Prioritizing gear purchases

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Luziana Feller

Luziana Feller

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Good insight from a beginner for a beginner. Thank you Sargent. So would you recommend the pack fly route over dry bag inside the pack then?
 

sargent

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Good insight from a beginner for a beginner. Thank you Sargent. So would you recommend the pack fly route over dry bag inside the pack then?

The slumberjack pack has a detachable daypack that's separate from the main bag so you'd have to have a smaller bag in there to keep the whole thing waterproof. There are also two side pouches that would get wet if you put a contractor or dry bag inside the main bag. I throw the pack fly over everything to keep the whole works dry. It has worked well for me.
 

Floater00

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An incredible amount of information in this thread. As a beginner it is incredible to have this resource of experienced people willing to share they're knowledge. Tank you.

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*Thank you
 
Joined
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I would be sure to spend some time with your kit before season. I have backpacked for a long time, and still I learn something new that can either make me more comfortable or save me weight each time I go. Invest in learning, both by hard knocks and asking questions. I don't know Colorado, but if you are not assured of cell coverage, My #1 would be a Garmin Inreach. I won't go into the backwoods alone without one.
 
Joined
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Costco puffy isn't a terrible idea.

You will be fine in a Coscto puffy, I have been using mine for the last 4 years and its one of my favorite pieces of clothing. I have both a vest and a jacket. No need to spend a million bucks on first light, sitka, or kuiu or whatever.
Also your cabelas mendyl boots are great boots. I do all my backpack hunting in the same brand. I use the Cabelas Mendel Perfekt hikers). A pair of OR gaitors will be very handy if its wet out as well.
 
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OP
Luziana Feller

Luziana Feller

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I would be sure to spend some time with your kit before season. I have backpacked for a long time, and still I learn something new that can either make me more comfortable or save me weight each time I go. Invest in learning, both by hard knocks and asking questions. I don't know Colorado, but if you are not assured of cell coverage, My #1 would be a Garmin Inreach. I won't go into the backwoods alone without one.

i am planning a weekend trip through some less serious mountains early spring to workout my lungs and test run all my gear. we are bringing an Inreach on the hunt.

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i have acquired alot of my gear through new years sales. i will update my gear list and post it. maybe this will continue to help others get started in the future...

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1/07/19 UPDATE

Tag- $650
Boots- Cabelas Meindl uninsulated hunting/hiking boot. (own) -I will test these in the coming months to be sure i trust them.
Pack- Slumberjack bounty 2.0 (bought used $180)
Pack Fly/Pack Liner/Dry Bag/Contractor Bag- using a 50L dry bag someone is lending me and contractor bag/ziplocks to keep gear dry in my pack. (FREE)
Game Bags- Black Ovis Elk bags $50 (bought on Camo Fire
Battery Charger- waiting to buy, budgeted $25
Stove- sharing jetboil with partner - bringing spare aluminum pot for boiling water over a fire if neededd
Stove Fuel- butane canister- $10
Spoon- Sea to Summit long handle spoon($5)
Hydration 32oz nalgene ($10), 48oz nalgene ($11), steripen quantum ($47) and aquamira ($15) and 3L Platypus baldder ($31)
Spotter- borrowing Leupold spot scope (free)
Binos- Leupold 10X50 (own)
Ranger- Leupold 1000 range finder (own)
Bino Harness- Alaskan Guide Kodiac Cub (own)
Lense care- wipes and cleaning pen (own)
Pillow- Klymit glassing pad/pillow ($10) bought on camofire
Sleep bag- Outdoor Vitals Atlas 0* bag $160
Sleep Pad- Nemo Tensor Field $106
Shelter- sharing buddy’s Seek stove tent or regular 2 man tent depending on weather
Hammock- possible depending on weather (own)
Trek poles- Kelty Scree $70
Gun- Rem 7mmRM, 160 gr Accubond, 10 rounds (own)
Blaze- vest, hat and beanie (own)
Contractor bags- (own)
Blades- pocket knife (own), 2 custom skinning knives (own), lightweight stone (own)
Saw- nope
550 chord- 50 foot reflective chord (own)
Seasoning- cooking fresh tenderloins
Fire- Bic lighter, flint and steel, matches, tender (own)
Nav- forest service map ($20), Suunto compass ($18), watch, OnX Maps
Wind Checker
Headlamp- Black Diamond Spot $30, bringing a back up lamp of one I already own
Flashlight- surefire scout (own)
Batteries- spare AAAs for lamp, spare AAs for steripen (may not)
Chap stick
Deodorant- nope
Coolers- own
Carabiners- 2 for various things (own)
Zip ties- own
Hand warmers- depending on forecast, only if very cold

