Slappy

Well well well, it looks like B-Ho, the Narcissist in Chief, got a dose of what this country is all about. For the first time in 5 years, our representatives actually listened to us...which just so happens to be what he hates the most about this country.     

Yes it may be legal but it's also asking for unwanted attention. Just break the rifle down and throw it in your bag.

  Good choice!  I love those.  Wish I had one actually.  I got my bag back in!  Its really nice.  Cant wait to throw everything in it.  Still have a few things in the process of shipping.  I will post contents when I stop being lazy.  haha

Thanks for that! I will check them out. BPL is a good website that i should frequent more often than I do.

You are doing good! Trimming pounds off your pack without sacrificing anything. You can keep going though. For a bag that will keep you company on a 35 mile walk home, you have 2 flashlights and 10 AAA Batteries...you know where I'm going with this right :-) If you like to have 2 flashlights, then you should have them. Both are lightweight with small batteries so you did well there. It's like me when I backpack, I don't need to carry 2 liters of water, but I choose to. I would include extra batteries though. I made that mistake on my last trip. I had purchased lithium batteries for my headlamp and didnt hardly use them. When it came time to hike, I assumed my batteries were good and they weren't Doh! If you want to get anal and save another oz, use lithium batteries vs alkaline. 10 Alkaline batteries weigh 4 ounces (or a quarter pound) 10 lithium a weigh 2.5oz. :-)

  Now ya gettin' it!  :up:

I agree with this! MRE's are also VERY heavy. There are plenty of freeze dried type foods out there that have better shelf lifes, lighter weight and better tasting. You already have boiling water taken care of so you are good. I will be going this route when I get around to buying food. Heck, I even have some meals left over from my backpacking trips I can throw in there. Other food items you may want to consider, beef jerky, dried fruit, oatmeal packets, peanut butter, trail mix, chicken of the sea (foil wrapped chicken/salmon/tuna). All of those items are packed with nutrients, have long shelf lifes and taste good! Edit: We have quite the thread going here! lol

My Mapedition bag came in yesterday but the company I ordered from made an error and sent the wrong bag. So I had to send it back today and they have the right one on the way now. They did offer me an additional 10% off so they made it right.

haha, I hear you.  I really like the squeeze filter but be warned, you WILL go through bags.  Look at the Katadyn Filters also.  I'm pretty sure they have a charcoal filter that helps a lot with the taste of the water.  The squeeze filter does not.  

I like your thinking on the bladder! I have personally used steripens while backpacking. I think they are pretty cool and they work well, but they arnt for me. The one I saw used was very intermittent in cold water. It kept shutting off prior to it being sterilized. Also, you are limited to sterilizing 1 liter at a time and lastly, it does nothing to remove particulates. I'd stick with a regular filter.

  I would get a separate filter because I personally wouldnt want dirty water sitting in my nice bladder and it will be more versatile.  For instance, you may not want to take you bladder with you but you do want to take the filter.  I use a Sawyer Squeeze filter and I really like it.  It has a lifetime guarantee and it weighs just ounces!  The problem is the bags are not durable and will wear out.  So buy extra and keep away from fire embers (ask me how I know :squint: ) But, you can also attach it to ANY bottle with a screwtop and bypass the bag all together.   

Man I wish I was! The farthest east I get is Nashville and that's a rare occasion. That would be awesome though. East TN is so much prettier than West TN. Lots of great hiking trials too.

That sounds like a good plan! Before you buy the poncho, check the weight. It may be less weight to have an emergency poncho and an emergency blanket.

17lbs is pretty good. . You can probably get it a little lower without having to make many sacrifices. Do you have a water source along your route? You can trim down to 1 liter of water. I carry 2 liters when I backpack (I could carry 1 but carrying an extra liter is just a personal decision I decide I want to do) Again, the best way to reduce weight without buying new equipment is to reduce redundancy (1 knife instead of 2) and to include multi use items (like instead of a camp pillow for me when I hike, I just use a wadded up shirt) The benefit is you will be able to move faster, more stable and with less pain. Which makes for an enjoyable hike or in a disaster scenrio could mean you out survive the people who carry hatchets and D-cell maglights. My personal opinion is speed is the biggest x-factor. I don't think there is one piece of gear you can carry that would make up for a lack of speed. Your pack is a living breathing pack though. You will carry different things in the winter versus the summer. You will find there are things you don't use and you can adjust accordingly. You are doing a good job though!! Ill try to post my setup when it all comes in and you can help me reason through my pack as well! :-) Oh, one thing I would add to your pack is a couple N95 face masks with the plastic valve that let's you exhale faster. It weighs nothing but could be a huge benefit in the event of an outbreak or dusty atmosphere (like 9/11).

