Robinhood21
WKR
I thought it might help some people looking to do a DIY hunt if I went over the gear I used for the trip. We used a good mixture of "High End" and some "Budget Friendly" items. I won't touch on everything on our list but items that stood out the most.
I really didn't have many complaints with any of our gear.
I did most all the research between the 3 of us so a lot of the items we used were the exact same and it worked out pretty good for the most part.
I'll be happy to answer any questions people had about what we used.
Camping Gear
Cabelas Alaskan Guide 6 Person Tent - This tent was an absolute rockstar! It was really tested on the 2nd day of the hunt when we got hit with torrential rain and 60mph winds all day and night. I went outside to tighten the guy lines once, other than that it was perfect. With 3 people it was big enough but the 8 person would've been pretty nice! We rented a small 2 man tent to store some of our extra gear and was glad we did.
Cots - Dad and I used ALPS MOUNTAINEERING READY LITE CAMP COTS and my uncle used a Thermarest LuxuryLite. Our Alps cots were about 1.5 lbs heavier than my uncles Thermarest but the ALPS felt much sturdier and was wider than the Thermarest. I really liked the ALPS.
Sleeping Bags - This is an item we all kind of took a small risk on and it ended up working out great for us. All 3 of us used a Cabelas Imeon 15deg Sleeping Bag. I think when we bought them on sale and were under $140 but they're discontinued now. What I liked about this bag the most is that it's inbetween a mummy bag and a regular bag. I've been in some mummy bags before and I just felt so constricted. Very comfy and warm... really impressed. We threw whatever clothes we planned on wearing the next day in the footbox and they were nice and toasty the next morning.
Game Bags - We all bought the Ajillis Elk Moose 6pc Game Bag Set from amazon. They were less than $40 and worked great. Really heavy duty bags. Comes with 4 huge bags for the quarters and 2 smaller bags for the rest of the meat. We knew 6 bags wouldn't be enough so we also got a package of cheaper Alaskan Game Bags.
Knives - We all used Outdoor Edge Razor Lite knives. They were awesome! I used 3 blades per moose.
Random Things That Were Nice To Have
*Micro Fiber Towel for drying equipment or yourself after an ice cold lake bath
*2 Gallon Collapsable water jug
*14" Stanley wood saw didn't weight much and was a better alternative than a pack/folding saw
*At least 2 headnets, 3 is better! They get lost...
*Grillmates seasoning and a little olive oil for those Moose Tenderloins cooked over an open fire!
*Small Grill Grate - My uncle brought this at the last minute and am so glad he did.
Clothing
Waders - Another Budget item ($100) that worked out great! All 3 of us wore Cabelas Premium Breathable Stockingfoot Waders. I wasn't going to drop $600 on a pair of Simms Waders so we took another risk on these and once again it paid off for us. We stayed bone dry and even wore them when we butchered both moose so cleanup was easy as we just washed up in the lake. They withstood alder busting like a champ and had zero damage.
Boots - All 3 of us wore Simms Freestone Wading Boots 100% of the time we were out there. The reason for this is we didn't want to have to pack wading boots and hunting boots. We probably only wore our wading pants 50% of the time so when we had our regular hunting pants on, we used a waterproof neoprene sock to take up the room that the wading pant booty would. This system worked great. The boots were surprisingly comfy and held up great. We even did most of our heavy pack training in them and not once did they give us blisters or any issues.
Socks - Here's a good money saver! I didn't want to pay $20 per pair of socks so I took another risk on some Peoples Socks from Amazon and couldn't be happier. $25 for 4 pair!! They're 71% Merino Wool ,21% Nylon, 7% Poly,1% Spandex. I had 8 pairs for hunting and 1 dry pair that never left the tent that I slept in every night. They were thick and super comfy!
Tops - My go to pieces EVERY SINGLE DAY were a Blackovis Merino 150 Hoodie, KUIU Peloton 240 Jacket, & KUIU Superdown Ultra Puffy. I was so impressed with these 3 pieces throughout the trip! Everybody in our group had the Black Ovis hoodies and we wore them literally everyday all day. I actually have several of them but my uncle and father both said they will be getting more! They were surprisingly durable as well. We went through plenty of alder and willow and the shirts never got a rip or hole in them. You can get them on camofire.com for $50. The Peloton 240 was durable and the perfect midlayer and the KUIU Superdown ultra (all 3 of us had) was warm and feather light. I wore other items also on the trip but these 3 were definitely worth mentioning.
Bottoms - When I wasn't wearing waders I had KUIU attack pants on and KUIU Yukon Gaiters which were great. Base layer consisted of Blackovis Merino 200 3/4 length bottom and if it got real cold I had some KUIU zip off Peloton 200. Once again the Blackovis merino was awesome. I never took them off whether I had the waders on or the Attack pants. I wasn't sure how I would like the 3/4 length but I loved it. It kept my ankles from burning up on hikes.
Rain Gear - KUIU Chugach jacket and KUIU Kutana pants is what I had. Dad had KUIU Chugach top and bottoms and my uncle used KUIU Chugach top and just his waders for his bottoms. All worked out well although we did not have several days in a row where it rained on us so they were not really put through a very hard test. I think a Helly Henson Impertech Jacket would be nice to have if you can get away with the weight. No complaints there though.
Pack Frames - All 3 of us had Eberlestock F1 Mainframes w/ Batwings and I have no complaints. Dad and I had the tall versions and my Uncle had the regular. We all did about 5-6 months of training with these packs as well. For the last month before the trip I had worked up to 125lbs and packing it 3 miles. I can't say it was easy or even comfy but it worked great and will use it again.
