A few years ago I put out the first version of my backpack sheep hunting list, after a few more trips and miles on the trail I’ve upgraded some gear and refined the list a little more.  This list isn’t the be-all-end-all of sheep hunting gear lists but it’s a good start, I may have missed a few items and will add them over the coming weeks if thats the case. 

Some simple research turned up the following YouTube videos. One put out by REI, and another put out through Gore-Tex… The test created in the Gore-Tex lab inspired me to conduct a little testing of my own in my super secret backwoods laboratory.

#1. eVent Vs. Gore-Tex Test – This was a YouTube video created by a popular backcountry gear reviewer. It was conducted in the actual Gore-Tex facility and if you watch the video you’ll see it’s not a very accurate test to compare the performance of the two fabrics (eVent Vs. Gore-Tex) and tried to portray the fabrics as being equal. Gore-Tex wouldn’t want you to conduct anything more scientific as it likely won’t make them look too good.

#2. eVent Breathability Test – This is another YouTube video showing the breathability of the eVent fabrics with what is called a “Bubble Test” and it’s pretty cool.

#3. eVent Vs. Gore-Tex BC Hunting Blog Test – I conducted this simple test using two cups and some boiling water. It clearly showed me that eVent can backup their claims with visible performance.
The proof is in the pudding folks… Although my test was also not really scientific and I had no way of accurately measuring the transfer rate, it clearly showed that the eVent fabric was letting MORE steam through then the other fabrics.

FYI not shown on the video but I did also test a few other waterproof breathables I had laying around (keela, Helly Hansen) they also did not even come close to the transfer rate of the eVent.

Bottom Line – If you are looking for the best waterproof breathable on the market start looking for products made with eVent fabrics.

First Off…

I’d would like to offer full disclosure on this rain gear. I am already the proud owner of an Integral Designs MK III Tent and an Integral Designs Sil-Tarp II. Both of which are phenomenal pieces of mountain equipment, so when I began shopping for a new set of rain gear that would be among the best waterproof and breathable gear suitable for the strenuous hiking (and country) that we experience hunting in the mountains… I did some research. That research led me to eVentfabrics, which led me right back to Integral Designs.

I emailed Integral through their website one night and shared with them the reviews I’d done on my previous purchases and also offered to exchange some yearly advertising space on the hunting blog in return for a set of the Integral Designs eVent Thru Hiker jacket and pants.

After a few weeks went by, and not hearing back I had almost forgotten about it, when an email popped into my inbox from Evan Jones. The owner of Integral Designs, he apologize for the delay (it was over the holidays) and he had trade shows etc, which I totally understand… The cool part was that he was interested in taking me up on my offer! Wow… That’s pretty cool, and it goes to show just how much Integral Designs and Evan listens to their customers and actually cares about how we use, where we use, and what we think about the products they produce.

That’s the kind of company I like to do business with… And they will be fielding a call from me prior to my sheep hunt this year so I can order one of the XPD down sleeping bags.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way lets learn a little more about eVent and what it means to guys who like to hunt in the unpredictable and sometimes harsh mountain weather.
The waterproof breathable garment market has been dominated for years by Gore-Tex and their well oiled marketing machine. It’s been tough for competitors to get in edge wise. I’ve owned my fair share of products with Gore-Tex and some of them have been great products but Gore-Tex as a waterproof breathable membrane has one major flaw. The Gore-Tex membrane loses it’s ability to breath and shed water the dirty and more contaminated it gets. So in order to stop the membrane from getting contaminated they have to spray on a very thin layer of polyurethane coating. As you may well know… Polyurethane doesn’t exactly breath very well.

Along comes eVent… A waterproof breathable membrane created by BHA technologies. Unlike Gore-Tex the eVent membrane is not as susceptible to contamination and therefore does NOT need a layer of polyurethane coating to protect the fabric thus severely hampering it’s breathability.

Now…

I could go on and on about eVent Fabrics but I’d much rather let something visual do the talking. I’ve conducted a simple breathability test using Gore-Tex and eVent fabrics and will post it momentarily.
In a few more weeks I will post a much more detailed review on these specific eVent products from Integral Designs.