Thanks. I placed my order.

Awesome! I am excited about it. I got it for $105 shipped so I think I got a decent deal also. I am buying this for my get home bag, but hate to think a nice pack like that will likely sit unused in the trunk of my car forever. So I'm thinking I might find a cheaper bag for that purpose and find a way to utilize this bag a little more. A good problem to have IMO.

Ok, so I purchased a pack.  I got a Maxpedition Falcon II.  It weighs 2.3lbs, which too bad considering the durability.  To put things in perspective on pack weight though.  The Falcon carries about 1520 cubic inches.  My backpacking pack holds a little over 2,100 cubic inches and weighs just under 2lbs.  My buddy has a pack that carries about 1500 and weighs 14oz.  Its basically a trashback with straps haha.  

  Thanks for the info! Didnt know about that. I will check them out for sure.  I need to buy some seed soon so maybe they will be good. 

The ultralight backpackers use a food scale. For your larger items, get a box, weigh the box, then put your item in the box on the scale and subtract the difference. Weigh all your contents and put them into an excel spreadsheet to keep track of everything. Unless you just want to, you really dont have to go through all that to try and trim weight. But if you can trim weight without sacrificing must haves (must haves are different for everyone) then you should do it. It is amazing the difference in how you feel after 10+miles with a pack thats lighter. I really dont know what my pack is going to weigh. I still need to buy the pack itself. You can save a anywhere from 1-2 pounds of weight just by selecting the right pack. The lighter you go, you sacrifice durability and support...but if you pack light, you dont need the support. So everything is a trade off. Cost is my biggest issue right now, so I probably wont be too anal about selecting the "perfect" pack.

I am turkey hunting in the woods right now so I will give you a more detailed response tonight. But, probably the easiest way to measure you pack weight would be to weigh yourself with and without the pack on. The difference between the 2 numbers is how much your pack weighs. At a 35 mile walk, I can see why you would want more stuff and also why you could also benefit from it trimed it down. Haha. There is just no "right" answer.

  Yeah I'd be interested to know.  Thats good you walked a couple miles with it loaded down to get the pack adjusted right and make sure everything was ok.  I am in the process of assembling my own GHB and am a little anxious about the weight and how the pack will do.   I am a backpacker and do everything reasonable I can to save weight when it comes to my backpacking gear.  I have first hand accounts of the benefit of shedding even 1 pound out of your pack.  IMO, You could save a little weight if you wanted by only having 1 flashlight and 1 knife.  Also you can trim down your first aid kit (yeah, its tough to trim down a first aid kit! lol)   The best way to save weight is including multi use items such as a bandana.  You can use a bandana as a tourniquet, face mask, hat, pre-filter for water, fire tender...  You also have 5 ways to cut something...(2 knifes, razor blades, scissors and finger nail clippers)  you can trim (sorry for the bad pun) that up a bit and save some more weight.  It may not seem like much, but every ounce you save translates to less fatigue, better stability (safer from injury) and speed.  In a disaster situation, I think speed is probably the most important x-factor in staying safe.  There is no right or wrong way when it comes to these things so please don't take my philosophy as criticism or heck, even constructive critisim.  I think we can all learn from each other and figure out what works best for ourselves.     For my backpacking setup, I look for a base pack weight for a weekend to be 12-15lbs.  I have a buddy whos pack is less than 11lbs! Thats crazy to a lot of folks and a whole lot to type out and explain!  But its also easier to save weight because I am always backpacking with friends, so I can carry a little less because we use each others gear.  Oh and because its not like our life depends on it. haha   Once I get my GHB together I will post it on here and see what it weighs.  Probably be a couple weeks though.  

Without the water, what is the weight of that TNTacoma?

I take ticks as seriously as I can.  I purchased Permethrin concentrate from Amazon and dilute it myself.  I spray ever piece of clothing I have from top to bottom with it.  It usually lasts a couple outings in the woods.  Then I spray my skin with bug spray that includes a high percentage of deet. I use Sawyers Maxi-Deet.  Between those two things and wearing the proper clothing, I dont hardly ever get any ticks.     If I find a tick on me.  I immediately bathe in Flea and Tick Shampoo for dogs.  It kills them DEAD and gives me peace of mind.  

Been seeing groups between 20-60 out at our place. Come turkey season I'm sure they will all disappear. Haha

I wouldn't buy a second AR. I'd be buying ammo...for a lot of my speculative reasons.