What's in my Day Pack

[hidesert]

This is based on hunting for 46 years in Washington and Oregon for deer or elk plus a twenty year career as a forester where I spent a lot of time in the woods. I'm dressed appropriately for the current weather and carrying either a Ruger Model 77 .284 Winchester or a Ruger No. 1 .300 Winchester Magnum. Most of this equipment I've had for many years and is tried and true. I hunt solo but with other members of my party within radio distance.

**Bushnell Yardage Pro rangefinder
**Pentax 8X42 DCF binoculars
**Motorola Walkie Talkie
**Buck folding knife
Leupold 25x50 straight tube spotting scope
Manfrotto tripod
Water bottle w/filter
Raincoat
Gloves
Down vest
Stocking cap
Space blanket
Headlamp
Small led flashight
Garmin Extrex Vista GPS
extra batteries for all electronics
Silva Ranger Compass
Topo map of hunting area
Nikon P340 camera
Gerber folding saw kit
Gerber knife
paracord
fire starting kit
first aid kit
Ziploc 2.5 gal bags for backstraps and liver
foam sitting pad 10X19 inch
5 extra cartridges
toilet paper
wipes
insect repellant
food (trailmix, lunch plus 6 emergency Clif bars)
flagging tape for marking trail
shooting sticks

**(normally carried on my person)


This all fits in a small daypack. It is designed to provide for my daily needs and sustain me in case I need to stay out overnight in the mountains in case I am injured or get lost(doubtful but possible). The main objectives are to keep me warm, dry, hydrated and in good morale.

 

[ssssnake529]

Don't know if you've ever had to actually try to use a space blanket for shelter, but it's pretty much useless. I would add an ounce or two and get a space bag instead. Much better protection from wind and precipitation.

 

[fmajor]

Don't know if you've ever had to actually try to use a space blanket for shelter, but it's pretty much useless. I would add an ounce or two and get a space bag instead. Much better protection from wind and precipitation.

The "space blankets" (mylar) actually work better because once you get a fire started you can open the blanket/tarp up and allow heat from the fire to warm you.

A "space bag" will not allow the user to enjoy the warmth of the fire much at all.

Plus, "space bags" are a royal pain in the kiester to slip into with your boots/coat/etc on (been there - done that - it sucked).

If you're wet/snow covered at all, any moisture on your clothes/boots stays trapped inside the bag and does not allow for drying.

I carry two of the mylar coated 5'x7' tarps (one red - one blue)

like this

and they have worked very well to shield me from strong winds. In fact, my wife has used one on several occasions at various sporting events our kids play in as a wind shield. They're very light and pack down nicely.

However, these

SOL Blanket/tarp

by SOL look very good as well and are less expensive as well!

 

[hidesert]

I have never used my space blanket in an actual survival situation but I have used it when I brought a sleeping bag good for 20 degrees F and it got down to 0 degrees. It worked very well for that.

I have also gotten very cold (probably hypothermic) when I was out cruising timber. I got back to my truck but I had a very hard time getting the key into the lock. Your fine motor abilities go all to hell when you get that cold. I don't know if I could have managed getting into a bag.

 

[fmajor]

I have also gotten very cold (probably hypothermic) when I was out cruising timber. I got back to my truck but I had a very hard time getting the key into the lock. Your fine motor abilities go all to hell when you get that cold. I don't know if I could have managed getting into a bag.

A reliable marker/test is if you cannot touch the tip your middle finger to the tip of your thumb, you are either hypothermic or well on your way.

The quakey shakey's are absolutely NO FUN!!! I have had to get a fire started in that condition and it is scary.

Incidentally, your backpack contents are nearly identical to mine! I carry most of whats on your list (brands may differ, but otherwise very similar) every day in my daypack (and have since the mid-eighties).

 

[wwbrown]

I would add a paperback of any kind that you would like to read and reading glasses if you need them. Emergency situations are no time to panic and quite a bit of time can be spent waiting if injured or in bad weather so having a book along as an escape to occupy your mind can help. One added benefit is the read pages can be used as a fire starter. LED headlamps are great for reading in bed and the batteries last a long time.

May sound like a strange item but I have been in some situations in the wilderness where I spent a long time waiting for things to happen and to have something to read was helpful.

 

[Len Backus]

Very similar to my list.

 

[Wyodog]

Survival blankets work great for placing meat on when boning out or quartering your game.

