Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting 2013 Gear Thread

I was emailing back and forth with a few members here talking about what gear we liked and didn't like this season. I want to do the same thing here, lets see what pieces of gear worked, and which ones need to be retired. Pictures to go with thread would be great:

Favorite pieces:

-Kryptek Koldo rain jacket- Perfomed as I expected it too and it replaced the softshell jacket for my first week in deer country. It rained a LOT that trip and having that jacket was worth every bit of it.
-LIl Bug Out Double Base Set Up-I used this shelter for multiple trips this summer and it performed great. Plenty of space for two, and VERY easy to pitch.

Least Favorites:
-Katadyn Vario- Most fickle filter I have ever used. Have sent it in and I am still having problems, will see how their customer service does this off season. If I can't get it to stop spraying water out the top i likely won't ever use it again.
-Goal Zero Battery Pack- I wasn't impressed with the batter pack by itself. It may perform better when it is coupled with their solar panel, but it did not charge my phone as advertised.


What say you?

I could use a new model of knees. They don't have to be new. A pair about 30 years old would be a big improvement. A fresh set of lungs wouldn't hurt any, either. Mine get a little wheezy after a few miles.

I did not use it for hunting, but thus far I am really, really liking this Ultra Copper 3.

And I'm officially a fan of Jetboil after 2013.

Things I liked-

Zeiss 10x40 Classics-Still the [bleep].
Swaro STS 65 20x60, invaluable.
Slik Sprint Pro + Sunpak pistol head-light, stable, compact, awesome.
Tikka T3 Super-Lite 7mm Rem- light, bombproof, ugly enough that I don't feel bad beating it to death.
MR CrewCab-not much to say-it just works.

Dislikes-

Every single pair of boots I've ever worn. From now on I'm wearing lowcut Merrell Phaser Peaks and gaiters.

Tanner

The boot discovery is your best find.



Travis

I have quit using my Goal Zero Guide 10 battery pack, I emailed them a few times and complained about it and got the brush off.

It is supposed to have 10,000mah of juice in it and it only charged my phone one time each time. My Mophie Juice pack Powerstation pro will do 4 charges and it is only rated at 6000mah.

The Nomad 7 solar panel is good, as long as you have sunlight, which is why I got the Mophie and I quit carrying the solar panel. It is also a bit heavy, nearly a pound I think.

I got the Core battery pack for my Petzl headlamp and it has been great, I can top off the charge for a weekend trip and not worry about it going dead, even for a week long trip it lasts plenty. On the off chance I need a recharge, it will plug into the Mophie. I don't even carry my little lantern or a back up light anymore.

Steri-Pen Freedom has also been great, no problems at all and it also recharges from the Mophie.

By getting all electronics to plug into the juice pack, I was able to ditch the extra batteries I needed to carry.

Been using my iPhone instead of a camera for 9 months or so now, it has been the camera, video cam, weather station, GPS and ballistics calculator all rolled into one light weight package. When I get a newer version of the DeLorme InReach it will also give me satellite messaging.

Made the jump to TAG BOMB bags and am very happy I did, they weigh 10 ounces and fold up as small as a large sandwich. Each bag has it's own draw cord and lock and they come with a stuff sack to hold them all. Significant weight savings by switching from my home made canvas meat sacks.

The Stone Glacier Solo continues to impress and Kurt's customer service is just plain awesome, he never refuses to respond to questions or help asked for. The pack is light, comfortable and easy to adjust.

Gaia GPS upgraded something earlier this year and it now works MUCH better, so much better I started leaving my Etrex Vista at home and relied solely on my iPhone and Gaia for navigation.

I didn't get a whole lot of time with Bullet Flight ballistics program, but it was quick and easy to use every time I used and accurate out to the distances I shot with using it.

A friend loaned me a Vortex Viper PST FFP 6-24x50 and it was crystal clear and easy to shoot with out past 600 yards. Although I think for some odd reason the 6x on the Viper is harder to use than my old 6x Leupold, never could put my finger on why. So I think dropping down to a 4-16 in the Viper might be a good call.

KUIU Superdown hooded jacket and pants continues to impress, warm, light and compresses so small you don't even know they are in the pack. Resists water very well and dries quickly. I see they have a vest now too, I want one.

