Brady Miller's backcountry hunting gear list breakdown - revisited for 2017

Gear lists. They are something I obsess over and try to evolve each season. What makes it into my backpack are toolsthat I feel will help me succeed. From the clothing to the footwear, and all the way through the optics, weapon andfood list. Just like all the gear lists I've built over the years, each one helps me see the bigger picture of whatI'm carrying on my back and what I can and can't live without. Everyone has some form of a gear list, some mightbe chicken scratch on a notebook, others use charts on a computer, and then there is the throw everything on the floorand see what will or will not fit in a backpack method. Without a gear list, items will either get overlooked, or youwill take more than you need.

My current 2017 gear list that I created is what I would carry for an above timberline mule deer bowhunt in Augustand September. Even though this gear list nails down everything I need on a hunt, weather ultimately plays a huge partin what I take. So, at the last minute I might need to add an item to ensure I am safe on the mountain. I like to saythat I never carry extra gear or clothing that I'll not use. This can only be learned from experience. To do this,it’s best to utilize a quality weather service that you trust before heading out for a week or more of backcountryhunting. Keep in mind, that your clothing is a layering system, you can always add or subtract layers when you arehunting.

Even though the main purpose of my gear list is focused around ultralight gear, I still carry a minimum amount ofsafety items and gear that ensures I can survive in pretty much anything that Mother Nature throws at me. I do carry afew backups, and over the years, even those are starting to get smaller and smaller.

I have stated this before on other articles and podcasts, but my gear list is and always will be a living andbreathing document. I have modified my gear list so many times over the years (and the pile of gear I no longer use isstacking up). My personal gear list archives are revised periodically when I find new gear that I feel are essentialfor the hunt. If I don't trust a piece of gear, it will not make this list. I understand the balance betweenultralight, safety and success. I also have several versions of my gear list for different hunting situations: early,mid and late seasons. Along with that I also create truck/hotel camping versions too. That way I know what I'mcarrying and know what I'm packing.

I'm going to try to keep the text down in this article, but if you want to hear more on my gear philosophies, you cancheck out my 2016 gear list article here.

Below You Will Find a Downloadable Excel Link for My Perfected 2017 Gear List:

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Just like last year, this Excel spreadsheet breaks down every category of gear: the ounces, pounds and even priceper item. What I expanded on this season was an area where you can get even more detailed information on yourfood.

The Price per Item...

I list the price per item due to managing my personal hunting budget. I want to know what areas I could spend orsave more money on in order to shave weight if needed. Yes, if you're starting from scratch, a gear list for abackcountry hunt can be very expensive, or relatively cheaper. That is the beauty of backpacking. You can get by withany amount of gear, it's up to you as the hunter to to figure out what works best for you. Backpack hunting is myfavorite style of hunting... so my hunting budget goes toward this.

Expanding on Gear Related Data

The pie charts in the Excel gear sheet also provide a great visual to see what category are your heaviest, which ishelpful for cutting weight. Everything you enter in the spreadsheet will be automatically added to the summary tablesand the pie charts. I highly suggest saving a backup copy just in case you make a mistake and erase some formulas.It's also a great idea to make multiple copies of this gear list; one for the early season, one for Octoberhunts, and one for November hunts. Or maybe even a mule deer gear list and an elk gear list because they are totallydifferent beasts in terms of gear.

You will also notice a section on my gear list under the " Function" column in each gear section. I use theletter "p" to know that I have that item ready to place in my backpack. That is sort of my checklistsection. I've also kept the spreadsheet unlocked so you can edit the entire document. I'm very proud at how my gearlist charts have evolved over the years. It seems each year I find something else to add to this Excelspreadsheet.

Currently my full backpack weighs 45.42 lbs and my full pack at the trailhead (weapon and water added)weighs 60.89 lbs. That total is for a nine day, eight night hunt. I do not like hiking with mybinoculars on my neck when I am starting out on a hunt because I am normally hiking at night. So, if I wore those, mypack weight would be almost two pounds lighter.

Like every year, I definitely have areas I'd like to improve on. But... those changes will have to be made after Isave up some more money.