Normally, I have never carried an actual water filter with me on any of my mountain hunting trips.  We've been drinking water out of the Northern BC mountains for years, actually decades, without ever experiencing a problem.  The last few years I've brought along the pristine drops but they aren't all that good at making murky water look appetizing.  The drops do work well with clean water though, although I wonder about the "safe" chemicals you need to ingest?? This year I knew our hunt was going to take us somewhere where clean running water might be a little scarce.  There was going to be 3 guys on this trip, and with water consumption from hard hiking, along with water for mountain house freeze dried meals we wanted something that would pump fast, and eliminate our chances of catching Giardia or Cryptosporidium or any other nasty water borne bacteria.

After reading through several online reviews, the Katadyn Vario seemed to fit the bill.  An inexpensive little unit at only $89.99 from MEC (yes I know… how dare I…) but it filters out 99.9% of the dangerous bacteria we were worried about.  Not only that but the Katadyn Vario will pump along at a nice rate capable of filtering up to 2 liters of water per minute, a claim which I will back up.  I think it's faster but we never actually timed it.

One of the cool aspects of the Katadyn Vario is that it actually boasts two different filter settings.  There is a fast mode, as well as an extended life mode.  Fast is capable of filtering 2 liters per minute, while extended life mode is capable of filtering 1 liter a minute.  The main difference being that in long life mode the water is pre-filtered through a ceramic filter before going through the carbon filter.  If you're using the pump in dirty or cloudy water then the extended life mode is probably best.

After a few hours into our hike, we were ready to try out the filter.  Three of us each had a 1.5 liter nalgene bottle for a total of 4.5 liters of water needed.  We found about a 2 foot deep puddle in amongst the rocks, creekside and since it was bug infested and had some intense algae growing along with a few floaties for good measure it was the perfect choice.

It was pretty simple…  Connected the tubes, threw the float (intake tube) into the puddle and started pumping away.  The instructions say to pump out at least a liter or so before actually drinking the water because of the carbon filter and any loose particles that need to be flushed through.

We had the filter set to fast flow mode and it pumped like a charm.  It was hardly a chore to fill the nalgenes and along with a sock change we were on our way uphill again.  The filter performed flawlessly into our trip and then on about the 3rd or 4th day the speed at which it was filtering was definitely degrading, with the pump slowing down and having noticeably more resistance.  Some of the reviews I had read actually said they broke the pump handle, and I could see this happening if you're not careful with it.

Instead of destroying the handle on equipment I depend on, we followed the directions and took out the scotch bright pad and rubbed it on top of the ceramic filter to clean it up.  We were back in business pumping water as normal.  The murkier the water, the more you will perform this simple task and eventually (after several hundred liters) the ceramic filter will need to be replaced.

Pros:

- Easy to use and setup.
- Pumps water faster then most competitors units.
- Easy to clean and maintain.
- Filters out the nasties.
- Inexpensive at less than $100.00 through most outdoor retailers.

Cons:

- Unit is made of plastic. (you could break it if you're not careful)
- Pump Handle/Piston has a reported tendency to break as the parts are plastic. (we were careful pumpers for this reason!)
- Float for the water intake doesn't really work that well.  A slightly bigger piece of foam would have been better.  (we just had someone hold the intake in place in our water source)
- Unit is on the heavier/bulkier side from some of the more pricier filters, but that's too be expected in it's price range (under $100)

In closing, I am happy with the purchase so far.  It worked flawlessly on our trek into the mountains and supplied 3 of us with good clean water for nearly 10 days.  The filter performed as advertised and pumped even faster then what I expected.  If you're looking for a water filter for your next backpack hunting trip and you need something that can pump a little quicker then most, but still have a limited budget then the Katadyn Vario is definitely a filter you should look into.

It's been several weeks since our trip and since I haven't spent those weeks on the toilet I'd say the Katadyn Vario worked pretty good!

Happy Hunting!
Carl

I’ve done some extensive research on packs over the last few weeks and there were a few names that kept continually popping up as the best hunting packs available.

Kifaru, Mystery Ranch & Barney’s.

After going through the feedback, asking questions and drilling down I finally made the decision to give the Mystery Ranch NICE Frame along with a 6500 bag a try.

It’s really hard to find anyone with anything bad to say about any of these pack manufacturers and in the end boils down to personal preference.