Wetcomb Cruiser LT jacket and pants are beginning to show their age, three years old now and have wetted out twice this year, both times I washed them with the stuff Westcomb suggested to use. If they wet out again I will have to try some extra waterproofing. I have never been happy with the way the hood fit, it was just plain irritating as I had a difficult time adjusting it. Upgrade will be to KUIU when I get around to it.

Vasque Breeze 2.0 boots sucked in a nutshell, the toe box is too narrow even after I spent considerable time using a boot stretcher on them. They named them Breeze for a reason, nice enough to keep your feet cool in hot weather, but will chill your feet quickly when the temps drop.

Minus 33 merino wool base layers gets highest marks, no complaints at all about any of it. Very happy I switched over from synthetic.

My old Cabela's Meindl's (five years old) started falling apart and Cabela's bought them back for what I paid for them. I turned around and bought a pair of Denali's but haven't gotten to wear them much as I have been hampered by tendonitis in my left leg and have to go easy on it this year. High marks for Cabela's customer service though.

I got a Exped Downmat XP9 in the spring this year, very warm and comfortable but heavy at nearly 3 pounds with stuff sack, repair kit and air bag/dry sack. I will be getting a Xtherm for fast and light trips. The Exped will remain on winter duty.

Our 4 Kifaru Slick bags are now 3-1/2 years old, two of them belong to two teenage boys. Not one bag has a rip, tear, hole or loose seam in them. Three of them see all year round use. One person got hypothermia on a trip in March, I rolled her up into her Slick bag and it warmed her right up. They fend off snow, rain and condensation with ease. I even crawled in with wet clothes one time to see what would happen, woke up in the morning dry. The bag had beads of water on the outside but I was warm all night. But the 0 degree rating is a tad off as I begin to feel chilled once the temp drops into the mid to high teens and it weighs just shy of 3 pounds.

I was waiting for KUIU to come out with their Superdown bag but it still hasn't seen the light of day yet.

Enlightened Equipment just introduced a Downtek quilt rated for 0 degrees and weighs less than 1-1/2 pounds. That coupled with an Xtherm pad would put my sleep system lighter than my Kifaru bag all by itself.

Interesting info on the 0 Slick, same as many others have posted. That means it weighs the same as NF Cat's Meow, and has the same warmth, except NF doesn't call theirs a 0 bag.

Feathered Friends is currently testing some version of "dry down".

Jacks R' Better's quilts can be ordered right now with Active-Dry down.

Gear I used and really liked this year.

La Sportiva Trekker 180's. I couldn't find any trail runners in my AO. Softer footbeds with heavier loads work far better than stiffer soles do. I get way more miles out of my feet per day that way. EdT made me see the light.

Seek Outside BCS. I freeeekin LOVE this tent. With the panel in it's plenty big for two, and without it, it weighs very little more than a Kifaru Supertarp. The difference is the footage is twice as much room. Plus you can stand up in it...

EdT cylinder stove. It's not hype, it's the best stickburner out there for a floorless tent. I don't know if it's the damper system or what, but they use aat least a 3rd less fuel than the same volume in a box stove. Plus, being a cylinder, to get the same volume, that means it's longer. That means you can buck standing dead lodgepole longer, which means less work...

V2.0 Firesteel. They're that much better...

Firstlite Kanab pants. Been wearing them since bow season. Not your grampa's wool hunting pants...


Gear I bought I didn't like so much...
I bought a summer bag before The Bob through hike. Mountain Hardware Lamina 35... It's close to the same size as my beloved WM Badger. I didn't save any wieght in my kit, but it's a synthetic cheap bag I can beat the [bleep] out of and not care. I hate the zipper in it. It reminds me of being in a Slumberjack bag from Kmart. If you awoke in the middle of the night needing to take an urgent [bleep], things are going to end very badly for you...

Didn't change too much this year, my biggest change and great success was with my Seek Outside 6 man. Came in super handy when Ma Nature decided to drop 8" in late September.