Quote from my dad after I told him I was moving to Montana back in the day.

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How Do I Determine What Makes It into My Backpack?

I look for the best lightweight backpacking/hunting gear and if it will make me a better hunter or lighten mybackpack without sacrificing something, then I might consider using it. A lot of lightweight gear nowadays is just asfunctional as the traditional heavy backpacking gear that might weigh double. So why carry more weight if less willdo?

So What Benefit Does Weighing Out All of Your Hunting Gear Have?

If you were to ask me if I’m obsessed with ounce counting, I would probably say yes, but you will notice that in mylist, some things I will sacrifice cutting weight to carry some items that I feel will increase my chances of success.

A lot of people will say that weighing out every piece of gear doesn’t matter. All they want is a gear list and iftheir pack is a little heavier, then they should just get stronger to handle the increased weight. I can slightlyagree with that, but each step you're taking you are carrying that weight. Where counting ounces really comes intoplay is once you have an animal down.

I feel my gear list is a huge helping hand for someone just starting out, or looking to change up their setup.

Facebook Live Video on My Gear List

On Thursday August 31 I did a Facebook Live video on my 2017 backcountry gear list. You can check out that videobelow.

My 2017 a to Z Backcountry Hunting Gear List

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You'll notice that my gear list is mainly focused around a mule deer hunter, but all of this can easily be adaptedfor elk hunters. Our gear needs might be slightly different, but you'll see similar patterns of necessities.

For me, a backpack needs to be lightweight, but at the same time it needs to handle weight very well and be able totake a beating. Lots of backpacks might “feel great” with lightweight loads, but when push comes to shove, they willdestroy your body when you add an entire boned out deer. Keep that in mind when testing out new backpacks.

For 2017 this is one of the areas I made huge improvements on. I went from a 4.68 pound sleeping kit to a 3.74 poundkit. I cut this weight by switching to a Sea to Summit Ember EB I Quilt (19.06 oz. for a large) and switching to a Klymit Inertia X Lite (6.10 oz.). I believe I can cut a little more weight here, especially if Ican get ahold of a 950 fill down quilt and maybe even running a tarp and floorless system and maybe even ditching myPolycryo ground cloth. But at 3.74 pounds with everything in the photo above. I'm very happy with the setup.

A lot of unnecessary pack weight can comes from this section. I feel people are overkill on carrying extra coldweather items. I’ve seen a lot of people pack 0° and even 10° sleeping bags in the backcountry for August or Septemberhunts. Those sleeping bags are not only heavy, but can cause you to sweat at night. My philosophy is I already carry adown jacket and other layers, so if I get cold I can just wear extra base layers. If you’re going on a September huntand the weather is looking pretty rough, you could always add a silk sleeping bag liner. Most weigh under 5 oz and canadd roughly 9 to 10° of warmth.

My entire camp kit is pretty basic. I’m sure I could go a little lighter if I ran just a tarp. But I like to beprepared for a little more weather. This camp kit has served me very well for multiple 9-day backcountry hunts whereI've faced weather from extreme heat, to rain, to hail, and finally to snow.

Overall, this whole kit still weighs less than most two person tents.

Clothing section is something that constantly gets modified. It might be due to weather, or a certain type ofmountain environment. If you remember last year, I mentioned completely eliminating soft shell jackets from my system.Being able to eliminate the softshells and use these synthetic layers with a combination of my other layers that I amalready taking and still be warm and comfortable.

My primary insulation piece for my this season is the SITKA Kelvin Active Jacket or the SITKA Kelvin Lite Hoody. My decision on which to run all comes down to what weather I'll be expecting. Both of theseinsulation layers can compress really small if needed due to the PrimaLoft synthetic insulation, which also givesincredible warmth without a ton of weight.

When I'm running my ultralight sleep system and the temperatures drop, the Kelvin jacket series becomes an essentialpart of my sleeping system by adding a lot of warmth rating to my Sea to Summit Ember EB I Quilt.

