Favorite Backcountry Gear 2022

[Hondo0925]

Mine are

SG dehaviland pants
Outdoor Vitals adventure puffy jacket

 

[hunterjmj]

Meopta 15's
Argali carbon knife
Skre Kodiak pant
Upgraded wall tent stove
Gunsmith adapter for spartan tripod

All great purchases.

 

[Northpark]

Time to fire up the annual favorite gear of the year thread. I always love hearing what other people had that stood out to them. Rules are simple. Can be new things you used this year, or just items that you've had for a while that impressed you for some reason. I'm trying not to point out gear I've mentioned in the past, even if I really liked it (i.e. my Exo Pack). In no particular order:

1. Schnees Beartooth Insulated. Used these on a couple of late season hunts and they were a great balance between not being too warm for mountain hunting, but better than not having any insulation in my toes for glassing sessions.
2. First Lite Omen Rain Gear. These aren't new to me this year, but I really relied on the Omen this year in Alaska on a miserable Kodiak hunt and it was invaluable.
3. Nosler 6.5C Mountain Carbon. This is my third year with this rifle. Light, crazy accurate and fun to shoot.
4. Vortex 10x42 Razor UHD Binos. I don't know how many hours I have behind these, but I really like them. Would recommend to anyone.
5. RX Bars. I eat a LOT of bars. And I have a love hate realationship with them because most of them have too much sugar. I rarely get tired of these ones, and I buy them in bulk.
6. Patagonia Swiftcurrent Waders. These are my go-to waders for any travel, especially in Alaska. They pack down to a nalgene sized water bottle and are really light. I pair with a set of crocs for stream crossings and getting in and out of float planes. Almost lost them this year and it reminded me how much I like them.
7. Argali Absaroka 4P Tent. I know, this is self serving, but I do love this tent!
8. SOG PowerPint Multitool. I'm usually someone that thinks carrying a multi-tool is pointless, but this thing saved my bacon after a llama rodeo destroyed a couple pack saddles on an archery elk hunt. It's small enough to fit into my bino harness.
9. FHF Rifle Sling. I hate carrying my rifle on my shoulder, but this sling changed that for me. Well designed and incredibly functional.
10. Day Six Evo 100g Broadheads. I was lucky to do a lot of archery hunting this year. Killed 3 animals with the same broadhead, and a few others with these heads. I'm a fan.

How do the Rx bars hold up in a pack? I’d love to find a bar with less sugar. I’ve been making my own packaroons but sometimes I want something different.

 

[mtnwrunner]

Off the top of my head:

1. Crispi guide boots.
2. Flextail mini air pump.
3. MSR Windburner stove.
4. Custom 6 creedmoor.
5. RRS anvil 30 tripod head.

Randy

 

[Brad@Argali]

How do the Rx bars hold up in a pack? I’d love to find a bar with less sugar. I’ve been making my own packaroons but sometimes I want something different.

They hold up really well. RX and Perfect bars are my favorites.

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[SikaHuntaa]

Changed from pillowcases to the Argali meat bags, enjoying being able to hang meat up with them on fly in trips.
Running the Backlanz bipod and enjoying that with my lightweight rig
Lowa Tibet GTX great for big wide feet.

NZ hunter so up in the alpine 9 times out of 10- just ordered a SG 7900 pack so looking forward to getting my hands on that

 

[CentennialState]

Hanwag Makra Trek Boots

 

[roosterdown]

Kuiu Katana pants for S&S Pronghorn in August were perfect.

Final Rise bird vest...compared to a standard cheap vest, it's like getting called up to the big leagues.

 

[Seeknelk]

Swaro NL 12x and outdoorsman's tripod adapter - simply awesome
TBAC Dominus suppressor on the 300 PRC. - shooting quiet is incredible.
-Creative outdoors Slik sling ,replaced the gunbearer I used for a decade or more. Love the gun behind me but quick to take down and put back without removing pack.
- Seek redcliff and stove. Nice to have another hot option besides the 14x16 canvas for either backpacking or shorter ,or more nomadic truck hunts.
- Merino fishnet merino top base layer, obviously it's for looking sexy, but did you know it actually moves moisture incredibly well also!
- Mora stainless knife. Incredible steel for $25 knife. Completely boned out a cow elk without touch up and was still sharp.

 

[twall13]

A couple items that stood out on this year's hunts.

New gear that impressed:

Gastronome meals. Several I liked, the Bison Chorizo Hash was excellent. I'll definitely be adding a few of their offerings to the rotation with my Peak Refuel meals.