One argument constantly came up though and that was pack weight…

Kifaru (longhaul) is about 3lbs lighter then Mystery Ranch
And Mystery Ranch is about 2lbs lighter then Barneys.

I’m convinced the weight issue can be taken care of quite easily by me losing a couple of pounds, so it’s not that big of a deal for me. Instead I looked at build quality, and feedback from actual users in the field.

When the pack arrives I’ll do an initial review along with several pictures… I’ll do another review a few weeks after that (after I’ve put some miles on with the pack) and then I’ll post a followup review after my Stone Sheep hunt this August 2009.

Stay Tuned….

Carl

A few days into your trip and you're walking along a high rocky ridge and you run into an old slide… You know the kind with big trunk sized boulders that can shift out from under you.  It's tricky terrain loaded down with a pack.  You're stepping along from rock to rock and all of a sudden you hear your buddy yell as the rock he stepped on has just shifted and he's falling forward.  The weight of his heavy pack pushes him head first into the rocks and you see he's hit hard.  So hard in fact, that your partner is unconsciouss, bleeding badly and seriously in trouble…  You are 20 miles from the nearest road… There are no gas stations with a payphone nearby, no cell phones, no clinics, no hospitals, nobody to turn to…  You are ALONE.

Maybe you've got a satellite phone.  They are heavy, expensive and most of us have to rent them.  They don't always work 100%.  But it could save the day.  This is just one of 1000's of scenarios that could happen to one of us while enjoying our favorite pastime in the great outdoors.

The device I am about to tell you about is going to save lives.  And it's going to cost about the same as a weeks satellite phone rental. I first heard about SPOT a few months ago but never took the time to really check out their website until recently.

Coming from someone with a wife and two kids I can tell you this is an item I couldn't have acquired fast enough!  This is going to go with me on any and all of my backcountry trips from now on. For you guys who like to hunt in the most remote places across the world you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to have one of these in your pack.  God forbid it helps save your life one day.

So what is SPOT…?  It's a personal GPS tracking system.  In short, it gives you the ability to press a button in the event of an emergency.  Your signal will be routed directly to a local 911 call center along with a Google map and coordinates to locate you immediately.  You push the button and help is on the way.  This device takes the SEARCH out of Search & Rescue.

It also gives you the ability to allow loved ones to track your progress on Google Maps, and let them know you're ok.  Your family will thank you for this.

SPOT runs on 2 AA Lithium batteries and according to the manual the batteries will last for a very, very long time.  Longer then most 10-14 backpacking trips for sure.  The device is not much larger then a standard cell-phone and for the peace of mind it brings it's worth the extra 8 ounces in your pack.

I took my SPOT device out onto the logging roads behind my house today for a quick little test.  I turned the unit on and waited approximately 2 minutes.  I then activated the "Check-In" feature that sends my personalized "I Am OK" message to the contacts on my SPOT-team (friends and family). 

The email was received into my inbox virtually instantly.  Less then 1 minute on this test and thats pretty fast.  Here is the message that SPOT sent my contacts.

Just checking in.  I am okay.  We are at the location provided.
ESN:0-7392277
Latitude:49.3151
Longitude:-124.5979
Nearest Location: Dunsmuir, Canada
Distance: 8 km(s)
Time:04/05/2008 16:37:24 (GMT) 
Link To Location Via Google Maps 

I did spend the extra $49.00 for the tracking feature which when turned on will track your progress every 10 minutes and mark your locations on a Google Map that your SPOT-team can login and view whenever they like.  It's an incredibly useful little feature.

When all was said and done SPOT cost me $169.00 for the unit, $99.00 for activation, $49.00 for the tracking feature and $7.95 for the optional S&R extraction policy.  Around $350 total with all the bells and whistles.

The $7.95 optional GEOS S&R benefit is well worth it if you're a Canadian or American citizen.  As you qualify for up to $100,000 in additional search and rescue resources to help you if you're in trouble.  There are some conditions but for $7.95 it's worth it.  If you don't activate this coverage on your initial SPOT activation it will cost you full price later which is $150.

Before you start planning for your next big backpack hunting trip consider buying yourself the SPOT device.  It could save your life one day.

Happy Hunting!
Carl