Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
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As a guide and hunter, I've spent thousands of days in the field. This show is about translating my hard-won experiences into tips and tactics that'll get you closer to your ultimate goal, success in the field. I'm Remy Warren. This is Cutting the Distance.
Welcome back to Cutting the Distance podcast, everyone. This week is going to be all about gear. So far throughout the season, I've just kind of been taking some notes and I'm going to be sharing my gear musings, favorite stuff, things I like, things I don't, and the ways that I put certain pieces of gear to use. Really, gear is a lot of work.
a pretty integral part of what Western hunters love to talk about, love to think about, and a good part of preparing and having a successful hunt because the more comfortable you are having the right things allows you to be out there, hunt harder, hunt longer. So we're going to be covering all things gear this week. But before we do that, I want to share a few gear mantras that I live by and coincidentally talk about pretty much consistently with the people I hunt with. So who knows, maybe a few of these sayings you might be
talking with your buddies about on your next time. If you were to ever go on a hunt with me, one thing you'd figure out pretty quick is I've got quite a few little mantras or best practices that I live by. And a lot of them are actually around gear.
Some of them are just basic hunting things that I like to repeat. One of them is go the best way, not the easy way. I'm sure you've heard that on this podcast. That's something that every time I'm planning a stock, every time I'm hiking up and out, and I just think go the best way, not the easy way. But the things that I kind of think about also revolve around gear, the way that I use gear and essentially how to not lose gear.
So I wrote down some, I can say my top seven favorite ones that I pretty much say all the time. Nothing, no particular like rhyme to them or anything, but I don't know. I find it like when friends and I are going out, it's like something that something will happen. And one of these mantras will come up and be like, Oh, Remy says do this. So number one,
And there's always kind of a little bit of a story behind some of these, but number one, never put your gear on the ground. I remember the first time I created this mantra was pretty much the last time I lost anything, nothing worse than being in the back country and having something that you need. Uh, a lot, I've actually probably done more than one, one item, uh, one that really stood out.
I had a GPS unit. It was like pretty new. I think this is probably why I didn't use GPS unit for a very long time because I had a GPS unit and I was eating lunch. I was looking at things on it. It was like, oh, cool. Just trying to figure it out. It's kind of before actually you could. So you had to have a paper map and a GPS together because it just gave you like your location. Then I would find where I was and be like, OK, I'm here.
And that's old school. But now I just now I just have everything on my phone. So I was doing that and then had the map out of the GPS. I was eating lunch, doing a lot of things, folded up the map, put in my pocket, walked away. GPS unit left on the ground. I ended up going back and finding it. But it was like a four mile hike back to where I was sitting. And it just was frustrating.
And then another thing that I've done, and this one really bit me in the butt. It's like, oh, I always have a lighter and I was making a stop for lunch one day, making some, I don't even know, probably just like a noodle pack, you know, cooking up, set the lighter on the rock right next to my stove, cleaned up, left the lighter that night. It was like raining, wet, freezing. I'm like, I'm going to make a fire.
Yep. Think again, your lighter is drenched in some random mountainside that you will never find again. And that really sucks. I generally always have a second lighter that particular time I didn't. So I just shivered all night. Luckily I stayed, I stayed warm enough through my rain gear on and other things, but it's caused me to say, never put your gear on the ground. I see a lot of just as a guide and getting to hunt with a lot of different people, even just like guys that I hunt with when I'm filming or whatever.
I always call it like the, um, I like to, it's the funny thing that I do where I just take a picture of when we stop. So by never putting gear on the ground, what I mean is like, if I have something and I use it, I put it back in my pocket. If I'm say taking something off, say I'm taking my, just something as simple as taking my jacket off, putting a jacket on or off, right? You got to take your binos off. I don't set my binoculars on the ground. I put them in my pack and
And then I swap my jacket and then I grabbed the binoculars pack that way. If I forget something happens like, Ooh, somebody spotted something or, Oh, there's an elk over there. Got to go. You don't end up leaving things, uh, from where you're at. Cause you're going to grab your pack. I mean, obviously you could put your pack on the ground, but if I keep everything like on my pack or in my pack or lashed to something, I generally don't forget it. Knock on wood. Here's hear the sound. I've had pretty good luck, not losing stuff by following that mantra.
Number two. Oh, I didn't even, I was, I got distracted, but I've been taking recently, uh, people that don't follow that mantra. I always laugh at, cause inevitably we'll, we'll leave like a bunch of like, oh crap, I forgot this. So I've been taking pictures of where people sit and then drawing, like, I like to think of it as like, you know, those, oh, this is weird, but you know, those like, um,
murder scene, TV show, artist sketch, where it's like, here's the body. And then all the shit spread out all over. I've been like guys that I've been hunting with taking pictures of all their stuff on the ground and then using the draw tool on my phone to like sketch out a body of like, this is what it looks like when a lot of people stop, they just have a yard sale things everywhere. Uh, it's, it's kind of just a fun thing to do my friends, but yeah.
