Gear that worked/ didn't in Alaska

[Randlhunting]

Tagged

 

[BloodAndRust]

If you can't find muck boots with enough support, I wonder if you could wrap your ankles before putting on the boots to achieve the level of support you're looking for.

 

[mcseal2]

I am going after caribou next year. I need some ankle support. I’m thinking of taking my Simms G3 wading boots and Chota Tundra Hippie waders. Pretty sure nobody will take me serious is something named like that, but if they keep me dry I don’t care!

 

[mcseal2]

I put a list in my journal of my moose hunt last year. We were in a swamp with nothing around more than 6ft above water level. Here are a few of the highlights

Worked great:

-Kifaru Slickbag +20 degree. I dried a lot of clothes in this bag that got damp on the trip, it did great and I slept warm. Used the LPP puffy and it was nice too.

-FL SEAK rain jacket. Kept me dry and wasn't to bad to hike in with pit zips open. Had to wear it and the waders the whole time, even if it wasn't raining everything was wet.

-Simms G3 waders and boots. Worked perfect in the swamp.

-Gransfers Bruks small forest axe & large Wyoming saw. I used it quite a bit around camp the day before we could hunt. Built a tripod to keep at camp for shooting standing, saplings to elevate the ridgeline of our cook shack tarp, stakes to tie the inflatable boat to (one at camp, one to take with us), drove stakes for the tipi, handy item early on. The saw was nice for ribs and cutting a path to open swamp from where my bull died 15ft into the brush. Also cut an area to process him in.

-Seek Outside 8 man tipi w/ liners, Kifaru SST stakes, imitation MSR cyclone stakes. This set-up kept us dry and worked pretty perfect. Took all the wind and rain very well. The long stakes are nice in the soft swamp.

Kifaru tactical 26" frame and Nomad 2 bag with Grab It 2. This set-up hauled my gear and moose quarters very well. Kept a dry bag of clothes between the wings.

Seek outside DST and Colorado tarps. Glassed under the DST during some of the rains, used the CO for our cook shack.

Tingley Ultralight rubber boots. Perfect camp shoes for getting out of the waders around camp. Only camp shoes that would have been used were fairly tall rubber boots.

Darn Tough socks, Aerowool base layers. Kuiu Peloton 240 hoody. These got worn every day and slept in.

Kuiu Taku 9000 bag. This was my dry storage and "closet" for use in the tipi.

Didn't work well:

Benchmade Altitude or Tyto. It's a personal deal, but I like a longer blade especially on something that big. My Bark River clip point hunter and ZT 452 were what I used, the smaller blades we had along didn't get used.

Katadyn base camp. 2nd filter worked great, first was really slow. We had a 7 micron filter sock we poured water through into the filter so it didn't just get clogged right away. We had issues in Canada with that so took the sock this trip.

Only taking a half gallon of whiskey for both of us for 10 days. We just had a drink with supper each evening and still ran out. We were not going to drink heavily out there, but it would have been nice to have a few more the night after we were both tagged out and had all the meat at camp. Medicinal purposes.

Bring next time:

Simms fleece mid bottoms or Terramar predator fleece bottoms. Something warmer to put between the Aerowool 200 bottoms and the waders

Waterproof down or synthetic insulated vest. I could have used a little more than just the Aerowool top, Peloton 240 hoody, Kifaru LPP, and Seek SEAK rain jacket at times. Sitting with a cold wet wind in my face got chilly.

 

[Fisherhahn]

All good info. Thanks guys!

 

[ZuluSierra]

Thanks for the info!

 

[cyocham]

I just got back from an Alaskan Caribou hunt at the end of September. I spent 7 days out in the rain, snow, sleet and 2 days of sunshine. haha. This was a hunt where you figure out what works and what does not.

