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This week on Gritty Bowmen we meet again with Aron Snyder of Kifaru International to talk about why your pack is so freakin\u2019 heavy.\xa0 At the end of this podcast you will know what Aron does to lighten his backpack.\xa0 As Aron explains in this podcast, most guys pack for Siberia but go to Africa.\xa0 Aron will also teach you how to modify your gear to make it lighter without sacrificing function. But you\u2019ve got to be carful doing this.\xa0As Aron said, \u201cBrian, \u201cWhen you start hacking parts off your pack and you think you \u2018might\u2019 be wrong--you\u2019re probably wrong. One of my army instructors told me that. But if that thing has been in your pack or part of your pack for 3 years and you\u2019ve never used it... hack that thing off like Hannibal Lecter!\u201d\xa0

This podcast is chalk full of what I call Aron Snyderisms.\xa0 Like, \u201counces make pounds and pounds make pain.\u201d And \u201cusually it\u2019s the bad-ass person who goes too ultralight and turns out to be the dumb-ass person.\u201d\xa0

The podcast has some glitchy spots\xa0but it\u2019s not too bad\xa0and the content is well-worth the time. In the last 30 minutes of theis podcast Aron and I go off on a tangent and talk about sponsorships in the hunting and outdoor industry--we talk about what we don\u2019t like about sponsorships and why.\xa0 And Aron tells me what his favorite clothing choices are right now, right down to the brand name.\xa0 Which, will probably\xa0 make some people in the hunting industry mad at him.\xa0 Sorry Aron.\xa0

Featured in this Podcast:

How to shed useless, dead weight-- pack lighter without sacrificing your comfort.

5 WAYS TO LIGHTEN YOUR PACK:

1. Assess the situation. Don\u2019t pack for Siberia when you\u2019re going to Africa.
2. Cutting and modifying your gear--shed useless weight.
3. Splitting gear with your hunting buddies.
4. Buy the lightest weight gear that you can afford that fits your style of hunting.
5. Lose the weight off your ass.\xa0

When you\u2019re pushing the envelope to save weight you can\u2019t have our cake and eat it too. \u201cMy wife wants a gun that shoots down trees, doesn\u2019t make noise and doesn\u2019t kick -- and they just don\u2019t have that...\u201d\xa0

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of like building a building... you can have quality, quantity, and cost-efficiency and you can have any two of those you want but you can\u2019t have all 3.\xa0 It\u2019s the same with paying the piper for lightweight.\u201d\xa0

\u201cFirst Lite makes a jacket we call the \u201cunpronounceable\u201d... the oounncompadre.\u201d\xa0

Question: \u201cWhat is a woobie and when do you use it?\u201d
Answer: \u201cOh I know. And what\u2019s horrible is Kifaru also makes a Doobie, which is probably because Patrick was a hippie.\u201d