Which gear items someone should consider upgrading to make the biggest difference on a hunt? A look at “the big four” — backpack, sleep system, tent, and optics
With little to no hunting going on right now in the summer, it's a great time to take inventory of your hunting gear list and consider possible improvements before you head out for a scouting trip or a hunt this fall. I often get asked which gear items someone should consider upgrading to make the biggest difference on a hunt.
In my experience, focusing on what I call “the big four” — backpack, sleep system, tent, and optics — is critical because these four items can have the most significant impact on your hunts. There’s no better time than now to start looking at new gear to add to your arsenal. That way, you have enough time to try it out and get comfortable using it before the season arrives.
In my opinion, a backpack can make or break a hunt, especially if you plan to embark on a multi-day backcountry elk hunt. It's probably the one piece of gear that you use the most on a hunt, and it's going to be one of the heavier items in your gear list, so choosing the right backpack for your needs is crucial for comfort and overall weight that you’ll be carrying. Let’s take a look at some good options to consider for a new hunting backpack this year.
By now, everybody knows how important getting a good night's sleep is for overall performance. The better you sleep, the better you are going to hunt. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a good sleeping system on a hunt. This is an area where I might prioritize comfort over weight, but I would still recommend being very conscious of the weight. A sleeping system can get very heavy, very quickly.
An easy improvement for most hunters will be upgrading their tent setup. Since I started hunting, I feel like every year I’m looking at a new tent. Most of this is due to there being a lot of high-quality tent setups on the market to choose from. Your options are endless depending on your style of hunting and what you are looking for in a tent. Plus, tents are usually the heaviest items you will carry, so there’s always room to cut weight in this important category.
We have all heard the saying, “You can’t kill what you can’t see,” which honestly couldn’t be more true, especially on a western hunt. Glassing is king when it comes to successful hunting and can be the difference between going home empty-handed or with meat in the freezer. If you are going to spend the most money anywhere, it should be in your optics setup. I like to look at it as buy once, cry once. Quality optics, for the most part, are going to last forever. Also, if you don’t glass off a tripod, that should be your first purchase. It’s a game changer, glassing from a quality tripod setup for your optics, and is an easy upgrade to add a tripod to your glassing set.
As hunting activities slow down, now is the perfect opportunity to reassess and enhance your gear for future hunts. Focusing on your backpack, sleep system, tent, and optics can significantly elevate your hunting experience and, ultimately, your success in the field.
I feel the Stone Glacier Sky Talus 6900 backpack is a great size for those seven-to-10 day backcountry elk hunts, plus you could ditch the top lid to cut weight and still have 6,400 cubic inches of bag to work with, making it a versatile option.
The full-length middle zipper is one of my favorite features of this backpack. It allows for easy access to your gear without having to completely unpack your bag to get things out.
The two-side pocket configuration adds extra organization for items you can quickly access, which is a plus if you like more pockets on your pack.
Overall, it’s a very minimalist and ultralight design: Weighs 5 pounds, 7 ounces (with medium Krux frame).
The Stone Glacier Solo 3600 backpack is great for weekend warriors who are day hunting or for ultra lightweight multi-day backpack hunts while still utilizing Stone Glacier's Krux or Evo frames, giving you a load shelf to pack 150-pound plus loads.
The horseshoe zipper is a fan favorite. It makes it very easy to access gear quickly and easier to pack gear.
This pack also features an integrated differential-cut spotting scope pocket, which is nice to store and quicily access your spotting scope without having to dig through your pack.
It's a very minimalist and ultralight design. Weighs 4 pounds, 2.2 ounces (with medium Krux frame).
With 4,575 cubic inches, the Mystery Ranch Metcalf 75 backpack is great if you are looking for a "do it all" solution, from day hunts up to five-day backcountry hunts; this pack will have you covered.
It has adjustable load lifters, allowing you to get the perfect fit, and it has an updated load shelf that sits higher on your back, keeping the weight off your hips when you are packing out meat.
This pack offers one of the most comfortable hip belts you'll find. It's a three-piece hip belt with soft-touch contact points.
It's a very robust pack design while also not being too heavy. The total weight is 5 pounds, 4 ounces.
