With a keen eye for realism, Red Dead Redemption 2 incorporates many elements that add to the authenticity of the Wild West experience and history.
One such element is to carry only a handful of weapons and equipment via character’s satchel and their horse’s. In our Red Dead Redemption 2 Satchel Upgrades Guide, we have shared details on how to use satchel and upgrade it along with locations for materials in RDR2.
Red Dead Redemption 2 Satchel Upgrades
It should be noted that you can’t actually upgrade your satchel until you start chapter 2 (specifically when you reach the Horseshoe Overlook). Until then, you’ll have to be a little conservative when it comes to collecting material. However, the base capacity you’re afforded should be more than adequate for your purposes.
The satchel is accessed through the right directional input on the d-pad. Here, you store small items like plant specimens, potions, and some firearms.
Pressing the same right input of d-pad near the horse or when you’re riding it will access the special satchel that’s only exclusive to the horse. Here, the bigger items are kept including animal hides, rifles, and more.
When you reach the limit of your satchel or your horse’s satchel capacity, you’ll receive a prompt telling you of such. In that case, you can acquire help from Pearson back at your camp.
Quick note: Pearson can’t do anything for you if you haven’t unlocked his tools from the Ledger. Therefore, upgrading your Camp is very important and should be the number 1 priority.
As long as you bring him perfect pelts from animals, you’ll have access to various satchel upgrades. You must donate whatever pertinent material you find directly to Pearson – he’s the only one! After meeting the requirements and donating the proper material to Pearson, only then will the upgrade be available.
When either hunting animals, aim with of your firearm or binoculars to check for the quality of pelt you will receive. What you are targeting here for a perfect pelt requires you to hunt down an animal with three stars near its name.
Moreover, what methods you employ into bringing down the animal also ties into the type of pelt you will be receiving.
For perfect pelt, you will need to get a clean, quick blow to the creature. This means, that you will need to kill them as painlessly as possible. This comes in the form of a shot to the head or the neck.
For this purpose, a long-distance rifle is recommended. Although a bow with poison arrows will also suffice. These weapons are recommended for larger creatures, however. For smaller creatures, like a Badger or a Raccoon, a Varmint Rifle will be more adequate. For a squirrel, we recommend using a bow with small game arrows.
For larger creatures like Boars or Bison, it’s not enough to just use a powerful weapon, you’ll need specialty ammo for your rifles or improved arrows if you’re using a bow.
One item that can deliver these results is the Legendary Buck Antler Trinket. It will increase your chances of getting a clean hit and thus enable you to obtain good quality pelts.
Pelts are not the only resource that goes into crafting these satchels. There are also other requirements. First, you will need to have completed Chapter #2 of the game.
Secondly, you need to unlock Leather Working tools that you can obtain once the camp is sufficiently upgraded.
It’s possible for you to buy all these upgrades once you’ve completed the main story. You can simply go to the fence in Rhodes and purchase it from him.
However, going the entire game with the minimum amount of inventory? That’s a tall order and will require a rigorous amount of careful planning and immaculate use of your resources; doesn’t sound all that fun
Listed below are all the satchel upgrades along with their individual requirements that fall under tasks to be completed and materials to be gathered. And requires you craft all the other satchels first. Good luck!
| Upgrade | Perks | Tasks | Materials |
| Ingredients Satchel | Increased capacity for all types of edible Ingredients for e.g. plant specimens | Access to Leather Working Tools. Donate 5 animal carcasses to Pearson. | Perfect Deer Pelt, Perfect Elk Pelt, Perfect Panther Pelt. |
| Kit Satchel | Increased capacity for all types of Kit equipment for e.g. med-kit | Access to Leather Working Tools. Donate 3 valuables to the tithing box. | Perfect Deer Pelt, Perfect Elk Pelt, Perfect Panther Pelt. |
| Legend of the East Satchel | Increased capacity for all item types. | Access to Leather Working Tools. All other satchels to be unlocked prior. | Perfect Cougar, Perfect Deer, Perfect Wolf. |
| Materials Satchel | Increased capacity for inedible materials required for crafting. | Access to Leather Working Tools. Craft 3 recipes at the scout fire. | Perfect Boar, Perfect Deer, Perfect Iguana. |
| Provisions Satchel | Increased capacity for all types Provisions and supplies. | Access to Leather Working Tools. Upgrade the Provisions wagon two times. | Perfect Bison Pelt, Perfect Deer Pelt, Perfect Raccoon Pelt. |
| Tonics Satchel | Increased capacity for all types of Tonics. | Access to Leather Working Tools. Upgrade the Medicine Wagon two times. | Perfect Buck Pelt, Perfect Deer Pelt, Perfect Elk Pelt. |
| Valuables Satchel | Increased capacity for all types Valuables for cash for e.g. jewellery | Access to Leather Working Tools. Donate $50 to the tithing box. | Perfect Beaver Pelt, Perfect Deer Pelt, Perfect Rabbit Pelt. |
When you have unlocked these satchels, the capacity of your inventory is maximized, especially with the Legend of the East Satchel.
No more will you need to unload your supplies at the camp to obtain new ones. Thus, you will not need to backtrack and can continue with your progress and journey in the Wild West.
