Anybody go on multi-day hunts in the backcountry without a stove?

[Drenalin]

I don’t have any problem skipping hot meals, even in winter, but I’ll carry the stove just for coffee.

 

[WCB]

Not extended stays but 1 or 2 days 100% no stove. But if it is gong to be cooler/cold or in for longer than 2 days and how small and light you can get stove I don't see the point. Nothing like a hot cup of coffee ( I see you don't drink warm drinks) on a cold slow day or a nice warm meal before closing your eyes.

Not that I NEED one to feel comfy but there are other things I could probably drop out of my pack if weight is the concern. Also, if my buddy just banked on using my stove as a rule and not a exception not sure I'd be buddies with them...Also, It takes 5minutes to make a cup of coffee in the backcountry...your buddies are lollygaggers...coffee isn't what is holding them up at all.

 

[Carrot Farmer]

I've done the no stove thing- but only for short 1 or 2 day spike outs and that was long ago.

Now, I AM the guy you are waiting on to have my coffee. Grin

I think a hot meal...a hot cup of coffee just makes the roughing it part not so rough.

It’s good for the soul!


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[Hill Difficulty]

Get a pack stove and a Windburner so you can expand your options to neither, either, or both.

 

[Grady.J]

I might try a bit of a combo approach this year. Not a coffee drinker so I can stretch a 110g fuel can for 10 days pretty easily just doing dinners, but I might try a few cold soak or no cook dinners. I'd be hesitant to ditch the stove entirely if for no other reason than a safety measure, to get a hot drink or fill a hot water bottle for bed if temps drop lower than expected.

 

[JordanM]

Other dudes have hit the safety aspect, but heating up or boiling hot water to put in a Nalgene at night can make a cold night significantly more palatable. It may even allow you to bring a lighter bag or ditch the puffy pants saving more weight than it cost as mentioned like @wapitispokes said. So while I could eat food cold and don’t drink coffee myself, sleeping warm allows you to operate better the next day. I also don’t drink coffee or heat up anything in the morning as all of the burners sound like a jet engine and I don’t want to spook any animals nearby. We all know how much noise travels in the back country.

 

[Loper]

Get a pack stove and a Windburner so you can expand your options to neither, either, or both.

I have a windburner as well. This past season I opted to not pack it and used the lightweight stove setup. I didn’t miss the windburner at all. Just trying to see if I can/shouldgo even lighter.

 

[Hill Difficulty]

I have a windburner as well. This past season I opted to not pack it and used the lightweight stove setup. I didn’t miss the windburner at all. Just trying to see if I can/shouldgo even lighter.

I clearly misread your original post so can disregard my response. Was careless and probably hurried, so somehow thought you were referring to a wood stove vs alcohol stove. Dumb on my part, sorry.

 

[Loper]

I clearly misread your original post so can disregard my response. Was careless and probably hurried, so somehow thought you were referring to a wood stove vs alcohol stove. Dumb on my part, sorry.

No worries.

 

[Loper]

I clearly misread your original post so can disregard my response. Was careless and probably hurried, so somehow thought you were referring to a wood stove vs alcohol stove. Dumb on my part, sorry.

No worries.

 

[nobody]

I’ve never gone without a stove, but I did have a hunt once where I just ended up eating all the “dry stuff” and never even broke out my stove. Was just pounding timber all day and never stopped for a meal.

But as others have said, I know of guys who just add water to their meal a few hours before and let it soak, it’ll re hydrate in time and you’ll at least have a substantial meal. Kurt from stone glacier talks at length on a few podcasts about doing that for lots of his sheep hunts, and he’s got some great tips for rehydrating meals without a stove. Biggest takeaway was to avoid any meal with beef or beef fat, as it apparently doesn’t re hydrate well. But other than that’s it sounds like a viable option if your chest hair is thick enough and your you-know-what is big enough. Lots of bars and dried fruit and jerky and meals you can re hydrate with no stove, seems simple enough to me.

 

[packgoatguy]

I weighed this out recently... I wanted to see what 3 mountain house meals (a day's worth of calories" weighed vs an assortment of "non cook" food options. I was surprised to find that it was very easy to "beat" the weight of the freeze dried meals (let alone the weight of stove, fuel, spork, etc). Taking an assortment of nuts, dried fruit, protein bars, granola bars, hard candy, 'Carnation Instant Breakfast' mixes, crackers, jerky, mountain ops, etc... I could get BETTER nutritional value/vitamins and even more calories for the same 18-20oz that the 3 mountain house meals weighed.

If you dont want the weight penalty, but want the option to have hot water for meals... take an aluminum water bottle (the kind that now-a-days you can buy filtered spring water/mineral water in, brands like "heart water" use thicker cans (far thicker than the aluminum in a pop can) and have screw on lids). You can light a small fire when you make camp, put the aluminum bottle 3/4 full of water in the fire for a few minutes... viola you have hot water. Also a good backup in case your water filtration/purification system goes kaput.

 

[mahonsr]

I weighed this out recently... I wanted to see what 3 mountain house meals (a day's worth of calories" weighed vs an assortment of "non cook" food options. I was surprised to find that it was very easy to "beat" the weight of the freeze dried meals (let alone the weight of stove, fuel, spork, etc). Taking an assortment of nuts, dried fruit, protein bars, granola bars, hard candy, 'Carnation Instant Breakfast' mixes, crackers, jerky, mountain ops, etc... I could get BETTER nutritional value/vitamins and even more calories for the same 18-20oz that the 3 mountain house meals weighed.

If you dont want the weight penalty, but want the option to have hot water for meals... take an aluminum water bottle (the kind that now-a-days you can buy filtered spring water/mineral water in, brands like "heart water" use thicker cans (far thicker than the aluminum in a pop can) and have screw on lids). You can light a small fire when you make camp, put the aluminum bottle 3/4 full of water in the fire for a few minutes... viola you have hot water. Also a good backup in case your water filtration/purification system goes kaput.

Care to share what combo you came up with on the food? Sounds like a good option

 

[twall13]

I weighed this out recently... I wanted to see what 3 mountain house meals (a day's worth of calories" weighed vs an assortment of "non cook" food options. I was surprised to find that it was very easy to "beat" the weight of the freeze dried meals (let alone the weight of stove, fuel, spork, etc). Taking an assortment of nuts, dried fruit, protein bars, granola bars, hard candy, 'Carnation Instant Breakfast' mixes, crackers, jerky, mountain ops, etc... I could get BETTER nutritional value/vitamins and even more calories for the same 18-20oz that the 3 mountain house meals weighed.

If you dont want the weight penalty, but want the option to have hot water for meals... take an aluminum water bottle (the kind that now-a-days you can buy filtered spring water/mineral water in, brands like "heart water" use thicker cans (far thicker than the aluminum in a pop can) and have screw on lids). You can light a small fire when you make camp, put the aluminum bottle 3/4 full of water in the fire for a few minutes... viola you have hot water. Also a good backup in case your water filtration/purification system goes kaput.

You mention comparing foods to Mountain House meals. I think it's worth pointing out that there are much better options than Mountain House these days. Just as an example looking at calories alone and trying to compare apples to apples:
Mountain House Biscuits and Gravy- 560 calories per pouch, 4.4 Oz. Pouch, 127 Calories per ounce
Peak Refuel Biscuits and Gravy- 1100 calories per pouch, 6.77 oz. Pouch, 162 calories per ounce.

Of course calories are only one part of the nutritional content but in the Backcountry they are a big one for me. Most Peak meals tend to have a higher calorie and protein value than Mtn. House. They also tend to use less water, and in certain areas, that can be a big deal.

There are plenty of other good freeze dried options these days that are superior to Mountain House in my opinion. Gastro Gnome, Pinnacle, Peak Refuel, Packit Gourmet, and Stowaway Gourmet to name a few. That said, they aren't cheap.

I'm not by any means saying you are wrong in your comparison and I'd certainly be curious to see a daily food bag from your non cooking menu broken out with nutritional values, etc. I'm sure I can learn something from it that could benefit my nutrition away from home.

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[TaperPin]

Every time this topic pops up I get a memory of trying a cold mountain house meal - even when really hungry it wasn’t very good, to be nice, but that’s just me. Lol

I’ve stopped hunting with someone that can’t eat their hunting food at home, but convince themselves it will taste good on the mountain, then bitch about it all week and want some of my goodies because they also didn’t bring enough. Lol

 

[packgoatguy]

Care to share what combo you came up with on the food? Sounds like a good option

Here is a quick example... not saying this has all the nutrients you would need, but I would be fine eating a few days of this. If I was trying to be more exact in my prep, I would have some dried fruit like banana chips, apple slices, rasins, cranberries, etc in a baggy. Just don't have any on hand at the moment. I've got carbs, fats, proteins, and a variety of vitamins and electrolytes.

The freeze dried meal is a comfort item for me. If I'm backpacking with my wife and kids, we for sure have the jetboil Stash and various freeze dried meals (my wife likes the Costco ones...) to eat around the campfire. Its a social component to the experience... However, if I'm solo, moving fast and light, setting up a bivy camp in a different spot each night as I cover country hunting, then there are many nights I don't feel like doing anything more than just eating a handful of nuts and crawling in my sleeping bag.... I also don't tend to sleep well if I eat a meal right before bed, so I do better with my calories spread out evenly throughout the day... which can be challenging with freeze dried meals.

 

[mahonsr]

Here is a quick example... not saying this has all the nutrients you would need, but I would be fine eating a few days of this. If I was trying to be more exact in my prep, I would have some dried fruit like banana chips, apple slices, rasins, cranberries, etc in a baggy. Just don't have any on hand at the moment. I've got carbs, fats, proteins, and a variety of vitamins and electrolytes.

The freeze dried meal is a comfort item for me. If I'm backpacking with my wife and kids, we for sure have the jetboil Stash and various freeze dried meals (my wife likes the Costco ones...) to eat around the campfire. Its a social component to the experience... However, if I'm solo, moving fast and light, setting up a bivy camp in a different spot each night as I cover country hunting, then there are many nights I don't feel like doing anything more than just eating a handful of nuts and crawling in my sleeping bag.... I also don't tend to sleep well if I eat a meal right before bed, so I do better with my calories spread out evenly throughout the day... which can be challenging with freeze dried meals.

Im in the same boat. When solo and focused on hunting - I’m out in the field until last light and than hiking back to my camp or hiking to where I want to camp in the dark. In Sept the days are long and up early. I tend to eat the big meal during the day. At night - I just want to get some good food in me and go to sleep - don’t feel like messing with all the food prep hassle, boil times, water filtration, etc. But that’s just me. Great to live in a country, time and age when you have a choice that’s for sure!

 

[ElkArcher918]

I enjoy my lightweight gear. But not a big enough weight weanie to foresake my backpacking stove, a hot early cup of coffe, and a warm evening meal while glassing. To each is own.

 

[Markwojcik]

My MSR pocket rocket and a small titanium cup has always seemed worth the ~14oz (with fuel) even though Im not a coffee drinker. There’s something special about warm ramen noodles or a backpacker meal after a long day hiking.

 

[wapitispokes]

You mention comparing foods to Mountain House meals. I think it's worth pointing out that there are much better options than Mountain House these days. Just as an example looking at calories alone and trying to compare apples to apples:
Mountain House Biscuits and Gravy- 560 calories per pouch, 4.4 Oz. Pouch, 127 Calories per ounce
Peak Refuel Biscuits and Gravy- 1100 calories per pouch, 6.77 oz. Pouch, 162 calories per ounce.

Of course calories are only one part of the nutritional content but in the Backcountry they are a big one for me. Most Peak meals tend to have a higher calorie and protein value than Mtn. House. They also tend to use less water, and in certain areas, that can be a big deal.

There are plenty of other good freeze dried options these days that are superior to Mountain House in my opinion. Gastro Gnome, Pinnacle, Peak Refuel, Packit Gourmet, and Stowaway Gourmet to name a few. That said, they aren't cheap.

I'm not by any means saying you are wrong in your comparison and I'd certainly be curious to see a daily food bag from your non cooking menu broken out with nutritional values, etc. I'm sure I can learn something from it that could benefit my nutrition away from home.

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I agree. Some years ago I started a spreadsheet to track and "grade" the different FD foods from various manufacturers because I can never remember exactly which ones are downright awful and which ones are decent. I try to keep notes when in the field, but that only works out less than half the time. I'm also the trip organizer and leader for all our hunting and backpacking trips so it comes down to me to try to avoid the "awful" ones.

And whatever is leftover after a hunt - I get to keep and eat when backpacking / scouting the following year and the leftovers are usually the worst ones (I keep leftovers because usually I just buy everyone's food...cuz I'm normally buying all this stuff for family and best friend who contributes in other ways...). So it pays to be a little picky otherwise I just eat the garbage food the next summer.

Sometimes I post my FD food reviews on REI (because that's where I buy most of my FD food). I remember one was so bad I said something funny (to me) about that meal in my REI review. REI review handle is also "wapitispokes"

As far as FD food brands go, me and my hiking / hunting buds usually put Mountain House at the bottom of the heap in terms of taste and "gut impacts..." (you know what I mean), but their spaghetti and lasagna sure do hydrate quick and are edible enough. 30 years ago they owned the market, now - not so much.