[Cmeier117]

Just wondering what everyone uses for weighting down there pack when hiking during the summer. Right now I use my sleeping bag with 40 lbs of weights and then 2.5 gallons of water. I just use this because it is what I have right now. Anyone use anything that is better? Salt? Sand? Rice? Love to hear your ideas. Also do you do lower weight like 40 lbs for a longer distance or heavier weight 70+ lbs for shorter distances?

 

[MidMoJeff]

I use 40lbs of weights for low weight training for long distance and stair climbing to get started. Once I'm in shape with that weight, I switch to an 60lbs bag of sand that I strap to my frame pack and do both short and long distance.

 

[Elk_hunter84]

Weight vests are a great tool for training. You can change the weight of your vest to enhance your workout (20lbs-90lbs). I also wear my pack on top of the vest to get my shoulders and upper back trained to the kind of hiking I will be conducting.

 

[Abomb]

I use bags of sand. I have 50,70 and 100 lb bags. The heavier ones have lead weights in them to keep the bulk down. Lighter one is strapped in my day pack, heavier ones are strapped on the frame pack. By the time hunting season rolls around I am hauling the 100lber for 1 hour on level 7 on the revolving stair case plus doing other complex moves to strengthen my core, bending, stepping over a weight bench, squatting under a smith machine bar, all with pack on and weighted. I love hunting but hate training. Sure makes the haul out worth it though.

 

[Cmeier117]

Good Ideas. I do need to do some longer distance stuff it just takes longer. I have been doing 80 lbs for 3 miles with my wife and 1 year old son 4 times a week. We live in a very hilly part of Salem Oregon. I like the vest Idea too I just would rather have the weight in my pack so I get used to the actual weight on my hips while hiking. Where do you buy your bags of sand you use MidmoJeff?

 

[dlhredfoxx]

I load my pack exaclty how I plan to load it in the field for a hunt, with each specific piece of gear where I plan to place it inside the pack. This includes my extra clothes, shelter, sleeping bag and pad, food, gear, etc. I try to 100% replicate how the pack will be when I am hunting. My total weight (not including the bow) is right at 44 lbs with a full 3L water bladder (7 day hunt) inside. In doing this I can experiment with placing gear in different places to make sure the gear arrangment inside the pack is optimal, that it rides good and feels good. Plus if I start getting any pressure points I can shift stuff around until I get it 100% right. It's hard to get snadbags and weights to fill out the pack and feel like your true kit will on your back come Fall. My $0.02...

 

[bowhnter7]

Usually I'm actually needing most of my gear (or might anyways) when I'm out so I always have around the weight needed in the pack.

If I'm just out aournd the hood or at a local open space trail working out with the pack then dog food bags work great.

 

[jwatts]

If I'm just out aournd the hood or at a local open space trail working out with the pack then dog food bags work great.

That's what I was planning to do. I want to use dog food or feed bags to add the weight. That way it will be a little easier to put on the pack as opposed to adding free weights, water jugs, etc.

 

[pronghorn]

I use water jugs. They are great especially to start, if you get half way there and find that you are over your head, you can start dumping water.

 

[Cmeier117]

That's what I was planning to do. I want to use dog food or feed bags to add the weight. That way it will be a little easier to put on the pack as opposed to adding free weights, water jugs, etc.

That is a little hard to do if you don't have a bag full of something. The pack I have actually has a big pocket on the back of the inside of the pack and it holds 40 lbs very nicely and the water jugs and sleeping bag can all be synched down really nice. It was solid with 70 lbs in it. But if you had a pack with no pockets and not very many compression straps this would be more difficult. I would like to get a bag of something though.

 

[MidMoJeff]

Well, I use a frame pack for training and when I'm hauling out meat and or heads. It makes it so easy to tie things down to it, and is much less cumbersome then the packs. Plus, I can add packs to it...its a Nimrod. Anyway, I get my bag of sand at the local hardware store, its under 10 bucks.

 

[Beaver]

Water and rice...separate of course.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[123 4/8 P&Y]

I workout with landscaping bricks wrapped in towels loaded in my pack frame. I have a frame for exercising and a frame for hunting. That way I don't wear out my good one.

