• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Backpack must haves

My survival/ditty kit includes:
1-Lighter wrapped with electrical tape
1-Duct tape roll ~1/2" thick
1-Emergency whistle
1-Sparker or ferro rod/striker
1-6 tinder plugs
1-Sawyer water filter/straw setup (no bag)
1-Space blanket
1-2 pack of Gear Aid patches
1-2 each of small and large safety pins
1-2 4" glow sticks
1-Knife sharpener
1-Assortment of extra batteries for sizes in use, although I try to minimize the use of various types [usually (3) 2032, (1) CR2, (1) 18650, and (4) AAA]
 
Compass is number one on my list. I make sure to always know the general bearing to return to my starting point or exit.
 
Jammintree said:
Compass is number one on my list. I make sure to always know the general bearing to return to my starting point or exit.
Click to expand...

A knife, a compass, and my phone are three things that do not leave my person while hunting! These are in a pocket, on my belt, or tethered to me in some way at all times. I bought a phone coozy thing from EWO and I shock corded my phone and compass to it, can't drop them out of reach or lose them. I have another little clip Suunto compass on the sternum strap of my backpack, but...
 
bowhunthard88 said:
A knife, a compass, and my phone are three things that do not leave my person while hunting! These are in a pocket, on my belt, or tethered to me in some way at all times. I bought a phone coozy thing from EWO and I shock corded my phone and compass to it, can't drop them out of reach or lose them. I have another little clip Suunto compass on the sternum strap of my backpack, but...
Click to expand...

I agree with this 100%. Phone and car key stays on my person. If for some reason I were to fall last thing I want is my phone and car key hanging in the tree.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Lot of good ideas here. Really should add a basic med kit to mine.

I started putting a spare release in my pack, don’t think I saw that mentioned yet but apologies if I missed it. Pen/pencil if you live in a state you have to write anything on the tag. I also keep a spare pair of socks in mine any season. Stepped in a creek that was ankle deep Wednesday and knee deep Saturday one too many times I guess.
 
If I'm doing a day hunt, rain gear is either worn or packed dependent on the weather forecast, if it's not going to rain I'm not packing it (or I'll choose gear that has increased water resistance). For a multi-day hunt, lightweight raingear will live in my pack. If I'm wearing a backpack, I have a MR Hooded Rainfly that lives in there permanently, and I also have a folded contractor bag and medium-sized lightweight dry bag (very minimal additional overall weight) in my water bladder compartment. I also do not use a water bladder for day hunts, just a bottle or two; again, multi-day hunts are different.

Another thing that lives permanently in my pack, within easy reach, is small roll of flattened TP in a zip-loc and an extra (backup) headlamp. I had one die on me two years ago, not the batteries, the headlamp, and it was a good one...

I own two of these for backups... https://www.backcountry.com/b/petzl-elite-emergency-headlamp?CMP_SKU=PTZ006N&MER=0406&skid=PTZ006N-ONECOL-ONESIZ&mr:trackingCode=CF7F28DB-03F9-E611-80FE-005056944E17&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=c&mr:adType=plaonline&utm_source=google&utm_medium=pla&utm_campaign=213417397__p:G|s:BC|ct:Shopping|ct2:xx|g:xx|c1:Hardgoods|c2:Hike+Camp|b:xx|mt:xx__150555635924__mt:xx+|+c1:Hardgoods+|+c2:Hike+Camp+|+s:xx+|+b:xx&utm_term=pla-2048237653590__PTZ006N-ONECOL-ONESIZ&utm_content=657789443278__pla&utm_id=go_cmp-213417397_adg-150555635924_ad-657789443278_pla-2048237653590_dev-c_ext-_prd-PTZ006N-ONECOL-ONESIZ_mca-7811_sig-Cj0KCQjw0bunBhD9ARIsAAZl0E3-_wVbJAsqY4_sDRfuGOcY29mxA0iN3eWuU1HqSDqBOdnyTHWHFTQaAlcREALw_wcB&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0bunBhD9ARIsAAZl0E3-_wVbJAsqY4_sDRfuGOcY29mxA0iN3eWuU1HqSDqBOdnyTHWHFTQaAlcREALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
 
Last edited:
HuskerInIowa said:
Lot of good ideas here. Really should add a basic med kit to mine.

I started putting a spare release in my pack, don’t think I saw that mentioned yet but apologies if I missed it. Pen/pencil if you live in a state you have to write anything on the tag. I also keep a spare pair of socks in mine any season. Stepped in a creek that was ankle deep Wednesday and knee deep Saturday one too many times I guess.
Click to expand...

ID, truck key(s), tags, and "rite-in-the-rain" pen all live together in an external pocket attached to my person (usually my chest rig).
 
Crcusmonky said:
I agree with this 100%. Phone and car key stays on my person. If for some reason I were to fall last thing I want is my phone and car key hanging in the tree.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I always leave my keys in the gas tank if my truck. I don’t keep anything of value in the vehicle for that reason but I have never had an issue even on busy public land. I will instruct my hunting partner or whoever knows where I am located where to find my keys should they be needed for either one of us.