Number two, take a pocket water. Okay, maybe you got to go on an archery stock. It's mostly archery season and you end up having to drop your pack and sneak in.
One thing that I always say is take a pocket water. Like one, I'll always have like a small water bottle that when I leave that pack, I throw it in my pocket. Especially, I think this just comes from growing up in the deserts of Nevada and ending up in like high altitude hiking and you're just thirsty and you know, your pack's sitting back there and you don't have a water with you. So taking a pocket water, always solid when you, when you drop your pack.
Number three kind of goes along the lines of taking a pocket water, but I always have
a flashlight, a lighter, and a knife on me. So I like pants with pockets or jackets with pockets. I generally keep it in my pants. I've got a knife. So we got a pocket knife. I've got a flashlight because you never know, like if you do drop your pack and you're like, don't put anything on the ground. Well, your pack is one thing sometimes you got to drop. So if you drop your pack, you've got a flashlight to be able to find it that night. And then I always have a lighter in my pocket. One, I use it as wind detection and two,
Um, you know, if something happens and you need to make a fire or whatever, you've got some kind of fire starter on you. So generally when, when I head out in the morning, I always ask like, if we're, we're going, I got like, Hey, you got a flashlight on you, a lighter and a knife. Yup. Yup. Good. Okay, cool. We're good. We can pretty much go anywhere and do anything if we need to at this point. Number four, this one's a big one for bow hunters. Release is always on your wrist or always on your bow. I've talked about that on this podcast before. Maybe that was a gear tip before, but
I always say it because the one time you need your release, it's going to be not handy. If you do that, you go to the bathroom, that wrist release, I use a index release like a wrist strap. So it goes on my bow. Like if I got to go to the bathroom and I need to take my release off, it's on my bow.
I reemphasize this one because I was letting somebody borrow my bow and I'm like watching the release like a hawk because I've had the same release. I think I've only ever owned two releases and they've been the same one. One, I just kind of got like a newer version of it. And that was about 20 years ago. So it's like, I don't know. It's not, I'm not even saying it's like a lucky release. It's just like,
Once again, knock on wood that I haven't lost it. And it's because I, it's always on my boat or always on my wrist. Now you're like, well, I use a different style release that cannot go on my wrist. Then always put it in the same place. And I would say probably a pants pocket or wherever you put it. It's like either on your, in your hand or in the same place, just always do the same thing. Maybe you've got it in your bino thing or whatever, but
But just do the same thing, like create a system so you know where it is at all times. And it's always with your bow. I would say always leave it with your bow, like clipped on the bow or, you know, in this same pocket. You don't want to be looking for it.
You don't want to be like, where is it? If you change jackets or whatever, you don't want to be in your pack or what have you. So that's one really important thing when it comes to bow hunting. Probably the most important thing when it comes to bow hunting, if you use a release or anything. And I, when I'm shooting my trad bow, whether it's a long bow recurve, doesn't matter. I use a glove, right?
The glove is just like the release. It's either on my bow or on my hand. Number five, protect the puffy at all costs. I've been recently hunting in a lot of wet places. I love my puffy insulation layer, but when they get wet, they suck. So,
protect the puffy at all costs. I've got a special, and when I talk about gear, I'll go through what bag I use, but I've got a special like waterproof bag. If it looks like rain's coming, whatever, I got to go through some brushy stuff and I don't want to rip my puffy up. I protect my puffy. And part of the reason I like to protect that puffy so much is because it ends up being my pillow at night. So I always protect the puffy. And if you get yourself like way back somewhere, you're unprepared night out, you've got your puff, like you've got that insulation layer and
You know, it's, it's a lot easier or even just like not even unprepared, but you're just like, Hey, I'm going to go up to the top of this mountain and I'm just going to stay on the ground. I'm not, I'm going light and fast. Like that puffy is a lifesaver. So I always protect the puffy at all costs. When my buddies and I are guys that I'm hunting with, we're like out and we see like a rain cloud coming. I'm like, well, protect the puffy at all costs. And it's just kind of a fun thing.
a fun game to play because I generally do protect the puffy. If I see some rain coming, I'm wearing the puffer cold morning, throw that rain gear on, or I'll take the puffy off, put it in my waterproof bag in my pack and then use something else. But at least I've always got something dry and warm to put on at some other point. Number six, start cold.
Never start the day with all your gear on. I know it might be cold in the morning, but if you're going to be doing any kind of hiking, start cold. I just like, I rarely hike with the jacket or too much stuff. I actually don't even wear thermal pants very often.
