Backpack hunting question

[awbowman]

Katadyne Hiker Pro for water for sure.

I also like the Optimus products for the stove.  It seems like the one I bought has been discontinued, but it the Crux Lite is similiar.

[Tim in Wa.]

I like this  http://emberlit.com/default.php  for a stove and use a alcohol stove inside of it when I'm in a hurry or just want a cup of hot water.
 For a filter I've been looking at the Sawyer inline

[JimB]

AWP,I used to backpack bowhunt a lot in WV and back then my stove was a Svea 123 which operates off Coleman fuel.An old design but super reliable.A few years ago I bought a Jetboil and I'm sure it would work great for what you want.They are quite an efficient little rig.

I assume you would be hunting mid October to maybe as late as mid Nov.I believe the Jetboil would handle that.It is a good idea to do a couple shakedown trips to familiarize with all new equipment,before you get into an actual hunting trip.

If you are talking about backpack hunting your home state,you sure have some beautiful country to do it in and opportunities for a bear are way better than when I lived there.Good luck with your venture.

[ChuckC]

Maybe some help from a chemist. re butane and cold weather ?

I believe the following to be true.

Both are simple hydrocarbons, composed only of carbon and hydrogen.  Propane has three carbons, butane has four.

The boiling point of butane is listed as around .5 degrees C (in the low 30's F).  That means below that point it is normally in liquid form.  We are generally burning it in gaseous form, so it is not so easily available as a liquid.  

Propane's boiling point is listed as around -42 degrees C.  Realling stinking cold.  Above that temperature it is in a gas form and is more available to burn in our stoves.  

That is why propane works better in cold weather than butane.

Remember that liquid kept under pressure (in a can) can stay a liquid far above these temps, but to burn in our stoves, the stuff needs to boil and become a gas.

ChuckC

[jhg]

Originally posted by AWPForester:
...what type of water purificator do you recommend. ...

IF you have  water sources that offer fairly clear water where you hunt- more clear than lemonaid, than look into Steripen.
 It uses ultraviolet light to transform the DNA of those little buggers that will make you sick into harmless nothings. I use mine in Colorado and love it. No filters for me anymore  to clean or plug up or carry around. The Steripen is lighter, smaller and is easy to use.
They have used them in 3rd world countries for months on end and the peoples reviews for the last several years has been great- so its a tested in real life conditions product.

I like my SVEA 123 stove but they don't make them like they used to anymore so you would have to find an older used one. But if you prefer new things that you use, but don't need to understand, the 123 is probably not the stove for you. Google Svea 123 and read how trusted/beloved they are. Few wstoves work as well at elevation or when the chips are down.

Joshua

[Kevin Hansen]

Originally posted by Dan Adair:
The best advice I can give you...  Start a backpacking hobby, and then one day take your bow hunting.


You could also save yourself a few years of hard knocks and track down EdT and go to one of his "Skills camps"

Great advice IMHO!!!

[PowDuck]

Originally posted by Lost Arra:
1. Jet Boil- make your life simple

2. Katadyn Base Camp gravity filter- like having a faucet at camp.
I'm sure the other gravity filters work just as well. The Base Camp is  the only one I've used.

Bought a JetBoil Flash for this year's elk hunt. I have been totally impressed with it in its tests here at home. it finished at 45 cups of water boiled at cold faucet low altitude. I believe it will do very well at altitude and really cold filtered stream water.
   Click here for my thread on it.

I, too, have used the Katadyn base camp and loved it, but...... I'm a gadget guy and bought a new filter this year. It's the Sawyer "All In One" system. Looks like it uses the same technology as my MSR Hyperflow without having to pump. Maybe ArkyBob will carry the Basecamp in his pack just for backup.

[Rodney]

Snowpeak giga stove for me, similar to the MSR pocket rocket. MSR mini works filter works well.

[Bernie B.]

My son and I each used the MSR Pocket Rocket butane stoves last year for elk hunting in Colorado.  They weigh only 3 oz. and are 4" x 2" x 2".  Wonderful little stoves that will boil one liter or water in four minutes.  I would highly recommend this stove.

For water filtration,  we used the MSR Sweetwater Microfilter.  Another great product from MSR.  You can't go wrong with either of these items!

