Advice on backpack hunt gear list

[jmden]

Hi:

Just read your list and the many replies. I plan to review your list in more detail, but wanted to pass along......I'd be happy to send you Tyvek to replace your floor choice.

I am by no means an expert, but have been working on lighter and lighter high quality gear as the years pass. I do Idaho archery and finally made the move from short overnights to hunting with camp on back. The biggest problem is finding someone that wants to do the same.

For this year I am thinking(purchased, but have to test first) of using a tarp and hammock set-up.

I bought a tarp(12 oz) and a hammock(7 oz). Now I have heard that the bottom gets cold, so I might have to carry a pad(closed cell about 14 oz, or self inflating rei 1.5(about 24 oz(I think). I'm also considering using an ultralight sleeping bag to attach under the hammock.

Hennessey Hammock makes systems and I plan to look into those also.

Personally, I think you are carrying too much weight, especially if you are hunting with camp on back.

I have a Marmot Helium EQ(waterproof) in 15 degree, which is too warm in September, but is waterproof on it's own.

Good Luck!

Casey Albert

For a lightweight, comfortable 3-season mattress, check out:

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir - the lightest, most technologically advanced air mattress.

For a bit colder camping, I use this one:

Therm-a-Rest® ProLite Plus self-inflating air mattress. You can see by the R-value that this one insulates better. If you are camped on snow, a second mattress of closed cell foam under you main mattress will do wonders.

Might check out Tarptent Ultralight Shelters as well...

 

[CaseyAlbert]

Hey JD:

I took a glance at tarptent and your website.

I bought and used a Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2, at 2#2oz. Couldn't beat the weight, but as it was extremely wet the first week, moisture buil up was fairly extreme no matter what I did.

I have an idea for a shelter I would like to talk to you about. I am out of the country, but will be back in Virginia Sunday through next Thursday am, then gone again.

Do you know Brett Bittenbender? He is still working in McCall as the Loft Foreman, and it is his fault that I go elking in Idaho every September.

You can send me a pm @ [email protected]

Many Thanks for your consideration.

Casey Albert

 

[ivanjunge]

For a lightweight, comfortable 3-season mattress, check out:

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir - the lightest, most technologically advanced air mattress.

The NeoAir looks really nice. Therm-a-rest is quality stuff. I've been using the Big Agnes sleeping pad for a couple seasons and LOVE it. It's cheaper but also heaver than the NeoAir. For comfort I think the thicker/taller the air chambers the better. It's takes some more time to inflate but you sleep like a baby. I don't like waking up cranky because I didn't sleep well.

 

[jmden]

Hey JD:

I took a glance at tarptent and your website.

I bought and used a Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2, at 2#2oz. Couldn't beat the weight, but as it was extremely wet the first week, moisture buil up was fairly extreme no matter what I did.

I have an idea for a shelter I would like to talk to you about. I am out of the country, but will be back in Virginia Sunday through next Thursday am, then gone again.

Do you know Brett Bittenbender? He is still working in McCall as the Loft Foreman, and it is his fault that I go elking in Idaho every September.

You can send me a pm @ [email protected]

Many Thanks for your consideration.

Casey Albert

tarptent.com is not my website, just to be clear. That is Henry Shires. He's been making these for some time and is fairly well know.

Was Brett working there in the early 90's? That's when I 'jumping' my way through college. I may have met him then as I just a fire or two out of McCall in '91 on a 'round the west' tour then as we chased fire causing storms from region to region than year.


When you get a chance, pm me.

 

[mcseal2]

Thanks for all the replys.

In addition to the advice I got here I bought 3 books on backpacking or backpack hunting on Ebay that gave me some new ideas. I definitely had to much stuff on my first edition I posted here. I got my new list on an excel spreadsheet and have been trimming weight off it where I can, it's nice to have the totals laid out like that. I also picked up a postage scale off ebay and am going to get accurate weights on all my gear instead of using the manufacturers weight. I will post the revised edition when I get everything accurately weighted. Right now my list is at 33lbs with everything I will carry except food/water. Add those in and it comes to 43.25lbs. I am still looking to trim it further, but where I plan to camp later in the year I don't want to skimp on warmth. Also I plan to pack in and hunt from a stationary camp instead of carrying camp each day.