I do carry some puffer pants, uh, on like back country hunts and stuff. Sometimes I'll, I'll take like some thermals. It's going to be cold, but man, I'm moving a lot. Um, so, and if I get cold, I'll throw on an extra outer layer. You always want to start cold. The last thing you want to do is like be bundled up, start climbing up the mountain, sweating in all your stuff. It's the worst. Then you're going to be cold all day. So start cold. Your body will warm itself up when you're hiking and then regulate with your beanie or whatever. Um,
And number seven, our last, uh, our last mantra, use your rain gear. If you're carrying rain gear, use it. I know it's one thing that's in your bag. I put my rain gear in my pack in the easiest place to get to because, uh, well, I handle, I've hunted a lot of places where it's wet. You might be out there for, if you're out there for 10 days, right? 10 day, 12 day backpack hunt, three day backpacking. It doesn't matter. And it looks like, Hey, some rains are coming. And then it's like, most people are like, well, I'll put my rain gear on once I'm wet. No,
like think ahead, put your rain gear on, use it. Um, when it's in your pack, I know it's a pain in the butt to take out. And I've hunted with so many guys. It's like, Oh, but on a back country hunt, man, if you, if you've got the gear to keep you dry, stay dry. Cause it's really hard to dry out a lot of times, especially in the Alpine where there's nothing to burn and whatever. So just use your rain gear, uh, keep it in somewhere that's handy and use the stuff and use it when you need it. A lot of times what I'll do too, um, just as like an added, um,
gear tip thing. Like many times if it's wet in the morning or whatever, I just, I'll just throw just rain gear on. And then like, maybe if it's cold, just a pair of thermals underneath. Sometimes I go just rain gear. And then when it dries out in the day, then I swap and throw the pants on. I don't really like,
rocking the rain gear over pants unless it's just for a short period of time. If I know I'm going to be like hiking through a bunch of wet stuff, I just rain gear. It's a lot cooler and then I don't rain on the inside like by sweating. So those are some gear mantras to live by, some things, and we will get into some other gear thoughts right now.
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So I actually get a lot of questions about gear stuff. So I've just been kind of taking notes of like ones that come up a lot and then just so that way I can answer those all in one gear laden podcast. And then also just some notes of things while I'm out that I just think about and I'm like, oh man, this is a cool piece of gear or something that I just tried or things that I'm kind of testing or unsure about. And then things that I'm like, that was a terrible idea. Why did I bring that?
So just kind of an overall overarching gear rundown, some random stuff, some pretty common stuff. So I thought it'd be kind of fun to just go through this list. Anytime we do do gear stuff, I always like to say, you know, I am sponsored by quite a few different gear companies. So some of the, you know, some of the variety within the category might be like, well, you know, I haven't tried everything, but within the companies they do work for,
or work with, I get to test a lot of cool stuff. So I get to like a, of the product, different products within that category, get a try. But I always like to just, you know, say that up front. Also the things that I do mention in the gear list is, has absolutely nothing to do with, um, you know, a partnership or anything like that. It's just, those are the things that I'm using. So it's what I'm talking about. Um, but I like to keep the gear things, um,
Pretty much these are the things that I use, and this is why I'm using them, what I like about them. But I always like to disclose that too. So let's get into it. And I'm going to go first with probably number one questions is like,
Always involves what I'm hunting with bow rifle. Doesn't matter. Shotgun, whatever. It's always those questions are like probably the highest asked questions. So we're going to start out with, um, I'm just going to go through run, like a rundown of my setup for bows, rifles, and then we'll get into some other gear as well. So bow this year, I've been shooting the Matthews V3. Uh, absolutely love it previously. And I know a lot of people were asking like,
I used to shoot prime a lot. Last year, my buddy had a new V3 that he was kind of testing out and I got to shoot it. And I was like, dude, this thing is awesome. What I really liked about it, just how quiet it was. And then, you know, super accurate, super huntable, but just such a, like a good system. Everything's kind of integrated in a lot of killer features. So I shoot the V3, 75 pounds, um,
I've been shooting day six arrows with it, 275s, aluminum inserts and collars. So it's an additional 50 grains up front. This year I switched to the two blade, been shooting kind of the Evo. So I've just been doing the whole day six setup, just testing it out. I have, I have been testing out a few other broadheads too.
Not a big fan of mechanicals, but I threw a couple of mechanicals downrange. I still, I think I just decided I'm a fixed blade kind of guy. And, you know, hey, and there's a lot of places I hunt, you can't even use mechanicals. So I just go with that. Because I like the fixed blade, I started using four fletches and I like that. I've been having really good success. Great broadhead tuning, especially how that Matthews is held to tune really well.
So, um, that's what I run on that. Um, site, I still, I still run the Spothog Fast Steady XL. I like it. It's a single pin slider with kind of like two indicators. Um, that one's got the rail. I like that cause I just travel a lot so I can pop the site off easy and then pop it back on easy just with the turn of a knob. Um, you know, I don't know. I might, I keep thinking about trying different sites or something, but I just, I don't know, not broken. Don't fix it kind of deal.
