Equipment Priority

[TurkeyBowMaster]

I have a compass, maps and a good base truck camp. I have all the calls I need and good archery equipment. My pack is a badlands diablo and I don't care for it at all. My goal is to add to this by next season. What else would you add to this if this was all you had. I am thinking along the lines of getting a better pack, but I also think I need a more mobile system where I can camp near the elk. I also think I need a trailer to pull so I want be so cramped. I am probably limited to around $1500 max. I don't have to buy new stuff and don't necessarly have to have the latest greatest but I would like to get what I need so I will not have to buy the same gear again...I am on my third pack.

[redtop]

I have been using an Kuiu Icon pro 3200 the past two seasons and could not be happier. It kind of a pricey investment but it has exceeded my hopes of finding a great hunting pack. The way you can haul meat with your gear is just incredible after the kill. Ditto the carriers for your bow or rifle. Side pockets right where you want them on the belt. Enough capacity for a full day or overnight or two. Comfortable and the back breaths well. My old Badlands pack hugged my back and made my back a sweaty mess.
You don't need much to spend a night out in a spike camp if you time it so you have good weather. I can get by with a light sleeping bag and a small pad and the clothes I'm wearing to hunt anyway. Too many people think they need too much stuff. Really all you need is an elk and a weapon and to be in the right spot to use it.
Not that I don't like shopping for new gear myself though.

[RAMMONT]

Too many people think they need too much stuff

I guess it depends on your comfort level. I live on the edge of a national forest and I spend a lot of time hiking/scouting/hunting and I can honestly say that I carry a lot more gear than my friend who visits here a few times per year. He carries nothing but a firearm and whatever clothing he's wearing. I carry (at a minimum) a load bearing vest with a water bladder, a small fire making kit, a small medical kit, a large field knife, optics, a couple of power bars, and a pistol. Maybe ignorance is bliss, I know there are mountain lions, bears, and irate moose around here - I've run in to the bears and moose, he hasn't run in to any of them - yet. I've fallen, had trees blow down by me, wrenched my leg in downed trees, etc., he hasn't. After you've experienced some of the negative stuff you tend to carry more gear, when I was a young guy that felt I was bullet proof I carried far less stuff - just like my friend.

As for a good pack, I've actually tried close to a dozen over the years but I've settled on the idea that one pack just doesn't work for me. I have different packs for different reasons. Mostly I've narrowed it down to a pack for hunting and one for scouting/hiking. I like Eberlestock packs, I bought a J34 when they first came out and I have an X2. The J34 holds more and it can be adjusted to carry small loads very well. I also have and older Blacks Creek pack that carries quite a load but I noticed that they have a new modular system called The Grip Frame that looks very nice. Packs can be attached to the frame at will and the frame is designed to carry heavy meat loads.

[redtop]

Rammont I too carry about the same as you every day I hunt including warm hat and gloves and map and gps and..... I also live abutting a National Forest (Bridger Teton) biggest in the lower 48. Home of many grizzlies! I just meant that if you have the right stuff you don't need more. I see out of state hunters going to spike camp for a night or two with unbelievable loads. A towel?? Carry enough but not too much.

[RAMMONT]

Rammont I too carry about the same as you every day I hunt including warm hat and gloves and map and gps and..... I also live abutting a National Forest (Bridger Teton) biggest in the lower 48. Home of many grizzlies! I just meant that if you have the right stuff you don't need more. I see out of state hunters going to spike camp for a night or two with unbelievable loads. A towel?? Carry enough but not too much.

I wasn't arguing, I was simply trying to point out that everybody has their own idea of what's enough or too much. I agree with you that the right stuff will enable you to need less - you can do more with less.

[TurkeyBowMaster]

Thanks for the replies. Rammont I will take a look at the blacks creek pacs. I am going to keep my eyes out for second hand trailer, pack, tent, and sleeping bag. I would also like a street and trail motor bike for saving money on gas going to work and could also get around better in the mountains.

[RAMMONT]

This is a trailer and tent setup that I used to use. I liked the setup because when it rained I had a dry place to sit and I could leave my muddy boots outside the tent without having to worry about them getting soaked any worse than they were when I took them off.

[Navesgane]

If I didn't live in a one bedroom apartment, I would have various packs for every occasion, but since I do, I only have about 7 right now. I bought an eberlestock team elk pack earlier this year to kinda make three packs in one- a multi-day, large day, and frame pack. It also holds either a bow or a rifle (with built-in scabbard) for multiple season use. It's not the lightest pack, but it kept me from buying a separate frame pack that I would leave at the truck/camp to use only for packing out. I used day packs for the last few season prior to last one but just felt cramped with the stuff I bring on a day trip. If I'm hunting closer to the truck/camp I still prefer a day pack just to be more mobile/agile on the hunt. The transformer pack also interested me. It seems highly functional.

[Elkhntr08]

Rammont, I like your setup. What do you do with the tent base when you're on the move?

[RAMMONT]

The tent sits on two 4x8 sheets of 3/4" plywood. I simply load the plywood on the floor of the trailer when I'm traveling. When I get where I'm going I do have to unload everything to get to the wood but it's a minor issue when you end up with a dry place to pitch your tent, plus I get the added benefit of being able to store things under the tent too.

[TurkeyBowMaster]

If I get a trailer I am going to use it just to provide space relief for my camper shell area and inside the cab. The camper shell area is where I will sleep...that way I can take short trips and check out new areas and if they prove good I can just stay there. I will stash my trailer in a camping area and just leave it with coolers and stuff that takes up space. However the Rammont setup does give me some ideas. It would be so easy to make a pipe frame that fits the trailer and sew some tarps together to fit the frame for a place to dry cloths and boots. Could even build a small stove out of a 30 gallon medal grease drum. also could hang a shower bag in there too...all for a little bit of nothing for cost and weight. Thanks for the inspiration.