I really didn't have many complaints with any of our gear.
I did most all the research between the 3 of us so a lot of the items we used were the exact same and it worked out pretty good for the most part.
I'll be happy to answer any questions people had about what we used.
Camping Gear
Cabelas Alaskan Guide 6 Person Tent - This tent was an absolute rockstar! It was really tested on the 2nd day of the hunt when we got hit with torrential rain and 60mph winds all day and night. I went outside to tighten the guy lines once, other than that it was perfect. With 3 people it was big enough but the 8 person would've been pretty nice! We rented a small 2 man tent to store some of our extra gear and was glad we did.
Cots - Dad and I used ALPS MOUNTAINEERING READY LITE CAMP COTS and my uncle used a Thermarest LuxuryLite. Our Alps cots were about 1.5 lbs heavier than my uncles Thermarest but the ALPS felt much sturdier and was wider than the Thermarest. I really liked the ALPS.
Sleeping Bags - This is an item we all kind of took a small risk on and it ended up working out great for us. All 3 of us used a Cabelas Imeon 15deg Sleeping Bag. I think when we bought them on sale and were under $140 but they're discontinued now. What I liked about this bag the most is that it's inbetween a mummy bag and a regular bag. I've been in some mummy bags before and I just felt so constricted. Very comfy and warm... really impressed. We threw whatever clothes we planned on wearing the next day in the footbox and they were nice and toasty the next morning.
Game Bags - We all bought the Ajillis Elk Moose 6pc Game Bag Set from amazon. They were less than $40 and worked great. Really heavy duty bags. Comes with 4 huge bags for the quarters and 2 smaller bags for the rest of the meat. We knew 6 bags wouldn't be enough so we also got a package of cheaper Alaskan Game Bags.
Knives - We all used Outdoor Edge Razor Lite knives. They were awesome! I used 3 blades per moose.
Random Things That Were Nice To Have
*Micro Fiber Towel for drying equipment or yourself after an ice cold lake bath
*2 Gallon Collapsable water jug
*14" Stanley wood saw didn't weight much and was a better alternative than a pack/folding saw
*At least 2 headnets, 3 is better! They get lost...
*Grillmates seasoning and a little olive oil for those Moose Tenderloins cooked over an open fire!
*Small Grill Grate - My uncle brought this at the last minute and am so glad he did.
Clothing
Waders - Another Budget item ($100) that worked out great! All 3 of us wore Cabelas Premium Breathable Stockingfoot Waders. I wasn't going to drop $600 on a pair of Simms Waders so we took another risk on these and once again it paid off for us. We stayed bone dry and even wore them when we butchered both moose so cleanup was easy as we just washed up in the lake. They withstood alder busting like a champ and had zero damage.
Boots - All 3 of us wore Simms Freestone Wading Boots 100% of the time we were out there. The reason for this is we didn't want to have to pack wading boots and hunting boots. We probably only wore our wading pants 50% of the time so when we had our regular hunting pants on, we used a waterproof neoprene sock to take up the room that the wading pant booty would. This system worked great. The boots were surprisingly comfy and held up great. We even did most of our heavy pack training in them and not once did they give us blisters or any issues.
Socks - Here's a good money saver! I didn't want to pay $20 per pair of socks so I took another risk on some Peoples Socks from Amazon and couldn't be happier. $25 for 4 pair!! They're 71% Merino Wool ,21% Nylon, 7% Poly,1% Spandex. I had 8 pairs for hunting and 1 dry pair that never left the tent that I slept in every night. They were thick and super comfy!
Tops - My go to pieces EVERY SINGLE DAY were a Blackovis Merino 150 Hoodie, KUIU Peloton 240 Jacket, & KUIU Superdown Ultra Puffy. I was so impressed with these 3 pieces throughout the trip! Everybody in our group had the Black Ovis hoodies and we wore them literally everyday all day. I actually have several of them but my uncle and father both said they will be getting more! They were surprisingly durable as well. We went through plenty of alder and willow and the shirts never got a rip or hole in them. You can get them on camofire.com for $50. The Peloton 240 was durable and the perfect midlayer and the KUIU Superdown ultra (all 3 of us had) was warm and feather light. I wore other items also on the trip but these 3 were definitely worth mentioning.
Bottoms - When I wasn't wearing waders I had KUIU attack pants on and KUIU Yukon Gaiters which were great. Base layer consisted of Blackovis Merino 200 3/4 length bottom and if it got real cold I had some KUIU zip off Peloton 200. Once again the Blackovis merino was awesome. I never took them off whether I had the waders on or the Attack pants. I wasn't sure how I would like the 3/4 length but I loved it. It kept my ankles from burning up on hikes.
Rain Gear - KUIU Chugach jacket and KUIU Kutana pants is what I had. Dad had KUIU Chugach top and bottoms and my uncle used KUIU Chugach top and just his waders for his bottoms. All worked out well although we did not have several days in a row where it rained on us so they were not really put through a very hard test. I think a Helly Henson Impertech Jacket would be nice to have if you can get away with the weight. No complaints there though.
Pack Frames - All 3 of us had Eberlestock F1 Mainframes w/ Batwings and I have no complaints. Dad and I had the tall versions and my Uncle had the regular. We all did about 5-6 months of training with these packs as well. For the last month before the trip I had worked up to 125lbs and packing it 3 miles. I can't say it was easy or even comfy but it worked great and will use it again.
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