A hunter needs to have certain items along on a hunt. A knife is the most important, but some type of rope or twine is also necessary. Besides these two items, there are a bunch of other equipment, which may be deemed nice-to-have items, but are less than essential.

My hunting backpack weights around 15 pounds. I just put it on the scale and was a bit surprised at the weight. It is time for its annual cleaning and downsizing.

An outside pocket, the one with a mesh front, contained seven items. The first was the paperwork for a Wenger Swiss Army Knife, explaining 35 tools and features available on various Wenger Knives. Why is it in the pack? At one time I wanted to study it, but it is not needed anymore.

The old rubber band broke as soon as I tried to stretch it. This bringing up a good point about whatever is in the pack; make sure all items are fresh and within working order.

There were two pieces of cotton string; one short and one longer and folded up and secured with a rubber band. This band doesn't need to be fresh. It won't be tested for stretching ability. As long as it is capable of holding the string, it is doing a good job.

The cotton string is used to attach a tag to a game bird or animal, such as an elk, deer or turkey. A container of dental floss will do the same job.

An interesting find in this pocket were two triangle pieces of paper material. One has Dec on it and the other the number 1. These are the month and date cut from a turkey tag. Not wanting to leave the pieces in the Great Outdoors, they were placed in the pack. They are interesting bits of my hunting history, but no longer needed.

The last item in this little pocket was a bottle of mule deer attractant. A few years back the liquid was placed on a piece of cloth not far from where the ground blind was placed. It didn't seem to attract deer when used as directed. I was careful not to "apply to my body or clothing, as I may be attacked."

A little bit remains in the bottle, a half-inch or so, and it will be used to soak another piece of cloth. Why throw it away? I'll try it again, but will be careful, so as not be attacked.

The next pocket contained a Buck Crosslock knife; a one-hand-operated knife with a regular blade on one side and a gut hook and saw on the other. This knife is my favorite for field dressing an animal.

Next were three rubber bands, all containing ample elasticity. A small piece of folded paper contained no writing or figures and was probable placed in the pack when it was found as a piece of litter.

Adding 15.7 ounces of unnecessary weight were 18 AA batteries. Extra batteries are necessary in case the batteries in one of the electronic items, such as a GPS, run out of power, but 18?; completely unnecessary. There is no clue as to how long they have been in the pack, but instead of simply throwing these away, I will test them and keep the ones strong enough to be used. A roll of 100 or so yards of a thin, but strong twine was also in the pocket.

Just found: Inside a small side storage area of this second pocket were another eight AA batteries. What was I thinking?

The third pocket held 10 items. The first was a crumpled up paper towel, obviously used to wipe my hands after field dressing a deer. There was a small length of cotton string. If a tag is tied to an animal and some is left over, the result is a shorter, but usable, piece of the original string.

A tool called a Rapid Rod was found. This is a folded up cleaning rod, which will go together easily in the field. If an obstruction needed to be cleared from the barrel, this tool will complete the job.

A second Buck Crosslock was found, but why do I need two in the same pack? Also discovered was a round knife sharping steel made by Chief's Choice. The steel is housed in a round device with a pocket clip. When the release is loosened, the steel is extended outside the housing. This item will sharpen the gut hook.

A tool called a Gerber Strike Force is known as a flint and steel or a fire stick is a fire-starting item. When the steel is scrapped along the flint area, which isn't really flint these days, a bunch of sparks are sent to the waiting tinder. A plastic bag of petroleum jelly soaked cotton balls complete my fire-starting kit.

A Coleman emergency whistle was in the pocket. This device has an internal chamber which is waterproof and holds matches. The whistle will be used if I ever get into a situation where yelling isn't feasible, as when the wind is blowing, and I need to get someone's attention. A whistle will always carry farther than the human voice.

A deck of cards, a pocket survival guide and a couple of shop towels complete the items in this pocket.

The last pocket in this backpack is the largest. It contains a Space Blanket, my GPS, two Motorola two-way radio, a flat-thin knife sharpener to sharpen the blade, my Bushnell Range Finder, several chemical hand warmers, a thin plastic poncho, three old chocolate bars, another flat, thin knife sharpener, a folded outdoors column from years ago, two more Buck Crosslock knives, four size D batteries, 13 AAA batteries, 10 more AA batteries, a small Gerber hatchet, two head lamps, another round sharpening steel, an ink pen, reading glasses and an extensive first aid kit.

Rest assured I don't carry the pack as is on a hunting excursion. When on a short hunt, only a knife and a radio are necessary. Many of the other items will be included if the hunt will cover five miles or is in unknown territory.

This pack is used as a place to store many of these items. In addition, when traveling out of town, the pack in the vehicle, as any one of the items may be of use depending upon the situation, such as coming upon a vehicle accident where the Space Blanket might keep an injured person warm.

Now the backpack will be dusted and cleaned, as will all of the items going back inside. The batteries will be replaced with newer ones, but not near as many.

This backpack is thought of as a security pack by me. It contains more than enough items needed to successfully assist with most situations I come across.