The Therm-A-Rest Xlite NXT Sleeping Pad pad is 3 inches thick, so it's going to give you plenty of cushion that you'll never feel the ground, even if you are a side sleeper.
It’s going to be extremely durable with 30D ripstop HT Nylon, which is going to help prevent the chance of getting a hole in your sleeping pad and, trust me, there is nothing worse than when you get a leak in your sleeping pad.
It's also an insulated pad with an R-value of 4.5, meaning it's going to keep you warm for all seasons, which is a huge plus.
In my personal opinion, this is the best sleeping pad you can purchase, being durable and lightweight. The regular size only weighs 12.5 ounces.
My favorite feature about the Stone Glacier Chilkoot 15-degree sleeping bag is the overall cut and comfort. It has a much larger shoulder box compared to most other bags on the market, allowing you to sleep in different positions without feeling constricted.
I've found the 15-degree range sleeping bag to be a great all-season bag from September to November; it's going to give you the perfect amount of warmth.
This bag also has 850+ down fill featuring HyperDRY technology that helps repel water while maintaining insulation.
Last but not least, this bag only weighs 2 pounds, 3 ounces.
An easy upgrade for any sleeping system is by adding an ultralight weight pillow, which I promise will make you sleep much better in the backcountry.
I’ve found that the Big Agnes Rapide SL Pillow is the perfect size for fitting in my sleeping bag hood while I sleep, which keeps it from moving around at night.
It has a very soft-touch nylon fabric and is 4 inches thick for added comfort.
It is also stupid light and packable. The total weight is 1.6 ounces.
The Argali Owyhee 1 Person Tent is a teepee-style tent that requires a single trekking pole pitch, which you can quickly and easily set up — something I really appreciate in a tent setup.
For a one-person tent, it offers a ton of room for you and all of your gear.
It utilizes a unique water-resistant nano-ripstop silpoly fabric that won’t sag in wet weather compared to other teepee-style tents.
It's a very lightweight and packable tent, weighing only 14 ounces. You can also buy a mesh insert for it as well.
If you are more into freestanding tents that offer more room, the Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL 2-Person Solution Dye Tent is going to be a great option.
For a two-person tent, it's about as light as it gets, weighing only 2 pounds, 8 ounces.
It features a mesh bathtub-style insert and rainfly utilizing a single-pole architecture, making it very easy to set up.
It also has two doors and two vestibules, making it great for two hunters to easily get in and out and to store gear.
For a lightweight minimalist look, look no further than the Stone Glacier SkyAir ULT Tarp, which only weighs a total of 8 ounces.
It features a two-trekking pole pitch design big enough to fit only one person.
You can also purchase separately a SkyAir mesh insert, front vestibule, and footprint for added versatility and extending the season range of the tarp setup.
This setup is one of my go-to options for light and fast backcountry archery elk hunting.
The Vortex Razor UHD 10x42 binocular is a great option to wear on your chest not only for freehand glassing, but also for glassing on a tripod, making it a versatile optic to use on a hunt.
Just weighing over 2 pounds makes them easy to carry all day.
The Razor UHD features Vortex's highest resolution and brightest optic in their lineup of binoculars.
You can't beat Vortex's lifetime warranty. If you break them, all you have to do is send them in and you’ll get brand new ones for free.
I’ve always thought if you're going to spend money on glass, spend more of it on good quality spotting scope over binoculars and there's nothing better than the Swarovski ATS-80 HD Angled Spotting Scope Kit w/20-60X.
This spotting scope is going to have the best clarity and brightness out of any spotting scope on the market.
The 80 mm objective lens diameter provides higher detail recognition in low-light viewing, which is ideal for most early morning/late evening hunting situations.
The overall weight for being larger glasses isn't bad either, coming in at 3 pounds, 9.8 ounces.
The Sirui T-024SK VA-5 Fluid Head Carbon Tripod Kit is going to be your “do it all” setup, being both lightweight and feature-rich. The total tripod and head weight is 2 pounds, 15.7 ounces.
The VA-5 fluid head is smooth as butter when it comes to panning and the perfect size for handling all sizes of optics.
It features twist locks which, in my opinion, are the easiest to operate and pack since they won't snag on gear.
Being a kit that has a fluid head and carbon tripod legs, it's tough to beat the price point and overall value.