 

[mcseal2]

On me
-clothes and boots I think will fit the weather and activity level of the hunt
-Leica 10x42 Geovid HD-B binos
-Camillus bushcrafter fixed blade knife (use one daily on ranch, good tough knife and enough belly for processing game
-fire kit (mini BIC and small firesteel taped to a Mentos bottle of Vaseline cotton balls)
-cell phone w/ ONX maps app for GPS, maps of area saved on phone
-4 rds spare ammo

Daypack contents
-Game bags
-Waterproof down or synthetic puffy jacket, which depends on weather
-Kuiu synthetic insulated pants
-Kuiu down glassing mittons or Aleyeskan rag wool gloves
-Carhardt orange fleece cap or orange ear band (stay legal when have hood up)
-light camo baclava
-Outdoor edge replaceable blade knife w/ 3 extra blades
-Swaro STM 65 spotter
-Promaster 525 or Outdoorsmans compact medium tripod. Promaster converted to use same head
-Outdoorsmans pan or pistol grip head
-Outdoorsmans Shooting rest
-Bino adapter to use Leicas on tripod
-Pathfinder water bottle
-Gatorade bottle
-water purification tablets
-10 rounds spare ammo
-snacks (trail mix, jerky, cliff bars, granola bars, sandwich, whatever looks good that day)
-wind meter
-laminated MOA wind drift chart for rifle I am carrying
-head lamp and/or mmx-r light
-Goal Zero Venture 30 battery to re-charge phone, I phone cable
-partial roll of blue shop towels cut in half (size of toilet paper roll) in ziplock
-hand sanitizer tiny bottle

-Daypack survival/med/repair kit:
-spare wool socks
-Adventure medical heatsheets bivy (the 3.8oz one)
-cheap mylar space blanket (mainly for a fire reflector or setting meat on when processing)
-compass
-bandana (red for signal, pre-filter water etc)
-Mammut S-lite headlamp (1 AA lithium battery, 60hr life, 2oz) (this is part of the kit, and in addition to the second one I count as hunting gear)
-Smith's pocket sharpener with whistle & firesteel built in
-fire kit: firesteel, lighter, vaseline coated cotton balls, 4 wetfire cubes
-50ft roll 2" duck tape
-single use bottle superglue
-frontier water filter straw
-10 tablets potable aqua water purifier
-30yds 152lb bank line
-15yds 350lb bank line
-25ft bright yellow paracord
-blank CD (signalling)
-little bag with 12 45lb 18" cable fishing leaders & 30ft 25lb fishing line, 20ft 10lb fishing line, 12 hooks, repair needle, 6 safety pins, weighs 1.2oz)

Medical: (stop bleeding, make splints)
-quick clot sponge
-1 roll hot pink vetwrap (bandaging with duck tape, marking trail, etc)
-small tube neosporin
-4 3"x3" gauze pads
-rubber glove
-6 pills immodium
-2 pills claritin
-1 tube sunscreen
-1 tub Carmex lip balm
-1 antiseptic towlette


If conditions warrant it
-Kifaru Paratarp, 8 stakes
-Grabber 5x7 space blanket/tarp
-Hill People Gear mountain serape
-Raingear
-Mtn House meal or two
-bullion cubes
-Pathfinder stove and nesting cup, lid, TI fork and spoon
-MSR cook stove

The list definitely looks bigger and heavier than it really is. I could make it lighter, but I just haven't been able to convince myself to go into remote country without a decent fixed blade knife and container that can boil water. They don't add that much weight and I feel better having them. I use a knife just like the one I pack hunting daily on the ranch and keep reaching for it if it isn't hanging on my belt where it's supposed to be. The Promaster tripod has a leg that can be unscrewed to make a hiking pole that can come in handy if I'm not carrying a set, and goes taller than the Outdoorsmans if that is necessary. I probably carry to much cordage, but cordage comes in handy for lots of stuff and doesn't weigh much. I try to make as much stuff mult-purpose as I can.

Sometimes I like to pack a little extra in case my daypack turns into an overnight kit. I might see a buck or bull late in the day and not want to hike all the way out and come back in the morning. For about 8 extra pounds the stuff at the bottom of the list can make that far more comfortable. The serape can replace some of the other insulating layers listed above too if I pack it. They don't always go but are never further than the vehicle. Anyway, that's my base list I work off of.

 

[Wyodog]

Mcseal2 how big is your day pack? That is a lot of stuf.

 

[mcseal2]

Usually either an Eberlestock Transformer/Mainframe or J34

It really looks much bigger than it is. The Daypack survival/repair/medical kit is only about 1.5lbs and fits in a little mesh bag for an Eberlestock rain cover yet takes up half a page to list. The clothes are all puffy type stuff and pack down small. The spotter and tripod are the only real big bulky items.

The stuff listed at the bottom takes up more room, but I don't always take it. Only when I think conditions are bad enough, or likelihood I won't be back to the truck that night is high enough to make an extra 8lbs worth packing.