I am always on a quest to refine my gear kit, looking to increase functionality while decreasing weight. I was excited to try an Argali tent when the Boise-based company began producing shelters a few years ago and was confident …
For those of you mummy bag sleepers who are hesitant to jump into a quilt, especially during the late season, I have a solution for you born from this Enlightened Equipment quilt review. Trust me, I understand your hesitation. I …
Is the Exo Mountain Gear K4 the best hunting pack you can buy? Is it worth the money? To answer that question, I need to back up more than a few years to add some context about life before Exo …
Looking for the best ultralight 3P tent? If you need or want some extra space, it’s tough to beat the Zpacks Triplex 3P Tent. This ultralight 3P tent is super easy to set up, can fit up to 3 adults ( or gives 2 full size folks plenty of space…for a backpacking tent), and comes in at an insane weight of just 21.4 oz with a full bathtub floor.
No one ever “wants” to have to use a first aid kit, but when you need one, you need one, especially a backpacking, hunting, or hiking first aid kit. If something goes wrong when in the backcountry, it is a …
Four miles into the Idaho backcountry, and with two mule deer bucks down, the Exo Mountain Gear K4 pack was about the get a workout. Not only that, but having torn the meniscus in my knee during a September archery …
Why would I want to do a Durston X Mid review? Well, over many years of running multiple different tents, I typically found myself only bringing freestanding tents on backpack hunting trips due to their ability to handle the elements …
Looking for an ultralight hiking boot but don’t want to give up performance? Zamberlan Anabasis boots may be just what you are looking for. Zamberlan makes a wide range of boots from hiking boots to hunting boots, with low, mid, …
Is the 30° Katabatic Palisade ultralight quilt the best backpacking quilt you can buy? There is a strong argument for that statement, and we will do our best in this review to give you the details you need to make …
Having tested the Zpacks Altaplex in recent years, when I saw the Zpacks Plex Solo 1-person tent, I REALLY wanted to do this Zpacks Plex Solo Review. Even lighter than the Altaplex, this tent is a stunning 13.9 ounces and …
I am ALWAYS on the lookout for the perfect lightweight hunting boot. This Zamberlan Baltoro Lite review comes from that pursuit. Zamberlan hunting boots have proven to be top notch in our team’s testing, but there normally seems to be …
Hunting packs are one of the most vital pieces of gear to any western hunter, and the Mystery Ranch Marshall is designed to fill that need for the person who wants a pack not only capable of carrying the gear …
Is there any better place to test gear than Alaska? This Nemo sleeping bag review was born from a hunt that I recently was able to go on….a hunt of a lifetime. I was the lucky winner of an Alaskan …
My quest for the perfect backcountry tent is what lead me to do this Argali Rincon 2P Tent review. As some will remember, I was previously using the Six Moons Designs Haven Ultralite Tent, and while that tent served me …
I used to think that life didn’t get much better than being single. The freedom to buy any piece of gear that caught my eye like these Outdoor Vitals jackets AND do whatever I wanted without needing to run it …
How well you sleep in the backcountry is one of those things that can significantly impact your experience in the great outdoors. This Six Moon Designs Owyhee tent review takes a look at one of the three most important pieces …
During our testing for this First Lite Wick review, we specifically looked at the 37.5 Technology and if it really works. We had the chance to really put it to the test. So is it really worth all the hype? …
Are you looking to shave weight from your pack without sacrificing comfort? That was our goal with this Zpacks Zip Around Sleeping Bag review. The design of this new Zpacks Zip Around Sleeping Bag is one that lends itself to …
Over the years we’ve had the chance to test quite a few hunting backpacks. The Seek Outside backpack lineup isn’t one you may be quite as familiar with, but if you are looking to shave some ounces, while still maintaining …
Hunting clothing has come a LONG WAY in recent years, and it’s now widely considered “gear” rather than clothing. This FORLOH Camo clothing review comes after having tested other brands over the previous 10 years, and really coming to appreciate …
Are you looking for the best ultralight sleeping pad? The new Exped Ultra Series Pads are quite possibly the best Exped sleeping pads yet, but we needed to test them to be sure. The new Exped Ultra Series comes in …
Looking for the best ultralight tripod for your outdoor adventure? What is the best ultralight tripod for hunting and backpacking? What features are important, and what features are negotiable? The world of ultralight tripods has a ton of options, but …
This Women’s Mystery Ranch Metcalf review was born from the fact that more and more women are hunting and want a backpack specifically designed for their body type. There just aren’t that many women’s hunting backpacks on the market, and …
Whether you are backpacking, hunting, or camping a good sleeping bag is one of the most essential pieces of gear. This Sea to Summit Ascent review was born from the need to stay warm in the backcountry while keeping the …
Sleeping mats. Some people use them, some people don’t. This Sea to Summit sleeping pad review is the product of many nights spent in the backcountry sleeping on the ground to save weight. When I was younger I never used …
The Durston X-Mid Pro 2 is our pick for the best ultralight 2P tent for it’s simplicity, weight, and spacious interior. Featuring 2 doors and 2 large vestibules, naturally waterproof dyneema fabric, and excellent wind and rain performance, the X-Mid Pro 2 gives you everything you need and want in and ultralight backpacking tent while still keeping the weight insanely low.
