Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Pack/bag/shelter suggestion for light/unexpected overnights

Hi I am a newbie here, I appreciate any help you can give me. I recently purchased some hounds for hunting bobcats. I will be hunting in remote wilderness areas in Nova Scotia, Canada. My hunting will be done in winter. Our temperatures usually do not drop below - 20 Celsius. I will be hunting solo and will be in remote wilderness areas so I feel that it would be prudent for me to carry gear that will keep me alive in the event of an accident such as broken leg or I need to spend the night in the woods to find the hounds. I currently have a kifaru spike camp, that is an excellent pack;however, too small to carry my gear. I also have a Wiggys ultima Thule bag, but it is too large and heavy for me to drag around for miles in pursuit of hounds. I do not have any shelter systems yet. I am 6'3" and weigh around 225, I measured my shoulder circumference at 56 inches with a t-shirt on, so getting a bag that fits comfortably may be an issue as well. I would appreciate help with a pack, bag and shelter recommendation. Was thinking about MR Bighorn...not sure if that is a large enough size to carry the gear I need. Thanks everyone in advance.

Lots of options will surely work. For shelter, a heated tipi would be the ticket in extended winter conditions. Check out the seek outside stuff (KevinT on here).

If you are more concerned with space than carrying a lot of weight, there are a lot of packs that will do the job comfortably. The Bighorn is definitely a good option for shorter trips. Capacity depends on how long you plan to be out, though winter gear always takes up a bit more space so I'd probably err larger on average for that season.

For bags, the WM Kodiak should be roomy enough for you and is a lot of bag for the weight. If you're going to be out for more than a few days at a time, I'd suggest a vapor barrier liner (VBL) to keep your condensation from freezing in the bag insulation.

As far as packs, I'd look hard at the new Kifaru Timberline and for me a wood heated shelter is the only way to go. Like Snowy said, check out Seekoutside for some nice shelters.

I don't know how much snow you would have but, if there is any amount, a pulk/sled would be they way to go both for packing in camp as well as hauling out game. Kifaru makes some nice ones or you can pretty easily make a good one yourself. I believe Evan at Lill people Gear has instructions.
http://www.hillpeoplegear.com/

The lightest bags I know about are made by Jacks R Better and Nunatak. There's also Western Mountaineering, which are probably more common at local sporting goods stores. Some people like to use quilts instead of sleeping bags, and they might help you with the sizing issue. I've tried it; they're not quite as warm, but it's not a big difference. Places that specialize in lightweight sleeping bags often also make quilts.

For lightweight trips, I usually go with a thinner sleeping bag than usual and make up for it by wearing my cold weather clothes inside. I think it's an acceptable tradeoff.

One lightweight shelter to look at is the Tarptent Scarp. It's rated at 4 seasons and weighs 44 oz. I have their Double Rainbow model and am happy with it, and my only complaint about them is they get condensation inside. Easily taken care of by mopping up with a handkerchief.

I don'k know about a good pack, since Kifaru happens to already be my favorite brand of hunting pack.