What’s In My Pack – Archery Day Hunt Edition

I am a self-diagnosed gear nerd, I love reading reviews and watching the “What’s in my pack” videos on YouTube. So, I thought I would share the gear that I have chosen and that has worked for me the last few years, things I may have changed, and what my typical day pack for archery season looks like.

I will separate it out into three categories- my bino harness, pack, and my kill kit.

Bino Harness – Mystery Ranch Quick Draw Bino System (Upgraded from the AGC Bino Harness)

• In the zippered pouch I carry all my tags and licenses, that way I have my tags on any stalk I make. I can also store mouth calls inside this pouch as well.
• I have my Vortex Ranger 1300 rangefinder clipped to the chest strap and the safety lanyard I loop through the shoulder strap of the bino harness.
• In the side pockets I carry my wind checker, easily accessible and very necessary.
• Main compartment is my set of Vortex Viper HD 10x42mm binoculars. These are new for my 2019 season, upgrading from my Diamondbacks.

Pack – Stone Glacier Sky Archer 5900 w/lid

• Water bladder, I use the Platypus 3L big bag. I have this in the Stone Glacier Water bladder pouch.
• Kill kit.
• Necessities kit (I will do a separate post detailing this little kit as I carry it every time I go to the field).
• Small dry bag with snacks. I use dry bags as it will keep the snacks tight and any potential scent down.
• Kuiu Down Jacket. It stores into its own pocket and takes up very little space. I always carry a down layer because you never know when you’ll need a little warmth.
• Rain gear. Storms happen quick in Alberta so at the very least I will carry a light rain jacket. Mine is from Kuiu. It is lightweight, not super loud, and is pretty good for wind and rain protection.
• Sirui tripod.
• Phone Skope adapter.
• Vortex Viper HD15-45x spotting scope.
• In the lid I carry a spare wrist strap release, a 20’ piece paracord, this can be used to hang quarters or tie off a deer on a side slope, my Garmin InReach, a thin set of First Lite merino gloves and a roll of toilet paper.
• If I have my camera (Sony A6000) with me, it is clipped into the shoulder strap using the Cotton Carrier G3 Strapshot.

Kill Kit

• My kill kit is all contained in a small Sea to Summit dry bag.
• I have TAG game bags, they are high quality, keep bugs and dirt off the meat, and wash out really well.
• I carry an Outdoor Edge replaceable blade knife. This knife has a hide cutting blade and then the replaceable blade. I carry spare blades in the sheath as well. This has worked well for me so far.
• This year I will also carry a fixed blade EZEE knife as well as a Worksharp Field Sharpening system.
• I also throw in some Nitrile gloves.

This typically will weigh out around 25lbs with water and food and hopefully much heavier on the way out!

Hope this helps highlight some of the gear I have used with success and helps you plan out your gear list!

-R