September 2, 2023 • 63 mins
I'm diving into hunting gear for beginners this week. This is a 2 part podcast, in the next part we'll pick up on camping/backpacking gear.
From boots and backpacks to binoculars and tripods, every piece of gear has its own purpose. I'll share my insights on the different styles and materials, and how customizing your gear can significantly enhance your hunting experience. Moreover, we'll discuss how to choose the right model for your needs and suggest ways to budget for these essential items.
We then delve into the topic of clothing and gear, covering the importance of layering, the benefits of different types of jackets, and how to prepare for different weather conditions. We'll touch on bow setups and satellite messengers, and stress the importance of having a reliable emergency plan. Wrapping up, we'll discuss the various tools you'll need for a successful hunt - from knives to fire starters. So, gear up and let's hit the trail on this enthralling hunting adventure.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everyone, jordan Budd here with the Toolkit, and
today I'm gonna do, I'm gonnastart a two-part series.
This is gonna be part one ofthe hunting gear portion, the
beginner's guide.
So a question that I get a lotis like hey, I'm coming out west
for the first time.
I drew a deer tag, I drew anelk tag usually, and I know that
(00:22):
I need some stuff, but Ithere's so many options and it's
just it's hard to sort throughit all.
What do I really need and whatdo I not really need?
What is the marketing kind ofgetting me on?
So I thought I'd do that today.
I actually went way back to the1990s and built a slide show
here that we can kind of gothrough together, and it's just
(00:46):
a really good thing for somevisuals.
I thought so, before we getinto that, a little recap on the
Utah hunt that I just went onthis last week.
I'm actually going back here ina few days.
We found a good buck.
I stalked him two, three times.
He has nine other buddies withhim and it just made it really,
(01:06):
really difficult.
But good buck, nice, four byfour, really looking forward to
getting back down there.
He's gonna be hardhorned by thetime I get down there.
Probably I really wanted toshoot him in the in the velvet.
I haven't shot a velvet buckyet with my bow.
I shot a velvet caribou lastyear in Alaska but haven't got a
(01:26):
buck yet.
And Mule Deer is just myfavorite thing and I really
wanted to do that.
But with so many eyes is justit's gonna be really tough.
So I'm hoping when I go backdown there he'll be split off
from a couple of his buddies,but something I ran into.
So on the last episode, episodetwo, I went through the or
actually it was episode one Iwent through the gear that I was
(01:49):
using to go on the Utah huntand when it came to boots I said
that I was gonna take thecrispy altitude boot, which I
did.
So here she is here, this boot.
I wanted to take it becauseit's like pretty like high
desert, but it didn't look toolike it was too rough of terrain
(02:11):
to me.
It looked like for the mostpart we were gonna be walking on
fairly flat ground.
It was rocky.
So I just I wanted a littlemore flexible, like really good
breathability of a boot, butstill could handle the mountains
.
And I'm not saying that thiscan't Flex is really good.
(02:33):
This direction and torsionallyis what you need you want for
side healing.
It's pretty stiff but makingthose stocks I had to make about
a mile approach, all on onesteep hillside.
So side healing the whole wayand that was like a bit much for
these boots only doing that.
(02:55):
If I was just walking on topand it was flat it would be fine
.
But doing the side healing kindof hurt me on the way back a
little bit and I think basicallywhat was happening and you get
on the side hill and you wantthat boot to be able to plant
itself and not flex, so you havea good platform here like a
(03:16):
stair to keep walking on.
What was happening was my Ifelt like my the back of my heel
, let's see here, the back of myheel was planting but the front
of my foot was still rollingand you can kind of see it as I
do it there.
Still it was rolling and whatit was doing is it was making a
(03:36):
little bit of a friction spot onthe ball of my foot.
Just the more I did it itwasn't awful, but I had to stop
and release one time to try tofix it and I would not say at
all that this boot failed.
I just probably didn't choosethe best boot for, like, that
(03:58):
side healing circumstance, which, like who can take 100 pairs of
boots with them for everysingle thing that comes along.
But I did take my crispybrickstalls with me.
These things fit my foot really, really well and so I took
these with me as well, just incase something goofy happened.
(04:20):
And those other altitude bootsare out of a five on the flex
scale.
They're they call them a 2.5.
So they're right in there, kindof in the middle of everything,
and we're going to talk aboutboots here in a little bit too,
but this is just going to get alittle bit of a jump start on it
.
This boot is a four on the flexratings to go out of five, so
(04:42):
quite a bit more.
So it is like you can see it'sdoesn't flex as much this
direction and it definitelydoesn't flex.
It definitely doesn't flex asmuch torsionally.
So I literally put these thingson.
I went on the next stock acrossthat hillside and I felt like I
(05:06):
was a rocket being propelledacross the hill just because
that that platform was so muchbetter for the side healing.
And then it just.
It just like propelled meacross.
I wasn't nearly as tired when Igot back, still deflated
because the stock didn't work,but nonetheless my feet felt a
(05:27):
lot better.
So that's just a little updatethere.
With all that being said, let'sdive into the toolkit and
beginner's guide to hunting gear, part one.
Okay, so we're going to popover here to my PowerPoint.
(05:54):
I thought I did a pretty goodjob on it actually.
So here we go.
We have hunting gear here withour little tagline gear is great
, experience is key.
I want to talk about that againreal quick.
I feel like one thing we canreally control is gear.
Like we can buy that and cancontrol what we get, and for a
(06:16):
gear head like me, it's fun,whatever.
But like getting in the fieldand getting experience under
your belt is just going to befar more superior or key, as I
wrote, because gear is not goingto like kill stuff for you,
right?
Or it's not going to fill a tagfor you.
It's going to maybe let youstay out there longer, let you
(06:40):
be a little more comfortable outthere, but in the end, like
gear is, they are tools to helpus do certain things.
They're not going to fill tagsfor us.
Okay, boots, footwear, samething.
So get the right boot for thejob.
There are so many differentstyles of boots out there.
(07:02):
I mean just in general.
There's a lot of brands ofboots, let alone all the
different styles that each oneof those brands comes out with
for different things.
So look at what you're doing.
You're going on a mountain hunt, like I just explained.
Like I experienced on the Utahhunt last week, that stiffer set
(07:22):
of boots was like probably whatI should have always been using
down there, because that's whatI should have planned on using
because it's steep.
I'm going to be side healing alot.
The big thing is try a bunch on,see what fits.
You Don't just take somebody'sword for it, including mine
probably.
Try to go to a store where youcan try stuff on.
(07:44):
Or like order a set of bootsfrom somebody, order a few
different sets that you'reinterested in, get them to your
house, try them on.
I mean, the living roomcertainly isn't going to
replicate the back country beingin the field, but it's
definitely going to.
It's going to help you out.
You're going to be able to tellfairly quickly of like one boot
(08:07):
to the next, comparing themright beside each other of like
man.
I just don't like.
I already see problems thatmight happen with this, so
that's a good way to do it aswell and then just return the
ones that you don't like.
Another thing you're going to,you're going to go into, is
you're going to see syntheticversus leather.
And now it's really interestingbecause there used to be like
(08:29):
all leather boots and then thereused to be all synthetic boots
and a lot of times thosesynthetic boots were like really
stiff mountaineering companieswere making them and all
different colors, like you couldsee here, the Las Portiva
Equilibrium, which I do have aset.
I wore them last year and I dolike those.
They are fancy colors.
(08:52):
That's because they're notmaking them really for hunters
or making them for just theregular backpacking crowd.
But that is a.
That is a synthetic boot you goover here.
This next one over this is theCrispy Brickstall Mountain SF.
So there are some components ofit that are synthetic, some
(09:14):
components of it are alsoleather, so that's kind of a
hybrid, like a combination.
Down here in the right corner ifyou're listening to this, this
is the Crispy Altitude Boot thatI just talked about a little
bit ago.
It has leather here on the sidefor, like high abrasion areas
which, like that is something tocertainly consider, like in
(09:37):
rocky terrain.
Rocks and synthetic materialsin my, in my experience, haven't
really gone well together,especially when it's on the
sides of the boot.
Leather is just more abrasionresistant, just kind of the way
it is Synthetic, depending onthe material, like it might just
(09:59):
shred faster.
And I would say in general,your synthetic boot is going to
not last as long as a leatherboot and then also in general
your synthetic boots are goingto be cheaper than a full
leather boot, kind of just ingeneral.
So you can let that help you alittle bit as well in like
(10:21):
choosing a boot.
Down here in the bottom lefthand corner I have the Mountain
Hunter Elite boots from Lathropand Sons.
I haven't got a chance to usethose yet in the field, but I
have them right here.
I actually I went through thewhole thing with these guys and
(10:41):
when I say the whole thing, theymake custom insoles, they can
shape the boot to your foot,they can make some modifications
with the boot itself.
So it's not just totally out ofthe box although you can get it
that way as well and then theircustom, their custom orthotics,
their custom insoles.
But the thing about those guysis you can call them and they
(11:02):
will really talk to you and likego through like a quick fit.
Or if you're a person that hastrouble with your feet I really
am not I haven't had that muchtrouble with my feet in boots.
Some of it is.
I've tried enough to just kindof know what I tend to like.
So I think that that helps alittle bit.
(11:23):
But, like, if you are a personwho really has trouble with your
feet in boots and things, likeyou really should go to lathe
rip and suns, just give them acall.
So again, with this first styleof hunting I'm kind of talking
about, we're not talking aboutbackpacking right now, we're
just talking about the basic,like core hunt, things you need.
(11:44):
And I'm rolling that right into, assuming that you're doing
like a base camp style hunt,where you're like a base camp
style hunt, where you're likeday hunting, and this isn't just
for western.
This is geared a little bitmore towards western just
because that's what I do andlike to do.
But I also grew up in Nebraska.
(12:04):
I hunt a bunch out there, so Ican counter, relate to the
Midwest side of things as well.
So backpacks, same thing it'sgoing to be.
It's going to kind of depend onhow you know how much of a
Ferrari of packs you need,depending on the style of hunt
you're going.
If you're going on an elk huntand you're, you know, you think
(12:27):
you're going to have to pack anelk out a mile plus, like you're
going to want one of the bignames of packs If you're going.
If you're in Nebraska on, youknow if you're hunting yourself
or whatever, or you got someprivate access or you're
outfitting whatever, like youdon't really need a big pack
(12:51):
pack that's going to be able tohaul an elk quarter.
You don't really need it andthe reality of it is is like the
big brands are awesome, butyeah, if you're doing stuff
where you can pretty much drivethe vehicle to it, you don't
really need to haul meat.
So you can get a little bit.
I want to call it a lesser of apack.
You can just get a pack that'sless load hauling.
(13:14):
It's not really made, maybe,for load hauling as much as just
hauling your own stuff around.
So a couple of different waysyou can do this.
If you are in the mountains.
You know you're going to bepacking elk out or something
like that.
I think going with a pack thatis like there's kind of two
(13:37):
separate sections, there's likeexternal frame packs and
internal frame packs, andexternal frame packs basically
just means that you buy theframe, some of these like you
can combo together, butbasically you buy the frame and
the suspension system that fitsyour body and then you can put
different bags on top of that soyou can put a small bag on it
(13:59):
and then you can have anotherbig bag that you can take the
small bag off and put the bigbag on.
So that is like really modular,which I really like.
That gets you from, you know,western backpack hunting to
Midwestern Definitely notbackpack hunting so you can
switch bags around like that.
But obviously, like I was justsaying, sometimes you don't need
(14:21):
that.
So this, this bag down here, isactually, I think, the first I
would say like good backpackthat I bought when I was growing
up.
It's the Eberly stock X2.
And I liked it for Nebraska.