Gore Thermo and Point 6 Merino socks. For years I've been a fan of Darn Tough socks but both of these brands fit my feet better, specifically in the toe area where Darn Toughs were a bit tight.

Older gear that stood out:

Nunatak Kobuk puffy pants. Made a world of difference on a cold CO 3rd season mule deer hunt. These things are warm!

First Lite Grizzly Mitts. Another life saver on that CO hunt. I got more use out of them on this hunt than all other hunts combined up to this point and I really came away impressed.

Slik 624 tripod. I do most of my glassing from a seated position and this is a lightweight, compact tripod that works well with all of my optics in that scenario.



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[Jordan]

SG Dehaviland pants.
Swaro SLCs.

 

[magnum]

- Dewalt 60V chainsaw
- Kowa 77
- Slik 635
- Thermarest NeoAir Xtherm
- My Swarovski 10x42 SLC’s. Had them 13 years but it’s one piece of gear I never have any desire to change.

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

Hanwag Friction 2 GTX Boots.

SG Terminus 7000 Pack

NXS 2.5-10x42 (Moving up from the 32mm NXS)

Swaro 10x42 NL (Also moving up from 32mm NL’s)

Aziak Bino Mount

MagView S1 Spotting scope adapter


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[TEWONG]

-RRS Ascend tripod & BH40 head
-Thermarest NeoAir Xtherm

 

[HighUintas]

No particular order:

-Swfa 3-9 scope and sportsmatch rings
- durston xmid2 tent
- forest tracker esc boots
- Garmin messenger GPS tracking unit
- fjallraven pants

 

[TheBootBowhunting]

1. Marsupial Hand Muff - Prev had a FHF muff, and this one blows it away, in every way.

2. Hogue Extrak - Did a comparison in its own thread, but its lighter than the BM Altitude and a pleasure to use. Took down 2 whitetail without sharpening, getting the edge back to super sharp was a breeze. Also broke down a 280lb boar without needing to resharpen. Hogue nailed it on this knife.

3. Kuiu ultra merino 120 LT tops. Crew/Long sleeve/hoodie. Never been much of a merino baselayer fan, prev used FL Wick, but the sheer number of seams was out of control. This is more comfortable, regulates temps better both hot and cold and great fit.

4 Maven B1.2 8x42. I have SLC 10x42. And Ive always leaned to 10s. But 80% of the time I find myself taking the B1.2s over the SLC 10s. Such a great FOV, glass competes with the SLC and the focus wheel (feel and smoothness) on the Maven is in a class by itself.

5 Sitka Ambient Hoody - I added a kangaroo pocket to mine, but this piece is maybe the most versatile in Sitkas lineup. I have used it as an outer layer more often than not, and as a midlayer under a jetstream vest/jacket.

6. Fenix HM65R headlamp. Have used BD Spot/storm for several years without issue, but the puzzle of getting it to do what you want can be a hassle. Very simple operation, rechargable, bright as all hell and durable.

7. Kifaru 44 Mag/Duplex Lite - Have used a Hoodlum for longer hunts for a couple of years. This year I did 8 days early season with a 44mag, med belt pouch, large belt pouch and a claymore as a lid. The layout of the 44 mag is perfect, and with the claymore filled with 4 days of food I was able to use a pack I prefer, on a longer hunt.

8. Stone Glacier Chilkoot 15 - best sleeping bag Ive ever used. A lot of room while staying on the lighter side.

 

[lintond]

Last light LED light string. - Used it twice to help provide light while processing a deer after dark in late season in addition to headlamp.

Exped megamat 10 - super comfy

Hatch bipod - great bipod for field use and easily adjustable for multiple positions. I’ve tried a lot of them over the years.


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[Desk Jockey]

Kuiu axis pants. They kept me comfortable in cold temps on a late season elk hunt and were Perfect for dealing with 1-3 feet of snow without gaiters. They took over as my favorite late season pants on a recent trip to Colorado.

 

[camelcluch]

I will now add my Argali Carbon Knife. It used it on two deer in the last two days. Just what I was hoping for. Very good edge retention and quick to re sharpen. I’m done looking for a fixed blade for a while… Maybe

 

[WiscoHoundsman]

Newish items 1-2 years old. No particular order
SG De Havilland pants
Swarovski ATX 65mm
Meindl Vakuum Hunter boots
Caribou Gear hunters tarp - was nice for quartering my elk. Kept it clean when the ground was all pine needles.
Older items
Buck Knives 113 ranger skinner