If you asked 1,500 hunters which gear failures most often derailed their hunts, which items do you think would top the list?
We asked those hunters, and we have those answers.
As part of The Experience Challenge, we had 1,500+ hunters complete a detailed Hunt Reflection. Their answers inspired this new series, The Backcountry Blueprint. In each installment, we distill key takeaways from 1,500+ hunters to help you master the backcountry.
Today, we’re looking at the 5 most common gear or equipment issues that negatively impacted the outcome of a backcountry hunt. What are the items that prevent a hunter from completing their mission to live in the backcountry for the full duration of their hunt, and then come home with a big game animal at the end of their time out there…
Poor Pack Performance
A significant number of hunters reported that poorly fitting packs caused physical exhaustion and limited their ability to hike enough to find and hunt game. Many hunters talked about their experience carrying excessive gear, which led to overweight packs, and paired with the poorly designed or fitted packs, caused shoulder pain and numbness.
In the podcast (above), Steve and Mark discuss how a pack and footwear are the most critical gear items to your success as a backcountry hunter, since they engage with your body constantly as you hike and move over the course of your hunt.
Shoulder pain and numbness should never happen if you have a well-designed and properly fitted pack that has a frame to keep weight off the shoulders and distribute weight into the lower body. And that’s true even with heavy loads, which can be seen in this Heavy Packout Fitment Example.
Steve Speck, owner of Exo Mtn Gear, packs 100+ pounds of moose meat and antlers in Alaska
Since we build purpose-built pack systems for backcountry hunting, we can easily recommend our products. But more than just sell you something, we also want to give you information that will help you with pack fit and function, no matter which pack you have. To be honest, your pack may not be designed optimally, built well, or capable of adjusting to fit you optimally, but at least these free resources will help you get the most out of whatever pack you may be using:
- Fix Your Pack Fit
- Load Your Pack for a Multi-Day Backpack Hunt
- The Right Way to Load Your Pack with Meat and Antlers
If you are looking for examples to lighten your overall pack load, compare your complete gear setup to our backpack hunting gear lists.
Footwear Failures
In the hunter data, a common theme is boots that were not properly broken-in or of poor quality, which led to debilitating blisters or other foot issues that limited hiking ability and shortened hunts.
To avoid future failure, many hunters mentioned their plans to upgrade to “high-end brands” for their next boot. However, in the podcast, Steve and Mark do highlight that the qualities of a “high-end” boot are often counterproductive to overall comfort and performance. The long-lasting qualities of an expensive boot — such as heavy leather, stiffer support, and tougher outsoles — can decrease comfort and performance in the field.
It goes against the grain of traditional thinking, but here is what we have learned about choosing footwear for hunting…
Choosing footwear is highly personal, since we all have different sizes and shapes of feet, as well as different preferences. No matter what footwear you choose, be sure to evaluate the fit and comfort as best as you can before committing to it fully for your hunt. This process begins at home, by analyzing foot movement within the boot; we discuss some tips and techniques for this process in the podcast (above).
In addition to the boot or shoe itself, it is critical to understand how much of an impact your selection of socks and insoles has on fit and performance. Some poorly fitting boots may never be fixed for you, but often a change in socks or insole choice can greatly help (or hurt) the fit of footwear for you.
When it comes to taking care of your feet on a hunt, there is a lot that could be said, but the two most important things are…
- Stop and address any hot spots or discomfort as soon as they begin. Using Leukotape on hot spots works wonders. And don’t be afraid to pre-tape your feet if you know of spots that are prone to becoming issues.
- Keep your feet and footwear system as dry as possible. Change your socks regularly on multi-day hunts. Remove your boots on breaks during the hunt, giving your feet and footwear time to “air out” when you can.
Shelter and Sleep System Inadequacy
In the data, hunters talked about their experiences needing to "bail" on a hunt because their shelter didn’t protect them from the elements or their sleep system left them cold and miserable.
Numerous hunters mentioned leaking tents during rain/snow storms, paired with poor sleep systems, which not only led to mild discomfort but also to actual danger from hypothermia risks.
This surprised us.
Mark from Exo Mtn Gear wakes up to a heavy, wet snowfall on a cold late-season Dall Sheep hunt in Alaska
We have spent a ton of nights in the backcountry over many years, and it has been incredibly rare to have a true shelter issue or dangerously cold night.