There's side pockets that I putspotting scope in and a tripod
(14:41):
in the other side and there'sthe wings fold open.
You can put different things indifferent places and it was just
.
It was a nice, functional andlike, well built, like heavy
hitter type backpack.
I took it on my firstbackpacking trip ever to the
mountains with my dad and it was, I won't say miserable, but it
(15:04):
wasn't really that fun, knowingwhat I know now with different
pack styles and things like thatand all kind of get into fit
just a little bit in the nextframe, just to give you an idea
of like why one style is alittle better for some things
than the other style is.
But here on the top, as far aspacks go, this is the Stone
(15:26):
Glacier approach 2800.
It's the day pack that I'vebeen using this year.
I literally walked into Sheelsone day and they had it on
display and I just really likedthe way that the pockets and
everything was set up for dayhunting, especially if you carry
a lot of optics.
So here on the back you can seethere's like a big pocket
(15:48):
that's a spotting scope pocketor whatever you want.
I always put my spotting scopein there.
And then also on the backthere's a little sleeve that you
can slip tripods, tripod legsinto, trekking pole legs,
whatever, and then there's acouple of buckles up the back to
(16:08):
strap your tripod on to, andthose are independent of your
side compression straps.
So what that lets you do is youhave all your main stuff inside
the bag, your extra clothes,game bag, whatever inside, and
you have that all strapped innice.
Usually when you carry yourtripod up the side of a pack you
(16:32):
will have to unclip all thatstuff, unclip like three clips
to get your tripod off this one.
You technically only have to dotwo, and you would really only
have to do one if you got rid ofthe other strap that goes
around the spotting scope.
But all of your other six threeon each side compression straps
(16:56):
that are sucking the load tothe bag are still there.
So it's just, it seems to bereally quick to get your spotter
and tripod out, which isusually what I'm trying to do is
trying to speed that process upa little bit.
And then here on the right wehave the kafaru 22 mag.
So real quick.
The stone glaciers on a cruxframe.
(17:18):
That fits me really well.
And then the kafaru is just onyour regular hunter light frame.
So something else real quick aswell.
The other one you have is like amodular frame, like I was
saying, and then an internalframe and the X2 would be an
internal frame.
(17:38):
So basically that means likeyour frame and your bag are
married together.
You can't swap them.
It just is what it is therejust isn't the modularity.
What you get there usually is alittle cheaper price and yeah.
So let me see here Okay, bagsize, so that approach 2800,
2800 cubic inches, the 22 mag,2200 cubic inches about.
(18:03):
You know, on the 22 mag you cansee you have a bunch of,
basically it's a molly panel.
It has a bunch of webbing on itso you can attach different
pockets and different things andjust kafaru, in general you can
kind of kit them out howeveryou want them, but right in
(18:24):
there and then, like the X2, Ithink was right in like the 1900
to 2000 cubic inch mark orsomething like that, but all
those packs are right in aboutthe 3000 cubic inch mark.
That's kind of where I like tostay.
But just like boots, try ondifferent frames.
(18:46):
Order some of these backpacks,get them in your house, put 30
pounds in them, see how theyfeel and, yeah, see which ones
you like and the ones that youdon't think are for you.
You can just send them back Nowto some fit and function type
stuff, which I think is I don'twant to make.
(19:11):
This isn't picking on Everlystock in general or anybody in
general.
This just gives you like a good.
This gives you a good idea oflike why it's better to haul elk
out with like one of the thepacks that has like a true like
a load carrying lifting typesuspension system.
So here what we have and yeah,what the hell are load lifters.
(19:35):
So we have a guy with an elkstrapped on the back of an
Everly stock pack.
It's an.
This specific one is the X2, Ithink it's an internal frame.
You can see right here thebackpack strap where it goes
from the pack over the shoulder.
(19:55):
There's another strap abovethat.
It goes from the very top ofthe frame to the shoulder strap
and it should go right aboutline up, right about on your
clavicle.
So you can see here that that'skind of loose Like.
Even if it was tight it wouldbe where I'm trying to explain
(20:16):
this.
Where that strap goes into thetop of the frame is gonna be
below your shoulders.
That's just like it's basicallyjust stabilizing the load to
you, bringing your frame closerto your back.
That's not really transferringany load off of your shoulder
straps down onto your hips andyou can see like he's kind of
(20:40):
facing forward, like bent over alittle bit forward.
And then come over here to Jakewith XO.
He doesn't have an elk on hisback.
I bet there's pillow I'm surethere's pillows in there, but
this gives you a good idea.
It's a little hard to see withhis hood there.
But you see, you have yourshoulder strap going over a
(21:01):
shoulder and it goes into thebag, actually goes onto the
frame and then the bag goes ontothe frame.
But anyways, right above thatyou can see at an angle there's
another strap coming from thetop of the shoulder strap to the
top of the frame.
That angle you can imagine.
(21:23):
As you tighten that and youdon't wanna tighten them a lot,
but you kinda wanna snug themand you can mess them like,
especially when you have a heavyload on, you're gonna wanna be
kind of playing with thesestraps sort of all the time,
like transferring a little moreweight to your hips and then,
all right, your shoulders startfeeling better, like I'm gonna
transfer more to my shouldersfor a little while and you
(21:44):
screwed around.
But having this little, thisstrap, which is essentially
called like a low lifter strapis what companies refer to it as
.
Basically, what it does iswhere it goes into your shoulder
, your backpack strap, by yourclavicle.
As you tighten it or snug it up, it pulls that backpack strap
(22:07):
actually right towards the frame, so it'll transfer some weight
off of your shoulders down intoyour hips.
So that is like making the loadhauling experience one hell of
a lot better, because it's notjust absolutely smoking your
(22:29):
shoulders, smoking your traps,making you bend all the way
forward.
You can see Jake standing uphere, nice and tall.
Again, there's probably pillowsin there, but yeah, that's
still the way you should look,even if the thing is full of
stuff.
So that's a little on backpackfit and function.
(22:50):
That's why functioning loadlifters are a lot better than
load stabilizers, and we'regonna get into fit in a
different episode.
All right, the next one youroptics.
So most of us have a set ofbinoculars already, folks coming
from back east or coming outwest.
(23:11):
Do you need to upgrade yourbinoculars?
Kinda depends, and I think itdepends on what you're looking
to do, seems like if you'regonna be in an area where you're
like archery, elk hunting, andif you're in timber and you're
not gonna be able to see thatfar, like you probably don't
need to upgrade your binoculars,but like if you're going on a
(23:33):
high country mule deer huntwhere you're just gonna be
glossing all the time, I wouldconsider upgrading your
binoculars if you feel like it'sapplicable.
So a good set of 10 powerbinoculars.
I have gone all over the map asfar as powers of binos.
I've done 10s and 15s in aspotter.
(23:55):
I've tried to ditch the 15s andgo with 12s in a spotter and it
just seems like the 12 powersare too much to handhold.
They don't have quite as good afield of view but they didn't
have quite enough power when Iwas on a tripod, as much as I
wanted anyways, when I was likelooking for something more
(24:18):
comparable to the 15s.
So I have done the entire wagonwheel circle and I have gotten
back to where just a set of 10by 42s and then a tripod with a
spotter and a tripod for thebinoculars as well.
Again, I think spotting scopekind of depends on budget and
the hunt that you're going on.
(24:41):
This one's really tough becausethese are big ticket items right
here.
These are expensive.
Some of these binocularsthey're dipping In my opinion,
you wanna stay in the $800 andup range of binoculars and it
might sound a little nuts, butthe difference from a $300 pair
(25:04):
to a $600 pair and up from thator an $800 pair and up, is huge.
That gap is big.
The Sig Sauer Zulu 6 imagestabilizing binoculars they're
the ones down here.
They look a little star trekky,but there's this little button
right here that turns on yourimage stabilizer and basically
(25:26):
what that is is a gyro insideand it turns on and it
stabilizes Like and actuallylike the more you move, the more
stable it gets.
They're amazing and really, forwhat they are, they're pretty
cheap.
They're like a thousand bucksand they have like 16 power, 20
power, so like that is if youdon't really wanna get a spying
(25:52):
scope like you.
Just I'm trying not to be likea salesman here, but what you're
doing with those things ispretty, it's pretty incredible.
So my advice just go check themout somewhere in a store.
Just go try them.
Like I don't care if you buythem, but go try them.
(26:12):
I literally, like all ofclients, come out to Nebraska
and my most favorite thing isjust handing them to them and
then telling them to flip themon, and it's like they're all
super, super excited about it.
So, yeah, there you go withthat Kind of a hard to hard
(26:34):
question to answer.
These are my binoculars here.
These are the Zulu 10, 10 by42s.
You see me there with a tripodsetup.
I was glassing in Utah also Bigthing here, though use a
rangefinder.
If you don't have a rangefinder,you're coming out West, buy one
like 100% hands down.
We've had some folks, like someclients from back East, that
(26:58):
usually don't need to use arangefinder, just cause they're
in such close quarters andthey're good at guesstimating.
They get out here and it's soopen and flat that they're just
like can't handle it.
And there's like one guy inparticular told me like within
the first day he's like I reallyneed a rangefinder.
So I loaned him one and then hecame back the next year with a
(27:21):
rangefinder, which was nice.
Last thing, a little just atouch on Bino harness and like a
pocket for your rangefinder,super nice to have.
They do make really cheap onesthat just go around your
shoulders and clip in.
You can really kind of go ascrazy modular on that as you
(27:43):
want, and as least as you want.
The good thing about a harnessis it protects your binos.
If you get a fully enclosed onekeeps the dust out of them,
just protects them.
You're spending a lot of moneyon it, so that's something there
.
This one that I'm wearing herecan't really see it very good is
the FOB from FHF gear.
(28:06):
That's their new harness thatcame out with this last year.
Tripods so get a dive intotripods just a little bit more.
I thought about keeping it outbut I like them and I have a
bunch of them sitting behind methat I can show you.
So again, with the Archery Lcunning, if you're not gonna
have a spying scope with you andyou're gonna be kind of on the
go a lot, just probably leave atripod as well, just kind of get
(28:28):
that completely out.
Just with that in general, likeyou're gonna save some good
cash.
But tripods in general, the onething I think it's overlooked a
little bit is there's kind oftwo parts to them, right.
So there's your tripod legsthat's actually like the things
that extend and then there'syour tripod head.
In my opinion it is you aregonna be better off getting the
(28:55):
best head that you can afford inan okay set of legs.
So this tripod, this see ifit'll focus here.
This is the Manifrotto B-FreeCarbon Fiber Tripod.
Quite.
A few years ago I did a reviewon this thing for Black Ovis
(29:17):
through Rock Slide and I don'tmind this tripod.
It is folds down, twist locklegs.
They do you a little sticky.
I could undo it a little bitmore and it'll get easier.
One quick thing this centerpost, how it extends, uses this.
(29:42):
I guess it'd be like acompression ring system.
I don't like that.
It just takes longer.
I would rather that there was aknob right here, like a lot of
these other tripods that I'musing.
But before I get too deep downthat rabbit hole, one thing I
wanted to talk about was thisalso has an aluminum counterpart
(30:06):
to it, so there's theManifrotto B-Free Carbon Fiber
and there's Manifrotto B-FreeAluminum.
The weight difference, let mesee here the Carbon Fiber one is
3.04 ounces, as listed on thewebsite.
The Carbon or, yes, thealuminum version is 3.2 ounces.
(30:32):
Sorry, I did not mean ounces, Imeant pounds.
I meant 3.04 pounds and 3.2pounds, not ounces.
Sorry about that.
So not that much more at all,really.
The price difference, though,is 130 bucks, so that's a big
(30:54):
thing with Carbon Fiber.