Ultralight hot tents are not only a thing, they are a game changer. This Seek Outside Redcliff review comes after our review of the Seek Outside Cimarron Light that we tested last year but found to be a bit tight …
The Initial Ascent IA2K pack just might be the best women’s hunting pack ever made. Designed specifically for a lady’s body, the Initial Ascent Invictus Frame underwent rigorous testing to make sure it was designed to fit the different curves …
The Patagonia R1 Techface hoody is a unique mid-layer piece that just might earn its way into your kit. While the soft shell category of clothing has been called by some “the minivan of outdoor clothing,” referring to the fact …
This Mystery Ranch Beartooth 80 pack review was born from the intriguing design that the Beartooth 80 offers, along with its generous size, making it a great option to be used on extended backpack trips. The real question for me …
After an experience I had several years ago, I set out to find a cold weather sleeping bag. Enter this Feathered Friends Eider review. Whatever winter sleeping bag I end up with needs to meet the challenge of the weather …
Rangefinding binoculars have come a long, long way in recent years. In this Steiner Predator LRF review, we are going to dive into where they excel, where they don’t, what is awesome about them and what isn’t to help you …
In this Kuhl men’s pants review, we are going to look at a couple of great hiking pants in the Kuhl Silencr Rogue pants and the Kuhl Konfidant Air pants. Over the last year I had the chance to test …
Over the years we’ve had the pleasure of testing a number of Zpack tents, so when they released the Zpacks Duplex XL, or the DupleXL, we wanted to see how it might be different from the tried and true Duplex …
What makes up the best ultralight backpacking chair? If the best backpacking chair simply means the most comfortable regardless of weight, there are a lot of options. However, if you are looking for an ultralight backpacking chair, that’s a whole …
When you are looking for the best headlamp for whatever outdoor adventure you are on, there are a number of things that come into play with your selection: Do you need an extended battery life? How bright of a light …
Are you in the market for one of the best hot tents for backcountry hunting? That’s exactly why we wanted to do this Seek Outside Cimarron Light review. When you spend any time in the backcountry during the colder months, …
Some frigid temperatures on recent hunts left me wanting to find a really good winter sleeping bag which prompted this Feathered Friends Ibis review. When it’s really cold out and you want to keep hunting, hiking or backpacking, having the …
Several bitter cold hunts finally pushed me over the edge to put together this Seek Outside 8 Man Tipi review. Not sure if it is worth the price? You’ve come to the right place to get some honest feedback. I’d …
Here at Backwoods Pursuit, we have done a lot of gear reviews on men’s clothing, and are excited to start looking for the best women’s hiking pants, starting with KUHL women’s pants. KUHL has a fabulous line of clothes for …
When it’s bitter cold out and you want to keep hunting, having the right sleeping bag is critical. Enter this Sea to Summit Alpine sleeping bag review. While many of us may shy away from spending nights in a tent …
I’d been wanting to do a Katabatic Alsek 22 review for a while now after testing the Katabatic Flex last year and being so impressed with it. As a fan of backpacking quilts, I wanted to see what the Alsek …
So, you want the lightest of the light but still need to stay warm in the backcountry? You may want to take a look at this Zpacks Classic Sleeping review. The Zpacks Classic Sleeping Bag is one of the the …
The Argali Kodiak Belt is not just a field belt. As backcountry hunters, we are always looking for ways to maximize the tools we use and find multiple uses for everything we bring with us. That’s exactly where the the …
When I first saw that Zpacks came out with a new ultralight freestanding tent, I really wanted to test one out and put together this Zpacks Free Duo review. It looked like it had the possibility of being the best …