This year with that V3, I decided to just use kind of the accessories that are kind of integrated into the bow. So just using the QAD rest kind of mounts to the riser. It's a cable driven. I've been using like limb driven dropways for a long time. So a little bit different. And by using that whole setup, like one of my main things, I just wanted something really quiet, especially with the heavy arrow that I'm shooting. It's 11.9 grains per inch. I think it's total 11.
What is it now? 580, 590, something like that all in. So with that heavy arrow, it's like, dude, it's like if you could put a suppressor on a bow, it's just so nice.
And then rifle, let's move to rifle. Cause that's like the, another question, a lot of questions about calibers, that kind of thing. I have talked about it before. I'm a 300 WSM man. Like that's just my go-to caliber. Um, I, I like soccer rifles for a lot of reasons. I've been using the Finlite too, um,
Now, my favorite rifle now is the Carbonlite. It's just like a perfect mountain rifle, but they don't make it in .300 short mag. If somebody...
from Sokka's listening, make that gun in 300 short. But I really liked that rifle because it's super light. And so I got in 6.5 Creedmoor. I hate to say it out loud. It's like, what? I mean, it's just maybe because I'm like a 300 guy and then you're like the buzz around 6.5s is just, I think kind of unwarranted in many ways, but yet I own them. So, you know, I just got to embrace it. You know, I shouldn't be ashamed. Nothing wrong with 6.5 Creedmoor.
And I like the 6.5 because I've got the shorter barrel on that carbon light. And I've got the shorter barrel because I love to run a suppressor. I've got a Surefire SOCOM TI titanium. And then it's essentially like indexed to a brake. So if I'm taking that, like I took a rifle to Canada and you can't have a suppressor, but you can have a muzzle brake. And so it's got like...
the muzzle brake is on my rifle. So I've got multiple rifles with the same muzzle brake. And then I just swap that suppressor between the rifles when I'm going to use it. And it does change the point of impact. So if I'm going suppressor list, then I need to adjust the scope.
But outside of that, I mean, it's nice. And they're like, why do you use a suppressor? It's because it's like having a muzzle brake that doesn't blow your eardrums out. I feel like they aren't that hard. You know, you just got to jump through a few hoops, get the tax stamp and do all the things, set up a trust and whatever. But there's so many companies out there now that it makes it easy to do. I just went to my local like sporting goods shop, Mark Foreign Strike, got it set up through them.
Pretty solid. So, um, I don't know. I just love shooting suppressed rifles. I mean, you know, having a lot of experience in New Zealand, they're just like, you could pretty much buy a suppressor at a gas station. I actually think I might've got my, I think I got there on my seven mil. I got like a, was it a Magnum can or whatever. And, um, just like having that where you don't blow your eardrums out is really nice.
And then rifle scope, I go with the Vortex Razor LHT. Still think that's probably the best for what I like to do. I like to be able to, you know, adjust the scope for the situation, kind of a little bit more tactical, so the Light Hunter Tactical, but really good quality optic. I don't know. I just love that scope. And then ammo shooting, Federal Terminal Ascent through it, through the 300 short, 200 grain, and through the 6500 and 30 grain. That stuff's performed really well for me.
Really like it. Really hard to find right now. So it is what it is. All ammo is hard to find. Really good ammo is harder to find, but I think that'll all change pretty soon.
Yeah. Now let's just dive into a few. Oh, and then, you know what? I might as well, because I got about 10,000 questions on just trad bows to people asking what traditional bow I use. I've got three different bows. I've got a stocker stick bow that I had made that I love that bow. It's like a frigging piece of art.
Um, a buddy just gave me this Bushman long curve. That thing's got some pop to it. I just took it out on its first time recently. And then I've got just like an old, I mean, I've had it for a while. It's the Montana bear long bow. And, and then I also have just a plain like stick bow made out of a self bow that I hunt with and I've napped an arrow for it. I'm going to go hunt with that here this week.
So I like all kinds of, I like hunting with everything. I mean, I've even got like a, one thing I'm looking forward to this year, just a traditional muzzleloader hunt, like an old percussion cap, actual traditional muzzleloader. I'm like, man, if you're going to hunt with a muzzleloader, go old school with them. That's just my opinion. But, and then, oh, with my tribe, it was just, I shoot with a glove. I don't really, I mean, it's just, everybody's got their preferences. I like to feel the string. And then I also use the Day6 and Evo broadheads on those.
as well with feather fletching. One piece of gear I made some notes on because I feel like it's just this piece of gear that it's in the background of my pack all the time. And yet I realized I've used them for years and I'm like, man, I've used them for a lot of things. The Sea to Summit dry bags, they've got different ones. I like this. There's this lightweight dry bag that I use. So like we've got this green lightweight one and it's easy to kind of organize things in my pack with them.
the green one I use in the lid of my stone glacier. And then I've got, you know, I've got like camera stuff or if I need something waterproofed in there, or if I need some real waterproof, that one's good. And then they've got this ultra seal dry sack, which is kind of, it's like, it's pretty much waterproof water. Like,
you know, especially if it's used in your pack. And that's the one that I use to protect my puffy. And then I also use it as a pillow. And like, so I actually just throw my puffy jacket in there. Or if I'm on like a trip where I've got puffer pants or whatever, could even throw like a something in it, some kind of jacket and then roll it up and use it as a pillow. I mean, sleeping in the back country, getting good sleep and not just getting like a neck cramp all the time is huge. Yeah.