I mean, it's gonna be a thingwith a lot of different gear
items that we talk about 130bucks to save.
Not that much weight.
So that's something you gottathink about as well as we dive
into this.
But Carbon Fiber like CarbonFiber is nice because it doesn't
(31:21):
really clink.
Aluminum clinks I'll show youin a second and then.
But carbon fiber can break forthe most part.
I'm gonna show you somethingpretty cool in a second that
kind of contradicts that alittle bit Technically.
Also something to think about.
(31:42):
As you get lighter and lighterin weight, you're talking about
a really lightweight set of legswith a heavy, bigger optic on
top and expecting that thing tobe super stable.
So they just don't go togethersometimes, right?
So that is something to thinkabout.
Aluminum just is, you know,usually is a little more heavy
(32:06):
than the carbon fiber, but itcould also give you some more
stability with that heaviness,if that makes sense.
Aluminum doesn't break likecarbon fiber.
It can bend.
It is cold when you touch it inthe mornings with your hands.
This is an aluminum tripod andactually one of the only
(32:27):
aluminum tripods that I own.
It is an outdoorsman's.
You can hear it.
It's a little more, it's just alittle louder.
It is certainly cooler even inthis air condition, like even in
this room in my house.
It's cooler than the carbonfiber to the touch.
(32:49):
Here's another carbon fibertripod, come on, that I have.
This is the Slick 634.
I also have the Slick 624, iswhat I've been using this year
for the most part, but this isthe 634.
I've had this for a really,really long time, like we're
(33:10):
like running up on 10 years now.
We did replace one of the twistlock.
Things broke and so the guidesat SNS Archery helped us fix
that.
And then Leah has been runningthis and she really likes the
micro pan head fromoutdoorsman's.
But overall, like really goodtripod, nice to put in the pack,
(33:35):
and then the one that I havebeen using this year other than
that 624 is for a tripod head Igot the new outdoorsman's pan
head 2.0.
I've been running the originalpan head for a long time and I
(33:56):
actually I did a review on it.
Gosh, it's been a long time now, but they came out with the 2.0
.
And the one thing that's supercool about this is this can
accept two different types ofplates.
So it can accept theoutdoorsman's I don't know
whether you'd call thatproprietary one or not, but it
fits the outdoorsman's plate andalso above it it fits an Arca
(34:19):
Swiss plate.
So two different plates you canput on the same head is super
badass.
And another thing they did withthis head is they from the
original I think it had like asix pound or seven pound
recommended weight limit.
This one has a 20 poundrecommended weight limit.
(34:40):
So overall big upgrade.
One downside that's a littlehard to tell folks that are just
trying to get into it is it's$500.
So that can be a little bittough.
But I've had my original onefor a really long time now.
It's still kicking.
I'd still be using it if theyhadn't come out with, like, the
(35:02):
Arca deal as well, which issuper cool.
Last thing about the well,almost last thing about tripods
this is the new carbon fiberoutdoorsman's tripod that took
over the aluminum.
It didn't take over thealuminum version, but it's been
(35:23):
added to it.
It's $1,000.
I think it's a little over athousand.
So that's like for a lot ofpeople that's crazy.
But this has something in itthat's not just carbon fiber.
They have a component in here.
I think it's interwoven in withthe carbon fiber.
It's called enegra and thatwill keep the carbon fibers like
(35:48):
shape and integrity.
So they talked to me about.
They put a clamp on thesethings, clamped it.
So it basically everything.
The leg collapsed on itself andthen they took the clamp off
and with that enegra it made thecarbon fiber go back to a
regular circle leg and, likethey said, some of the carbon
(36:10):
fiber I think it was cracked orcould have been cracked, but
with that enegra it won't break.
Still so crazy.
Couple of other recommendationshere.
I guess SNS Archery has somereally cool.
They have some really goodtripods on their website.
I saw this set up.
(36:33):
It is a SURE it looks likeSiriU too also, but they
pronounce it SURE tripod andhead system for like 280.
This is an interesting newtripod that I actually just
purchased yesterday.
It's on its way to add to thecollection I already have,
(36:54):
apparently, but this was likekind of an innovative enough
thing.
I was like I have to try it.
Like if I'm gonna do this gearpodcast, I have to try it.
So I bought it through LaborDay sale so I'll save a little
bit of cash that way.
But I don't really know anybodyfrom Tricer, but I got the BC,
which is the Bat Country tripod,and one thing that's
(37:17):
interesting that they did let megive a tripod here.
So on most tripods well, all ofthem this your first leg up
here is the biggest.
As you go down in tripodsections, your tripod legs get
smaller, and some people saythat that decreases the it like
(37:42):
makes them a little moreflexible, so like they're less
stable when everything isextended out.
So what this Tricer company didis they flipped them backwards.
So now the largest diameter legis not at the very top, it's at
(38:02):
the very bottom, and so theyreally flipped everything around
.
So I'm gonna get one of thoseand just see what I think.
Bino adapters the outdoorsman'sis what we use because it's just
compatible with absolutelyeverything that we have now.
But there is a company I haveone here called Azac Equipment.
(38:23):
I think I talked about itactually on the last podcast,
but it's a ring that goes aroundthe barrel of your binoculars,
clamps onto.
It has an arc plate on thebottom of that so you can just
slide them right onto the headthat you're using.
I had to get a spin drift anddrink real quick, all right.
(38:45):
So clothing and layering youprobably have a lot of this
stuff already.
So what I wanted to talk aboutwas let's just talk about a
basic layering system.
I think of it as like a fourcore layering system.
You have your first layer,which is your base layer.
(39:05):
It's next to your skin.
You wanna stay away from cotton.
When you're doing that, you'regonna be looking at lightweight
marina wools and synthetic typelike polyesters and things for
next to your skin.
The second one is yourmid-layer.
That's gonna be like some kindof like a grid fleece, like a
(39:30):
soft shell, something that'slike fairly thin, adds a little
bit of warmth, cuts a little bitof the wind, is like that good
comfort piece.
And then your third is gonna beyour insulation layer.
That is like a puffy jacket or adown jacket.
That is a must have.
If you're coming out west oryou're going on a late season
(39:51):
hunt in the Midwest or somethinglike that and you don't have a
puffy jacket, 100% buy one.
Even if it's a lightweight one,like 100% buy it.
They're fantastic.
And there's a couple ofdifferent things we can talk
about there.
Some of the jackets are gonnabe like a goose or a duck down.
(40:12):
Some jackets are gonna besomething like a.
It's basically what I'm tryingto say.
It's a synthetic insulation.
So that's gonna be like aprimal off gold, like an apex
insulation.
They make synthetic insulationsas well.
Those are a couple that arepretty widely used in the
(40:34):
industry Quick things like yourduck down and your goose down.
A lot of them are treated nowwith like something that's
hydrophobic coating so it repelswater.
But if you truly that will helpwith dampness.
But if you truly get thatjacket wet and those little
(40:56):
delicate down feathers collapse,that is all of your insulating
value like gone, it's not thereanymore.
And if you're not in a placewhere you can dry it out, like
it's just not gonna get bettervery quickly.
So that's where we're like thesynthetic insulations come in,
(41:18):
even if they do get, you know,sopping wet, and that would not
be very comfortable.
But if they get pretty wet,that insulation won't just
completely collapse.
So you will still have someheat retaining properties when
it's warm or when it's wet orwhen it's damp.
So another thing with thatthat's kind of nice for folks
(41:42):
just getting into it like Iwould kind of recommend going
with a synthetic jacket.
You can just it's safer forsome areas that are just wet
climates you drop your pack in acrick or something crazy like
you know.
It's just a little bit safer,and then they're also cheaper.
And then for the fourth core ofyour layering system.
(42:07):
You have your rain layer, sothat's your outer like shell
from the elements, theirwindproof, waterproof.
It's a rain jacket.
So let me think about that.
Pants so stretchy andcomfortable for the most part, a
lot of these pants are made oflike nylon, things like that
(42:28):
that are they're stretchy,they're really durable.
People often want pants thatare like, you know, not too hot.
You don't want them to cold andyou want them super
indestructible.
But their reality is being ableto get all those things
together is really difficult.
You know, you have a pantthat's like really lightweight,
(42:49):
built for the warm months, ishighly breathable.
Sometimes there's going to besome kind of a trade-off with
that.
So I really like to go to likea mid-weight, more like a
durable middle mid-weight pantthat's still not insulated and
that is because and it's a pantlike the the Corget Foundry pant
(43:13):
from First Light.
If I was going to recommend apant to somebody that is like I
just want one pant to get mefrom early through the late
seasons, that's the pant that Iwould choose, with the caveat
that you have to layer correctlyunder it so that pant has hip
vents so you can dump heat superquick or leave them open so it
(43:36):
can just be a little bit moreairy, like in the warm months,
like right now, and then, as yougo a little bit more into late
season, you can layer underneathof them with just a like a
lightweight long john basically.
But that pretty much covers,like the the corns of the
(44:00):
layering system.
Any company that you go with,any company's website that you
go with, they're going to giveyou basically the same
information.
They're going to have thingslisted out into, like your core,
your base layers, your midlayers, your insulation layers,
your shell or your rain layers.
Moving on to rifle and bow or,you know, archery setups,
(44:26):
oftentimes folks are like, hey,I'm coming out west, I want to
get a new gun and I'm like Imean that's a big portion right
out of the top of your gearsetup.
If you need to get a new gun,for the most part if you're
hunting back east, you probablyhave, like you're shooting like
a 7 mag or a 30 out, 6 or a 308or you know even like a 6, 5
(44:51):
creed more or something likethat.
Like, unless you're going onlike a moose hunt or an elk hunt
, like you don't, don't just go,don't talk yourself into going
and buying a new gun where youcould be spending that money
elsewhere if you already have arifle that's going to work.
I would say for archers, forarchery hunters, like, go check
(45:15):
out your arrow setups, just look, like weight wise, where you
are.
If you're elk hunting, you knowyou want that to be a little
higher.
In my opinion you'll want thatlike 450 plus.
I have a 28 inch draw.
I shoot 60 pounds.
Last year I was shooting510-ish, 515 actually, and then
(45:37):
this year I switched to.
I kind of didn't really switch,but I have a different setup
right now for deer.
I'm around the 445, so I'mreally at the lighter end of
where I just comfortably likethink I want to be.
But yeah, going to a little bitheavier arrow might not hurt
(45:59):
you.
Also, looking at your broad headselection, in my opinion if
you're shooting elk you shouldbe shooting.
You should not be shooting afixed or sorry, you should not
be shooting an expandable head.
You should be shooting a fixedblade head.
In my opinion it's just goingto help you.
The things are big, tough,they're gnarly.
(46:22):
You just want to be able tohave a good, a good setup
flinging at them.
Kind of the same thing on therifle end.
I don't think you need a newgun to get the new, you know
super popular caliber.
But you should consider maybe anew bullet going up in bullet
weight might not be an awfulidea, from whitetail in the east
(46:45):
to elk in the west.
Then another thing I almostdidn't put in here, but I'm
going to put it in here justbecause I can.
One upgrade that you could puton your rifle is like maybe look
at a new scope, a differentscope that you can dial.
You can get a scope of thedifferent radical in it that
(47:06):
maybe has some holdovers thatyou know out at distance, which
is where I'm getting to in asecond here could really come in
handy and I forgot to put it onhere.
But one big thing for riflehunters like, whatever gun
you're going to take, shoot it alot, get really proficient and
comfortable with it.
(47:27):
I mean I would say, shoot itout three, four hundred yards.
That's where I tell my clientsthat are coming into Nebraska
for rifle season be, beconfident out to four hundred
yards and it'll make everythingwithin.
