Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Newbie to backpack hunting looking for help with setup........

Hi All,

I have been hunting for 21 years but would like to start back pack hunting in the near future. I live in NJ and hunt here and this year will hunt the Adirondacks with a friend. We have also been purchasing preference points in Wyoming for a few years planning a few trips there. So far I have purchased the Kifaru Sawtooth tent and medium stove with mosquito net. I am looking for recommendations on sleeping bag, sleeping pad, pack and a good packable down jacket. Please let me know thoughts and suggestions on these and any other items you feel important to mention. I am 6'3" and 220lbs when recomending gear.

I like the kifaru 0 degree slick bag but not sure about the weight for a long bag.

I also really like the kifaru G2 siwash bag if anyone is selling one.

I have no idea about the sleeping pad, or down jacket.

Thanks for your help in advance...

I'd personally go with a 20 degree bag unless you're planning on doing hunts later in the season; they are for the most part quite a bit lighter and pack down a lot smaller. I use a Mountain Hardwear Ultra Lamina 20* and it's been great for the past 2 seasons. Kifaru's Slick 20 is a sweet bag, too.

Kif has updated their pack designs a LOT since the Siwash, I'd personally look around for a lightly used Duplex frame and a bag like the DT2, DT1, Mountain Warrior, or AMR. Their internal framed T2 and T1s are awesome packs too and can be found for cheap... Lots of options on packs though. Stone Glacier would be another I looked into.

I like the Thermarest Neo-Air pads with a closed cell pad under for a little extra insulation, but it's not 100% necessary in my opinion.

I use the First Lite Uncompahgre puffy jacket, packs down nice and tight and is extremely warm in my experience.

Hope that helps some.

Tanner

I am about your size and am using a 25 year old north face down bag (0 degree super light) in a long and a neo-air pad. The pad is incredibly comfortable and I have run it down to the upper 20's without feeling cold. My daughter just bought a north face down 15 degree bag and it packs down small and is very warm. I have always prefered a bit more bag than most, but I have often camped above timberline in the summer without a tent or other shelter.

I would think almost any equivalent bag (fill weight and power) from a major manufacturer would work. Same goes for a micro puffy jacket. I have a north face thermo ball (synthetic) and it works for me. Be careful as the sleeves can be short for a tall guy..

I like my "Puffy" so much I bought two.

Lefty C

If you know you need something, you might. If you think you need something, you probably don't.

I love Thermarest Neoair pads and Enlightened Equipment quilts. I'll likely never go back to a sleeping bag. I tried a packable down but prefer my Patagonia puff options (coat/vest).

We,re pretty close to the same size, for a pack, check out the new Kifaru hunting frame, 26", with a mtn warrior bag. Finally broke down and spent way more on a pack than I wanted to, shoulda done it a lot sooner.. Had an Eberlestock Dragonfly that I never could quite get to fit right, this thing fit right straight out of the box. And a LOT more comfortable with weight.

If you,re getting into a lot of hills/uneven trails carrying much weight, trekking poles can take a lot of stress off the knees, make it a bit easier to keep your balance. The cam lock types seem to be more trust worthy than the twist lock types.

My recommendation on a down jacket is to look at synthetic fill jackets first. Down has advantages but insulating when wet is not one of them, which is always a consideration on a backpack trip.

I have a Kifaru 20 degree slick bag and like it. The Neoair with a closed cell pad underneath is also a good choice for a pad.

Agree with Smoke on hunting insulation. I use Primaloft. Almost as warm as down but can be dried out in field. Does not breath as well as down.

After reading the OPs initial inquiry, I was going to post, well, I was going to post what Tanner posted, to an item. Now, I'll just leave. You have good taste Tanner.

+1 on the Enlightened Equipment (20 deg.) quilt....

I'd take a look at the Paradox packs.
https://seekoutside.com/lightweight-packs/

MY GEAR FOR COLORADO BACKPACK ELK HUNT
I own multiples of just about every kind of gear. This gear is what I actually use when backpack hunting for elk in Colorado, not necessarily the best, just what I use.

