Will suggested this and it got me thinking, yeah I know, but sometimes. Why a packing list?



Nobody actually packs everything on their list, you always forget something.



If you do manage to round up all of the items they never fit in your bag anyway. This forces you to decide between luxury and necessity. A decision you should have already made.



Regardless of how many times you check your list and check it twice you will still end up with Goretex mittins in Zimbabwe or those cute little PH shorts in Kotzebue.



And you will still forget your favorite knife and your hat.



My solution is simple. I just leave everything in the Cabella's box that comes the day before I am to leave and add an extra day at my last departure location for shopping. (make sure you also order a duffle from Cabelas as the stuff will never fit back into the box.)

Because!!!! I always make lists and I have a secret which I will share with you.

With respect to Africa I begin to set everything out about 10 days before I go. Individual items are laid out in categories...clothing, gun-related items such as ammo, ammo carriers etc, paperwork, toiletires and medication, glasses (and spare pair + sunglasses), When I set it out I put a check mark next to the item.

When it is time to actually put it in the gun case and duffle bag I use a yellow high-lite pen on each line-item.

When I come back I draw a line thru each item after it is packed.

I have on occassion taken more than I needed but have never said "I wish I had remembered to bring....".

My packing list:

gun
ammo

2 pair shorts
2 shirts
2 pair socks
hunting boots and sandals

2 cans skeeter juice

Everything else is luxury.

DB
Sounds like you've been watching me. Trouble is, those hi liters go dry soooo quickly.

I take everything but the kitchen sink and I always have to lend the "I travel light bunch" half of the stuff they need...

When the bugs eat them I have Benadryl, when the laundry is lost of not ready I loan them clothes, when its cold I get them a sweater or coat, when they lose their Lariam I give them some, when they get a cold or flu I have Doxy or whatever, If they lose a filling I can fix that, you name it I probably can help, but when their one pair of shoes get soaked, I tell them tough s--t!! you ain't wearing my extra pair, well unless they fit....

I go prepared for the worst...check it all through in one big bag...

Yes, I have a list. I seldom get in tent camp and not have what I need...Anyone for Metamucil?

Ray....do any of the customs people ever wonder about the inflatable "companion" you take with you into the bush?

Hell my lists have lists!



My lists are cross referenced with my hunting partners lists. They have since started breeding their own lists.....

Next time I do an overnighter Ray I'll have to take you You've got everything covered ...oh bring some loo paper mate I always forget that

Gentlemen,

I tend to go the other way, making my list as simple as possible.

For hunting, in order of priority.

1. Rifles, ammo, passport, air ticket, money.
2. Cameras, computer, batteries.
3. Clothes.
4. Walter.

Tell the truth Saeed. We both know Walter is #1.

I spoke to Alan last night he is back in Zim safe. We had fun in Mexico.

Do you stuff Walter in a suitcase or a duffel bag?

Bakes,

That is what I would like to do, but the airlines won't allow it without a vets ceritificate

Bloody red tape

Okay, I admit defeat. How can I counter-attack a coup d'etat led by a guy that has no shame?

I almost always have a list, and I try to take everything on it. In November, I went to family for Thanksgiving and some hunting is always in store either bird or bow hunting for deer and rabbits. This year it was bow hunting, and it was cold with lots of snow. I got home on the last flight at midnight to leave the next morning. I packed the next morning without a list. I only forgot a few things: warm boots, socks, change of underwear.

I guess I got in the habit in the military. I had a job where we had to be able to deploy on fairly short notice so if you didn't have a list you were apt to forget something and many of the places we went there weren't stores to buy what you forgot......you had to be (1) at the right location, (2) at the right time, (3) in the right uniform, and (4) with all the right gear....nobody wants to take a knife to a gunfight.

I honestly think lists are way more important to some than others.

My wife doesn't ever make a list and is very haphazard, but she always has everything she needs on a trip.

I, however, am a compulsive list maker and check everything three times. Being in bad health and an amputee makes things more complicated. I can't afford not to have all the meds and equipment with me.

Another good thing about making and checking the list....it heightens the anticipation of the trip. I can obsess about what to take, how big I need to take, the color I need to take, etc for months before a trip thus allowing me spread the enjoyment.

Bill

You misunderstand my comment I think.

I ALWAYS use a packing list. When I don't I am really hopeless and end up missing out on things or end up taking everything I can think of "just in case".

My comment was the packing lists are always more than can be taken anyway.

If you look at the usual packing list and then try to pack it all in a bag, it will never fit nor fit in the weight limit. Then if you do this the night before like me (I too start to pile it up in advance), you panic and have to extract things. Still over the weight limit. Take more things out. "I hope none of this will be needed!" you say to yourself.

Last safari I dumped half the films.

Guess what?

I needed to buy additional film in Zimbabwe!

While the use by dates were OK some of the pictures came out with solid black lines at the bottom and almost all my only buffalo photos.

I know this doesn't answer why, but the last issue of African Hunter had a great packing list.

Ray.... you would get along well with my dad... the two of you could fill the belly of a 747 with the gear for a weekend in the woods...

If I don't use a list, I WILL miss something critical... if I DO use a list, I'll miss something minor.... like underwear.