That just seems simpler.
So that's my take on the yourbow setups there.
(47:50):
Next thing up here so mappingand satellite messengers.
So I'm gonna hit the satellitemessengers first.
Garmin in reaches.
They also have a thing called aZolio.
We used to have one, leah usedto have a Zolio I.
(48:10):
We didn't have good luck withit, so we both switched over to
an in reach and it's just beenmuch more reliable, in my
opinion.
We each have the in reach mini,but they make some other models
.
But look at where you're goingand like if you're gonna have
service or if you can figure outif, if you're gonna have fairly
(48:31):
reliable phone service, I wouldskip the in reach.
You're gonna be into it atleast three hundred dollars,
into just the device itself, andthen you're gonna have to buy a
plan for it as well.
So that's something that Iwould think about doing.
If you're gonna haveself-service, just ditch the in
(48:52):
reach.
Have a good have kind of a goodlike emergency plan with
somebody that you're supposed tobe checking in with.
So there is some kind of astructure going there if there
was an emergency.
And then also, like a lot ofthe new iPhones, they have SOS
features on them and you, if youdon't know nothing about that,
(49:14):
you should go YouTube it,because that'll give you more
info than I can give you.
And then mapping wise.
So I use on x maps.
They're just tried and true.
Let's go to like everybody useson x to some extent so you can
trade like coordinates and pinsand stuff with your buddies.
But I think for 30 bucks forthe state that you're gonna hunt
(49:37):
especially if you're gonna bearound a lot of private like
it's worth it just to get it.
If you, if you're gonna be likein the Forest Service or like
giant sections of BLM or likeyou have a really good handle
with a paper map, like you canprobably just roll with the free
(49:58):
version of on x, but it is justlike it's nice being able to
drop pins and just like dotracks and stuff like that.
So yeah, I think it's worth itin my mind.
All right, moving on to kill kit, your game bags and your knives
(50:19):
.
This is kind of funny of somethings I tell you to skip and
some things I say that maybe youshould.
You should spring for if thisis something that you're gonna
want to be doing like a bit, itwouldn't be an awful idea to get
like some decent game bags.
Um, so there's all differentkind of kind of game bags out
there.
(50:39):
I would say, like thedisposable cheese cloth type
ones are usually what you seelike at the big box stores and
they are cheaper than the onesto reusable.
But the ones that are reusableare just that you can wash them,
you can reuse them year afteryear.
The quality is just going to bebetter.
They're not going to stretchlike the teeth cheese cloth ones
(51:02):
are, and be kind of hard to tocarry around.
I really like the argalis.
I usually use the high countrypack for deer and they have like
places to tie off on.
They're like a good shape andthey hold their shape so they're
easier to put in a pack andthen you can wash them.
So, yeah, that's, I think,spring and they're like 60 bucks
(51:28):
, so springing for a good set isnot not a bad deal.
And then a knife.
You probably have a knife rightnow that is going to work.
And uh, the last time I did apodcast like this talking about,
uh, actually pretty much thesame thing, I said you probably
the knife that you have is theone that you should use and
(51:50):
people got to kick out of that.
But, um, it's not wrong, right,like, if you have a decent
knife, just make sure it's sharp.
Get you a knife sharpener, um,down here in the bottom.
This is the, uh, the work sharp.
I think it's the just a fieldsharpener, this specific one you
can get through me here, um,but it has the guides and it has
(52:12):
a ceramic dealie on top.
Here, um, two sides ofcoarseness is on the diamond and
Just I think they're like 30bucks or 35 bucks.
So if you have a decent kniferight now and you get a
sharpener like you're oftenrunning, I Used to recommend
(52:33):
that people get like replaceableblade knives.
I've started to kind of get awayfrom that, just because if you
learn how to sharpen a knife, Ijust realized, like, just the
more sturdy it is Just kind ofthe last bad things that can
happen.
So if you're gonna go with areplaceable blade knife, though,
(52:55):
I would recommend the outdooredge.
They have a few differentmodels.
I have the EDC one that I carryon my belt or on my my pants
pocket in the back country allthe time, because for one, I
don't want to lose my goodbenchmade one, which could
happen, and then two, it kind ofserves as like a backup with a
(53:16):
couple extra replaceable bladesIf I were to lose my knife or if
somebody else comes along tohelp me and don't have a knife
or whatever.
There's kind of nice to have.
But I say, get a good fixedblade.
Quality knife with a sharpeneris.
I always tend to to reach for awhat they call a seric, an
(53:39):
Serac knife from our golly.
It just fits in my hand reallywell.
I like the blade design and orthe blade shape and it's been a
good knife for me.
So that's that's what I like touse there First aid, emergency
and like a repair kit.
(54:00):
So this bleeds over into just alittle bit with the backpacking
type type stuff.
This is what I still carry withme every day, even though some
of the stuff isn't app Is it asapplicable to like day hunts?
But I guess it kind of is.
Anyways, basics, I think keepit pretty basic.
(54:21):
You can go and get likeadventure medical kits they have
kits that are pretty much setup or you can just make your own
.
So just the basics.
You know, band-aids, bandages Ithink like disinfectant wipes
or like Neosporin be good.
Skin glue, skin glues good.
(54:41):
I did that.
Falling through a, let me see,doesn't look that bad now, but I
literally fell through a barbar fence the other day trying
to sneak over it.
It's not my, not my greatest,but I cut myself all up and and
I we had skin glue so we couldkind of keep some of these
(55:02):
scrapes and stuff.
We could just Glue the skindown that already had left,
which is nice.
Basic meds, you know Tylenol I'dbe your profan some Benadryl,
obviously.
Anything else that you thinkyou might need one thing to be
cognizant of is, like you know,like aspirin and things like
(55:25):
that.
You're not supposed to givesomebody aspirin if they have a
headache or something like that,because it thins your blood and
it can actually give you, like,if you have a blame, a brain
bleed.
It won't clot it up, it'll justlet it keep running.
That don't take advice from me.
But that is Just know the medsthat you have before you just
(55:48):
start taking them everywhere.
A tourniquet I do carry atourniquet with me.
They're cheap.
I think I got like three ofthem off Amazon for like 40
bucks or something like that.
I do not remember which kindthey are, but they're the ones
that I think they're.
They're combat tourniquets andyou can use them yourself On
yourself.
(56:08):
So I have those with me, orjust one with me, moleskine
stuff for your feet.
If you start to get blisters orhotspots and know how to use
them and know how to use ithonestly, youtuber up and just
be like get a refreshing crashcrash course on how to like
correctly put moleskin on onblisters on your feet.
(56:30):
There's this stuff called lucotape, leukko super sticky on the
back, that like moleskin typematerial on the front.
Then another thing I like tocarry Fire starter, just a way
to start a fire.
Honestly, sometimes I end upjust using it to start to light
my stove.
But pyro putty makes is a goodfire starter that you can find A
(56:56):
lot of outdoor stores right now.
It's just kind of comes readyto go.
If you're super cheapy, you canjust go with cotton balls and
Vaseline.
That's what I did for a longtime.
I took like an old pill bottleand I freaking stuffed it full
of of cotton balls.
So that works good, um.
And then a few ways to start onean obvious lighter Uh, matches.
(57:19):
I use long burn matches and putthem in like a waterproof match
container.
Um, and then a striker.
They call them like flint andsteel sometime, but like a
striker, um.
Sometimes I make a fire withthose just for funsies, but uh
yeah, they're just nice to have.
They're not going to getsaturated with water and quit
(57:40):
working.
Um, and then patching stuff up.
Patching your gear up, um,paracord always nice to have
paracord with you.
Whether it is like In most ofthe time I just carry my
paracord in with my kill kit, um, but you never know when you're
going to need paracordotherwise, so pack accordingly.
(58:00):
Um.
Gorilla tape for basic tapingjobs.
There's this stuff that iscalled tenacious tape from gear
aid.
It's like a fabric tape.
It is like super, super sticky.
It's unreal sticky likepatching like a you know, a
jacket snag or something likethat.
It's going to work really well.
(58:22):
Um, I've patched sleeping padswith them before and literally
have gotten a seal out of themand use that pad for the next
three days.
Um.
One thing to be a littlecautious of, though, is, like
Most tents that you're going toget from outdoor industry folks
are going to be silicone, orlike the high-end backpacking
tents, they're going to becoated with silicone and nothing
(58:43):
sticks to silicone, and thensimple repair kit type stuff for
your, your bow or your rifle,your scope, things like that.
At least have that stuff in thevehicle.
Um, you know, for archery Itake like extra D loop, extra
serving.
You got to know how to usethose things if you're going to
(59:04):
take them with you.
Um, the basic allen wrenchesthat I would need Wrapping up
here with some extra gear.
Windchecker just your regularpowder windchecker super nice.
Um, chapstick, I think folkscoming from back east where it's
usually pretty dang humid,coming out west Super dry, it
can be a killer.
(59:24):
Um, you're going to wantchapstick, I use mine on my nose
, probably one of my lips.
It's gross.
Um, sunscreen, that can be onething.
I try to put sunscreen on asmuch as I can, or wear like a
bucket hat so you can justprotect your face, uh, from the
sun.
(59:45):
Um, trekking poles, kind of likean extra thing.
Um, if you're on a tight budget, I wouldn't buy trekking poles
If you don't need them.
Um, some tents like just set upwith trekking poles.
So Depending on what you decideto do In our part two, you can
go that route.
Um, something that's kind ofnice sometimes is like a small
(01:00:07):
tarp.
Um, especially if, like ifyou're not staying back there
and you can't go back to yourtent to To get out or it's you
can't get in the trees orwhatever to get out of the sun.
Sometimes a small tarp this isstone glaciers.
I think they call it the u l uh, no, no, the ul 10.
I literally just bought itbecause I usually use the kafaru
(01:00:31):
sheep tarp, but I just wantedone a little bit bigger for two
of us.
Um, small, lightweight, easy topack.
You can pitch them, you know,tie them to trees or rocks or
put sticks under them orwhatever.
Pitch them a tons of differentways.
You can block the wind, you canblock the sun with them.
Um, it's just, they're kind ofnice to have, but they are an
extra for sure.
(01:00:53):
Um, water filtration we're goingto cover that more in the next
episode.
Um, even though it does applyto day hunting, um, but carrying
water something I wanted totouch on I just use like a
nalgene bottle with a.
Uh, this is kind of an extratwo, but while you're at it, get
a human gear Cap cap lid.
It'll just take your wide mouthnalgene To like a narrow mouth,
(01:01:16):
I guess, so it's easier todrink out of.
Um, yeti also has some niceplastic bottles now and then of
course, there's like hydrationbladders that you can use.
For some reason, I tend to startwith hydration bladders and
then, especially towards the endof the season, I don't use them
anymore.
I don't know why.
It's probably a Just being lazy, and I don't want to fill them
(01:01:40):
up all the time or take them outof my pack to fill them up.
Um, but in general, you shouldprobably have a couple liters of
water with you a day.
Um, I usually try to plan forthree liters of water a day.
I probably get less than that.
I think you should plan forfour, but three is seems to be
what I am typically on.
(01:02:01):
So, um, yeah with that.
That concludes that portion.
Part two is going to be backpackcamping gear.
It's not for everyone, it's notfor every situation.
It can be nice, can cut youdown on some hiking time and
it's fun most of the time,sometimes all the time.
(01:02:23):
So, uh, that's pretty much allI have for you.
We'll dig into, uh, backpackinggear in part two of the
beginner's guide to hunting gear.
So, um, with that.
Guys, remember, gear is greatexperiences, key.
Get out there, burn some gasand, uh, yeah, have a good time.
