Almost a month ago we lost our shop to a fire. Other than a lot of stuff missing we're doing good and are working our way through the insurance process. My wife and I have a pretty complete list of gear we lost. A lifetime ago, before kids we were avid backpack hunters in Alaska. Kids, job changes and relocations and here we are regrouping.
I am looking for the best, in your opinions, in the following items. This will be gear used on 7-10 day trips into the mountains with our kids as they get older enough to experience what we use to do so often.
-Backpacks -Tent -Sleeping pads -Cook stove -Cook gear -Dry bags for float hunts -Trekking poles -Skinning knives
Thanks for your time and insight. So much has changed since I last bought gear, it's a little overwhelming!
Scrappy's Link
Make sure you bring us back some stories of ya's adventures.
Also discovered that the value of our contents increased proportionally with increase in the house itself.
Tent - Hilleberg. Lots of great 1, 2, and 3 man options depending on your style and preferences.
Dry bags - I’ve got a handful of Sea to Summit bags in varying sizes which are great. Also look at the Kuiu roll top bags.
Trekking poles - currently running Black Diamond Alpine Carbon Corks. Learned my lesson about running ultralight poles this year on my goat hunt. Strength is way more important to me than weight.
Knives - I like the Benchmade Steep Country for anfixed and the Outdoor Edge Razor lite for replaceable.
HA/KS's Link
https://www.backpacker.com/gear
https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear
https://gearjunkie.com/
https://www.switchbacktravel.com/outdoor-gear-reviews
https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/
Tents: Kifaru Tipi
Sleeping bag and pad: Big Agnes with internal pad
Cook stove: Jetboil
Cook gear: Fozzils
Dry Bags: Sea to Summit
Trekking Poles: Black Diamond
Skinning knife: Havalon, or Randall if you prefer a traditional knife.
This assumes you're looking for light weight packing gear. Without knowing your exact uses and requirements, it's difficult to get into specific models.
Matt
That's exactly what I was looking for!
Our policy covers replacement for new stuff to match what was lost. The gear has changed so much over the last 20 years. What was top of the line has changed a lot. Kuiu and kifaru are the brands I have eyed.
I feel like this is my chance to streamline my gear and get a system in place. Make lemonade out of lemons. I want that lemonade to be perfect!
Sleeping Pads- Anything that is insulated. I have a sea to summit ultralight but therm-a-rest makes a good one as well.
Sleeping Bag- DOWN DOWN DOWN! When I was really into winter mountaineering I had a Marmot CWM bag, great bag. I have since sold that (too warm) and got a Nemo which has quite a bit of room inside. If you want the best, I would look at bags from western mountaineering, feathered friends, and marmot
Tent- lots of great options here. Really, you just have to choose the design that best fits your needs based on size and function. I have a Mountain hardware that has never failed me.
Cook Stove- MSR Dragonfly. This thing is frigged awesome. I like the weight of gas but I gas in my dragonfly, which is a great feature if you are out in the boonies and run out of fuel.