Camping Gear
 

I know. Wrong forum, but I know you guys better than the other sub forums. I'm not sure if many of you camp when you go hunting? Next year i'll be camping for the whole elk season, and probably will for the rest of my elk hunts. It opens up more areas for me to hunt. Instead of always staying close to home.

So, not being a camper. I have to buy all the camping gear I need. I've been researching for the last few weeks. Even though the ML elk season is the 2nd week in Sept, and will usually be warm. At 10,000ft in the Rockies. The weather could be anything from hot to a blizzard. For sure they'll be rain and high winds. So, I decided to get a 4 season tent.

Cabelas makes an Alaskan series of camping gear that gets good reviews. I love buying from Cabelas. If you don't like something. Even if you've used it. You can return it no questions asked.

So, here is the tent, cot, pad, and sleeping bag. What do you guys think, and what do you use if you camp?

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Campi...3Bcat104303880

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Campi...3Bcat104280480

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Campi...3Bcat104484780

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Campi...3Bcat104770080

That looks like an awful lot of luxury Muley. I thought a tough old bird like you would just wrap up in a blanket and lay down on some rocks. Looks like first class gear. With tents, you want quality for sure. A poor tent is nothing but misery.

Maybe 20 years ago. Not so much now, and it's not going to get any better. :sad0064:

I agree with semi, looks like good gear. Over the years my dad and I have tried several different set ups, usually cheaper options. That one looks to be a good set up. The cheaper set ups usually put us in the back of a pickup bed (with camper shell) and a propane heater.

I get a message that says Cabelas.com isn't available right now so I will just give some general advice. I took up motorcycle camping last year and this year after not really camping in many years. On my trip to Canada in September it got down in the 40's. I have a cheapo bag rated for that but decided to take a North Face 0 degree bag. That was a big mistake, I roasted in that thing. So I would say get a bag that is rated for the temps you expect to see. I know you said it could be warm or cold, but just don't over do it.

I can't see the pad you picked out but the one pad I wish I had got was the Exped Synmat 7 or 9 with the handpump. The pump is built into the pad. It is pretty light, packs small and is thick. My Therm-a-rest packs just as small but is only half as thick. Whatever you do, don't get an air mattress as they have no insulation value.

You're right about the bag. I forgot I wasn't going to get the Alaskan bag, because it was rated for -40. Much too warm for me. I switched to the Cabelas XPG bag rated for 0 degrees. I changed the link.

I want a bag that will be warm enough to be able to leave the vents open to prevent condensation and still keep me warm.

Ok, I finally got into the Cabelas site. I am going to stick with my recommendation on the Exped Synmat 7 or 9. They are slightly thicker and much lighter than the Cabelas pad though I don't know if weight and size are an issue for the camping you are going to do. If not, then you might consider a more rectangular sleeping bag as mummy bags are pretty constrictive.

As for the tent, if you are going to be in cold weather, consider a tent with aluminum poles. From my research, the fiberglass poles can break in freezing temps. The other benefit to aluminum is they make repair kits that is basically a sleeve you can put over bent poles to keep them from bending more. This of course is for field repairs until you can get a new pole.

Check out REI.com too as they offer the same money back guarantee. Even on old, used items you can return for a full refund.

Muley everything looks good to me except the tent. for extended periods in the mountains one of cabelas small sheep herder tents with a fold up wood burner stove is real nice. i had a buddy who had one and it was a pleasure to stay a week or more in and the extra room to walk around is appreciated..

I like everything except the pads.

How come? Keep in mind it will be going on a cot.

Muley, Everything looks great, if you can drive to where you are camping I would go with a tent with the stove option. Heat is always nice when a winter storm comes up over the mountains.

I won't be backpacking, so i'm not concerned with weight, but I have to think of space. I have a short wheelbase Jeep Wrangler. I need to fit all the camping gear, hunting gear, and my dog in it. Plus have some room for meat if I get an elk.

I'll use the gear for some mountain fly fishing trips too, but it will be in the summer.


I checked the weather for that area during the ML season this year. The lows were 20-40 degrees. I can handle that ok with just a tent and sleeping bag. Knowing my dog. He'll be snuggled right against me. That will be my heater. :D

Just because I wear pink slippers in my hunting shack does not mean I haven't done alot of camping.

I hunted for many years in CO for Elk and Mule Deer. We camped between 10,000 and 10,500 feet. And you are absolutely right. I have seen 3 feet of snow one year, and then 80* hunting the next year. So I understand your point.

We normally stayed anywhere from 8-14 days at a time. The first week for scouting and fishing, and the second week for hunting.

IMO I would not even consider a Geodesic type tent for a hunt.

