Weights for pack training

[Mad_Angler]

What do folks use?  Right now, I have a 40 lb bag of salt.

 

[Bullhunter]

I run a 50 pound bag of sand and when i amp things up i run two 50 pound bags of sand.  They are much smaller than the 40 pound bag of salt.

 

[JuiceJAc]

I use salt placed in cut off jean legs so each leg is 40lbs.  Each one is about he size of Kifaru meat bag.  I had left over salt or else I would have used sand like Mad to reduce the size. 

 

[dukkhnter]

I use sand bags.  Made them from cheaper dry bags.  Sometimes I will just wrap a few weight plates in old sweatshirts too though if I'm trying to get to a certain weight.

 

[Eye in sky]

I'm using a 60lb bag of concrete mix. Next week I'm switching to an 80lb bag. I find the concrete bags to be pretty compact.

 

[SarcasmPhD]

I use the Tenzing 4000. I put a 50# bag of corn in the pack, fill my Camelbak and thats around 65#. I'll gradually add weight at the gym using plates. Last season I worked up to 110#.

 

[usmcvet]

75 lbs sand bag in my Tenzing 6000.

 

[Hunter6]

I hike with 65 lbs in my exo.


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[wl704]

82 right now-bag of concrete and a couple extra weights.

 

[MT_mulies]

Man I thought I was doing good, but after reading your guy' posts I feel like a weinee. I have 30 lbs and walk to work with it, which is just over half mile. Every week till hunting I'm going to add about 10 lbs. Im hoping to get up to 60 lbs and then I will probably stay there. I don't anticipate walking out with much more than that anyway in a given trip. Probably more like 2 trips with 40-50 lbs. I have my brother so between the two of us it should take 2 trips ish. Unless I kill a cow or a spike then I will try to get it all in one trip.

 

[usmcvet]

Man I thought I was doing good, but after reading your guy' posts I feel like a weinee. I have 30 lbs and walk to work with it, which is just over half mile. Every week till hunting I'm going to add about 10 lbs. Im hoping to get up to 60 lbs and then I will probably stay there. I don't anticipate walking out with much more than that anyway in a given trip. Probably more like 2 trips with 40-50 lbs. I have my brother so between the two of us it should take 2 trips ish. Unless I kill a cow or a spike then I will try to get it all in one trip.

You're no weinnie at all. Don't over exert your back, you only have one. I suppose I'm use to I since being a heavy weapons grunt in the Marine Corps. We had no choice - you carried your load or you ended letting your brothers down. Those packs at times with heavy weapons weighed close to 80 lbs and our longest hump was 26 miles. Talk about pain, but it comes with a price. Limit your extreme heavy loads. I now have degenerative disc disease thanks to the long heavy loads. I'm not saying don't do heavy hikes, but just don't make them a daily thing. Your daily thirty pounders are a safe play.

 

[Fullabull]

I have a 40lb weight vest that I started wearing on a three mile hike that goes up hill and down hill equally each way. I wanted to make it more realistic so I put it on my pack frame and boy I was glad I did that. You use totally different muscles, it made a big difference. Now i have to start doing lunges with it on 😲

 

[thisIsKristopher]

I do pack training in 4 day segments where I do 3 days (about an hour or more if I have the time) on the high school bleachers carrying 50 pounds in the pack. On the 4th day I put another 50 pounds in the pack to simulate packing out game. Then I take two days off.

I try and condition this way because it is easy to get used to the normal 40-60 pounds one carries around the mountain and then have a shock when one then puts on a rear quarter and a backstrap or head in addition to the 50 pounds they have been carrying.

I find that if I train every time with the 80 - 100 pounds my knees get sore rather quickly. It seems more realistic to train with around 50 - 60 pounds and then every few days train with your max weight. Because that is what happens on a hunt.

 

[hucklberryMT]

I just pack way too much water and then throw in some 15 lb rocks on top of that. I vary between 30-50 lb, sometimes less, but I try to go at much faster pace. I dump the rocks and some of the water at the top so my knees don't get fubar on the way down.

 

[nclonghunter]

This year after packing an elk out we took our packs and weighed them. They contained elk meat and the day use items. The three packs weighed in at #111, #118 and #147 and that was a 2 mile hump out.....practice with at least #100 in your pack.

 

[Boom]

i have these cool sandbags highway sign companies use to weigh down their temporary construction signs.  they are compact tubes with a handle for easy carry.  they weight 15lbs, each.  i have three of them.

they double as my benchrest pads and i use them to hold down an EZ up.  in the wind.

total multitasker. 

 

[va_elk]

I picked up a 50lb bag of all quickrete all purpose sand at the hardware store a while back.  holds it shape pretty well but it sure is some dusty stuff.  Duct taped it up and stuffed it in an old t-shirt to keep the dust down.  So far so good.

 

[wl704]

I picked up a 50lb bag of all quickrete all purpose sand at the hardware store a while back.  holds it shape pretty well but it sure is some dusty stuff.  Duct taped it up and stuffed it in an old t-shirt to keep the dust down.  So far so good.

Fwiw-I wrap bags (sand, concrete, etc) with some house wrap scraps/remnants then a bit of duct tape to secure which helps contain the dust and strengthens the bags...

 

[mckayam1]

If using the heavy weights, 70 plus. How far do you go ?

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[Bowhunter1]

If using the heavy weights, 70 plus. How far do you go ?

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I start out with 30 or 40 and work up to 70. I usually do a 3 mile hike 2 to 3 times a week.