Rifle: Thompson Center Icon “Weathershield” (synthetic/Ceracote) 30-06 with Leupold VX-3 3.5x10x40 scope, Leupold Rings and 180 grain Nosler Partitions hand loaded to perform like a .300 magnum (61 grains RL22, 2,840 fps).

Field Dressing Gear: 8" Buck Knife, Gerber Gator Saw, ceramic/diamond sharpener, Havalon scalpel, and T.A.G. game bags.
Binoculars: Leupold BX-3 “Mojave” 12x50 roof prism
GPS: Garmin etrex Summit
Compass: Silva
Maps: USGS, BLM & USFS maps

Backpack: Osprey “Aether 85”
Tent (warm weather): Big Agnes Copper Spur Ul-1
Tent (cold weather): Sierra Designs "Clip Flashlight"
Tarp: GoLite 8’x10’ Siltarp
Sleeping Bag: Western Mountaineering “Antelope” 5° goose down
Sleeping Pad: Thermarest NeoAir + foam pad

Stove (cold weather): MSR “Dragonfly”, white gas
Stove (warm weather): MSR “Pocket Rocket” or Optimus “Crux”, Isobutane
Pots: Titanium Tea Pot & Titanium Mug (1 quart Nalgene bottle fits inside)
Canteen: Nalgene 1 liter
Water Bag: Platapus, 2 liter, roll-up
Water Filter: Katadyn "Hiker Pro"
Pocket Knife: Victorinox Swiss Army Knife - "Climber", “Tinker” or “Traveler”

KC

KC
Other than the rifle my list is just about identical to yours.

Bag is Marmot, stove pocket rocket OR jet boil, 6" custom knife & havalon, ditto on the swiss army. Rifle, LW 7mag
It only took me 30 years to get there

Lefty C

Lefty:

That T/C Icon is pretty heavy but it is a real tack driver. I use it exclusively in Alaska because it won't corrode. But sometimes in Colorado, I carry a Winchester Featherweight 30-06 or a T/C Venture 25-06. A lot of people think that the 7mm mag is the perfect elk caliber.

You know I just guessed at the length of my Buck knife. I bet it does have a 6" blade.

I've never been able to convince myself that the extra weight of a Jetboil or Reactor, over my ultra-lite setup, is worth it.

It has taken me a lifetime to decide what I like best and to update in an improving market. I have a lot of gear that is "almost" a duplicate of what I actually use.

KC

Reactors are nice, they'll heat up a small tent in a hurry if you need to.

KC
depending the mood I am in it's either the jet boil or the pocket rocket and a Ti cup


LC

You guys carry all this edged steel on a backpack hunt? I mean everything listed on a single hunt?

Field Dressing Gear: 8" Buck Knife, Gerber Gator Saw, ceramic/diamond sharpener, Havalon scalpel, and T.A.G. game bags.

Pocket Knife: Victorinox Swiss Army Knife - "Climber", “Tinker” or “Traveler”

On last years backpack elk hunt I carried a filet knife, Benchmade folder, Havalon, ceramic sharpener and one of the wire/cable type saws.

For deer hunting I'd leave the filet knife.

Talus:

Yeah, I carry all of that field dressing stuff. As I mentioned in my response to Leftcarbon, I think my fixed blade Buck knife actually has a 6" blade. The Gerber Gator Saws weighs less than a Wyoming Saw and I need something to cut through the breast plate. The fixed blade knife will do it on a deer but not on an elk.

Once I watched a guy field dress an elk using only a Havalon scalpel. That was pretty slick. He said "If it's sharp, you don't need a big knife." I've only field dressed about 100 big game animals. I'm not that good at it yet.

I don't use the Swiss Army knife for field dressing. Folding knives get too much gunk in the hinge and I use that knife for eating. Plus I want to be able to make a reasonable impression of MacGyver.

KC