looking at this bag: ICON PRO 5200 Camo Hunting Backpack | KUIU or possibly this one: ULTRA 6000 Camo Hunting Backpack - Packs & Bags | KUIU
Tents are generally heavy and you might not want to carry them if you were to do a long hike and overnight or need some form of emergency shelter. So tarps or bivy sacks/bags are alternatives. The advantage of a bivy or tarp are they are (generally) lightweight shelters you can put in you pack as a CYA. Like someone mentioned before what you carry for a shelter will most likely depend on circumstances (overnighting, #people, season, possible weather, trip duration, distance into the woods/wilderness and to degrees your levels of risk aversion and roughing it).. The bivy is a cacoon or bag you can fit in generally with a sleeping bag and/or pad. Some are 4 season, many some degree of water resistant/proof. Sizes vary a bit, but generally not much bigger than a sleeping bag. The Best Bivy Sack | OutdoorGearLab
Gotcha. That OR Alpine has my attention. Being that it looks to be a small tent and sleeping bag combined. Nice price point too.
This may be a dumb question; but would that OR Alpine include a built in sleeping bag? If not, for close to the same price I can get a 1p tent, which I feel I would prefer.
Doesn't. Presumably you may want a sleeping bag/pad even with a tent. Sleeping bags are a whole other kettle of fish. Weight, size/packability, cost and climate, seasonality/weather protection are other considerations for shelter (and sleeping bag) choice. I.e. snow or sustained rain.
Kuiu is a clothing company. That is their specialty. But I've never used one so my opinion only holds so much weight. From my experience of searching around, it seemed there were good reviews by fanboys and the rest didn't like it. Most packs will feel fine with 20-30 pounds of gear. You find out the true quality of a pack when you load it with 70+ pounds.
So, if you were going to suggest a kifaru pack, which one would it be? Also, now that I know the sleeping bag is not included, would you guys suggest a 1p tent or a Bivy? I don't know many companies, so here are two examples I am trying to decide between: Tent - Ultra Star Ultralight One Person Hunting Tent | KUIU Bivy - Alpine Bivy | Outdoor Research | Designed By Adventure | Outdoor Clothing & Gear
Not in the same ballpark, however not everyone will do a Kifaru justice in its use. And s lot of game been packed out with worse packs the kuiu that's for sure. For a light duty pack kuiu will be just fine.
I like the Jimmy Tent ($,weight,packability) though not sure about open floor also the Tarp Tent offerings (weight & packability). Now looking at Horn Hunter Full Curl System as a pack...
Don't let the open floor scare you. I take a piece of tyvek that I washed a few times . I place my pad on that and my bag on the pad.
Your not alone. The biggest compliant your will here about is that that options and abbreviations are about impossible to understand. It takes a while. Don't discount a used pack, guys flip packs every single year. You can get a great pack at discount very very easy. Also EXO is a great very simple pack and will do anything you need. It comes in two sizes and the options are easy to understand.
The exo would be my #1...but even the used ones get scooped up quickly. A new one is just too costly for me.
It's not that difficult. There's two frame options and all the bags fit them both. Size of the bag depends on how long you plan on hunting. For a five day hunt you can pack everything into 4000-5000 ci. You could get a smaller bag and add a bunch of external pockets or get a 4000ci+ bag and have plenty of room. Call Kifaru and they will help you find the right combo.
Just my .02 cents (and just know I'm a penny pincher) You don't have to focus only on "hunting" packs. I did a lot of research myself (highly suggest rokslide.com forums)...and was drawn into the many good reviews of regular "backpacker" packs for hunting. I settled on the REI XT85 (paid $189 during sale at REI) and I'm happy with it. I have done overnight in it with my wife and had it jam packed with all my gear, tent, and some of her gear as well to lighten her load. If money is not an issue - I'd consider Kifaru as well based on my research...but nothing wrong with buying a $100 used REI or other "backpackers" pack that has frame and enough cubic inches of storage. Same goes for other gear. I've purchased 99% of mine on sierratradingpost.com. Very low prices for quality gear. Again, if money no issue - you can save pounds going with the best and lightest available for $100's more, but for 2-3 nighters I'm young and dumb enough that it doesn't matter to me. On STP I picked up a $14 stove and ($5 tin cup from Walmart) that have worked flawlessly many nights and still on first can of gas. Picked up a 2 man tent on STP (for wife and I) that's just over 4lbs but is very sturdy and large double entry vestibules that can keep 2 large packs and boots under rain fly overnight. (for two guys to split weight this is great option) Sleeping bags off STP as well, a little heavier than top of the line, but have worked great. Just throwing some ideas out there. If your starting with a couple grand, I'd go with top of line lightest available, but if wanting to watch costs there are lots of quality options available to still get out and enjoy it on the cheap. Good Luck and have fun!
There are sever Exo packs available over there, I'm talking to a guy about one now. Would the 3500 be a tad on the small size as far as anything over 3-4 days? What do you use, tent or bivy setup? I'm torn between the two, but leaning toward tent I think.
I can get 5-7 days on a 3500 with careful packing. I don't use any bivy set ups. I don't like them. I use tarps or tents depending on the hunt, location and season.