CAMO- I was thoroughly impressed with my Sitka Coldfront tops and bottoms. Before the hunt, I bought these outrageously priced items in the hopes they would actually be as good as they claim. I also brought my lightweight rain gear and purchased a set of Helly Hansen because it was supposed to be a stormy hunt. I never felt the need to change out of the coldfront gear. I stayed dry, warm and I was able to wear it in temperatures from sub zero to 40*. Most I ever wore was some merino and a long sleeve shirt under the coldfront. WOW, this stuff is worth it's price and more.

BOOTS- I took waders, bogs muck boots and Kennetrek Mountain extremes. Barely used the waders but they worked when I did. I wore the Kennetreks for 1 day and quickly realized they are not the right boot for the hunt. My feet got a little cold and I was worried by mid day that they were about to start letting moisture inside. I waxed them multiple times before the hunt and also wore gaiters. ( Kennetrek gaiters were awesome). The Bogs boots were the go to and kept my feet warm and dry. They lack ankle support, so I think in the future, I will try and see if there is a pair of muck boots that offer a little more support. The Alaskan landscape is really unforgiving and when you find yourself needing to cross a bog, you know your life is about to suck until you reach the otherside.

BACKPACK- Kifaru Reckoning 24" composite stays. I have used this bag on many hunts and I really like it. It holds tons of gear and also is big enough to throw the meet inside the bag on the packout. This was my first hunt where I had to haul a decent amount of wait out of the field with the 24" frame. I had the 26" for 4 years and decided I should see if the 24" would do the same and have a slightly lower profile. The answer is NO. I got load out of the field, but getting load lift was difficult with the 24" stays. My pack was right around 100lbs for 6-7 miles of Alaskan hell. Damn those bogs. haha. I actually weighted the meet once at the lodge and confirmed my weights. I am 5'10" and I think a 26" frame is needed. Sucks to find out this fact when the packout is that far. haha.

Sleeping pad- Insulated static V. This pad is gonna get the boot. I had to re blow it up atleast twice a night. Not sure where it leaks from, I can not find it, but I am thinking it is the fill valve.

MARSUPIAL GEAR BINO HARNESS- I have been using this since it was developed and it has been super comfortable. I tried out the padded wider harness this time and it is even more comfortable than the original.

BLACK OVIS GAME BAGS- These are MONEY!! Super impressed, great bag, even the Grizzlies like them. ( lost the ribs to a grizzly over night).

INREACH- Priceless and really helped during the hunt. I downloaded some maps for it and bluetoother my phone to it. Works great and is much easier to operate from your phone.

SOTO Stove- By far the best stove I have used. Super light weight, push button ignition that lights EVERY time I push it. Did I mention it boils water faster than a mountain house goes thru you. ( now that's fast!!) Buddy had the MSR and we ended up using my stove every time after the first night. We could literally boil water twice on mine before his would get his water boiling.

I am sure there is a bunch more stuff I liked, but these are the things that stuck out to me. Thanks for the listen.

What sleeping bag and tent did you use?

 

[HuntHarder]

What sleeping bag and tent did you use?

We stayed in a "Bomb Shelter " tent. It was absolutely amazing. Took all the bad weather with ease and was just enough room for 2 of us. We each had a cot and I used a Big agnes 0* bag. The bag itself worked great and was pretty affordable. It is not a lightweight bag at over 5 lbs, but it kept me nice and warm even in temps at or near 0.

 

[cyocham]

We stayed in a "Bomb Shelter " tent. It was absolutely amazing. Took all the bad weather with ease and was just enough room for 2 of us. We each had a cot and I used a Big agnes 0* bag. The bag itself worked great and was pretty affordable. It is not a lightweight bag at over 5 lbs, but it kept me nice and warm even in temps at or near 0.

Thanks for the feedback. We booked our air transport out of Kotzebue next August and now we are going through our gear for the trip.

 

[etsanger]

Thanks for the write up. What area were you in and did you buy the isobutane fuel for the stoves there?

 

[HuntHarder]

Thanks for the write up. What area were you in and did you buy the isobutane fuel for the stoves there?

We were hunting in the Southern Brooks range. The transporter/ outfitter I used had plenty of fuel at his place for me. I think we used MSR brand Isopro for our little stoves.