And I've thought like many years, I never took a pillow. Cause I was like, oh, that's weak. You know, you're like, if I, if I, but to get a good night's sleep, sometimes you need your head in a good position. I'm excited. And so I started carrying one of these like pillow, like backpacking pillows that you like blow up. And I hate them. Like, I just don't like, I've never had, they just aren't comfortable. They slip around. Um,
I just, I don't know. Like they just don't have that right level of comfort. I like a thin pillow. I'm just, that's just how I roll. Like a thin, hard pillow, like a rock style type pillow. But I found that just like putting my jacket in that
dry bag is the absolute perfect. Like I get such good sleep with it because it kind of conforms to your head a little bit better than like an inflatable one. And you could just use it for air, roll it, roll the top and whatever. But I just think it's better stuff in a jacket in it or something like that. Stuff a down jacket or another jacket or some extra clothes. And then I also use those dry bags for my spare clothes in my pack. So if things get wet or whatever, it keeps it dry. And I use a down sleeping bag.
Um, but I use that kind of waterproof. I've got a, like a larger one. I can't remember. What is it? Like a two liter one or something like that, that I stuffed my sleeping bag into as well. They've actually got dry bag stuff sacks too. I haven't dabbled in that, but, um, because I kind of like having my sleeping bag in a stuff sack. It's not waterproof. And then putting it in the waterproof bag seems excessive, but if I need it to breathe or air out, like it got wet of some kind, then it does. And it's not just in a stuff sack. That's like,
So, and then if I need it in a waterproof sack, then I can, I will say, you know, I do like down, um, there's companies, everybody's got like waterproof down. I put that I'm doing air quotes, um,
I think the idea of there's no such thing as waterproof down. It just like when it gets wet, it's not as good. Like, yeah, you won't die in it. It'd be cold, but waterproof down just doesn't exist. It's sold that way, but it's just not like actually waterproof. So keep that in mind. And I use a drive. That's why I put it in a dry bag because I just don't want to get it wet. Protect the puffy at all costs, protect the sleeping bag at all costs. You'll be solid. Next category, ton of questions on optics, uh,
I found, man, the more and more hunts I do, I end up pretty much always using like the smallest spotting scope. There are certain hunts where I definitely absolutely need that big spotter.
Uh, not going to lie, but I find that just like the one that I take on my backpacking hunts is the Vortex Razor 11 by 30, 11 to 33 by 50. It's small, it's light and like it does pretty good. And I do most of my main glassing with my binos on a tripod. Um, I still use the outdoorsman tripod adapter. And then I just started using the, the Vortex carbon, I think it was a carbon ridge tripod, uh,
It's a pretty solid tripod for the size, lightweight. They've got the small one. I think the Ridge is a small one. And then I've got that small spotter. And it's like, man, I've got the... If I need to zoom in and look at something, I've got that little spotter. But the majority of my spotting is with my binoculars. There are certain hunts, though, that are more optics intensive. I've talked about it on Glassing podcast. You can go back and see my thoughts on that. But...
I just find like that particular spotting scope is my go-to now. I just, I don't know. I always have it in my pack. I like it. It's just, I don't know. I don't know what I would change about it, but I do like it. I don't think of anything. All right. Oh, okay. Here's a little, some notes that I had because, you know, sometimes it's like, oh, you got all your own gear and then you've got your certain gear and then you go hunt with someone else and they've got their certain gear. On my BC trip,
the guy that I was hunting with had a couple of things that I was like really eyeing. I'm like, okay.
Uh, the first one, a sill tarp. So it's essentially that, that waterproof, I think his was a Sitka one. I don't know if they make any more stone glacier. Someone tell me stone glacier has one. I got to look into that because I'm sure it'd be super light if they had one. It's like just having a tarp. Oh, super. I used to always carry a tarp, but they're so heavy. I kind of started taking it out of my pack. Um, unless it was like I'm bivy sack hunting. And then I use the tarp as an additional rain thing, but having like, almost like a pack cover for your body. Yeah.
