You guys are dead right on different items for different areas/situations.
Hunting here in Alaska & usually alone, I don't get more than about 100yds away (not out of sight) of my vehicle/camp without my full daypack.
Items I didn't mention earlier that are inclded are a sur vival bivvy bag, enough food to get through a couple days (granola bars, etc), fire starter kit (there must be a half dozen lighters scattered in my pack, & fire starters made by saturating cotton balls with vaseline), 2 large & heavy contractors garbage bags (make tarps for laying quarters on or shelter, 100' of cord, compas, GPS, SPOT (emergency sattelite locator. No cell service many places here), full set of TAG game bags (super lightweight synthetic game bags. A 7 bag set that will handle a full moose weighs less than 2# & takes up an area about 50% larger than a softball. They are washable & reusable, & a steal at around $80 a set. I can deal with the animal & get the bagged meat away from the gut pile before my 1st pack trip out. Important in brown bear country.), rain gear (almost always a possibility here, & good for survival in cold wind), a quality 80Lumens LED flashlight, Cabela's best LED headlamp, batteries for everything, & more...
My day pack usually weighs just shy of 30# with water bladder full.
I also use an Eberlestock "Blue Widow" pack from their "Just One" series. It's quiet, can squish down to hold it's standard daily load snugly, yet expands to the point where I can easily carry over 100# of meat out 1st load with it, & the suspension system is up to it. That's important to me as I'm often over a mile fron camp/vehicle & with moose can be faced with 6-8 pack trips of meat. I don't want to have to go too light on the 1st trip out. My heavy hauling Barney's pack frame is always waiting in camp or the truck for the remaining trips.