 

[CaseyAlbert]

Hey McSeal:

I am constantly looking up info on ultralight backpacking also. Obviously you must tailor your gear to your particular hunt. I have never used Kifaru, but know from reading that it is great gear.

I use a Badlands 2800 pack, however if I was not planing to hunt with camp on back, I think I would opt for a much lighter backpacking pack which would be nearly two pounds lighter.

Sleeping comfortably is of utmost importance. Only you and your bud know the weather there at that time. Remember if you zip all your windows shut, you will be soaked when you wake up. When I sleep in my Marmot waterproof bag and sleep with head inside, it gets damp. Many people think a mummy bag is restricting, but if you just take the bag with you, they are warmer and more weight efficient. The pad you use(R factor) is important as your bag doesn't provide much warmth when compressed on the ground.

If you plan on hunting the same place, you could make a short trip in, then when you go back, leave your camp and bring more food to stay longer. Or, take a load in and store it in plastic garbage bags.

In Idaho where I plan to archery elk for the foreseeable future, I am hunting with camp on back and carry food for 3-4 days, plus I carried a fly rod to supplement my food. As last year was the first year I carried a fishing rod, I now know I could stay out there for a month if I wanted too. I'm still searching for trout cooking ideas though.

Lastly for now, I think that all the clothes that you carry should be based on layering, as in no spares except socks and underwear. Absolutely NO COTTON.

Keep it coming!

Take care,
Casey Albert

 

[mcseal2]

I agree, and have modified my list accordingly. I have changed almost all my clothing to include a light down jacket for long glassing sessions and light hunting pants and jacket with no cotton. Also base layers with the silver lining for bacteria control made from polypropylene

Maybe one of the others that has one could help here, but I'm hoping that having the wood stove in the tent would help with condensation? I was thinking it could be used to dry it out and keep it warm. I know it is small so we couldn't keep it stoked all night, but could have it dry when we go to sleep, and fire it up again in the morning.

I bought an eberlestock J34 pack also to use, it isn't light but it allows comfortable packing of everything, as well as having room to take meat out the first trip. I think we could get all our gear and 1 buck out in a trip, if we both kill we'd have to go back.

 

[jmden]

The stove will lower condensation when going, but the condensation will start to build up as soon as it goes out, especially in a wet environment (raining) with wet gear you are trying to dry off. Still way better than anything else out there. A liner will help keep you from brushing up against the condensation and a design with a significant amount of adjustable venting will help with the condensation as well. I also would think that a real floor helps keep condensation at bay, especially if the ground is wet to begin with. If the ground is wet in your tent, it seems to me that that is just one more thing that you are then trying to dry out, which adds further to the condensation on the walls of the tent. Sure would be nice if someone made a design to deal with all those factors, huh?

 

[mcseal2]

The stove will lower condensation when going, but the condensation will start to build up as soon as it goes out, especially in a wet environment (raining) with wet gear you are trying to dry off. Still way better than anything else out there. A liner will help keep you from brushing up against the condensation and a design with a significant amount of adjustable venting will help with the condensation as well. I also would think that a real floor helps keep condensation at bay, especially if the ground is wet to begin with. If the ground is wet in your tent, it seems to me that that is just one more thing that you are then trying to dry out, which adds further to the condensation on the walls of the tent. Sure would be nice if someone made a design to deal with all those factors, huh?

I'll be watching as your website gets farther along, and talk to you before buying a shelter. I want to get an accurate weight of what all I am carrying, and how much room I will need before taking that step. Right now my list has the Kifaru Sawtooth due to weight, but I am still trimming weight off the rest of it which will give me more room to work with. A warm dry shelter is at the top of my priority list for later season hunting.

Thanks for the update also, its nice to hear from someone who has used the stove I'm looking at. If you load it up good how long will it burn on average without adding wood? I see the bigger models have more capacity, but start to get heavy.