We spent some money and bought a good quality, heavy duty canvas wall tent. And boy I am glad we did. I want a tent I can stand up and walk around in. Something with some real room. And I would not even consider camping at 10,000 feet without a camp wood stove inside the tent.

I can remember a few hunts where every single stitch of clothing we had was soaking wet. The hunts were miserable.

Then the next year we bought the wall tent. And we were hunting in 2 feet of snow. Al my clothes were nice and dry. Plenty of heat. Plenty of room in the tent. The hunt was a pure pleasure. Not a wet nightmare.

This is just an opinion. But I would not consider anything less than a good comfortable wall canvas tent with a stove. Tom.

That's just not practical for me. I'm going to be alone a lot of times. I'm going with Jon next year, but who knows after that?

Plus my fishing trips will be alone. There's also deer hunts.

This is all new for me. I've only hunted with my dad until the 80's, and after that i've always been alone. I'm an independent cuss, and I like to be self sufficient. A wall tent and stove doesn't fit into that. Even if it does sound comfortable.

I've been cold and wet before. ;)

Hopefully i'll be snuggled in a camper with a nice heater running at night :D

Good luck getting that camper to where i'm going. :p

For us an Elk hunt is a vacation. Normally a full two week vacation. Plus you also need to remember that we are over 1,000 miles away from home. So we have to make sure we are set up very well.

I can understand if you live close, and can simply go home.

Maybe we look at elk hunting from a different perspective. For me it was always a very enjoyable experience. Whether I shot an elk or not. I just enjoyed watching it snow 2 feet in 24 hours at 10,500 feet.

So I guess you could say I was a bit awe struck at hunting in the "REAL" mountains. So I just like to be sure of a certain amount of comfort. And just became use to it. Tom.

This is a vacation for me too. I'm putting everything into this hunt. It might be my only hunt for next year. I've always got up at 3am, and drove to my hunting areas. I could do it in this hunt too. It's only 40min away, but I don't want that. I plan on staying there for the whole hunt.

I don't need to get there early. I'll have it scouted out by the time ML season starts. I'll get there the afternoon before the first day of the season.

This is another thing I didn't mention. I don't plan on setting up camp in one area, and staying there for the whole hunt. It's a huge area, and has lots of good areas to hunt. If one area doesn't work out, or if too many hunters are in the area. I'll move right away. So, I need to stay pretty mobile with an easy to setup camp.

Sort of like backpacking in a Jeep. :D

I did a lot of camping in my life. Too much I think sometimes. Since space and weight is not a factor the cot is OK.. otherwise I would say, loose the cot and save some space. Those ground pads are real comfortable if you take the rocks out from under you. And a super warm sleeping bag might not sound necessary, but believe me.. when you get cold, you'd give up your gun for a good warm sleeping bag. I would take the extra warm one and then a good blanket. So if the temps are real warm, just use the blanket, but as it cools at night, that extra warm sleeping bag will sure be good.

I use a canvas sleeping bag with a flannel liner and of course its insulated. Its made so that if you don't want to put up a tent, you can just use the bag. Its nice and comfortable in there. I've camped in -30 below and even though the bag was rated for extreme cold, I had a wool blanket inside with me, my wool socks on, and was still cold. Just because it says -40 below, it will be comfortable at O degrees as well.

That is a nice tent. And a good tent is the key to comfort. When I went with friends we had a canvas wall tent with a little wood stove in it. 8x12 foot that we could stand in, and play cards in. But when I went alone I had a two man mountain tent that has a floor in it, and it was very comfortable for myself and my large labrador retriever. That tent should be real comfortable, except when it rains all day and you sit in it all day in the damp and cold.

I have a friend that uses an extra large ground blind for his tent. He's kind of crazy but he says it keeps the rain and snow off him and most important, the wind. He then uses a ground pad and a real good sleeping bag. He camps all the time in that goofy blind of his.

Yeah thats another thing muley, how early should i get up there?

Lots of time to work that out.

true. I figured at least a couple days early. I dont want to haul everything up the day before the hunt, set up camp, and then have to wake up early the next morning lol.

That was my thoughts too. Better to have a bag that will keep me warm no matter what, and then make adjustments if it's warm out.

Which is what's good about Cabelas. I can test my gear out in the summer, and make an exchange if I get the wrong bag.

How does Cabelas do that? What do they do with the stuff returned?

I have a Cabela's about one hour away from my home. They sell alot of camping gear there.

If I were you I would wait until just after X-Mas and cruise their Bargain Cave page on their web site. Cabela's normally puts a bunch of camping gear in the Bargain Cave just after X-Mas.

I understand what you mean by being mobile. We had a very nice base camp at 10,500 feet on Electric Mountain just outside of Paonia, CO. But we hunted a good bit at close to 12,000. When the weather was decent we had a small tent like the one you are looking at. And we stayed a night or two at the higher elevations where we were hunting.