Edit: I found two 25 lb. and two 10 lb. free weights at my dads farm. I'll start with 35 in June, then do 50 in July, 60 in August and 70 the first 2 weeks of September. I wear the pack 3 or 4 times a week and a 45 lb. weighted vest the other days. And I walk 2 or 3 miles daily.

 

[runnerguy]

I use 2 packs for training one is set with 50 lbs for walks with the dog the other is set with 80+ lbs and my trekking poles , I use casting sand with weights and fine tune with bottled water or use my old hunting mags rolled and taped .

 

[rodney482]

mine is 70 pounds..... most of that weight comes from my rifle bench bags ( which are full of sand )

Just did a mile with it today

View attachment 1111991

 

[Nockhuntin88]

I hunt mostly within an hour of home and within a mile of my truck...I don't pack heavy, I pack as light as possible. That being said, I take my full hydration bladder, 2 extra water bottles, small first aid kit (band aids and such) lunch or a snack, hot hands, doe bleet, estrous scent, and extra release. Knife also goes with but stays in my pocket, along with my cell phone in a plastic baggy and a trioxane bar incase shtf and I need to stay in the woods overnight or I get turned around and lost for the night.

My pack seldom weighs more than 20 or 30 pounds.

From my military experience though, I will tell you to make sure your pack is adjusted properly and you pack the heaviest weight to the top. Packing it to the bottom puts more strain on your back and shoulders and makes you work harder than you have to.

This is my experience with an 80 Lb ruck for 7 miles...and also a 50 lb ruck for 15+ miles. Take it for what you will.

 

[slim9300]

I use 50 lb. bags of whole kernel corn. It's seems to have the perfect size to weight ratio. I train daily with 80 lbs. this time of the year. Walking 2.1 miles per day. I use one 50 lb. bag and a good number of towels in the bottom of the pack to get the balance right. I have a pack simply for training, a spare for the hunt and my primary. You don't want to train in your hunting pack every day. The straps will loosen up eventually and won't stay tight. Plus, it will wear out an expensive pack in a hurry.

 

[slim9300]

I load my pack exaclty how I plan to load it in the field for a hunt, with each specific piece of gear where I plan to place it inside the pack. This includes my extra clothes, shelter, sleeping bag and pad, food, gear, etc. I try to 100% replicate how the pack will be when I am hunting. My total weight (not including the bow) is right at 44 lbs with a full 3L water bladder (7 day hunt) inside. In doing this I can experiment with placing gear in different places to make sure the gear arrangment inside the pack is optimal, that it rides good and feels good. Plus if I start getting any pressure points I can shift stuff around until I get it 100% right. It's hard to get snadbags and weights to fill out the pack and feel like your true kit will on your back come Fall. My $0.02...

I do that for the week leading up to the trip. No need to pack your expensive gear day in and day out. Plus, my 45 lb. pack needs to feel like a baby load compared to my training weight pack. That's why I love carrying "heavy" weight daily in preparation.

 

[Stalk&Drop Em]

I switch it up! I will ruck run about 3-4 days a week rotating between a treadmill and the road. I love the treadmill because you can set that incline as steep as it goes and truck it as fast as you can stand. My goal is each time to add a little more speed for a longer duration of time. For example when I started... Pack weight 45# full incline at 4.5 mph for 2 minutes then down to a walk pace 3.5...day two 45# @ 4.6 for 2:15 minutes and so on...Now I'm at 62# 5.4mph for 5:30 then down to 4.2 walk pace for 2:30 mins and shreadin weight...started off at 232 down to 211-ish in just three weeks...no supplement or fat burners...just fish oil and vitamins.

 

[Cmeier117]

I just got done doing a 3 mile trip with my wife and 1 year old son with 90lbs. I agree with slim9300 I want my hunting pack to feel like nothing when I am out in the woods. Where I live is very hilly and there is no flat parts. Still it's not like the terrain while hunting but it's a lot better than flat ground. I have been doing 3 miles 5 days a week. Makes it easier to do it when the wife wants to come.