three day trip- under 30 lbs with food and water :)

[mxgsfmdpx]

thank you Sir

tough hunt (30+ miles in three days), but paid off in the end

Hell yeah. Good stuff man.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Congratulations on a fantastic buck! You sure earned him.

 

[MT_Wyatt]

That’s a bomber deer, nicely done!

 

[mtwarden]

Thanks Gents!

A couple of notes on the gear/camping logistics- I finally took the time to find a spring that was on the map (it was actually off a 1/4 mile from where the map showed it)- I decided to camp there as there were a couple of good glassing spots nearby. About two hours before the end of shooting light, set up the tent, got the pad inflated, sleeping bag fluffed up, etc and then headed for the glassing spots for evening. When I got back went to fill up on water and found out what I was looking at was a frozen solid spring- tried breaking up the ice and all I got was wet mud. I had a little over a liter of water left and would have to make do with it for supper/breakfast.

The new Tarptent was bomber (I'm using longer stakes than what they provide) had some really high winds and was fine. Also very palatial for one! My Xtherm however has evidently developed a slow leak, roughly 45 minutes until it went flat. Sleep for 30-45 minutes, wake up, blow up the mattress, repeat all night long- not ideal for a good night's rest . I think it got down to the upper teens and the 30 degree bag w/ the 50 degree quilt was cozy (not so much on the back side!).

Stratospire Li

 

[Philthyphil]

Warden, you are inspiring when it comes to weight consciousness. I am reevaluating my sleep system this winter and you may have swayed me back to the bag/quilt combo since you say you were cozy.

For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why you were taking a VHS tape in your weigh in photo.

 

[mtwarden]

Warden, you are inspiring when it comes to weight consciousness. I am reevaluating my sleep system this winter and you may have swayed me back to the bag/quilt combo since you say you were cozy.

For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why you were taking a VHS tape in your weigh in photo.

I had to look back at the photo to see what you were talking about- see it now

 

[woods89]

thank you Sir

tough hunt (30+ miles in three days), but paid off in the end

Very cool buck. Congrats!

And I shot a bull last week while wearing a BD Alpine Start windshirt. Some warden guy from Montana kept talking about them and I had to try one out. It'll see a lot of use. Thanks!

 

[mtwarden]

Thanks!

I never leave home without one

 

[Woodman334]

Did a little three day excursion last week into an area I have a deer permit for. Was trying to keep things as light as possible and managed a 27-ish pound pack all in (including 3 days of food 4.5 lbs and 4 lbs of water)- my rifle was in hand (but it's pretty light too- 5.5 lbs). I was as far back as 12 miles at one point, so humping a light pack was nice- if I would have harvested a buck that far back it would have been critical.

SG Krux frame w/ a Solo bag
Feathered Friends Flicker 30 bag/quilt
Thermarest XTherm pad
Tarptent Aeon Li shelter- all of 17 oz w/ stakes

I brought a small spotter (Leupold 20x50) and a very lightweight tripod- Granite Peak; used the spotter a couple of times, but most of the spotting was done with 10x42's on the same tripod.

Weather was pretty nice (as forecasted)- 50's day, 30's night- so I didn't take a lot of extra clothing- a Apex insulated puffy & beanie, shell mitts (light gloves worn most of the time), my rain jacket/windshirt was a Sitka Flash, spare dry socks

MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe and Titan pot

the normal stuff- first aid kit, fire kit, repair kit, map/compass, inReach, toiletries, kill kit, etc- all with an eye towards lightening as much as feasible

Saw 50+ deer, but the mature bucks were hiding pretty well- our rut will get going in a week or so, so I'll be headed back

Sounds like we are of a very similar mindset. My pack weighed 26 pounds. But I didn’t have a spotting scope, just 15x binos instead

 

[sargent]

My Xtherm however has evidently developed a slow leak, roughly 45 minutes until it went flat. Sleep for 30-45 minutes, wake up, blow up the mattress, repeat all night long- not ideal for a good night's rest .

This happened to my neoair xlite after a couple years of use. Inflate the pad, put it in the bathtub and apply pressure while looking for TINY bubbles, once you've located the leak you can repair it with the provided patch kit. My patch job has held up for at least a couple of years.

 

[mtwarden]

Sounds like we are of a very similar mindset. My pack weighed 26 pounds. But I didn’t have a spotting scope, just 15x binos instead

Yup that's pretty svelte!

This happened to my neoair xlite after a couple years of use. Inflate the pad, put it in the bathtub and apply pressure while looking for TINY bubbles, once you've located the leak you can repair it with the provided patch kit. My patch job has held up for at least a couple of years.