Good luck on your hunt. I wish my leg would allow me to hunt there again.

I am looking at a used motor home. There is a very large park on the other side of Electric Mountain where I can park my motor home if I get it. We are thinking about another elk hunt out there. The park is large enough to where I can hunt long range with a rifle right from the camp. So I may get to go back one day. But I don't think I will ever get to hunt that early MZ season again. The one in Mid September. Man those bugling bulls were fun!! Tom.

Haul???????

I'm camping next to my Jeep.

They sell it in the Bargain Cave. I have bought some really nice stuff(returned camping items) in the Bargain Cave. Tom.

Well the camper we gotta haul to a spot. Hopefully we can get into a decent area. Just depends what we end up getting.

Head......................As you may remember from my posts. I'm not a trophy hunter. I won't be going above timberline for the big bulls. I'll be looking for a herd, and try to call in a horny young bull looking for a lady that will have him. I just carry cow calls.

I won't be disappointed if I don't get one. I'm past that. I just want to have a fun hunt and enjoy the experience. Meat in the freezer is a bonus.

i'll bring a bugle muley.

We'll know more next summer after I check out the area. Are you getting the camper for sure?

We're looking pretty darn hard. A lot have been looked at and had issues with their tops or worse, rotten floors. Im sure we will have a camper by then but i still will bring a smaller 6-8 person tent if we have to move higher up in the mountains for the elk.

Muley I am by no means an experienced Elk hunter. I have shot several. But I am not very experienced.

We normally had to go above 11,000 feet to find the elk. It seemed like it was always hot in the early season. And the elk just seemed to be at the higher elevations when we were hunting.

We were not really trophy hunting. And I like what you said about the meat in the freezer. We never wasted an ounce of elk meat.

Even though we were hunting(a couple of times) during the rut, I never really was a person to do any bugling. Although when they are bugling they are prety easy to locate. So we just got as close as we could, then played our chances. Strictly beginner stuff!! Tom.

I picked up on the 12,000 ft you mentioned. That's above treeline. It's where the big bulls hang out. I'm after a herd that can be found at 10,000-11,000ft, and sometimes lower. They can really be anywhere in Sept. As long as they have all there needs. Food, water, and shelter. I live at 8000ft, and see elk in Sept in my area.

I don't bugle, because it's generally a challenge to the herd bulls. Younger bulls don't come to challenges. My observation anyway. I want the young bull. It comes running to cow calls trying to beat the lead herd bull.

This is how i've done it in the past, because i've been alone. I never wanted to get a full grown bull. Way too hard for me to get the meat out. With Jon's help I may go for a bigger bull this time.

It will be an either sex tag, so a nice tender cow is not out of the question either.:biggrin:

Muley I am probably exagerating the 12,000 foot just a bit. But not much. I knew tree line was somewhere in that 12,000 foot range. And we hunted in places where you could actually see the tree line. But we were in the trees. So to be truthful we were probably in the 11,500 foot range.

Sometimes I was actually suprised how thick the pine tree forest could be at such a high elevation. The Aspen's were nice and wide open. But some of those Pine thickets were unbelievable!!

Is tree line constant throughout the entire Rockies?? Or does it vary from one area to the next?? Tom.

It's not exact. Somewhere around 11,300ft.

As a still hunter, I love the timber areas. I'll be there most of the time looking for where they're bedded down. I can hunt all day doing that, and catch them in the open during sunup and sunset.

Some guys just hang around the camp during the day. It's my best time to be hunting. I love the timber. I said that already didn't I? Well, I do.

Sleeping Bag.

Tent

Heater.

Amen Ron, i spend more than a weekend i want heat and a tent i can stand in and at least take a bucket bath lol. i have smaller tents for 1 or 2 day hunts.

Pretty funny Ron. I won't mention the price, but you think all that is going to fit in a Jeep. 12'x 12' for one guy?

I just need a place to sleep. Not live. ;)

Perhaps i missed something. Seems i read you were going to be camped there for the duration of hunting season. Unless your hunting season is a day or two long, you need a place to 'live'. When i first retired i spent the duration of that hunting season in a wall tent. I was there for 5 weeks, and believe me, i was comfortable. There was room to walk around, hang wet clothes, cook, sit and read, share tales etc. Folks that have never 'lived' in a wall tent, can't imagine how comfortable it can be in the foulest of weather.

Our son now moves and stores his camp in a trailer.

The Alaskan guide tents are great. I have owned a 6 person for about 15 years and wouldn't trade it for anything. Even though you are going it alone sometimes, I would consider getting the 6 person. You can stand up in that one, something I really like being able to do. I would also get the vestibule, very handy for muddy boots and various other things you want out of the weather, but not in the tent.