(01:02:44):
We'll talk to you guys on thenext episode.
Speaker 2 (01:02:47):
Thanks for listening to this episode of jordan's
toolkit.
If you have any questions orsuggestions for future episodes,
please visit the website jordandash budcom and follow the
links to submit an email orvoicemail to be played on air.
If you're listening on an audioplatform, you can also watch
this podcast on youtube viajordan buds personal channel.
Hey everyone, jordan Budd here with the Toolkit, and
today I'm gonna do, I'm gonnastart a two-part series.
This is gonna be part one ofthe hunting gear portion, the
beginner's guide.
So a question that I get a lotis like hey, I'm coming out west
for the first time.
I drew a deer tag, I drew anelk tag usually, and I know that
(00:22):
I need some stuff, but Ithere's so many options and it's
just it's hard to sort throughit all.
What do I really need and whatdo I not really need?
What is the marketing kind ofgetting me on?
So I thought I'd do that today.
I actually went way back to the1990s and built a slide show
here that we can kind of gothrough together, and it's just
(00:46):
a really good thing for somevisuals.
I thought so, before we getinto that, a little recap on the
Utah hunt that I just went onthis last week.
I'm actually going back here ina few days.
We found a good buck.
I stalked him two, three times.
He has nine other buddies withhim and it just made it really,
(01:06):
really difficult.
But good buck, nice, four byfour, really looking forward to
getting back down there.
He's gonna be hardhorned by thetime I get down there.
Probably I really wanted toshoot him in the in the velvet.
I haven't shot a velvet buckyet with my bow.
I shot a velvet caribou lastyear in Alaska but haven't got a
(01:26):
buck yet.
And Mule Deer is just myfavorite thing and I really
wanted to do that.
But with so many eyes is justit's gonna be really tough.
So I'm hoping when I go backdown there he'll be split off
from a couple of his buddies,but something I ran into.
So on the last episode, episodetwo, I went through the or
actually it was episode one Iwent through the gear that I was
(01:49):
using to go on the Utah huntand when it came to boots I said
that I was gonna take thecrispy altitude boot, which I
did.
So here she is here, this boot.
I wanted to take it becauseit's like pretty like high
desert, but it didn't look toolike it was too rough of terrain
(02:11):
to me.
It looked like for the mostpart we were gonna be walking on
fairly flat ground.
It was rocky.
So I just I wanted a littlemore flexible, like really good
breathability of a boot, butstill could handle the mountains
.
And I'm not saying that thiscan't Flex is really good.
(02:33):
This direction and torsionallyis what you need you want for
side healing.
It's pretty stiff but makingthose stocks I had to make about
a mile approach, all on onesteep hillside.
So side healing the whole wayand that was like a bit much for
these boots only doing that.
(02:55):
If I was just walking on topand it was flat it would be fine
.
But doing the side healing kindof hurt me on the way back a
little bit and I think basicallywhat was happening and you get
on the side hill and you wantthat boot to be able to plant
itself and not flex, so you havea good platform here like a
(03:16):
stair to keep walking on.
What was happening was my Ifelt like my the back of my heel
, let's see here, the back of myheel was planting but the front
of my foot was still rollingand you can kind of see it as I
do it there.
Still it was rolling and whatit was doing is it was making a
(03:36):
little bit of a friction spot onthe ball of my foot.
Just the more I did it itwasn't awful, but I had to stop
and release one time to try tofix it and I would not say at
all that this boot failed.
I just probably didn't choosethe best boot for, like, that
(03:58):
side healing circumstance, which, like who can take 100 pairs of
boots with them for everysingle thing that comes along.
But I did take my crispybrickstalls with me.
These things fit my foot really, really well and so I took
these with me as well, just incase something goofy happened.
(04:20):
And those other altitude bootsare out of a five on the flex
scale.
They're they call them a 2.5.
So they're right in there, kindof in the middle of everything,
and we're going to talk aboutboots here in a little bit too,
but this is just going to get alittle bit of a jump start on it
.
This boot is a four on the flexratings to go out of five, so
(04:42):
quite a bit more.
So it is like you can see it'sdoesn't flex as much this
direction and it definitelydoesn't flex.
It definitely doesn't flex asmuch torsionally.
So I literally put these thingson.
I went on the next stock acrossthat hillside and I felt like I
(05:06):
was a rocket being propelledacross the hill just because
that that platform was so muchbetter for the side healing.
And then it just.
It just like propelled meacross.
I wasn't nearly as tired when Igot back, still deflated
because the stock didn't work,but nonetheless my feet felt a
(05:27):
lot better.
So that's just a little updatethere.
With all that being said, let'sdive into the toolkit and
beginner's guide to hunting gear, part one.
Okay, so we're going to popover here to my PowerPoint.
(05:54):
I thought I did a pretty goodjob on it actually.
So here we go.
We have hunting gear here withour little tagline gear is great
, experience is key.
I want to talk about that againreal quick.
I feel like one thing we canreally control is gear.
Like we can buy that and cancontrol what we get, and for a
(06:16):
gear head like me, it's fun,whatever.
But like getting in the fieldand getting experience under
your belt is just going to befar more superior or key, as I
wrote, because gear is not goingto like kill stuff for you,
right?
Or it's not going to fill a tagfor you.
It's going to maybe let youstay out there longer, let you
(06:40):
be a little more comfortable outthere, but in the end, like
gear is, they are tools to helpus do certain things.
They're not going to fill tagsfor us.
Okay, boots, footwear, samething.
So get the right boot for thejob.
There are so many differentstyles of boots out there.
(07:02):
I mean just in general.
There's a lot of brands ofboots, let alone all the
different styles that each oneof those brands comes out with
for different things.
So look at what you're doing.
You're going on a mountain hunt, like I just explained.
Like I experienced on the Utahhunt last week, that stiffer set
(07:22):
of boots was like probably whatI should have always been using
down there, because that's whatI should have planned on using
because it's steep.
I'm going to be side healing alot.
The big thing is try a bunch on,see what fits.
You Don't just take somebody'sword for it, including mine
probably.
Try to go to a store where youcan try stuff on.
(07:44):
Or like order a set of bootsfrom somebody, order a few
different sets that you'reinterested in, get them to your
house, try them on.
I mean, the living roomcertainly isn't going to
replicate the back country beingin the field, but it's
definitely going to.
It's going to help you out.
You're going to be able to tellfairly quickly of like one boot
(08:07):
to the next, comparing themright beside each other of like
man.
I just don't like.
I already see problems thatmight happen with this, so
that's a good way to do it aswell and then just return the
ones that you don't like.
Another thing you're going to,you're going to go into, is
you're going to see syntheticversus leather.
And now it's really interestingbecause there used to be like
(08:29):
all leather boots and then thereused to be all synthetic boots
and a lot of times thosesynthetic boots were like really
stiff mountaineering companieswere making them and all
different colors, like you couldsee here, the Las Portiva
Equilibrium, which I do have aset.
I wore them last year and I dolike those.
They are fancy colors.
(08:52):
That's because they're notmaking them really for hunters
or making them for just theregular backpacking crowd.
But that is a.
That is a synthetic boot you goover here.
This next one over this is theCrispy Brickstall Mountain SF.
So there are some components ofit that are synthetic, some
(09:14):
components of it are alsoleather, so that's kind of a
hybrid, like a combination.
Down here in the right corner ifyou're listening to this, this
is the Crispy Altitude Boot thatI just talked about a little
bit ago.
It has leather here on the sidefor, like high abrasion areas
which, like that is something tocertainly consider, like in
(09:37):
rocky terrain.
Rocks and synthetic materialsin my, in my experience, haven't
really gone well together,especially when it's on the
sides of the boot.
Leather is just more abrasionresistant, just kind of the way
it is Synthetic, depending onthe material, like it might just
(09:59):
shred faster.
And I would say in general,your synthetic boot is going to
not last as long as a leatherboot and then also in general
your synthetic boots are goingto be cheaper than a full
leather boot, kind of just ingeneral.
So you can let that help you alittle bit as well in like
(10:21):
choosing a boot.
Down here in the bottom lefthand corner I have the Mountain
Hunter Elite boots from Lathropand Sons.
I haven't got a chance to usethose yet in the field, but I
have them right here.
I actually I went through thewhole thing with these guys and
(10:41):
when I say the whole thing, theymake custom insoles, they can
shape the boot to your foot,they can make some modifications
with the boot itself.
So it's not just totally out ofthe box although you can get it
that way as well and then theircustom, their custom orthotics,
their custom insoles.
But the thing about those guysis you can call them and they
(11:02):
will really talk to you and likego through like a quick fit.
Or if you're a person that hastrouble with your feet I really
am not I haven't had that muchtrouble with my feet in boots.
Some of it is.
I've tried enough to just kindof know what I tend to like.
So I think that that helps alittle bit.
(11:23):
But, like, if you are a personwho really has trouble with your
feet in boots and things, likeyou really should go to lathe
rip and suns, just give them acall.
So again, with this first styleof hunting I'm kind of talking
about, we're not talking aboutbackpacking right now, we're
just talking about the basic,like core hunt, things you need.
(11:44):
And I'm rolling that right into, assuming that you're doing
like a base camp style hunt,where you're like a base camp
style hunt, where you're likeday hunting, and this isn't just
for western.
This is geared a little bitmore towards western just
because that's what I do andlike to do.
But I also grew up in Nebraska.
(12:04):
I hunt a bunch out there, so Ican counter, relate to the
Midwest side of things as well.
So backpacks, same thing it'sgoing to be.
It's going to kind of depend onhow you know how much of a
Ferrari of packs you need,depending on the style of hunt
you're going.
If you're going on an elk huntand you're, you know, you think
(12:27):
you're going to have to pack anelk out a mile plus, like you're
going to want one of the bignames of packs If you're going.
If you're in Nebraska on, youknow if you're hunting yourself
or whatever, or you got someprivate access or you're
outfitting whatever, like youdon't really need a big pack
(12:51):
pack that's going to be able tohaul an elk quarter.
You don't really need it andthe reality of it is is like the
big brands are awesome, butyeah, if you're doing stuff
where you can pretty much drivethe vehicle to it, you don't
really need to haul meat.
So you can get a little bit.
I want to call it a lesser of apack.
You can just get a pack that'sless load hauling.
(13:14):
It's not really made, maybe,for load hauling as much as just
hauling your own stuff around.
So a couple of different waysyou can do this.
If you are in the mountains.
You know you're going to bepacking elk out or something
like that.
I think going with a pack thatis like there's kind of two
(13:37):
separate sections, there's likeexternal frame packs and
internal frame packs, andexternal frame packs basically
just means that you buy theframe, some of these like you
can combo together, butbasically you buy the frame and
the suspension system that fitsyour body and then you can put
different bags on top of that soyou can put a small bag on it
(13:59):
and then you can have anotherbig bag that you can take the
small bag off and put the bigbag on.
So that is like really modular,which I really like.
That gets you from, you know,western backpack hunting to
Midwestern Definitely notbackpack hunting so you can
switch bags around like that.
But obviously, like I was justsaying, sometimes you don't need
(14:21):
that.
So this, this bag down here, isactually, I think, the first I
would say like good backpackthat I bought when I was growing
up.
It's the Eberly stock X2.
And I liked it for Nebraska.
There's side pockets that I putspotting scope in and a tripod
(14:41):
in the other side and there'sthe wings fold open.
You can put different things indifferent places and it was just
.
It was a nice, functional andlike, well built, like heavy
hitter type backpack.
I took it on my firstbackpacking trip ever to the
mountains with my dad and it was, I won't say miserable, but it
(15:04):
wasn't really that fun, knowingwhat I know now with different
pack styles and things like thatand all kind of get into fit
just a little bit in the nextframe, just to give you an idea
of like why one style is alittle better for some things
than the other style is.