 

[jmden]

The Parastove might last 15-25 minutes completely loaded, depending on the amount of air you give to it. The thing is an amazing inferno when you get good dry wood in it and fully load it. I've had 1 ft. + flame shooting out the top of the chimney many times and the entire assembly glowing red--pretty impressive.

In an 8' dia. x 5'6" tall tipitent, in dry conditions and single digit temps, that stove will drive you out of the tent at full bore--you need to fire it pretty hot to boil stuff in a reasonable amount of time. More than once I've been down to my underwear pressed against the tent wall trying to stay cool in single digit temps.

In a 7' tall, ~ 10' dia. tipitent, the Parastove does not have enough ummmphh in wet conditions, however. Small size stove was better for that. Wet conditions is when you need the stove the most to dry stuff off, etc., as well, so I've just resigned myself to carrying a bit more weight if conditions warrant. However, I typically basically have camp in a ways and usually don't plan on moving it--thinking may be different if someone is planning on moving everyday.

 

[mnoland30]

I have a couple of comments. I have the Kiraru 4 man tent with stove. When you get cold wet weather, it is a lifesaver. The stove is small and it is difficult to keep burning for a long time. It helps to have a small saw to cut short wood. I use a Gerber folding saw (about 5 oz.).

Stove can be hard to start. I usually take some sort of fire starter to make it easier. Hard to do with just a match or bic lighter.

I use a 3/8 foam pad to sleep on (about 8 oz. for full length). You need some good insulation under you to keep warm. If there is pine duff where you're going, you can do that in addition. 3/8" isn't much padding, but maybe you're younger than I am (NM is rocky). When it is really cold, or for a long hunt, I take a short thin thermarest on top of the 3/8 blue foam. That adds about 13 oz. but sometimes it is worth it. I've never tried a space blanket, but I'm guessing it isn't as much insulation as 3/8" foam.

 

[mcseal2]

I upgraded my sleeping pad to a thermarest Pro-lite plus in the 20x72 size and left out the heavy space blanket. I am looking at taking a sheet of tyvek for a floor if I use the Kifaru. I haven't decided what to use for a sleeping bag yet, I was looking at the thermarest Haven which is a 20 degree bag that only weighs 24oz, but it looks like a pain to get in and out of. I am still weighing options there. I will likely sleep in expedition weight long underwear top and bottom if it is cold, so I need a bag that will make up for the rest after the stove goes out.

I have a Gerber folding saw also for wood cutting, also has a bone blade.

I always carry a firesteel, small bic lighter, and a pill bottle full of cotton balls coated in vaseline. They light easy with either the steel or lighter, and I thought they would work for lighting the stove. I was thinking stick one on a piece of bark or something flat light it, and then build the fire on top of it. They will burn for 5 minutes or so once lit.

If I can figure out how to get my updated list posted here from excel I will this evening. If not I will wait until I get my postage scale and have accurate weights to do it.

 

[ivanjunge]

I always carry a firesteel, small bic lighter, and a pill bottle full of cotton balls coated in vaseline.

Me too

 

[jmden]

I know there's lots of ideas out there of how to start a fire, but this has worked very well in the Kifaru stoves for me:

Diamond Strike-a-Fire Matches at REI.com

I use 1/4 of a stick at a time and have a quick fire in the morning and a cooking/dry off/warm up fire at night, so I use 1 full stick every 2 days. Use a butane lighter to light it.

At freezing and below, butane starts to not work so well, so you need to keep the butane warm or warm it up a bit before use for it to work well, or at all, in colder temps. Pretty much won't work in single digit temps unless you warm it up first, so always have a very valid backup to these otherwise convenient lighters.

My preference on saws, work well for bone and wood:

Amazon.com: 12" Mini Dandy Saw with Scabbard: Sports & Outdoors

These ain't a toy--they work well and fast and in my opinion, worth the little bit more weight they might be. The hand position is optimal and you can cut a lot of wood/bone quickly. I've had the fanno saws, the gerber saws, oregon saws, etc. and this one put 'em all to shame. Really shortens the woodcutting chore time for me anyway. JMHO