First Aid Bag- tourniquette, compressed guaze, super glue, Various Band Aids, Tenacious Tape, Luco Tape, Alcohol wipes, pain med, altitude meds, stomach meds, benedryl, Sleep meds (own all this), emergency blanket $5

Clothing
Base layer- black ovis underwear ($28), pants ($65), and zip hoodie ($79)
Pants Wrangler Outdoor Cargo Pant ($25) and Wrangler Outdoor Fleece Lined Pants ($26)
Mid Layer Tops- various fleece and wool tops (own)
Vest- Cabelas Wooltimate Guide vest (own)
Rain Jacket- Slumberjack jacket ($46) closeout sale
Rain Pants- Slumberjack pants ($40) closeout sale
Puffy- Cabelas Wooltimate parka (I own) or puffy on sale around $100
Boot Gaiters- Outdoor Research Crocodile Gaiters $80
Neck Gaiter- own
Beanie/Hat- own
Gloves- First Lite merino glove liners (own), need mittens suggestions?
Socks- Gore Socks ($25) or First lite Triad ($28) or mid weight ($25)
 
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Apollo117

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A lot of what I am about to suggest won't matter if you're truck camping or doing spike camps.

Nalgene - can substitute Smart water bottles to save a few ounces. Smart water bottles are surprisingly durable.

Flint and steel - leave at home, especially if you haven't practiced with it. You've already got a lighter and matches.

Spotting scope - unless you're hunting for a trophy bull, leave it. Find a tripod adapter for your 10x binoculars.

Aluminum pot - if you know for sure you'll use it on a fire I guess bring it.

Hammock - if you've never used a hammock in cold weather, leave it. Unless you're bringing it to get experience using a hammock in cold weather in a controlled environment.

Multiple knives - leave one of the skinning knives home. I assume your buddy has a knife too.

Spare batteries - put fresh batteries in your headlamp. The best place to carry spares is in another headlamp. Ask me how I know.

Everything else you've got looks good.
 
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Luziana Feller

Luziana Feller

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A lot of what I am about to suggest won't matter if you're truck camping or doing spike camps.

Nalgene - can substitute Smart water bottles to save a few ounces. Smart water bottles are surprisingly durable. good to know

Flint and steel - leave at home, especially if you haven't practiced with it. You've already got a lighter and matches. i have ALOT of experience with it but you are right...ounces are ounces

Spotting scope - unless you're hunting for a trophy bull, leave it. Find a tripod adapter for your 10x binoculars. we will likely only use while scouting. once we dive in deep it will stay in the truck

Aluminum pot - if you know for sure you'll use it on a fire I guess bring it. my partner bunted there last year and some of their stoves had trouble working due to abnormally cold temps. and they were having to melt snow for water. am i over thinking it?

Hammock - if you've never used a hammock in cold weather, leave it. Unless you're bringing it to get experience using a hammock in cold weather in a controlled environment. it will stay in the truck if the nights get below freezing. i have experience but not below about 25*

Multiple knives - leave one of the skinning knives home. I assume your buddy has a knife too. good point

Spare batteries - put fresh batteries in your headlamp. The best place to carry spares is in another headlamp. Ask me how I know. HAHA i know the feeling! should i need spare AAs for the steripen?

Everything else you've got looks good.

we are planning to all tag out 10 yards from the truck opening morning. but if that doesn't happen, we will be as mobile as possible packing in and camping wherever we have to to stay on the elk. if that means truck camping then i will have spent entirely too much $$$ on gear but not disappointed AT ALL! :cool:
 

Dr. Rx

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Life is short. Buy whatever you need. You won't regret it. Most importantly..just go out and Hunt
 
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I think more than 1 knife is too many. I can get it all done quickly with a Havalon Titan, and no need for a sharpening stone. See if that saves you a few ounces. Also, I wondered what could be the advantage of a purpose made tourniquet? Isn't almost every belt and strap and piece of rope the same thing?
 