I do like running a pack. I mean, definitely have a pack cover, especially if you're in wet places. You can tell a lot of the stuff I talk about has to do with hunting in wet places. It just seems like this year is extremely wet places or just an extremely wet year for some reason, or every time I was out, it was wet. So having stuff to just kind of keep stuff dry, but that silt tarp is great because you can, you see a storm coming like in the mountains, a lot of rain and stuff, but
Yeah, you might get it for days, but it's like blows through real hard. And then, you know, so if you're setting up glassing or over this valley and you can just set up the super lightweight tarp, just keep the rain off you and keep your optics dry and just continue to glass and get out of the water, cook up whatever, especially on a back country hunt, pretty solid. So that's something I think I'm going to add to my kit and just look around for a good one. And then another thing he had that I thought was awesome was this little battery, very small battery operated
sleeping pad pump. You know, like, is that necessary? I'm like, yeah, because every, the worst part about the day when you get back and it's like, I generally carry all my stuff. Like I'm constantly moving camp, constantly going. And I've got everything on my back. I bivouac style hunt. That's my style of hunting. And every night I got to pump up the sleeping pad and I I've got the Therm-a-Rest Neo Air, which is a really lightweight. I think it's the near pro. I don't know. It's the lightest weight one, whatever they call it.
You blow that thing up by the end of the day, you're like, you get lightheaded and you're in your tent. You're like next crooks because it's raining out and you're trying to get the thing blown up full and you got to do it every night. Man, having that little pump to just get it most of the way. And it's super lightweight. I just ordered one. So I'm stoked for that to come in. Okay. I've got this cooking section notes here.
And the top note said peak refill is the best, uh, man. I used to be the mountain house guy. I've talked about them before. Um, the peak meals are just knocking it out of the park right now. I don't know if there's anything better currently. Um, there's some really good stuff in New Zealand, but I mean, in the States, as far as it goes, like mountain house was the King and now peak just like pushed him down the mountain. I think I feel like, um, just so much better, man. It tastes better. You feel better. Um,
So that's, uh, that's my thoughts on dehydrated meals, uh, or sorry, freeze dried meals. Um, and I think it's just because like, there's just better, like the meat in the peak one, like tastes like they've really put care into the meat. That's what I like about them. There are still some mountain house ones. I really like some certain flavors that I'll always take. So I haven't completely written them off, but peaks just got some better stuff now and they re they use less water and they rehydrate better, but
But one thing, my solid tip right here, whenever I'm making my mountain house peak meal, dehydrated meal, doesn't matter, freeze dried meal. When I pour the hot water in the bag, first thing I do, I make sure the zip's really done really well. And then I stick it in my shirt and sit there and let it just be a body warmer. And it prevents me from trying to eat it before it's done being cooked. And it's like the most enjoyable part of the day when it's like, all right, dinner time. I've got my nice hot meal inside my jacket warming me up before I eat.
It's like, it's money. I love it. This is just a fun piece of gear and actually probably a pretty sweet, if I was doing like Christmas special right now, probably be at the top of the recommendation list because I've been using the crap out of it.
Uh, it's a Brio outpost. It's like a, it's like over the fire cooking thing. And so it's a, it's a great, and then it's adjustable on a pole, but you, you pound this thing into the ground, you build your fire and then you can cook, but you can, it's so versatile of like moving it up and down. So you can have a rager going. I mean, it's always better to cook on coals, but sometimes it's like, okay, so I can have the fire going. I can start cooking. Uh, it's really good for like, you know, base camp, whatever. I've taken it pretty much everywhere. It's just, I keep it in my truck and,
And I like it because I like cooking over the fire. And then they've got like a backyard version. I actually kind of first saw it. I was like, saw one of those guys. It was social media, same place you see everything. Dude that I was following cooking on it. And it had like the sear plate. And I was like, I really like hot seared food.
You know, especially with a wild game, like, oh, that's money. And, uh, and I love cooking over wood fire too. So I'm like, dude, I've been doing like outside of our hunting camps and lodges using a backyard style. Couldn't use it too much during the summer. Cause all the fire warnings where I'm at, but, um, man, I've just been like, especially fall, just like searing steaks and cooking stuff over that.
Pretty solid. But the outpost thing, just for like base camp cooking over the fire, I know it's like, it's so much better than bringing like a barbecue grill or whatever. Just like having to have the fuel and all the rigmarole, just build my standard campfire that I'm probably going to build at night anyways in base camp. And then everything isn't like waiting for the certain coals and burning it. It's like, I can actually cook things perfectly.