Bernie

[old_goat2]

Ok, one thing to remember for Colorado for sure this year and probably some of the other Western States, you have to be able to shut off your stove, in other words the tablets you burn and the alcohol stoves aren't legal due to the burn ban restrictions, check the regs for where  you are going, it's really bad this year for fire danger. Good Luck!

[AWPForester]

I found a Coleman Max butane/propane stove with one bottle of fuel and bought them for $25.  a little hezvy but still light at 7 ounces.  And it sure will burn hot.  I also found the esbit and 18 tablets nib for $7.00 and bought it too.  I came across a 2 litre bpa free bladder for base camp water supply for $8.00, a one quart Nalgene bpa free bottle with markings in ounces and .25 cup increments that weighs 8 ounces for $4.00 to carry while hunting and use for measured cooking water.  I found a new aluminium US GI Aluminium quart cooking cup with butterfly handles for $4.00.  And I paid .48 apiece for a heavy duty plastic coleman fork and spoon.  I have a lot of the odds and ends to go with these

However, I still need a quart pot and aluminium plate to finish my custom mess kit, and a neoprene collapsable cup for hot drinks, a hammock, and 3 wool blankets as I intend to go with a hanging bedroll with a sleping pad under a tarp.  I simply cannot justify the cost of a lite backpacking sleeping bag and a high dollar tent.  This stuff is expensive!  I intend to use the steri-pen and coffee filters for water.

I was fortunate enough to meet a fella that shared a pack list of his and a US Special Forces friend, that they used in CO the last 2 years and it has been very helpful. Get a 7 day hunt in the wilderness for under 35 pounds if you have a pack under 4 pounds.  So my gear list is most definately being taylored to almost mimick theirs.  I am losing about 3.5 pounds on my sleeping bedroll and hammock but am going to gain it back with a trail ax I intend to carry for base camp chores.

If anyone of you guys are interested in the list let me know and I will email it to you.  I am getting pumped!  God Bless

[8Crow]

Plenty of good advice out there already but I'll chime in with my 2 cents because I've recently been tweaking my gear for this purpose.

Totally agree with all the filter recommendations.  I have a Katadyn Hiker Pro and love it.  After drinking that cold mountain water for a week the water back home will be a big disappointment to you.  Downside to the filter is bulk and weight.  Even if you pump it dry each time you use it, it will retain some water and with that factored in they'll all weigh close to a pound.  That said, I wouldn't trade the taste of that filtered mountain  water for all the super-small, super-light chemical treatments in the world.

For cooking, if you're only going to boil water for freeze-dried meals or coffee, check out the Halulite Minimalist cookset (~ $25) and pair it up  with an iso fuel canister and a Snow Peak Giga Power Stove w/ piezo igniter.  The whole works--fuel, stove, spork & pot gripper fits snugly inside the pot.  That alone is priceless, but it also comes with a snug-fitting lid, which will shorten your time to boil and conserve fuel, and a neoprene sleeve to slide over everything when you stow it in your pack.  All of these stoves will leave a little black soot on your cook pot, so the sleeve will keep everything inside your pack clean.  The igniter is a nice to have...just speeds everything up if/when it works, but you'll want a backup lighter of some sort too.

I used an MSR Pocket Rocket on my last outing and it worked great, just won't fit inside the Halulite Minimalist like the Snow Peak will.

If you're really going to be miles out there, consider bringing an Esbit as a backup.  You can fit several tabs in it when you fold it up, it weighs virtually nothing, and in a tight spot you can burn twigs in and get the job done.

[8Crow]

FWIW...a few thoughts on what you just posted.  My hunting buddies and I have been having these debates for years now, so I'm well versed.  

The axe: forego the campfire and you can forego the 2 lb axe.  Until you hike around in the mountains with 35 lbs on your back for a while, you just won't appreciate the need to bring ONLY what is required (including backups for critical items).

Mess kit: What are you going to be eating?  If it's only freeze dried meals, all you need is one pot big enough to boil 2 cups of water, then you eat the meal directly out of the pouch.  You can drink your coffee out of that pot too and it's easy to rinse out.  And again, if it's only freeze dried meals, you don't need a fork AND a spoon--just one or the other and save the weight.  If you don't want to spend the money on the freeze dried meals but you own a dehydrator, you can make your own in a ziploc bag & sew up a quick fabric pouch to keep from burning your hands.  Lots of tips and recipes out on the web for this sort of thing.