But here on the top, as far aspacks go, this is the Stone
(15:26):
Glacier approach 2800.
It's the day pack that I'vebeen using this year.
I literally walked into Sheelsone day and they had it on
display and I just really likedthe way that the pockets and
everything was set up for dayhunting, especially if you carry
a lot of optics.
So here on the back you can seethere's like a big pocket
(15:48):
that's a spotting scope pocketor whatever you want.
I always put my spotting scopein there.
And then also on the backthere's a little sleeve that you
can slip tripods, tripod legsinto, trekking pole legs,
whatever, and then there's acouple of buckles up the back to
(16:08):
strap your tripod on to, andthose are independent of your
side compression straps.
So what that lets you do is youhave all your main stuff inside
the bag, your extra clothes,game bag, whatever inside, and
you have that all strapped innice.
Usually when you carry yourtripod up the side of a pack you
(16:32):
will have to unclip all thatstuff, unclip like three clips
to get your tripod off this one.
You technically only have to dotwo, and you would really only
have to do one if you got rid ofthe other strap that goes
around the spotting scope.
But all of your other six threeon each side compression straps
(16:56):
that are sucking the load tothe bag are still there.
So it's just, it seems to bereally quick to get your spotter
and tripod out, which isusually what I'm trying to do is
trying to speed that process upa little bit.
And then here on the right wehave the kafaru 22 mag.
So real quick.
The stone glaciers on a cruxframe.
(17:18):
That fits me really well.
And then the kafaru is just onyour regular hunter light frame.
So something else real quick aswell.
The other one you have is like amodular frame, like I was
saying, and then an internalframe and the X2 would be an
internal frame.
(17:38):
So basically that means likeyour frame and your bag are
married together.
You can't swap them.
It just is what it is therejust isn't the modularity.
What you get there usually is alittle cheaper price and yeah.
So let me see here Okay, bagsize, so that approach 2800,
2800 cubic inches, the 22 mag,2200 cubic inches about.
(18:03):
You know, on the 22 mag you cansee you have a bunch of,
basically it's a molly panel.
It has a bunch of webbing on itso you can attach different
pockets and different things andjust kafaru, in general you can
kind of kit them out howeveryou want them, but right in
(18:24):
there and then, like the X2, Ithink was right in like the 1900
to 2000 cubic inch mark orsomething like that, but all
those packs are right in aboutthe 3000 cubic inch mark.
That's kind of where I like tostay.
But just like boots, try ondifferent frames.
(18:46):
Order some of these backpacks,get them in your house, put 30
pounds in them, see how theyfeel and, yeah, see which ones
you like and the ones that youdon't think are for you.
You can just send them back Nowto some fit and function type
stuff, which I think is I don'twant to make.
(19:11):
This isn't picking on Everlystock in general or anybody in
general.
This just gives you like a good.
This gives you a good idea oflike why it's better to haul elk
out with like one of the thepacks that has like a true like
a load carrying lifting typesuspension system.
So here what we have and yeah,what the hell are load lifters.
(19:35):
So we have a guy with an elkstrapped on the back of an
Everly stock pack.
It's an.
This specific one is the X2, Ithink it's an internal frame.
You can see right here thebackpack strap where it goes
from the pack over the shoulder.
(19:55):
There's another strap abovethat.
It goes from the very top ofthe frame to the shoulder strap
and it should go right aboutline up, right about on your
clavicle.
So you can see here that that'skind of loose Like.
Even if it was tight it wouldbe where I'm trying to explain
(20:16):
this.
Where that strap goes into thetop of the frame is gonna be
below your shoulders.
That's just like it's basicallyjust stabilizing the load to
you, bringing your frame closerto your back.
That's not really transferringany load off of your shoulder
straps down onto your hips andyou can see like he's kind of
(20:40):
facing forward, like bent over alittle bit forward.
And then come over here to Jakewith XO.
He doesn't have an elk on hisback.
I bet there's pillow I'm surethere's pillows in there, but
this gives you a good idea.
It's a little hard to see withhis hood there.
But you see, you have yourshoulder strap going over a
(21:01):
shoulder and it goes into thebag, actually goes onto the
frame and then the bag goes ontothe frame.
But anyways, right above thatyou can see at an angle there's
another strap coming from thetop of the shoulder strap to the
top of the frame.
That angle you can imagine.
(21:23):
As you tighten that and youdon't wanna tighten them a lot,
but you kinda wanna snug themand you can mess them like,
especially when you have a heavyload on, you're gonna wanna be
kind of playing with thesestraps sort of all the time,
like transferring a little moreweight to your hips and then,
all right, your shoulders startfeeling better, like I'm gonna
transfer more to my shouldersfor a little while and you
(21:44):
screwed around.
But having this little, thisstrap, which is essentially
called like a low lifter strapis what companies refer to it as
.
Basically, what it does iswhere it goes into your shoulder
, your backpack strap, by yourclavicle.
As you tighten it or snug it up, it pulls that backpack strap
(22:07):
actually right towards the frame, so it'll transfer some weight
off of your shoulders down intoyour hips.
So that is like making the loadhauling experience one hell of
a lot better, because it's notjust absolutely smoking your
(22:29):
shoulders, smoking your traps,making you bend all the way
forward.
You can see Jake standing uphere, nice and tall.
Again, there's probably pillowsin there, but yeah, that's
still the way you should look,even if the thing is full of
stuff.
So that's a little on backpackfit and function.
(22:50):
That's why functioning loadlifters are a lot better than
load stabilizers, and we'regonna get into fit in a
different episode.
All right, the next one youroptics.
So most of us have a set ofbinoculars already, folks coming
from back east or coming outwest.
(23:11):
Do you need to upgrade yourbinoculars?
Kinda depends, and I think itdepends on what you're looking
to do, seems like if you'regonna be in an area where you're
like archery, elk hunting, andif you're in timber and you're
not gonna be able to see thatfar, like you probably don't
need to upgrade your binoculars,but like if you're going on a
(23:33):
high country mule deer huntwhere you're just gonna be
glossing all the time, I wouldconsider upgrading your
binoculars if you feel like it'sapplicable.
So a good set of 10 powerbinoculars.
I have gone all over the map asfar as powers of binos.
I've done 10s and 15s in aspotter.
(23:55):
I've tried to ditch the 15s andgo with 12s in a spotter and it
just seems like the 12 powersare too much to handhold.
They don't have quite as good afield of view but they didn't
have quite enough power when Iwas on a tripod, as much as I
wanted anyways, when I was likelooking for something more
(24:18):
comparable to the 15s.
So I have done the entire wagonwheel circle and I have gotten
back to where just a set of 10by 42s and then a tripod with a
spotter and a tripod for thebinoculars as well.
Again, I think spotting scopekind of depends on budget and
the hunt that you're going on.
(24:41):
This one's really tough becausethese are big ticket items right
here.
These are expensive.
Some of these binocularsthey're dipping In my opinion,
you wanna stay in the $800 andup range of binoculars and it
might sound a little nuts, butthe difference from a $300 pair
(25:04):
to a $600 pair and up from thator an $800 pair and up, is huge.
That gap is big.
The Sig Sauer Zulu 6 imagestabilizing binoculars they're
the ones down here.
They look a little star trekky,but there's this little button
right here that turns on yourimage stabilizer and basically
(25:26):
what that is is a gyro insideand it turns on and it
stabilizes Like and actuallylike the more you move, the more
stable it gets.
They're amazing and really, forwhat they are, they're pretty
cheap.
They're like a thousand bucksand they have like 16 power, 20
power, so like that is if youdon't really wanna get a spying
(25:52):
scope like you.
Just I'm trying not to be likea salesman here, but what you're
doing with those things ispretty, it's pretty incredible.
So my advice just go check themout somewhere in a store.
Just go try them.
Like I don't care if you buythem, but go try them.
(26:12):
I literally, like all ofclients, come out to Nebraska
and my most favorite thing isjust handing them to them and
then telling them to flip themon, and it's like they're all
super, super excited about it.
So, yeah, there you go withthat Kind of a hard to hard
(26:34):
question to answer.
These are my binoculars here.
These are the Zulu 10, 10 by42s.
You see me there with a tripodsetup.
I was glassing in Utah also Bigthing here, though use a
rangefinder.
If you don't have a rangefinder,you're coming out West, buy one
like 100% hands down.
We've had some folks, like someclients from back East, that
(26:58):
usually don't need to use arangefinder, just cause they're
in such close quarters andthey're good at guesstimating.
They get out here and it's soopen and flat that they're just
like can't handle it.
And there's like one guy inparticular told me like within
the first day he's like I reallyneed a rangefinder.
So I loaned him one and then hecame back the next year with a
(27:21):
rangefinder, which was nice.
Last thing, a little just atouch on Bino harness and like a
pocket for your rangefinder,super nice to have.
They do make really cheap onesthat just go around your
shoulders and clip in.
You can really kind of go ascrazy modular on that as you
(27:43):
want, and as least as you want.
The good thing about a harnessis it protects your binos.
If you get a fully enclosed onekeeps the dust out of them,
just protects them.
You're spending a lot of moneyon it, so that's something there
.
This one that I'm wearing herecan't really see it very good is
the FOB from FHF gear.
(28:06):
That's their new harness thatcame out with this last year.
Tripods so get a dive intotripods just a little bit more.
I thought about keeping it outbut I like them and I have a
bunch of them sitting behind methat I can show you.
So again, with the Archery Lcunning, if you're not gonna
have a spying scope with you andyou're gonna be kind of on the
go a lot, just probably leave atripod as well, just kind of get
(28:28):
that completely out.
Just with that in general, likeyou're gonna save some good
cash.
But tripods in general, the onething I think it's overlooked a
little bit is there's kind oftwo parts to them, right.
So there's your tripod legsthat's actually like the things
that extend and then there'syour tripod head.
In my opinion it is you aregonna be better off getting the
(28:55):
best head that you can afford inan okay set of legs.
So this tripod, this see ifit'll focus here.
This is the Manifrotto B-FreeCarbon Fiber Tripod.
Quite.
A few years ago I did a reviewon this thing for Black Ovis
(29:17):
through Rock Slide and I don'tmind this tripod.
It is folds down, twist locklegs.
They do you a little sticky.
I could undo it a little bitmore and it'll get easier.
One quick thing this centerpost, how it extends, uses this.
(29:42):
I guess it'd be like acompression ring system.
I don't like that.
It just takes longer.
I would rather that there was aknob right here, like a lot of
these other tripods that I'musing.
But before I get too deep downthat rabbit hole, one thing I
wanted to talk about was thisalso has an aluminum counterpart
(30:06):
to it, so there's theManifrotto B-Free Carbon Fiber
and there's Manifrotto B-FreeAluminum.
The weight difference, let mesee here the Carbon Fiber one is
3.04 ounces, as listed on thewebsite.
The Carbon or, yes, thealuminum version is 3.2 ounces.
(30:32):
Sorry, I did not mean ounces, Imeant pounds.
I meant 3.04 pounds and 3.2pounds, not ounces.
Sorry about that.
So not that much more at all,really.
The price difference, though,is 130 bucks, so that's a big
(30:54):
thing with Carbon Fiber.
I mean, it's gonna be a thingwith a lot of different gear
items that we talk about 130bucks to save.
Not that much weight.
So that's something you gottathink about as well as we dive
into this.
But Carbon Fiber like CarbonFiber is nice because it doesn't
(31:21):
really clink.
Aluminum clinks I'll show youin a second and then.
But carbon fiber can break forthe most part.
