I want to put together a pack for shorter dayhikes. What do I wan to carry?
Most of my time is in the midwest, but will be using a few times a year in Colorado and UT.

Some stuff I already have:
First aid kit (sugestions)
Small binocs
Flint firestarter
Couple aluminum water bottles
GPS, maps
Flashlight
Wide brimmed goretex hat
Various shirts, socks, ect..
Sunblock
Alcohol stove (need a lightweight mess kit though)

Andy

Space blanket, water filter, 1911

sunglasses, mre , 9mm.

good knife, another flashlight(can be a small LED) just incase of primary flashlight failure, bic lighter, TP!!!

Tin foil works as a mess kit sometimes, but it depends on whats on the menu.

Out of idle curiosity, how are we defining day trip here. What yer toting sounds more like a light "Im lost kit" to me (water, compass and 1st aid stuff excepted)...

D.

Glock 23 with 3 hi-cap clips I know they are called magazines

I always carry a head lamp. If you're hiking out at night, they're ten times more valuable than any flashlight. Other than that I have water, a knife or two, magnesium firestarter tool, and something to snack on. Usually a beanie too incase it gets cold.

Poncho and a .45 with at least 2 mags.

jebus, where do you guys hike that you need to pack so much heat?
All I have to cary is my super heavy S&W model 27.

This pack will mostly be carried at little hikes around the lake, thrown in my buggy when wheeling, and some hiking on vacation in colorado and such. I will only need some things when on the farther from home trips obviously.

good call on the poncho. I have one of those super light ones made out of trashbag material that won't take up much room.

Andy

jebus, where do you guys hike that you need to pack so much heat?


I carry most of the time. Only place I don't is at work. The armed guards standing around the metal detector would frown on that :D

Pete

My day bag usually goes something like this.

TNF Hammer head pack
~2L h2o bladder
magnesium block, lighter
glow stick
streamlight LED light, I might throw in my blackdiamond head lamp.
a couple Clif bars, other misc food
colombia rainjacket.
small spaceblanket
location dependent bear spray

SMALL first aid kit I put together weighs 5oz
2 large patches of moleskin
4 4"x4" absorbant gauze pads
a few misc sized smaller bandages
4 allergy pills
~10 feet of duct tape rolled over itself
10 small antiseptic wipes
a few "handy wipes" for cleaning up
This is the same kit Ill take along on ~week long solo backpacking trips too.

Leave the armory back at the truck, unless your just wanting to play. If your want animal protection grab a can of bearspray.

depends were I'm at:

Daypack:
Base Layer - depending on area and season
Sweater shirt or waterproof/windproof outer skin
Hat
Sunglasses
Knife
First Aid
Compass
Matches
Water/fluids
Socks
Trail Snacks
Sig


Thats about it.

...Leave the armory back at the truck, unless your just wanting to play. If your want animal protection grab a can of bearspray.

Dunno but I was packin a .45-70 Sharps to protect my hide from the infamous MT tree squirrels that abound where I was at on Sun. 1 amost made it though my defenses until I hit the tree branch below him... ;) :D

D.

Make sure the flashlight and GPS have the same batteries then only one extra set would be needed.

All those fire starting tricks work great when you can find dry tinder out on the tundra or up really high there is next to no brush over 5ft. high up here so everything is soaked after a day or two of rain so another dual purpose item alot of guys carry is a 30 minute road flare.

Great fire starter
day and night time signal even during heavy cloud cover or fog a FLIR system on a rescue bird can pick it up from miles away

not sure how far out your day hikes will take you but we lose people every year just miles from our largest city.

Leave the armory back at the truck, unless your just wanting to play. If your want animal protection grab a can of bearspray.

that's all fine an dandy till you come across someones illegal grow operation or a meth lab , so as long as I am hiking in the woods I will be armed

that's all fine an dandy till you come across someones illegal grow operation or a meth lab , so as long as I am hiking in the woods I will be armed

In the coastal areas in some states I can see where that would be a problem but not in all states. Despite the meth issues here in MT I have a higher risk of finding a griz inadvertently than I do stumbling onto a plot or a lab, ditto UT or CO and thats a LOW risk situation.

Using what amounts to a pea shooter (i.e. less than a .44 mag) on a bear isnt going to do anything but make them go berserk on ya. Ask an AK native where griz are a pest about that. Down here in the lower 48 yer better off without or something light for snakes. Even then only when they happen to be out... ;)

D.