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I like to keep the clothing/gear I wear pretty simple. The biggest thing for me is to keep one shirt as scent free aspossible. What I mean by that is to save one of your shirts and use it for only stalking in close on animals.

This section is my heaviest area, but one of the most important. You can't kill a buck unless you find a buck. Sopacking 10x, 15x and an 85mm spotting scope is well worth the added weight in my opinion. This is alway why I'm anounce counter. I can cut weight in other areas... so I can pack more weight in others. If you want to dive into moreon the subject of what combination of optics to carry on a hunt, you can check out my recent article here: Why carrying multiple are essential for locating more deer.

For all general purposes, I am going to be talking about the items I need for a bowhunt. I’ve talked about my setupbefore, but basically, I take the precision side of target archery and turn it into tools for bowhunting. My entirebowhunting setup is listed in the table below. My total bow setup weighs 9.56 pounds. I'd prefer to add more weight tomy bow if it will help me to be a better shot. So I do not sacrifice weight here.

This gear section is pretty bare bones. It encompasses my water purification, kill kit, GPS, satellite messenger,cell phone, glassing pad and a few archery backups. I know I could probably get rid of the GPS unit and use my phoneas a GPS while utilizing various apps, but I'm still uncomfortable with the idea of using a phone as a stand alone GPSunit.

For 2017... this section of my gear list is only one item long. My blender bottle. By getting rid of my cook kit, Isaved a total of 13.25 ounces! You can read more about that here.

My first aid kit is very basic: Advil, gauze pads, bandage netting, moleskin, toothbrush cut in half, ultralighttoothpaste bottle, band-aids, tampon (in case of giant puncture), and a suture. I also have electrical tape and Gorilla Tape on mytrekking poles for emergencies or for gear repair. Also, this gear list is based off an area that has bears. So I'mgoing to be carrying pepper spray which adds some weight to my pack. A weight that I'm happy to carry forsafety.

The stoveless backcountry hunting food list.

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A food list is something I probably work on the most. To save some space, I dedicated a full article to my food listas well as a bunch of thoughts on my new food method for 2017, the stoveless method. You can check out that article byclicking the button below. But for a quick summary, I am at 3,222 calories

Read 2017 Stoveless Backcountry Food List Here

What I Changed from 2016 to 2017 in My Backpacking System

The biggest change from 2016 to 2017 was switching to a quilt, going stoveless for my food and the switch to SITKA Gear. Other than that I made small tweaks to different categories and some I even added a few pieces of gear.

Category by Category Comparison from 2016 to 2017

Pack: -1.51 oz in 2017Sleep system: -15.08 oz in 2017Clothing packed: +6.38 oz in 2017Clothing/gear worn: + 43.15 oz in 2017Optics: +6.03 oz in 2017Weapon: +10.24 oz in 2017Gear: +1.34 oz in 2017Cook kit: -13.95 oz in 2017Safety gear: +11.92Food: -20.81 oz in 2017Water: +6.30 oz in 2017

Summary

FULL PACK WEIGHT SUMMARY

FULL PACK WEIGHT SUMMARY (%)

Brady Miller Full Pack Trailhead Weight Summary 2017

FULL PACK TRAILHEAD WEIGHT SUMMARY (%)

Note: That for the full pack trailhead weight this includes my bow. I prefer to start my hike by having my bowon my backpack. So I didn't want to confuse anyone by having my bow weight removed from that total. If you're theperson who carries your weapon in your hand. Then just eliminate that weight from the Excel spreadsheet.

BACKCOUNTRY CALORIE BREAKDOWN BY MEAL FOR ONE DAY

BACKCOUNTRY CALORIE BREAKDOWN BY MEAL (%)

BACKCOUNTRY NUTRITION BREAKDOWN BY MEAL FOR ONE DAY

Overall I'm very happy with my current backcountry hunting gear list. The great thing about gear lists is they are aliving and breathing document and always changing.

What I have developed over the years for my gear list has worked very well. Some items I've had since day one, othershave slowly been upgraded. It’s amazing to look back and see what I used to hunt with and what I hunt with now.Technology has definitely changed.

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