Hammock: check out the DIY section of hammockforums.net.  I sewed up my own double-layer (which allows you to put a sleeping pad in between the layers, where it will stay put) for probably $30.  DIYgearsupply has the materials and the patterns that I used.  My greater concern, though, would be where you are going and when? I'm not sure about the Rockies in September (bow season), but around 8,000 ft in CO in October, it gets down around 15-20 deg at night regularly and a foam pad just doesn't cut it for that.

[AWPForester]

I want to thank you for yor advice.

Concerning the mess kit, I have no plans on carrying all the pots and pans everytrip.  I was only looking to acquire those to use on any given trip, depending on the cooking needs.  Those fellas use those three items for any kind of cooking needs.  I currently do not have but the old Military Surplus cup for oatmeal breakfast. And I will use it for the hot choclate as well.

I have also gotten the same advice from quite a few people concerning the ax.  I reckon I am going to have to take your advice and leave it on the hunting expeditions.  A lot of things you can do with an ax, and on summer trips where a campfire and staying around camp is reality, it has it place.  But, chasing the Elk, bear, deer etc... all over the mountains of WV and Colorado, puts the priorities in order quickly.  Thanks for saving me that lesson early.

Conerning the Hammock, I in fact plan on doing exactly what you suggested.  I joined that forum last week!  I have hunted in ColoRado at elevations above 10,000 feet in mid september and will attest to the 15-20 degree nights.  I hope this bedroll idea is enough.  I will have a hard time springing for the camping bags because I sincerely hate them.  They bind me up and I flip out in them.  


In my full size military mummy bag, I routinely wake up in a panic.  It scares me for some reason.  I flip out and just start writhng and I end up busting the zipper before I/they can get me out of it.  I have put three zippers on it, so I have got to do something else.  So hopefully the bedroll work.:>)

I sincerely appreciate your advice and thank you all very much for it. God Bless

[Biathlonman]

3 wool blankets?  You can't be serious, that's got to weigh 20 lbs.  For a nice, cheap, backpacking sleeping bag look at the Kelty Cosmic 20 degree down bag.  Usually can find them less then $100 and a darn good bag.  Used one all last year withoit issue.

[Kevin Hansen]

Here is a thought regarding a substitute for the wool blankets: Check out  www.kifaru.net  and look at their Woobie and Double Woobie. I think it would fit the bill perfectly for what you want in place of your mummy style bag.
Hope this helps.
Kevin

[AWPForester]

Biatholonman, refer to my last post.  I am not kidding.  In more mild weather of 20 degree or more 2 would work.  They weigh less than 2 pounds a piece.  Not idea but better than me in a mummy bag.

Kevin, Now that is what I am talking about.  Thank you brother.  One wool blanket, one woobie, or just one double woobie.  Ought to work just fine.  Thanks and God Bless

[8Crow]

Glad to see you're willing to leave the ax behind.  The campfire is a warm and welcome comfort at the end of a long day, but you could probably scrounge  enough small wood that can be broken if it's really important to you.  

Not sure what to say about your wool blankets.  I know they're warm but the fact that the guys on HF never talk about using them would concern me a bit.  Collectively, those guys have been around the block.  I scrimped and saved for a down topquilt and down underquilt b/c it's super light and will keep me warm down to 0 or so, but you're talking about some serious coin for both, even if you find them used like I did.  At a minimum, I'd wait for the coldest, nastiest night back home and try out your setup in the back yard.  And again, you can make your own out of synthetics for a lot less, but they're bulkier.  Thru-hiker sells good synthetic insulation as does outdoor wilderness fabrics.  A thought if your wool doesn't work out...

[AWPForester]

Will do.  The times that I will look to be backpacking is at different times of the year but the emps will minmic one another or close to it.  So I will definately do that.  I might just sew my own all together. God Bless

[Biathlonman]

If the woobie interest you might I suggest the hill people gear mountain serape.  Very light, warm and i think a little more versatile then the Kifaru offering.