I don't know. I've been really enjoying that. Oh, another, probably one of the, I don't even know if people even know about it, but Gerber, Knife Gerber Company makes this pretty sweet, they call it the Complete. It's like a spoon. Every pot, like every gear thing I've talked, I talk about spoons. I don't know why I've got an obsession with backcountry spoons because I'm like, it's one of those things, it just makes things more comfortable. But this thing's got like
the spoon, the spork, and then like the spatula. And then you can put them together and make something to grab stuff with like tongs. I mean, I've burnt my fingers a billion times, but it makes it so much easier. It's lightweight. I don't know. I've just like, I just started carrying it with me and I'll be in like a camp with people. And that's like the first thing you're like, Oh crap, what's this? This thing's awesome. Uh, pretty ingenious little thing. I don't know why I have a note here that says shovel. Maybe I just really like shovels. Um,
Oh, another piece of kit I've talked about before, but a metal cup. I always carry a metal cup in my bag. So it's like, I like having my own cup. I like it being metal because then I can cook in it if I need to. I can throw it in the fire, boil water, melt snow. I can use like a, I've got a MSR, like if I just want to go lightweight, MSR pocket rocket. It's like a super small stove. And then I can throw that metal cup on there instead of carrying anything. Right.
Recently, I think I've got, mine's just like, I don't know, GSI or something like that. It's pretty heavy. It's big.
friend of mine, two friends of mine both showed up this year with these titanium ones and they are so freaking light. So that's on my need to order ASAP list and I'll start carrying a titanium cup in the near future. Some things I ran into this year was out with a friend. I borrowed a truck, so I didn't have all my recovery stuff. I do two times. I haven't had my recovery stuff and needed it. Like
I've talked about in the truck episode, we'd have to go back and find that one, but just like all the gear you need for your vehicle. But I would say if you just got to pick a couple of things, absolutely need tire plugs and a pump. I did have tire plugs with me, but I was borrowing someone else's vehicle. Forgot to switch my truck box over. Didn't have a pump. We're able to plug the tire and thankfully make it out easier than like essentially saved a day, a day plus of hunting and,
by just having the right thing. Had we had a pump, it would have been like a lot less, uh, stress thinking, are we going to get out? But having those, those things pretty clutch trekking pole. I got a note on trekking poles. I get a lot of questions about trekking poles on mountain hunts. They're great. Especially I take them rifle season because I use them for a lot of things. You know, you can use it to prop up your tarp or whatever. Um,
I've got one tent that they're actually integral to, but I use them for a shooting rest instead of shooting sticks, the trekking poles. I just loop them over, cross them, shoot from them.
Maybe I've said this before, but it bears repeating. Don't get trekking poles where the bottom portion is carbon fiber. They're garbage. That's just my opinion, but only because I went endo down the mountain off a pair. When the carbon fiber gets chipped and then you put pressure on it, carbon fiber doesn't bend. It just snaps. And when you've got 150 pounds of sheep on your back, you're going through the shale and you chip the bottom of it and then it snaps, you go headfirst down the mountain in a very dangerous situation. So,
I had, I was like, Ooh, these are light. These are nice. And then I just threw them in the trash and went back to my aluminum trekking pole. Someone's been telling me there's some that's got like the bottoms of aluminum or whatever. And then the top is carbon fiber. That'd probably be all right, but I just have like a bad carbon fiber trekking pole taste in my mouth. A couple more. And then let's just kind of going through this list here. Solar charger.
They're garbage. And don't buy cheap ones. When it comes to like charging stuff in...
The backcountry. I tried. I got like a, you know, one of those phone power bank things that has a solar charger on it. Went on Amazon, found the cheap one. Doesn't work worth a shit. So when it comes to like charger stuff, just get the better ones. I've decided there's a brand Anker, A-N-K-E-R, I think. I got that one this year. Those ones lasted really well. I still have some old dark energy ones.
I picked up at like a sports show a couple, maybe four or five years ago. It still works pretty solid. So I don't know what new stuff they've got. Mine's pretty old, but works pretty good. And then for base camp, this one thing I picked up, I liked, it was from, actually comes from somewhere you wouldn't even expect. It's truck gear from like Line-X Spray and Bedliners.
And they make like this portable charger. It's big, it's heavy. I don't know if you'd want to hike around with it, but I, for flying camps, horse and camps, like it holds a lot of juice and then you can actually jump your truck off of it. I might've even talked about it before, but, um, he used that on a recent, like hunting filming kind of thing.
A couple of new pieces of gear that verdict still out. Somebody gave me this when it comes to water filtration, I've been using the SteriPen a lot. And then someone gave me this water bottle and I hate water bottle water filters, right? It's just like the kind where you fill it up and squeeze it into your mouth. I just think it doesn't work. I mean, not that it doesn't filter it, but it's just, there's like, you know, you might want to pour water. I don't know. It's just doesn't, it's not the best.
Not the best system. It's kind of a pain in the butt. And it's like very works for one person. If you're hunting with other people and you need to filter a lot of water, just not the best system. I say that. And then somebody gave me this geo press. They call it a verdict still out on it, but you just like fill it up and then push it down. And I'm like, man, it does like almost a liter at a time. It's super fast.