I'm gonna show you somethingpretty cool in a second that
kind of contradicts that alittle bit Technically.
Also something to think about.
(31:42):
As you get lighter and lighterin weight, you're talking about
a really lightweight set of legswith a heavy, bigger optic on
top and expecting that thing tobe super stable.
So they just don't go togethersometimes, right?
So that is something to thinkabout.
Aluminum just is, you know,usually is a little more heavy
(32:06):
than the carbon fiber, but itcould also give you some more
stability with that heaviness,if that makes sense.
Aluminum doesn't break likecarbon fiber.
It can bend.
It is cold when you touch it inthe mornings with your hands.
This is an aluminum tripod andactually one of the only
(32:27):
aluminum tripods that I own.
It is an outdoorsman's.
You can hear it.
It's a little more, it's just alittle louder.
It is certainly cooler even inthis air condition, like even in
this room in my house.
It's cooler than the carbonfiber to the touch.
(32:49):
Here's another carbon fibertripod, come on, that I have.
This is the Slick 634.
I also have the Slick 624, iswhat I've been using this year
for the most part, but this isthe 634.
I've had this for a really,really long time, like we're
(33:10):
like running up on 10 years now.
We did replace one of the twistlock.
Things broke and so the guidesat SNS Archery helped us fix
that.
And then Leah has been runningthis and she really likes the
micro pan head fromoutdoorsman's.
But overall, like really goodtripod, nice to put in the pack,
(33:35):
and then the one that I havebeen using this year other than
that 624 is for a tripod head Igot the new outdoorsman's pan
head 2.0.
I've been running the originalpan head for a long time and I
(33:56):
actually I did a review on it.
Gosh, it's been a long time now, but they came out with the 2.0
.
And the one thing that's supercool about this is this can
accept two different types ofplates.
So it can accept theoutdoorsman's I don't know
whether you'd call thatproprietary one or not, but it
fits the outdoorsman's plate andalso above it it fits an Arca
(34:19):
Swiss plate.
So two different plates you canput on the same head is super
badass.
And another thing they did withthis head is they from the
original I think it had like asix pound or seven pound
recommended weight limit.
This one has a 20 poundrecommended weight limit.
(34:40):
So overall big upgrade.
One downside that's a littlehard to tell folks that are just
trying to get into it is it's$500.
So that can be a little bittough.
But I've had my original onefor a really long time now.
It's still kicking.
I'd still be using it if theyhadn't come out with, like, the
(35:02):
Arca deal as well, which issuper cool.
Last thing about the well,almost last thing about tripods
this is the new carbon fiberoutdoorsman's tripod that took
over the aluminum.
It didn't take over thealuminum version, but it's been
(35:23):
added to it.
It's $1,000.
I think it's a little over athousand.
So that's like for a lot ofpeople that's crazy.
But this has something in itthat's not just carbon fiber.
They have a component in here.
I think it's interwoven in withthe carbon fiber.
It's called enegra and thatwill keep the carbon fibers like
(35:48):
shape and integrity.
So they talked to me about.
They put a clamp on thesethings, clamped it.
So it basically everything.
The leg collapsed on itself andthen they took the clamp off
and with that enegra it made thecarbon fiber go back to a
regular circle leg and, likethey said, some of the carbon
(36:10):
fiber I think it was cracked orcould have been cracked, but
with that enegra it won't break.
Still so crazy.
Couple of other recommendationshere.
I guess SNS Archery has somereally cool.
They have some really goodtripods on their website.
I saw this set up.
(36:33):
It is a SURE it looks likeSiriU too also, but they
pronounce it SURE tripod andhead system for like 280.
This is an interesting newtripod that I actually just
purchased yesterday.
It's on its way to add to thecollection I already have,
(36:54):
apparently, but this was likekind of an innovative enough
thing.
I was like I have to try it.
Like if I'm gonna do this gearpodcast, I have to try it.
So I bought it through LaborDay sale so I'll save a little
bit of cash that way.
But I don't really know anybodyfrom Tricer, but I got the BC,
which is the Bat Country tripod,and one thing that's
(37:17):
interesting that they did let megive a tripod here.
So on most tripods well, all ofthem this your first leg up
here is the biggest.
As you go down in tripodsections, your tripod legs get
smaller, and some people saythat that decreases the it like
(37:42):
makes them a little moreflexible, so like they're less
stable when everything isextended out.
So what this Tricer company didis they flipped them backwards.
So now the largest diameter legis not at the very top, it's at
(38:02):
the very bottom, and so theyreally flipped everything around
.
So I'm gonna get one of thoseand just see what I think.
Bino adapters the outdoorsman'sis what we use because it's just
compatible with absolutelyeverything that we have now.
But there is a company I haveone here called Azac Equipment.
(38:23):
I think I talked about itactually on the last podcast,
but it's a ring that goes aroundthe barrel of your binoculars,
clamps onto.
It has an arc plate on thebottom of that so you can just
slide them right onto the headthat you're using.
I had to get a spin drift anddrink real quick, all right.
(38:45):
So clothing and layering youprobably have a lot of this
stuff already.
So what I wanted to talk aboutwas let's just talk about a
basic layering system.
I think of it as like a fourcore layering system.
You have your first layer,which is your base layer.
(39:05):
It's next to your skin.
You wanna stay away from cotton.
When you're doing that, you'regonna be looking at lightweight
marina wools and synthetic typelike polyesters and things for
next to your skin.
The second one is yourmid-layer.
That's gonna be like some kindof like a grid fleece, like a
(39:30):
soft shell, something that'slike fairly thin, adds a little
bit of warmth, cuts a little bitof the wind, is like that good
comfort piece.
And then your third is gonna beyour insulation layer.
That is like a puffy jacket or adown jacket.
That is a must have.
If you're coming out west oryou're going on a late season
(39:51):
hunt in the Midwest or somethinglike that and you don't have a
puffy jacket, 100% buy one.
Even if it's a lightweight one,like 100% buy it.
They're fantastic.
And there's a couple ofdifferent things we can talk
about there.
Some of the jackets are gonnabe like a goose or a duck down.
(40:12):
Some jackets are gonna besomething like a.
It's basically what I'm tryingto say.
It's a synthetic insulation.
So that's gonna be like aprimal off gold, like an apex
insulation.
They make synthetic insulationsas well.
Those are a couple that arepretty widely used in the
(40:34):
industry Quick things like yourduck down and your goose down.
A lot of them are treated nowwith like something that's
hydrophobic coating so it repelswater.
But if you truly that will helpwith dampness.
But if you truly get thatjacket wet and those little
(40:56):
delicate down feathers collapse,that is all of your insulating
value like gone, it's not thereanymore.
And if you're not in a placewhere you can dry it out, like
it's just not gonna get bettervery quickly.
So that's where we're like thesynthetic insulations come in,
(41:18):
even if they do get, you know,sopping wet, and that would not
be very comfortable.
But if they get pretty wet,that insulation won't just
completely collapse.
So you will still have someheat retaining properties when
it's warm or when it's wet orwhen it's damp.
So another thing with thatthat's kind of nice for folks
(41:42):
just getting into it like Iwould kind of recommend going
with a synthetic jacket.
You can just it's safer forsome areas that are just wet
climates you drop your pack in acrick or something crazy like
you know.
It's just a little bit safer,and then they're also cheaper.
And then for the fourth core ofyour layering system.
(42:07):
You have your rain layer, sothat's your outer like shell
from the elements, theirwindproof, waterproof.
It's a rain jacket.
So let me think about that.
Pants so stretchy andcomfortable for the most part, a
lot of these pants are made oflike nylon, things like that
(42:28):
that are they're stretchy,they're really durable.
People often want pants thatare like, you know, not too hot.
You don't want them to cold andyou want them super
indestructible.
But their reality is being ableto get all those things
together is really difficult.
You know, you have a pantthat's like really lightweight,
(42:49):
built for the warm months, ishighly breathable.
Sometimes there's going to besome kind of a trade-off with
that.
So I really like to go to likea mid-weight, more like a
durable middle mid-weight pantthat's still not insulated and
that is because and it's a pantlike the the Corget Foundry pant
(43:13):
from First Light.
If I was going to recommend apant to somebody that is like I
just want one pant to get mefrom early through the late
seasons, that's the pant that Iwould choose, with the caveat
that you have to layer correctlyunder it so that pant has hip
vents so you can dump heat superquick or leave them open so it
(43:36):
can just be a little bit moreairy, like in the warm months,
like right now, and then, as yougo a little bit more into late
season, you can layer underneathof them with just a like a
lightweight long john basically.
But that pretty much covers,like the the corns of the
(44:00):
layering system.
Any company that you go with,any company's website that you
go with, they're going to giveyou basically the same
information.
They're going to have thingslisted out into, like your core,
your base layers, your midlayers, your insulation layers,
your shell or your rain layers.
Moving on to rifle and bow or,you know, archery setups,
(44:26):
oftentimes folks are like, hey,I'm coming out west, I want to
get a new gun and I'm like Imean that's a big portion right
out of the top of your gearsetup.
If you need to get a new gun,for the most part if you're
hunting back east, you probablyhave, like you're shooting like
a 7 mag or a 30 out, 6 or a 308or you know even like a 6, 5
(44:51):
creed more or something likethat.
Like, unless you're going onlike a moose hunt or an elk hunt
, like you don't, don't just go,don't talk yourself into going
and buying a new gun where youcould be spending that money
elsewhere if you already have arifle that's going to work.
I would say for archers, forarchery hunters, like, go check
(45:15):
out your arrow setups, just look, like weight wise, where you
are.
If you're elk hunting, you knowyou want that to be a little
higher.
In my opinion you'll want thatlike 450 plus.
I have a 28 inch draw.
I shoot 60 pounds.
Last year I was shooting510-ish, 515 actually, and then
(45:37):
this year I switched to.
I kind of didn't really switch,but I have a different setup
right now for deer.
I'm around the 445, so I'mreally at the lighter end of
where I just comfortably likethink I want to be.
But yeah, going to a little bitheavier arrow might not hurt
(45:59):
you.
Also, looking at your broad headselection, in my opinion if
you're shooting elk you shouldbe shooting.
You should not be shooting afixed or sorry, you should not
be shooting an expandable head.
You should be shooting a fixedblade head.
In my opinion it's just goingto help you.
The things are big, tough,they're gnarly.
(46:22):
You just want to be able tohave a good, a good setup
flinging at them.
Kind of the same thing on therifle end.
I don't think you need a newgun to get the new, you know
super popular caliber.
But you should consider maybe anew bullet going up in bullet
weight might not be an awfulidea, from whitetail in the east
(46:45):
to elk in the west.
Then another thing I almostdidn't put in here, but I'm
going to put it in here justbecause I can.
One upgrade that you could puton your rifle is like maybe look
at a new scope, a differentscope that you can dial.
You can get a scope of thedifferent radical in it that
(47:06):
maybe has some holdovers thatyou know out at distance, which
is where I'm getting to in asecond here could really come in
handy and I forgot to put it onhere.
But one big thing for riflehunters like, whatever gun
you're going to take, shoot it alot, get really proficient and
comfortable with it.
(47:27):
I mean I would say, shoot itout three, four hundred yards.
That's where I tell my clientsthat are coming into Nebraska
for rifle season be, beconfident out to four hundred
yards and it'll make everythingwithin.
That just seems simpler.
So that's my take on the yourbow setups there.
(47:50):
Next thing up here so mappingand satellite messengers.
So I'm gonna hit the satellitemessengers first.
Garmin in reaches.
They also have a thing called aZolio.
We used to have one, leah usedto have a Zolio I.
(48:10):
We didn't have good luck withit, so we both switched over to
an in reach and it's just beenmuch more reliable, in my
opinion.