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I'm a experienced backpacker ,i have hunted elk in Montana 2 times in the Bob marshall so I'm a beginner elk hunter, I think this thread was awesome so much info from experienced hunters
 

success

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What’s the reviews on the rain gear or just buying bc of price?

Also buy a Costco puffy for $30. Trust me, that wooltimate shit is tooooo heavy.
 

LaHunter

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I see on your list that your shelter may be a 2 man tent for two guys or a Seek shelter. Make sure you try out the 2 man tent if you go that route. Many (maybe most or all) 2 man tents are really only big enough for 1 person.

Your wooltimate parka is going to be extremely heavy for packing. If you are gonna be hunting in September during archery, I doubt you would need that heavy wool parka. A down or synthetic puffy under a rain gear top would be a better option.

Elk hind quarters can weigh 60-80 lbs typically (bone in). Make sure your pack can handle that weight and volume.

Good luck
 
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Luziana Feller

Luziana Feller

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I think more than 1 knife is too many. I can get it all done quickly with a Havalon Titan, and no need for a sharpening stone. See if that saves you a few ounces. Also, I wondered what could be the advantage of a purpose made tourniquet? Isn't almost every belt and strap and piece of rope the same thing?

I'm packing in only 1 knife now. And anytime I carry a gun I carry a tourniquet on me. My thoughts are if I NEED a tourniquet I dont have time to engineer one from straps or belt. And its literally 3-4 oz.

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What’s the reviews on the rain gear or just buying bc of price?

Also buy a Costco puffy for $30. Trust me, that wooltimate shit is tooooo heavy.

I was mostly looking for budget rain gear when I found this. I was considering the cabelas rain gear. This seemed like slightly better quality. And noted on the puffy

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I see on your list that your shelter may be a 2 man tent for two guys or a Seek shelter. Make sure you try out the 2 man tent if you go that route. Many (maybe most or all) 2 man tents are really only big enough for 1 person.

Your wooltimate parka is going to be extremely heavy for packing. If you are gonna be hunting in September during archery, I doubt you would need that heavy wool parka. A down or synthetic puffy under a rain gear top would be a better option.

Elk hind quarters can weigh 60-80 lbs typically (bone in). Make sure your pack can handle that weight and volume.

Good luck

We are doing a few test runs with our setups so we will see about the tents. We're hunting 1st rifle CO so I'll likely need a puffy of some sort and it's on my wishlist. Thank you for input
 

Apollo117

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we are planning to all tag out 10 yards from the truck opening morning. but if that doesn't happen, we will be as mobile as possible packing in and camping wherever we have to to stay on the elk. if that means truck camping then i will have spent entirely too much $$$ on gear but not disappointed AT ALL! :cool:
Regarding isobutane stoves at altitude. If you warm up the canister before use it will work better. When you get back to camp, put the canister in an inside jacket pocket. Do your camp chores and then use the warm canister to cook.

I have no advice on the steripen. Don't own one. However, the principle still applies. Put fresh batteries in it before the trip.
 

sneaky

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I have a couple of 48oz nalgene bottles... they stay at the trailhead usually. SmartWater or AquaHydrate bottles are way lighter and easier to handle and fit in pack pockets. I don't even carry a bladder anymore since using them. Way easier to deal with. If they get funky, throw it away and get a new one.

No way I would pack that Wooltimate gear around. Way too heavy to carry, a rain shell and puffy is far more versatile.

I would carry a pocket rocket or similar stove as a backup. If you guys split a jetboil and it craps out you could be scrambling for a way to boil water. May be too dry to build an open fire, never can tell. You can leave it in the truck if need be. Couple of ounces.

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hflier

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Here is my advise, bring way more fitness than you think you need and way less gut around your middle.

Acclimate a couple of days at a little lower altitude before you try and run up that mountain.

Ron


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Sturgeon

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People that are suggesting the smart water bottles, can he use his steripen with it? I'm thinking the top would be too narrow.
 
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