Well my season is far from over. Deer is just opening here in NC but I did take a backpack hunt with Rock Chuck in October and based on that:

My Asolo 520 boots were still a bit stiff during my October pack hunt in Idaho but were totally broken in by the end of the week.(I was pretty well broken in by then too!) The extra ankle support helped and felt better in those mountains than the lightweight Lowa Renegades I wore last year.


The GoLite SL 5 worked well for two. We added a small folding table made coffee and cooked our breakfast each morning in the comfort of our bags. Had a snow the last day which showed the need for a sod skirt but overall it worked pretty good.



The Tikka T3 Lite in 7mm-08 with a Leopold VX-II 3-9 40mm @ about 7 pounds total was much more enjoyable to carry than the 10 1/2 lb Weatherby I carried last year. And it was plenty effective on the little mulie buck, the first animal it was used on.

Second year in a row, I am sold on the Kifaru Gunbearer. I'll take it 100 to 1 over a typical sling.

Rock Chuck's llamas were da bomb! Best "gear" yet. In fact, if I can find a place to keep them, I'm seriously considering a pair of these guys myself! From packing in camp, with plenty of gear as you can see in the tipi photo above, to packing out meat these boys were awesome!


And this isn't my gear but Rock Chuck picked up a little folding aluminum table and two matching stools from Sportsman's Warehouse which were compact, lightweight, and very functional and useful.

My gear acquisitions were minimal this year and granted some of my opinions are biased.

First Lite Uncompahgre Jacket - I really like this jacket a lot. My only complaint is the zipper which isn't bad, but is fiddly. IMO, waterproof zippers are great, but normally more hassle than they are worth.

First Lite Softshell Pants - A radical departure for me. Heavy but perform great. I prefer the wool Kanab pants but most of my time out the past few weeks has been sloppy , sloppy , sloppy and the soft shells were great.

Vasque Talus Boots - I am a trail runner to snow boot type of guy .. but this year the conditions were sloppy , muddy, mucky with some snow and a bit more slop. I put about 15 days in and yes, I'm noticeably slower, but at least in my opinion they are a very nice boot. They feel more like a shoe, but kept me pretty much dry.

What else, well i really like the Paradox pack with a 4800 bag. I don't know of anything else that carries as well over a long time. I used the day talon a lot this year and thought it was great for quick hikes and peak bagging. I have some tents I've used I thought were pretty darn cool as well

I just did not acquire much gear this year.

I didn't use much that was new this year either. I really like the Sawyer squeeze filter, the SL-5, and the HPG kit bag. And although I've had it for probably 10 years, I still like my Marmot Helium bag, it's great for the early seasons in the mountains.

I did a run down a week or so ago but I forgot to mention the Trader Joe's instant coffee with cream and sugar. The perfect ratio every time! Use two pouches for one cup.

Big Agnes Seedhouse 3. Really liking this thing. It's a stand out for sure.

Kuiu Tiburon pants. Light weight, breathable and tough. Can hardly believe I didn't rip them to shreds.

Kuiu Spindrift. 13 oz jacket/pillow. 2nd season with this thing. Won't be without it.

Great thread BTW.

Better than Starbucks Via?

Snubbie mentioned the folding table & stools we took on our llama trip. The item on the left of this photo is one item I don't go without unless it all has to be on my back. As you get older, some small comforts are worth the extra luggage.

First Lite baselayer- This stuff was the difference that kept us from getting hypothermia in the terrible rain storm that we encountered up Barnard.

Koldo rainwear - Way better than Sitka. Its a bit heavier but it is much more durable in the brush.

Alpine Aire Dehydrated- Spicy but with less sodium than the MH.

Razor HD 11-33-50mm Spotter- light but still very useful. It is excellent for fast and light.

BD Cyborg Crampons- They rock on ice. They were extremely handy on the glacier and on the chutes above.

More stuff but I can't remember right now.

10-4 good buddy.

This pic Snubbie posted about our llama pack trip is funny. It looks like we had enough gear to stock a hotel. Most of what you see is empty panniers but they're spread out on the ground so it looks like a camp for 40 people. We didn't have nearly as much as it appears.

Thanks for the part I bolded. I haven't read much in the way of reviews on Krypteks gear. However, I do like the specs of it. Anymore you care to share about the Koldo or anything else you used would be appreciated.