We each have the in reach mini,but they make some other models
.
But look at where you're goingand like if you're gonna have
service or if you can figure outif, if you're gonna have fairly
(48:31):
reliable phone service, I wouldskip the in reach.
You're gonna be into it atleast three hundred dollars,
into just the device itself, andthen you're gonna have to buy a
plan for it as well.
So that's something that Iwould think about doing.
If you're gonna haveself-service, just ditch the in
(48:52):
reach.
Have a good have kind of a goodlike emergency plan with
somebody that you're supposed tobe checking in with.
So there is some kind of astructure going there if there
was an emergency.
And then also, like a lot ofthe new iPhones, they have SOS
features on them and you, if youdon't know nothing about that,
(49:14):
you should go YouTube it,because that'll give you more
info than I can give you.
And then mapping wise.
So I use on x maps.
They're just tried and true.
Let's go to like everybody useson x to some extent so you can
trade like coordinates and pinsand stuff with your buddies.
But I think for 30 bucks forthe state that you're gonna hunt
(49:37):
especially if you're gonna bearound a lot of private like
it's worth it just to get it.
If you, if you're gonna be likein the Forest Service or like
giant sections of BLM or likeyou have a really good handle
with a paper map, like you canprobably just roll with the free
(49:58):
version of on x, but it is justlike it's nice being able to
drop pins and just like dotracks and stuff like that.
So yeah, I think it's worth itin my mind.
All right, moving on to kill kit, your game bags and your knives
(50:19):
.
This is kind of funny of somethings I tell you to skip and
some things I say that maybe youshould.
You should spring for if thisis something that you're gonna
want to be doing like a bit, itwouldn't be an awful idea to get
like some decent game bags.
Um, so there's all differentkind of kind of game bags out
there.
(50:39):
I would say, like thedisposable cheese cloth type
ones are usually what you seelike at the big box stores and
they are cheaper than the onesto reusable.
But the ones that are reusableare just that you can wash them,
you can reuse them year afteryear.
The quality is just going to bebetter.
They're not going to stretchlike the teeth cheese cloth ones
(51:02):
are, and be kind of hard to tocarry around.
I really like the argalis.
I usually use the high countrypack for deer and they have like
places to tie off on.
They're like a good shape andthey hold their shape so they're
easier to put in a pack andthen you can wash them.
So, yeah, that's, I think,spring and they're like 60 bucks
(51:28):
, so springing for a good set isnot not a bad deal.
And then a knife.
You probably have a knife rightnow that is going to work.
And uh, the last time I did apodcast like this talking about,
uh, actually pretty much thesame thing, I said you probably
the knife that you have is theone that you should use and
(51:50):
people got to kick out of that.
But, um, it's not wrong, right,like, if you have a decent
knife, just make sure it's sharp.
Get you a knife sharpener, um,down here in the bottom.
This is the, uh, the work sharp.
I think it's the just a fieldsharpener, this specific one you
can get through me here, um,but it has the guides and it has
(52:12):
a ceramic dealie on top.
Here, um, two sides ofcoarseness is on the diamond and
Just I think they're like 30bucks or 35 bucks.
So if you have a decent kniferight now and you get a
sharpener like you're oftenrunning, I Used to recommend
(52:33):
that people get like replaceableblade knives.
I've started to kind of get awayfrom that, just because if you
learn how to sharpen a knife, Ijust realized, like, just the
more sturdy it is Just kind ofthe last bad things that can
happen.
So if you're gonna go with areplaceable blade knife, though,
(52:55):
I would recommend the outdooredge.
They have a few differentmodels.
I have the EDC one that I carryon my belt or on my my pants
pocket in the back country allthe time, because for one, I
don't want to lose my goodbenchmade one, which could
happen, and then two, it kind ofserves as like a backup with a
(53:16):
couple extra replaceable bladesIf I were to lose my knife or if
somebody else comes along tohelp me and don't have a knife
or whatever.
There's kind of nice to have.
But I say, get a good fixedblade.
Quality knife with a sharpeneris.
I always tend to to reach for awhat they call a seric, an
(53:39):
Serac knife from our golly.
It just fits in my hand reallywell.
I like the blade design and orthe blade shape and it's been a
good knife for me.
So that's that's what I like touse there First aid, emergency
and like a repair kit.
(54:00):
So this bleeds over into just alittle bit with the backpacking
type type stuff.
This is what I still carry withme every day, even though some
of the stuff isn't app Is it asapplicable to like day hunts?
But I guess it kind of is.
Anyways, basics, I think keepit pretty basic.
(54:21):
You can go and get likeadventure medical kits they have
kits that are pretty much setup or you can just make your own
.
So just the basics.
You know, band-aids, bandages Ithink like disinfectant wipes
or like Neosporin be good.
Skin glue, skin glues good.
(54:41):
I did that.
Falling through a, let me see,doesn't look that bad now, but I
literally fell through a barbar fence the other day trying
to sneak over it.
It's not my, not my greatest,but I cut myself all up and and
I we had skin glue so we couldkind of keep some of these
(55:02):
scrapes and stuff.
We could just Glue the skindown that already had left,
which is nice.
Basic meds, you know Tylenol I'dbe your profan some Benadryl,
obviously.
Anything else that you thinkyou might need one thing to be
cognizant of is, like you know,like aspirin and things like
(55:25):
that.
You're not supposed to givesomebody aspirin if they have a
headache or something like that,because it thins your blood and
it can actually give you, like,if you have a blame, a brain
bleed.
It won't clot it up, it'll justlet it keep running.
That don't take advice from me.
But that is Just know the medsthat you have before you just
(55:48):
start taking them everywhere.
A tourniquet I do carry atourniquet with me.
They're cheap.
I think I got like three ofthem off Amazon for like 40
bucks or something like that.
I do not remember which kindthey are, but they're the ones
that I think they're.
They're combat tourniquets andyou can use them yourself On
yourself.
(56:08):
So I have those with me, orjust one with me, moleskine
stuff for your feet.
If you start to get blisters orhotspots and know how to use
them and know how to use ithonestly, youtuber up and just
be like get a refreshing crashcrash course on how to like
correctly put moleskin on onblisters on your feet.
(56:30):
There's this stuff called lucotape, leukko super sticky on the
back, that like moleskin typematerial on the front.
Then another thing I like tocarry Fire starter, just a way
to start a fire.
Honestly, sometimes I end upjust using it to start to light
my stove.
But pyro putty makes is a goodfire starter that you can find A
(56:56):
lot of outdoor stores right now.
It's just kind of comes readyto go.
If you're super cheapy, you canjust go with cotton balls and
Vaseline.
That's what I did for a longtime.
I took like an old pill bottleand I freaking stuffed it full
of of cotton balls.
So that works good, um.
And then a few ways to start onean obvious lighter Uh, matches.
(57:19):
I use long burn matches and putthem in like a waterproof match
container.
Um, and then a striker.
They call them like flint andsteel sometime, but like a
striker, um.
Sometimes I make a fire withthose just for funsies, but uh
yeah, they're just nice to have.
They're not going to getsaturated with water and quit
(57:40):
working.
Um, and then patching stuff up.
Patching your gear up, um,paracord always nice to have
paracord with you.
Whether it is like In most ofthe time I just carry my
paracord in with my kill kit, um, but you never know when you're
going to need paracordotherwise, so pack accordingly.
(58:00):
Um.
Gorilla tape for basic tapingjobs.
There's this stuff that iscalled tenacious tape from gear
aid.
It's like a fabric tape.
It is like super, super sticky.
It's unreal sticky likepatching like a you know, a
jacket snag or something likethat.
It's going to work really well.
(58:22):
Um, I've patched sleeping padswith them before and literally
have gotten a seal out of themand use that pad for the next
three days.
Um.
One thing to be a littlecautious of, though, is, like
Most tents that you're going toget from outdoor industry folks
are going to be silicone, orlike the high-end backpacking
tents, they're going to becoated with silicone and nothing
(58:43):
sticks to silicone, and thensimple repair kit type stuff for
your, your bow or your rifle,your scope, things like that.
At least have that stuff in thevehicle.
Um, you know, for archery Itake like extra D loop, extra
serving.
You got to know how to usethose things if you're going to
(59:04):
take them with you.
Um, the basic allen wrenchesthat I would need Wrapping up
here with some extra gear.
Windchecker just your regularpowder windchecker super nice.
Um, chapstick, I think folkscoming from back east where it's
usually pretty dang humid,coming out west Super dry, it
can be a killer.
(59:24):
Um, you're going to wantchapstick, I use mine on my nose
, probably one of my lips.
It's gross.
Um, sunscreen, that can be onething.
I try to put sunscreen on asmuch as I can, or wear like a
bucket hat so you can justprotect your face, uh, from the
sun.
(59:45):
Um, trekking poles, kind of likean extra thing.
Um, if you're on a tight budget, I wouldn't buy trekking poles
If you don't need them.
Um, some tents like just set upwith trekking poles.
So Depending on what you decideto do In our part two, you can
go that route.
Um, something that's kind ofnice sometimes is like a small
(01:00:07):
tarp.
Um, especially if, like ifyou're not staying back there
and you can't go back to yourtent to To get out or it's you
can't get in the trees orwhatever to get out of the sun.
Sometimes a small tarp this isstone glaciers.
I think they call it the u l uh, no, no, the ul 10.
I literally just bought itbecause I usually use the kafaru
(01:00:31):
sheep tarp, but I just wantedone a little bit bigger for two
of us.
Um, small, lightweight, easy topack.
You can pitch them, you know,tie them to trees or rocks or
put sticks under them orwhatever.
Pitch them a tons of differentways.
You can block the wind, you canblock the sun with them.
Um, it's just, they're kind ofnice to have, but they are an
extra for sure.
(01:00:53):
Um, water filtration we're goingto cover that more in the next
episode.
Um, even though it does applyto day hunting, um, but carrying
water something I wanted totouch on I just use like a
nalgene bottle with a.
Uh, this is kind of an extratwo, but while you're at it, get
a human gear Cap cap lid.
It'll just take your wide mouthnalgene To like a narrow mouth,
(01:01:16):
I guess, so it's easier todrink out of.
Um, yeti also has some niceplastic bottles now and then of
course, there's like hydrationbladders that you can use.
For some reason, I tend to startwith hydration bladders and
then, especially towards the endof the season, I don't use them
anymore.
I don't know why.
It's probably a Just being lazy, and I don't want to fill them
(01:01:40):
up all the time or take them outof my pack to fill them up.
Um, but in general, you shouldprobably have a couple liters of
water with you a day.
Um, I usually try to plan forthree liters of water a day.
I probably get less than that.
I think you should plan forfour, but three is seems to be
what I am typically on.
(01:02:01):
So, um, yeah with that.
That concludes that portion.
Part two is going to be backpackcamping gear.
It's not for everyone, it's notfor every situation.
It can be nice, can cut youdown on some hiking time and
it's fun most of the time,sometimes all the time.
(01:02:23):
So, uh, that's pretty much allI have for you.
We'll dig into, uh, backpackinggear in part two of the
beginner's guide to hunting gear.
So, um, with that.
Guys, remember, gear is greatexperiences, key.
Get out there, burn some gasand, uh, yeah, have a good time.
(01:02:44):
We'll talk to you guys on thenext episode.
Speaker 2 (01:02:47):
Thanks for listening to this episode of jordan's
toolkit.
If you have any questions orsuggestions for future episodes,
please visit the website jordandash budcom and follow the
links to submit an email orvoicemail to be played on air.
If you're listening on an audioplatform, you can also watch
this podcast on youtube viajordan buds personal channel.
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