Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting 2013 Gear Thread

Walk slower.


Travis

The 5 hr ridge traverse was plenty slow with storms brewing . Going down the same way I got up was not much of an option

I love it when you get to the top, look down and think "Did I just climb that?" Next up is "How in the world do I get back down?????"

I only really had one of those moments this season, I found elk though......

I know that feeling too well. Usually it starts with looking down and saying CRAP !!!! In this particular case, me and an older fellow that is a very experienced mountaineer (Logan, Peru, many big peaks) had our eyes on a striking 13er. We tried to avoid the 2500 ft scree slog and ended up on a very slow going 5 hr ridge traverse that had a large amount of "no fall" zones. Storms brewing did not help to settle the nerves either.

That is followed shortly by, what do I do if I shoot an elk here?

The elk were lucky they didn't have head gear, I wasn't dumb enough to shoot a cow there.

Just did a couple days of elk hunting. Was truck camping but included in some gear testing. Tested out the new large xtherm and had no issues. Same neoair performance I've grown to really like. Got down into the high 20s the first night. Xtherm and 10 degree Enlightened Equipment revelation x and I was toasty warm. Took the 30 degree version of the same quilt down to the high 30s. Ran same merino baselayers I always wear when packing both nights. Added a cabelas ecws 1/4 zip in the 30, but I'm confident I could have done without. Quilts are definitely within 10 degrees of listed temperature for me.

Got to spend 2 days with my new Swarovski 8x30 CL. Best I can tell these are THE backpacking glass. Light, small, and glass at least as good as the older Zeiss Victory 8x40 I just sold. Was worried about low light performance but at o'dark thirty they let me see the spikes on an elk that saved my bacon. He was getting ready to catch an arrow to fill my cow tag!

Still liking my HPG Umlindi. It got "borrowed" for a bit...long story, and I got to think hard about replacing it. Were I buying again I might try to find something lighter, but I haven't found anything yet I like better.

Leupold Yosemite again impressed the heck out of me for the money spent. Ran a pair of 8x30 until my Swarovski arrived. Still best bang for the buck for a beginner or someone getting started.

Stupidly sold my Tarptent Contrail and made it a week before I bought another. Still digging it. Sure, not as easy to get into as a side entry but you get an awful lot for very little weight.

Gear I loved:
7mm 120 grain ballistic tip. I shot a quartering away running pig a bit far back, but it did the trick. Entry, exit, and a big mess in between. It acted much like I've seen partitions act.

Zeiss Conquest 3-9X40. Crisp, clear, and it has been lucky.

Cheap Gamewinner fleece balaclava. This thing is awesome at keeping my head and face warm.

Gear I leaned to love:

Muck Boot Edgewater. They tore huge blisters on my heels until I got some good slick liner socks. Now I love them. Good waterproof quit stalking boots.

Gear I'm not sure about:
Leupold CDS. I love the M1 turret, but I'm not sold on the CDS. It seems too easy to get knocked out of zero.

Gear I hated:
Cableas Dri-Plus rain jacket. Granted, this is a few years old, but it utterly failed on a morning sitting in the rain. Water came in through the seams and between the seams. I'm glad it never rained in The Bob Marshall last year when I was depending on this to keep me dry! The Redhead pants I was wearing that day worked fine.

I agree on the Dry-Plus. All it succeeded doing in my parka is make it more noisy...certainly doesn't keep the rain out.