alpine dried meals, 5 breakfast ones, 5 dinner ones
10 Protein Bars
Some coffee, sugar and whitener
1 bottle of single malt!

I supplement my diet with grouse, rabbit/hare, waterfowl and occasionally squirrel when the opportunity presents itself. I just roast any small game over an open fire. I don't carry any pots, pans or cooking stuff just a very small featherlight stove and small titanium kettle for boiling water, and of course a fork and spoon.

I never carry water, just purification tabs and some powdered Gatorade.

I try and have my total pack weight under 45lbs when I walk into the bush.

You could really lighten up your pack by making smarter food choices.
 
Bronco Boy said:
5 day hunt pack hunt.

10 Mountian House or Alpine dried meals, 5 breakfast ones, 5 dinner ones
10 Protein Bars
Some coffee, sugar and whitener
1 bottle of single malt!

I supplement my diet with grouse, rabbit/hare, waterfowl and occasionally squirrel when the opportunity presents itself. I just roast any small game over an open fire. I don't carry any pots, pans or cooking stuff just a very small featherlight stove and small titanium kettle for boiling water, and of course a fork and spoon.

I never carry water, just purification tabs and some powdered Gatorade.

I try and have my total pack weight under 45lbs when I walk into the bush. Much more, and I can't really move up the slopes/through the snow.

You could really lighten up your pack by making smarter food choices.
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I use the dinner mountain house/backpacker's panty, but I skip the breakfast ones, and eat oatmeal, bring a bowl, a spoon, and a cup. Water heating/"cooking" is via a kelly kettle. Bang on with the single malt.

40-45 is where I try to be as well. More when it is colder.

I am not sure what the daily food weighs, but my guess is under a pound.
 
Hey guys,

Alright, I've snapped a few photos for everyone. I just want to clarify that this "backpack hunt" I'm going on is not a mountain hunt. This is a lazy foothills hunt for whitetail where I want to go in comfort. So I'm taking a few more things than I normally would, as I'll only be humping about 2km in, dumping all my gear, then setting out from there with a daypack.

So here is my rig:

102_0759.jpg


102_0761.jpg


102_0763.jpg


From left to right:

Top:
-MEC Daypack
-MEC TGV tent
-OR stuff sack filled with clothes: Long underwear shirt, 2x long underwear pants, 2x wool sweaters, 2x wool socks, 1 heavy wool sock, fleece jacket. Swiss rain poncho underneath
-Purple sack full of food (listed above)
-Green OR stuff sack filled with one CF outer down sleeping bag, one lighter weight down inner down sleeping bag, (Doing my best impression of the CF sleep system. Heavy, but toasty warm) and ablutions kit.
-Leupold Binos
-Sleeping foamie
-375 Taylor

Bottom:
-Water bottles/bladder (treatment pills in 2L canteen pouch).
-TP and Wet Naps
-Whisperlite stove +accoutrements+extra fuel
-First Aid kit and emergency stuff (matches, firestarter, whistle, etc)
-Cooking gear + knife, fork, spoon, soap in ziplock bag
-Bullets 8x
-Batteries 12x
-Headlamp.
-GPS + Compass.

A note on my water bit: I always start out with 5L. The waterbladder gets emptied pretty quickly from drinking on the go, and the 2L bottle fills it up once I stop for lunch. The other 1L bottle is to make sure I always have water for tea, or for friends who don't pack enough water to cook their own food/drink and want to mooch mine... Suffice it to say I don't like getting dehydrated.

I also carry a lot of gear on my body/pockets, things like gloves, toque, trail mix, knives, legal stuff, compass, extra bullets. You know, the little things. So those aren't included in pack weight.

Oh and I should also mentioned I've humped army gear, 14'x16' wall tents, climbing gear, moose quarters + gear, propane tanks... so heavy weights aren't a new thing (I don't have a quad). Uncomfortable, yes, but as long as your pack is decent it you can get it done, albeit at a slow pace. But you know the saying, "If you're going to be stupid, you better be strong." And I'm no rocket surgeon... :)
 
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hansol said:
Hey guys,

I have a thread going on another forum, and that got me thinking, what is everyone's typical food weight for a 5-7 day packpack hunt?

I have always carried canned food, and apparently this is weird. I mentioned this to some hunting buddies, and they lost their minds. So I made up a bit of a list, figuring out approximate weights, and for me, for a 6 day hunt I have about 23lbs of food.

So that got me thinking, what are your guys' typical food weights on a backpack hunt?
Click to expand...

I just opened this thread, I have only read the first post, and when I recover from gasping ,...I will post a response...

23 lbs!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Man ,...we pack very differently... and obviously,..That's OK

For me,..on a 5 day camp in the mountains, this is how I roll

#1. I don't carry water unless absolutely neccess...at least not in places where I can access it, and most places I go, there is a mountain steam or river coming from somewhere

#2. No canned anything,..

#3. No high sodium stuff...it's fine for screwin around i n the truck for a bit of daily fun hunting, but when I pack in for a few days, I watch the sodium

#4. Oatmeal is your friend, I always pack oatmeal, like to pick a few bluberries when I can find them and throw them in..

#5. Meal packs (ones not loaded with sodium)

#6. I don' take a foamy, tent and sleeping bag, etc.. (never a foamy. sometimes the other two, sometimes one or the other, sometimes neither)

#7. You carry 4 snickers bars,...(ups water intake)

#8. You carry equal amounts of sugar and protein (6 oz) :confused:

Our setups would be very very different side by side (again, to each their own;):))

For me, I'd up the oatmeal and protein... cut back on the sugary stuff..and completely replace the soups with meal packs or similar

That's just me
 
I'm sure alot of the experts have trouble getting 5-7 hours from their truck so you're already ahead of the game.

I would loose the cans.

I've taken whole beans when I had a dedicated base. You have to plan your meals ahead but from a cost/nutritional perspective, reconstituted/store bought doesn't compare. The weight is compparable but you will need more implements. I also lean heavy on Jerky as a protien source. Anything from rice to pasta , cook it with a chunk of Bergen Jerky.

The comprise for me has always been speed of preparation vs quality of food.

I learned what chops I have from old prospectors and outfitters who lived for months in the bush and while some of their methods no longer apply other still work well. They all loved their canned food too but they ran pack strings.

You could solve some of your problems by getting a mule.
 
If you can make a fire then lose the stove and fuel ( aluminum pot for cooking) . No cans just dried meals . You have 3 water bottles cut that down to 1 . Take purification tablets for the mountain water. The rest is not bad.
 
1.5-2 pounds of food per day is plenty. As has been mentioned, Mountain House is your friend. As for water, I never carry more than two litres and usually one.
 
hansol said:
This is a lazy foothills hunt for whitetail where I want to go in comfort. So I'm taking a few more things than I normally would, as I'll only be humping about 2km in, dumping all my gear, then setting out from there with a daypack.
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Given that you are not carrying the load all that far and not up the side of a mountain, its probably not that unreasonable. In your circumstances I think I'd stick with the canned food for the sake of convenience and flavour. If you could set up your base camp near a water source, you could add a good water filter to your setup and eliminate all that water you carry though.

Jim
 
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