I have a hiking/bugout/dirtbike backpack...I usually keep some of this stuff in it:

Helwan 9mm with a few loaded mags and 100 box of extry
A couple mre's, some bottles of water, few beers
small blanket/a few clothes
Couple knifes and a combo hatchet/hammer
Some basic tools for the bike/quad/trike, a few extra small parts (clutch levers, etc)
extra goggles
camera, celly, ipod
first aid stuff
couple flashlights, fire starting stuff
rope. (probably the most handy thing iv brought thus far, i actually caught a racoon with a trap i setup and left alone for a day last summer)


Probably leavin a few things out. All in all, it weighs around 50lbs loaded up. In all honesty, alot of this just started from me out riding (and end up camping out) the extra weight is a GREAT way to train for motocross, especially going fast enough to keep outta of my buddies eyesight. Alot of the times if I go out on a friday night i wont go home until sunday night...and usually end up eating a critter or two instead of eating my mre's.

for food i like snacks and a can of campbell's chunky soup....all you need is a can opener and a spoon to eat it.... just stick it on the side of the fire for a few minutes and you're done, but it is tricky to eat without gloves :P

Hand grenade/M21 + coupla cans of ammo/spotting scope/some good camo and you ought to be good to go.

Leave the armory back at the truck, unless your just wanting to play. If your want animal protection grab a can of bearspray.

Bear spray isn't anywhere near 100% effective, not even close. I have seen videos were they are testing the stuff and spray it on the ground. Some bears will come and roll in it, lick it off the ground and otherwise act as it has no effect on them. Also, spray it in a slight breeze of any windy situation and your bear spray blows back into your face and immobilize you. Your bear spray turns from a defensive weapon into seasoning. I'd like to see a .357 do that.:laughing:

Canteen, lighter, toilet paper, snacks, mirror (rarely ever use), half roll of survey ribbon, and various other stuff depending on time of year.
Summer I generally have a machete and bug repellent.

Well, if I come across a bear in KS I will be really surprised!

Besides if the gun is in the pack... how do I get the bear to wait while I get it out?

Well, if I come across a bear in KS I will be really surprised!

Besides if the gun is in the pack... how do I get the bear to wait while I get it out?

You said CO.
To be technical the weapon is not in the pack during a hike.
There are more things to worry about then just bears (or moose for that matter those fawkers are mean).
It is not uncommon for someone to come up missing while even on a day hike. And I am not talking about the ones that meet up with the MZBs, but rather they just get lost. Firearms can be used for hunting as well as self defense.

But fact is there are bad people out there. I carry to protect myself and my family from the MZBs. Doesn't matter if we are going to TGIF for dinner or for a hike in Pikes NF.

MZBs
:confused: Manual of Zen Buddhism :confused:

.454 and a lighter.

:confused: Manual of Zen Buddhism :confused:

:shaking:

Mutant Zombie Bikers.
Where you been? :laughing:

44mag, water proof matches, knife, TP <--- last one can be very important!

Anything else would depend on what I am doing on this hike.....

Bear spray isn't anywhere near 100% effective, not even close. I have seen videos were they are testing the stuff and spray it on the ground. Some bears will come and roll in it, lick it off the ground and otherwise act as it has no effect on them. Also, spray it in a slight breeze of any windy situation and your bear spray blows back into your face and immobilize you. Your bear spray turns from a defensive weapon into seasoning. I'd like to see a .357 do that.:laughing:

:lmao:Buahahaha:lmao:
Its not fawking mosquito repelent, you dont give your self a quick shot of bear spray before you throw your pack on.:shaking: Its just that, you spray it in the bears face not on a platter for them to lick up after the spray settles.
The wind you have me on there, that IS the biggest problem with bearspray but I think I can deal with it. And a .357... HA Ill carry my bearspray and watch the wind, you can carry the .357 and watch how fast a bear can close 100ft.:flipoff2:

:lmao:Buahahaha:lmao:
Its not fawking mosquito repelent, you dont give your self a quick shot of bear spray before you throw your pack on.:shaking: Its just that, you spray it in the bears face not on a platter for them to lick up after the spray settles.
The wind you have me on there, that IS the biggest problem with bearspray but I think I can deal with it. And a .357... HA Ill carry my bearspray and watch the wind, you can carry the .357 and watch how fast a bear can close 100ft.:flipoff2:

I have some reservations about bear spray. Wind direction. The effective range is about 20'. That's awfully close to stop and deter a charging animal. I doubt it would stop a bear or mt. lion (a bigger threat than bears in my area). A .44 mag would be a starting point if four legged zombies were a threat. Even then, I would be looking to put some distance between us.

We haven't had much of a problem with growing operations or wilderness meth labs. I did bike through a white supremacist conclave, in Utah. That was interesting. :eek: