Choose my setup - NM February

[tclipse]

Hunting solo. This will be my first time hunting NM February, will be in the mountains for aoudad. Temps range from 30-50 average, with the lower end in the teens and daytime highs can be in the 60s/70s. It seems all over the place, so I'm not sure what to expect.

I've accumulated some gear over the past few years from sales and have some options:

Tent - MountainSmith Shelter LT (no stove) vs. SO Cimmaron (with stove)
Sleep Pad - Thermarest Xlite (4.5 R) vs. XTherm (7.3 R)
Bag - Marmot Helium 15 vs. Marmot Ultra Elite 30

Space is not a concern for the shelter since I'm by myself. Is the extra weight from the SO/stove and warmer pad/bag worth it for NM in February?

I know part of this will be based on checking the weather the week before since there is so much annual variance, but seeing if some experienced NM hunters can weigh in on what the real deal is for nighttime temps that time of year.

 

[dtrkyman]

100% the warmer pad and bag, the desert is a cold bastard in the winter! The stove is definitely a plus but your call.

I hate winter camping so I would go stove!

Expect teens in the morning.

 

[Keener22]

Second vote for stove and the warmest gear you have. We hunted the January hunt last year and it was in the teens with 15-20 mph winds a couple nights. Real cold despite being in the desert. Make sure you pack down your sod cloth well to keep the wind from blowing out all your heat (ask me how I know). Like you pointed out, the weather is a true wild card that time of year.

 

[butcherboy]

It’s not really desert like most people think. It’s considered high desert. You can freeze your but off one or two days then it’s bluebird tshirt weather. Could be a cold bastard for the whole hunt or nice days in the afternoon. Go prepared for the worst. Even if it’s nice the temp at nighttime will be brutal. A few years ago I had the archery Ibex hunt in January. First 3 days were nice with bitter cold nights. After that it dumped 8” of snow overnight then the freezing rain started. I went home after 3 days of that stuff. Had 7 days to hunt but only got 3 in because of the weather.

 

[jolemons]

One thing to keep in mind it's that there are places in NM where you cannot drive tent stakes because the ground is too rocky. I used to have a free standing tent for that purpose.

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