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Who of us brings too much stuff to the stand?

paxamus

paxamus

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2018
Messages
288
To be honest- I do!! For whatever reason I have this need to be a saddle hunting tree ninja who is prepared for everything! I have a backup tether (when I normally one stick), a backup release for my bow, 40 feet of rappel rope (when I only need like 25-30), one extra way to descend in case I drop one, an extra jacket, an extra knife.

But after listing all of this, I think that I may need some more!! I’m not even about to weigh all the stuff I carry

What about y’all?


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Judging by the 35+ pound packs people post, I’d say there are a lot in this category. For whitetail I carry an extra carabiner and Ropeman but that’s about it. I may have some food and water but that depends on the hunt. The clothes I need and that is it.
 
Extra for climbing but on the ground I’m lean/mean. All in my weight is pretty low and pack small. Dressing efficiently eliminates need for extra layers. Today in 20s with light snow/ sleet I wore a light first lite hoody as outer layer the whole day. But I ground hunted which changes things(for me)… out of 22 hunts this year that was the 4th from ground instead of saddle, but man is it refreshing to go in so light(even if it’s only a 10lb diff)
 
In the beginning of the season I definitely bring way too much in case I get lost and need to survive in the woods for a while. By the end of the season I’ve realized I’m usually within sight of a house if I need something and have taken all of the things out I thought I would need and have never used. It usually gets down to a knife, some snacks and my hot apple cider.
 
Still Kicking said:
I double up on knives, flashlights, and toilet paper. I also pack a small but adequate first aid kit. Many years of refining and can't see me doing any changes.
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I think I pack too much and am more or less ok with it. Blessed enough to have been able to upgrade to lighter sticks and platform to get weight down to the area I’m comfortable with. My kill kit will be pared down, I’ve got 3 knives and a bone saw in it that puts it at about 2.5 pounds when I could do what I need to with the MKC knife I carry as an EDC, it’s just silly and something I only carry out of habit and sentiment from my younger years. I don’t worry at all about things like too much TP or paracord, both don’t weigh enough to care about for me and have come in handy but it is overkill as well. As is the amount of water I take, that should count against me too.

I’m doubled up on flashlight too.
 
I started taking in my sticks slung over my back, platform and weapon in each hand. Hat, snacks, radio, little things in my coat pockets. Saddle on, ropes in pouch.

Trying to reduce how much is in tree. My big pack was alot. Not sure If it helped deer pick me off but I'm eliminating the chance it did
 
My phone must take weird pics cuz y’all seem to think I have a small apartment in the tree, but here’s my whole backpack, most of which stays in the pack:

  • 32oz Yeti water bottle (used to carry a bladder but by 11/15 the hose freezes most mornings)
  • 40’ of 9mm rappel rope with two hitches, dig 8 and a couple of carabiners (I also only need one hitch and 30’ of rope, and I don’t rappel that often but I like to have the rope available)
  • A couple packs of Lance crackers or pop tarts, maybe granola bars
  • Grunt call, slate call, coyote call, bleat call, rattle bag (sometimes I leave this behind)
  • Tactacam & remote
  • 25’ paracord with small biner
  • 2 sticks of bow wax
  • Rangefinder
  • 10x42 ‘noccers
  • One pod of milkweed
  • 2-4 extra life-support carabiners
  • Headlamp
  • mini sharpener
  • Right now there’s a hand muff taking up way too much room in there.
All that fits in the smallest hydration pack that Ozark Trail makes, with wiggle room. Weighs about 20# on the heavy side.

On my saddle, I have a small dog leash pull-rope, my 11mm LB and RM1 live on the loops with biners, I have two shock loops for stick hauling, and I carry one SYS Hauler with:
  • 8’ 8mm tether with two hitches and a carabiner or two
  • HYS strap, 3 S-biners, plastic biner, HeroClip
  • 3-4 extra life-support biners (I would say this is where my sickness lies—I can’t have too many carabiners in too many varieties. I use them for all kinds of things)
  • 1-2 nylon slings
  • 3-4 extra hitch cords in various diameters
  • Extra Fig8
  • Safety whistle
This weighs maaaaaaaybe 10-12# including the saddle itself, which is a Kestrel so at least 3-4# are the wrapped up in that before you add the SYS kit.

Plus my mission platform on a sling, and my bow.

Keys and phone and headphones go in jacket or pants. Same with xbow cocking rope if I’m hunting that way.

If I’m on public land or a new spot on private land, I’ll carry 2-4 LW or XOP sticks with my platform bungee’d to them and use a sling. I’d also carry a bigger backpack but unload some of my saddle into it.
 
I used to carry way too much stuff. Now, the only time I could be guilty of that is when I hunt out of cell range in the mountains alone. They I carry a rescue beacon, enough survival gear to keep me alive one night, a trauma kit to stop bleeding, and a power bank to charge my phone and rescue beacon one more time.

I use everything in my usual pack

platform, climbing steps, saddle, tether, lineman's lanyard, small water, a few snacks, gear hanger, arm guard, hand towel to cough into, flashlight, extra batteries, small folding saw, small hand pruner, toilet paper, compass, rangefinder, trail markers

when cold, i add midlayers, coffee thermos, more food, hot hands, and sometimes boot blankets

if it might rain but i don't want to wear rain gear in, i carry an ultralight rain suit

in my cargo pockets, I always have a small spare folding knife, rescue whistle, small lighter wrapped in duct tape, small headlamp, amsteel daisy chain and ultrasmall carabiner (for self rescue)

for short hunts not too far in, i carry a compact 9mm and when in the mountains deep a high cap 45 acp
 
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