I really don't know about any of the other outfitters. A buddy of mine went the year before we did. He and 2 other hunters tagged out early on the hunt.
I ask him lots of questions just like you are doing. Our group did consider looking for another outfitter but my buddy assured us that this outfitter was pretty good. He was able to tell ustruthfully what to expect and we knew him. We figured his word was better than someone, we didn't know, telling us what it was like.
Patey and sons has about a dozen different camps. all are fly in except one, I believe. I guess how they do it up there is, outfitters lease certain areas. They are the only ones that can hunt that area. Locals couldn't get there unless they had a float plane anyway.
They have thousands of ponds and lakes up there. The huge lakes they call ponds. They are huge bodies of water to only be called ponds.
They lease an area of 5 miles around certain "ponds"
Here are some tips I can give to you
1)Don't have any NRA, stickers, hats, window decals, bumper stickers, etc... when you cross the border, they will search your vehicle. They didn't search ours, but this was a tip I was given. They seem to worry about handguns up there.
2) Wear rubber boots, not Gortex type. The Gortex type will get heavy as they get wet, plus they aren't high enough up your leg. Sometimes a small puddle will look a few inches deep and you will sink in up to your knee. I had La Crosse Alpha Burlys ( uninsulated) they were light, comfortable and waterproof.
3) Have good quality rain gear. The cheap vinyl kind will be ripped to shreds in minutes.
4) Get in shape. The walking is very difficult. Its not the steepness of the terrain, its the soggy, saturated ground. You sink a few inches in it.. Just be in shape, those guides will have you walking lots of miles in that stuff.
Here are a few photos of the terrain