It may be quicker in some cases for my hunting buddy or emergency contact to get to my vehicle and find help rather than get my person and get the keys then get to the truck. If I fall and am alone I have to get back to my truck regardless.

That’s the way me and my dad always did it when growing up so it’s just stick that way for me now.
 
bodark said:
I always leave my keys in the gas tank if my truck. I don’t keep anything of value in the vehicle for that reason but I have never had an issue even on busy public land. I will instruct my hunting partner or whoever knows where I am located where to find my keys should they be needed for either one of us.

It may be quicker in some cases for my hunting buddy or emergency contact to get to my vehicle and find help rather than get my person and get the keys then get to the truck. If I fall and am alone I have to get back to my truck regardless.

That’s the way me and my dad always did it when growing up so it’s just stick that way for me now.
Click to expand...

We did that my whole childhood. Definitely a different world now. I have a hide a key so I guess I do something similar but primarily hunt alone now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I favor a turkey hunting vest over a backpack. The weight is down low and both front and back instead of cantilevered at the shoulders and upper back.
My sticks fit in the game pouch and are held vertically via the two buckles at the top of the pouch. The platform fits back there as well.
All the pockets hold bino's, Thermacell, hand saws, pruning clippers, spare batteries, range finder, etc.
 
Another item that always lives in my pack is a kuiu glassing pad. It’s small and ultralight and enables me to have a long improvised sit if the need arises. A piece of sleeping pad foam would achieve the same purpose.
 
NimbleTimbo said:
I know after reading this-- if I hunted with @bowhunthard88 I wouldn't have to carry as much in my pack because he would have me covered :tearsofjoy:
Click to expand...

LMAO! All kidding aside, I hate unnecessary trips in and out. I usually hunt by myself in terrain that heavily negates reasonable dragging, and typically >1 mile(s) back. I also do a lot of scout-to-hunt, so I may not know exactly where I'll end up, which is an issue for letting someone know your location (especially since cell service is an issue in my hunting areas). I AM A GEAR JUNKIE and a very analytical person, to a fault. However, I do buy what I can afford that will justify itself in packability/weight, but I also can justify comfort for myself HAHA!!! Overall the weight is not much, as the stuff that lives in my pack is less than 5lbs. and the rest is dependent on the hunt/climb/distance/etc.
 
@jfinn, my list is essentially the same as yours and I should add items from others who have listed some on this post such as an IFAK and a Nalgene and pouch for it. I also carry a small "bow repair kit" which is essentially a Leatherman P4, a long section of d loop material, wax, extra e clips, an extra nock or two, an extra zinger fletching or two and a lighter wrapped with some gorilla duct tape. I also have a small roll of vet wrap and stealth strip stuffed in there too. I think my early season rig out will be the MG Bird Bag System and my late season long distance meat pack out system will be the Stryker XL with duplex lite frame. My Tethrd One sticks and Pursuit platform will always be in or strapped to the outside of one of them. I hate wearing my saddle in so everything goes in the bird bag until I get to the tree. @bowhunthard88 I have and do listen to when it comes to all this stuff for sure.
 
I forgot to include folding Allen wrench set which I carry all of this in a USGI compass pouch or in the small MG pouches. Zip ties too!! And yes the most important, flushable wipes for sure instead of TP.
 
I have a "repair" kit that I may carry if it's a multi-day deal, but I don't carry anything for a day hunt. My OCD wouldn't let me hunt without checking my equipment should there be an issue, so I'm going to leave and go check everything lol. If it's a multi-day or out-of-state deal, I'm going to have the same kit that I carry to 3D shoots, etc., for "emergency" use. My truck and/or basement always has stuff in it, I just don't always carry it.

I do always carry a few wet wipes (some in my chest rig or pack pocket, and some in my kill kit), always biodegradable, always single-sealed packets. I don't need to worry about anything drying out! I don't skimp on TP though, I keep a roll in my chest rig and a roll in my pack (both still on the cardboard tube, flattened, about 1/4-3/8" thick for each maybe 10% of a roll or something, in zip-loc bags).

I also am not afraid to use stuff and then replenish, there is no sanctity for any kit lol. If I need something, it really doesn't matter where it comes from, as long as it gets replenished!
 
Really depends on where you’re hunting.

For example, I hunt in 10 different specific spots, and 8 of them are less than 100 yards from where I park the truck. Snacks/water, cell phone charger, light, Thermacell, and a deer drag is all I need for those.

As a critical care flight paramedic, I know enough to know there’s really nothing in a medical kit that’s practical for a 6 hour period in the woods. Most important is knowing how to use my phone to find my exact GPS coordinate in case I end up in pickle. There may be a case for a tourniquet and hemostatic gauze, but when I hear the term “med kit” that’s not what comes to mind for me.

For those of you who use On X, if you don’t know how to find your GPS coordinate, here’s how you do it:

1) Open the app and push the location icon in the lower right corner of the screen. The icon is the one that looks kind of like crosshairs.

2) Once it hones in on your location, push the blue dot and a screen will slide half way up the screen and it will display your grid coordinate. Take a screen shot of that. Send the screen shot to whomever you need to, or if you’re calling 911, give the coordinates to dispatch.


Semper Fi,
Mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top