Alaska Sheep Season 2020: New Gear Review

[AK Troutbum]

Just as a quick note....the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 4 was great with the Rita Locura poles and stakes! Also a big +1 on Peak Refuel meals...they are awesome.

The ultamid 4 and RL carbon fiber pole has been with me on every mountain hunt now for the last 4 years. It’s by far my most used shelter.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Huntforever]

Josh—thank you for the write up and cannot believe the two things I wanted most for my Barney’s pack exist, and never realized they added the, even between several trips in this summer and fall (picked up some puffy pants there just today). A buddy bought my old pack in 2018 and I grabbed one of the new frames and bags with the updated belt. Using it on the recent moose hunt, I was really, really missing my hip pockets. So nice having snacks easily at hand. Being a bigger guy, I eat and eat often. Certainly more often than I take full breaks. So really like having conveying access to hydration and food without having to stop a d take my pack off. So after missing my snack pockets, the next big thing I was wishing I had as the bag slid down my ass when loaded. was a lumbar pad. Was literally thinking several times on this recent trip, man, I really miss the lumbar pad of my SG. And here it was I coulda had both—as silly as it seems, these two little additions are really such a big deal.

I love my Barney’s bag and Ive tried to dislike my SG after I struggled with getting the belt tension just right the first trip I used it. Talking with SG they helped me sort the issue and it’s non-existent. We picked up a Kifaru pack when in Reno for my brother to use on our early season hunt, and my wife carried it on her late season hunt. I carried it some as well, and really do think the Kifaru suspension is overly comfortable. More robust padding, etc., but swapping back and forth with my brother, I still couldn’t hate my SG. I did get the biggest bag they make as I like having some separate pockets and liked that it is laid out similar to ,overly familiar Barney’s bag. I do not see any use for me personally to the load shelf system on the Kifaru or SG. I want everything in the bag and cinched tight. Maybe for lighter loads and smaller bags, but even then, the whole idea of moving the whole bag load away from my core just doesn’t do it for me.

I couldn’t even complain about my SG or the Kifaru for heavy loads. Brother and I decided enough shuttling once we finished with glaciers and Boulder fields, humping everything for the last several miles in one load. He had about 120# and I was closer to 140# and while it sucked, it wasn’t the packs fault, given the weight they both were as minimally uncomfortable as I could have hoped. I can’t get used to all the webbing loops and hanging pockets and stuff off the kifaru—get that it allows folks to set it up more closely to their individual desires, but not my favorite scenario. Just a personal taste preference as each of the pockets on the pack brother/wife carried performed flawlessly. Still just can’t hate my SG and next sheep or any mountain hunt it’s what I’ll likely carry again. But Moose, big brownies, and wife’s bis0n, it will be the good ol’ Barney’s every time without even a second of thought.

Peak Refuel—if you haven’t had a chance to try the Bison Mashed Potatoes, encourage you to do so. There are a couple of Backpackers Pantry I love, still think Mountain House makes the best tasting lasagne, but for everything else, Peak has it nailed. And best of all of them, hands down, is the Bison Mashed Potatoes. Have order more three times now after running low and this last order was to supply for next year since wasnt sure if the Chad Mendez deal was limited to this year or would change—so had to stock up. And to top it off, since we’ve already noted I’m a big guy that needs to eat—the Bison meal has 1120cals per bag.

Leukotape—never leave home without it. I’m a big guy, and my calves seem to try and rip my big toes off. Probably part of the reason I have what my brother calls freak calves is a I have always pushed off too much with my toes. So usually within a couple weeks of spring hiking, I get “turf-toe” in at least one if not both big toes. Super easy wrap fix with the leukotape that makes a world of difference. So I use it even before or addition to blisters. Word of CAUTiON—remove the stuff carefully, especially with soft feet. Last year in the sierras after long consecutive days of packing, finally got a shower and had been hard at it for almost 20 miles that day and my feet were a little soggy. As showering I reach down and rip the mid-foot anker wrap from the arch area of my foot and, well the tape was stronger than my skin, tearing the sole of my foot right at the mid arch area all the way through the skin layers to meat. Hurt like hell—not just then, but for rest of that trekking trip and couple weeks after I got back to Alaska.

Swaro ATX/STX—usually suck it up and carry my 95mm objective. This year since I was overweighted trying to make sure my brother was able to ease in a bit on his first sheep hunt, so brought the 65mm objective to save the weight, which isnt insignificant. Have used Swaro almost exclusively (Basically for everything but rangefinder, and this year trying out Lieca range binos), and in all that time had never experienced an issue or failure. Had to happen sooner or later—so might have well expected it would be on a sheep hunt where we spend so much time on the glass. Anyway, with all the rain, I guess the objective had lost pressure at some point and by the time we were little over half way through the hunt, it had fogged up from all the rain. So need to send it back for Swaro magic, which one thing thats so nice about Swaro is I’m not sweating it. I’ll get it sent off sometime here soon, and no stress as a I know theyll take care of it. So, minor hiccup and horrible time, but guess all gear subject to failure at some point. And Josh, the 95mm is simply badass. I hate carrying it, did for both 2018 and 2019 sheep hunts and glad as did. And again for wife’s late season hunt. But man is it bulky and heavy. Going to try and ignore that the 115mm even exists, but bet it’s cool.

Simple things for me this year that I was super impressed with was going to an MSR pocket stove and ti mug over the jet boil. I’ve always been a huge jet boil fanboy, so can’t believe I’m admitting that, but it was a significant improveKent. Next was my Crispot Brikstal stiffs, love these boots. So comfortable and light compared to my previous boots. And then the little kestrel ti knife. Still. Fought my havalon expecting my brother could use it, but I ended up doing all the cutting and every animal this year, most of the work was done with that little dude. blades are all the same, it’s just I like the thin profile with square edges of the handle, give a secure feeling in hand.

Can you expand on this statement? I was supper impressed with MSR pocket stove and ti mug over the jet boil.

The MSR pocket stove and jet boil are two different stoves. The reason I ask im thinking of up grading me current stove. Its a pocket rocket.

 

[Wildwillalaska]

Yes, certainly different stoves, but for my purposes not that dramatically different. There wasnt just one huge thing, but several little convenient things that made me like the combo over the jetboil. And I still like jetboils but the ones I have just remained home this year except one I threw into the wife’s camper. I found the MSR pocket rocket 2 to be more compact and fair lighter since I was already bringing my ti mug along anyway. Easier to pack in smaller areas since I could store the fuel elsewhere and the pocket rocket itself just went into my mug (may be considered a small pot since I think it’s 20oz and has a little lid) with both slide into a thin Dyneema sack. when set up it was slightly shorter than the jet boil and more stable, so not as to- heavy and when boiled, it’s super easy to just pick it up and pour vs trying to separate the jetboil mug from the burner—which I admittedly most oven left attached between boilings if heating water a few times between different folks or like hot breakfast and coffee. As far as boil times, I think the MSR seemed a little faster but may have been more a function of the mug/pot being slightly larger diameter and wider burner of the MSR? Regardless, both are fast so. It a big difference there. Both have performed flawless for me, so no real difference there either. it was really just so easy on set up, take down or doing multiple boils and then packable size that sold me on it.

 

[Huntforever]

Do you know the fuel rate per boil? Hope that makes sense. Lol