And that's the problem I've had with other water filters, pump styles, like they're so slow. Um, so I don't know. I just haven't used it enough in like enough, like when it gets real cold or what to see how it works, like in the warm early season, it's pretty light. So I don't know, just kind of a, something to look out for in the future. Maybe, maybe it's like, that's your style of water filter. Um,
I don't know enough about it to like give it like a solid recommendation and I haven't used it enough, but I just like something that I'm trying. Somebody gave me and like, cool, give it a try. Another thing that just this is kind of like I'm going into something this random gear thing. It was like end it. But a friend of mine just was using this last light headlamp. It's like a flashlight headlamp.
It's got like this... You look like Cyclops from X-Men with it. But it's like so bright and it covers such an array. It's really nice. Downside, it's chargeable and the batteries ran out. But I had a charger for it. So there was some good and bad. I haven't used it enough to fully be like, this is the one. And I don't think I'd ever get rid of maybe a headlamp that takes batteries. But for the lightage that it put out...
And the one week that I used it, I thought it was pretty cool. And then probably it will finish on the other thing that just gets asked about more than anything would be like boots, foot type gators, all that kind of stuff. So yeah,
I'll just give you my last is final rundown. You know, one, I've definitely put them through the paces, Schnee's bare tooths, 200 gram insulation. That's my go-to boot. Reason is, um, I think it's, it's stiff enough to be like a solid mountain boot, but it doesn't have the break in time. Like literally I've put them on gone hiking multiple miles, never had any problems. Um,
because they do have a soft enough sole and that soft enough sole is like just the, it's like just right. You know, the bears that go in the cabins, like this bed's too firm. This bed's too soft. Like those boots are just right. Like they're stiff enough, but soft enough. And it can be quiet enough. I just really like them. Um, I use the super feed insoles. Like when I get a new pair of boots, I just always go with the super feed insoles.
I don't even know. I think you're supposed to match them to your foot. I've just always used the green ones because when I started using them, that's all they had and I've never switched. But that's just, and then gators. I mean, I thought for a long time, outdoor research gators were kind of like the gold standard for
And now I just started, I just got a pair of the stone glacier ones and I like them much better than the OR ones. They've got a Dyneema cord. The bottom portion that gets a little flappy. Like I just had to take a little bit of time, not, not the setup, but just the spare part of the bottom. I just kind of, I fixed that up. So it was like, it's kind of taped it down. But as far as like the working of it, nothing wrong with it. Thing I like about them, they're a little bit more durable and,
And they've got the skinnier calf thing going, which the OR Gators sucked because, you know, if you're like, I mean, if you got really big calves, they're great. But if you got the size that matches your boot, if you got a little bit bigger boot, the top was always just loosey goosey and would slide down. Whereas like the Stone Glacier ones fit like so nice and they're super comfortable and extremely rugged. So I think there's a new gold standard in Gator gear.
And then, oh, this year I just tried a new pair of socks. Not sure he's interested, but, um, been pretty happy with them. I like a little bit, I like like a thick sock. That's not where you don't slide around in it. Like where it's like dense, the thickness is density. Um, darn tough socks. I don't know. I just picked them up the store. They've apparently got a lifetime warranty. I'm like, that kind of got me stoked to try to wear
to wear them out. Like, we'll see about that. Lifetime, huh? We'll see if I can get them through a season. Huh? We'll see. But I don't know. They've been super comfortable. So, and I don't, I don't do multiple pairs of socks. Some people do a liner and whatever. I just do like, like a denser sock and just roll with it. So far, so far, so good. Well, that concludes our gear segment. I mean, I get so many questions. I just had to, I had to ramble on about gear because I
the amount of inquiries about pretty much every topic that I covered. I just want to make sure I hit them in at least one podcast, take the time. It's been a little while since I've done a gear, gear dump kind of podcast, just talking about the things that I use. People see them, want to know what it is. And, and, you know, I like talking about gear because it's stuff that I use pretty much every day, whether it's guiding or whatever, it's like I put it through the paces. So it's always worth, you know, talking about the things that I like and don't. And it
And a lot of gear stuff too is just personal preference, but you'll find some things in there. I think that maybe you didn't even think about like every year I'm finding new things and I'm like, Oh, maybe I'll add this to my kit. That's like a pretty sweet thing. Or I'll hunt with guys or whatever and see stuff. I do the same thing with when it comes to camera equipment and all that kind of stuff. So I think if hopefully it's beneficial to you, maybe if you had some gear questions or whatever, maybe there's some ideas in there of things that you'll do. And remember at all costs, protect the puffy.
Next week, we're going to be doing a Q&A. So make sure to send in whatever questions you got. You got gear questions, send them in. You got elk hunting questions, send them in. You just shot your best elk ever, send it in. You can reach out to me at RemyWarren Instagram. That's the best place. If you don't have Instagram, find someone that does. Send a message, send your question, and we'll go from there. Until next week, guys.
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