I'll give it a dunk here soon and see. This one was a replacement from Thermarest. My other one had a slow leak around the valve, so they just replaced it.

Fortunately I have two of them (one for me, one for the wife), so I can still get out

 

[mstei4]

I really like that tripod, but if using a full sized spotter I'll bring a full sized tripod (I have a carbon Sirui)

I could be wrong, but I think you'd like this 8 oz tripod quite a bit more than using binos off a trekking pole

At what point to you consider it a full sized spotter? Would it handle a 65mm or better to stick to a 50mm?

 

[mtwarden]

At what point to you consider it a full sized spotter? Would it handle a 65mm or better to stick to a 50mm?

I've used it w/ my Leupold 12-40 x 60, it's doable. No question a full sized tripod is going to work better, but it really depends on how important the spotter is to your hunt.

I brought that Leupold and a full sized tripod my last trip; as it turned out I probably could have gotten by with my 20x50 scope and the Granite Peak tripod, but the next trip maybe not. If you're you're really going to be leaning on a spotter, I'd go full size.

 

[mstei4]

I've used it w/ my Leupold 12-40 x 60, it's doable. No question a full sized tripod is going to work better, but it really depends on how important the spotter is to your hunt.

I brought that Leupold and a full sized tripod my last trip; as it turned out I probably could have gotten by with my 20x50 scope and the Granite Peak tripod, but the next trip maybe not. If you're you're really going to be leaning on a spotter, I'd go full size.

Thanks! I’m just starting to get into the serious glassing game, still checking out spotters, and was curious as to what I could get away with on a tripod that light, and if it would even have a place for me right now.

 

[Philthyphil]

I have a question for the warden, or anybody with experience. Instead of the quilt, have you ever used a puffy jacket and pants to supplement a light weight sleeping bag? Should work just fine, my only concern would be my feet. I’m likely already carrying the pants and jacket. I’d try the quilt but it would only ever be used with the bag, never stand alone. I’ll always be a mummy bag guy. Mountaineering roots!

Changing your name to LTwarden!

 

[mtwarden]

I'm usually bringing puffy pants and jacket when I'm going- typically reserved for glassing and around camp. It would definitely add to your sleep system, just add a pair of appropriate booties for your feet.

What often happens is my puffy pants/jacket isn't enough for cold glassing, so the quilt is thrown over the top of those too.

The lightweight quilt also goes into my pack day hunting, for glassing as more emergency insulation on an unexpected night out.

My bags are Feather Friend's Flickers- like a bag in most respects, but no hood and and can fully zip them out on warmer nights.

But yes, puffy pants, puffy jacket and booties would definitely lower the effective rating of your sleep system

 

[S.Clancy]

34 lbs with a little over 5 lbs of food (4 days) and 4 lbs of water

How the heck do you get by on 5lbs of food for 4 days? What are your total calories?

 

[mtwarden]

My food is usually a little under 1.5 lbs/day; roughly 3000-3500 calories/day. Obviously at a deficit, but I don’t think I’d want to pack (or eat for that matter) 5000-6000+ calories.

I usually make those calories up when I’m home and my wife is cooking

 

[Philthyphil]

I'm usually bringing puffy pants and jacket when I'm going- typically reserved for glassing and around camp. It would definitely add to your sleep system, just add a pair of appropriate booties for your feet.

What often happens is my puffy pants/jacket isn't enough for cold glassing, so the quilt is thrown over the top of those too.

The lightweight quilt also goes into my pack day hunting, for glassing as more emergency insulation on an unexpected night out.

My bags are Feather Friend's Flickers- like a bag in most respects, but no hood and and can fully zip them out on warmer nights.

But yes, puffy pants, puffy jacket and booties would definitely lower the effective rating of your sleep system

I agree it would lower the effective rating of the sleep system in theory. I was wondering if you or anyone else had any experience with it and if there were any drawbacks. My thought is you’re already packing the puffies so why bother with the quilt. You answered why it worked for you but I would not benefit from anything for my sleeping system that wasn’t mummy style with a hood, just how I sleep. Just looking for experience before I try it and freeze.

To quote somebody, possibly Mark Twain, “knowledge without experience is just information“.

 

[mtwarden]

no real drawbacks if you're already packing those pieces; you do need to keep in mind that the sleeping bag you're using has to have enough room to allow the puffy pants/jacket to fully loft or you'll be compromising how much gain you see

how much gain a person will see is obviously dependent on what puffies and the individual

my 2.5 Apex puffy jacket and pants (and booties) gives my system a roughly 15 degree boost; it's one of those of things that's going to take a little experimenting on your part- start conservatively