The foraging/hunting thing was more of a side preference for my own personal gear. Sorry if I didn't communicate that clearly. Nevertheless, our requirements are that we can operate independently for up to a week. Unreasonable maybe, but that's the mandate.

Weight isn't too much of a problem, we're used to being heavily equipped- most of us have professional fire/EMS backgrounds, not volunteer- we have fitness for duty test requirements. The consensus among our team is that comfort and having all of the tools on hand is more important.

Thanks for the input,
WSAR