In the data, hunters shared their plans to upgrade to sleeping pads with a higher R-Value (insulation rating). When it comes to sleeping warm, most people immediately jump to the temperature rating of their sleeping bag or quilt, but often overlook just how critical the sleeping pad's R-Value is. Insulation between you and the ground is critical. As a general rule, look for a sleeping pad with an R-Value of 4 or higher for 3-season conditions, and then consider a higher R-Value pad for true winter conditions.
The other “solution” to staying warm and dry at night, as proposed in the hunter data, was to move to a “hot tent” setup. While we have nothing against hot tents, we would caution hunters from jumping to the conclusion that a hot tent is the best solution to a chilly or damp night they’ve experienced in the past. Hot tent setups are costly, heavy, and require much more work to set up and keep functioning in the backcountry. They have a place — especially for basecamp hunts — but if you want to stay mobile on your hunt, they are going to be a hindrance. We have slept comfortably in single-digit temps with a standard tent, a good pad, a quality down quilt, and the supplemental insulation of clothing that we had already packed for the hunt.
Optic Quality
Hunters mentioned lower-quality optics as a reason for missing game or misidentifying legal animals.
Honestly, this feels like many hunters could be playing “the blame game”.
Justin from Exo Mtn Gear glasses for bears in the Idaho backcountry
There are times when sub-part optics truly change the outcome of a hunt, but it isn’t common that the outcome of your hunt is decided by having $2,500 binos instead of $500 binos.
Optics become a liability if they create issues that keep you from glassing consistently (headaches, vision issues, etc). And sometimes the quality and resolution of an optic can help you find tough-to-spot animals. But as with most things in hunting, the experience, knowledge, and skill of the hunter are more important than the quality of the gear.
Another interesting insight that came through in the hunter data in this category was mention of trying to lighten the load of an optic system — whether that was the weight of a specific item (binoculars, tripod, or spotting scope), or the weight of the entire “kit” in question. There is no doubt about it; optics are heavy. Sometimes that weight is justified for the performance of the items and the demands of the hunt. And sometimes moving to a smaller and lighter optic or support system is a worthwhile tradeoff. There are so many variables that come into play when considering the species being hunted, the terrain of the hunt area, and more.
Weapon and Rangefinder Malfunctions
Failure in the moment of truth. A shot opportunity gone wrong. A problem here is a tough pill to swallow.
The hunter data showed three recurring gear failures— issues with a rifle scope that lost zero, problems with a rangefinder that died or misranged, or archery releases that either failed to close or fired prematurely.
No doubt, backcountry hunting can be tough on a rifle scope. We have personally witnessed numerous rifle scopes that lost zero or “wandered” from point of aim due to travel to a hunt, or from slips, falls, and impacts during a hunt. We don’t think the Rokslide Drop Tests are perfect, but they are something we heavily consider when choosing a rifle scope for a hard-use mountain hunt.
Mark from Exo Mtn Gear ranges a 600-yard target while practicing angled shooting in the mountains
We have also experienced the same issues with rangefinders that hunters reported in the data. As a general rule, we swap to a fresh rangefinder battery before the fall hunting season and carry a spare battery in our packs. If your rangefinder is compatible with Lithium batteries, as most are, then be sure to use a Lithium battery for extended life and cold-weather performance.
In terms of rangefinders that keep power but don’t reliably or accurately range, we have had mixed results as well. Atmospheric and environmental conditions can hinder a rangefinder's performance. If you want to learn more about that, check out this podcast — How Rangefinders Work. And Why, Sometimes, They Don't.
Issues with archery releases are less common, but they can happen. We know some backcountry bowhunters who pack an extra release with them at all times, so they’re always ready if their primary release malfunctions or is misplaced. At a minimum, we’d recommend having a backup release at the truck. You may have to lose a hunting day to hike back to it from your backcountry location, then hike back into your hunt location, but that is a better option than ending your hunt early and going home altogether.
Have these factors affected your hunts?
All of the insights from this Backcountry Blueprint series are coming from the 1,500 hunters who completed a detailed Hunt Reflection. We would encourage you to take the time to complete your own hunt reflection. You will undoubtedly learn insights by reflecting on your experience…
THE HUNT REFLECTION — VIEW or COPY
See the entire Backcountry Blueprint series.