Over the last few months I’ve had the opportunity to test the Rugged Camp Sleeping Pad and Pillow on some outdoor adventures. If you’ve ever spent any time camping, backpacking, or hunting in the backcountry and slept on the ground, …
Athlon Optics may not be a brand you are all that familiar with, but we wanted to put together this G2 UHD Athlon Ares Spotting Scope review to test out the 15-45x65mm version against a number of other 65mm spotting …
Looking for the best binoculars on the market and aren’t quite sure which ones to purchase? Maybe you are looking for the best binoculars for hunting or the best binoculars for the money, under $1,000, or maybe you are looking …
We love optics here at Backwoods Pursuit, so getting to do this SX-5 Leupold Santiam Spotting Scope review was a real treat. When you are trying to decide what the best spotting scope is for your needs, there’s simply nothing …
A while back we started testing rangefinders for this review series, and as an avid hunter I wanted to do a detailed GPO RangeTracker 1800 review to see how it stacked up against the competition. GPO, or German Precision Optics, …
We love optics here at Backwoods Pursuit, so naturally getting to do this Maven Spotting Scope review was as absolute privilege. When you are trying to decide what the best spotting scope is for your needs, there’s simply nothing better …
Looking for a great pair of binoculars but can’t afford the Swarovski SLCs? We got the chance to put together this Bushnell Forge 15×56 review after testing out Bushnell Forge 15×56 binoculars this year and were pleasantly surprised by their …
I knew I wanted to test and put together a Zpacks Altaplex Tent review after looking over its specs when Zpacks brought back the Altaplex. It looked like one of best ultralight one person tents I’d come across, but field …
Rangefinders have come a LONG way from a few years back, and the Bushnell Nitro 1800 Rangefinder is no exception. I was stoked to get to test it and put together this Bushnell Nitro 1800 review, because it has some …
We’ve gotten the chance to test some of the best hunting packs out there, and we really wanted to put together an Initial Ascent Pack review after seeing the design and specs of these Initial Ascent packs. Like always, we …
Looking for the best ultralight sleeping bag but having a hard time knowing what is best for your situation? There are so may options out there, each with different temperature ratings, and often times each sleeping bag has multiple temperature …
When it comes to picking the best rangefinder for hunting that will serve your needs most effectively, it can be a daunting task. There are so many options, features, and new technologies that it can make the selection process frustrating …
If you’ve been around archery very long, you’ve probably heard of Spot Hogg Sights. In this Spot Hogg Fast Eddie XL review we take a look at what makes the Fast Eddie XL a great sight, as well as the …
Selecting the best ultralight quilt for the situations you are going to encounter can be a tough job, given the large number of options on the market today. We conducted real-life testing of these 6 top tier ultralight quilts to …
Looking for a great pair of binoculars but can’t afford something like the Swarovski SLCs? We got the chance to field-test the Bushnell Forge 10×42 binoculars for this Bushnell Forge 10×42 review this year and were pleasantly surprised by the …
In this Exo K3 4800 review we take a look at the popular Exo Mountain Gear pack and how it performed for us in the field with both light and heavy loads. The Exo K3 4800 provides phenomenal load-hauling ability …
The Mystery Ranch Selway 60 Pack was one of the new packs from Mystery Ranch in 2019. We decided it would be a perfect fit for our backcountry hunting pack review series given its light weight, minimalist design, load hauling …
It’s not easy picking a backpack. With so many variables and the cost of a high quality pack, it’s tough to know which one to pick, so we set out to test a bunch of packs with heavy loads and …
Looking for a pack that can pull double duty as a day pack, but also haul a heavy load if you get an animal down? The Sitka Mountain Hauler 4000 Pack does just that. We wanted to test it out …
The Sea to Summit Ember Quilt is a unique backpacking quilt that offers features I’ve not found in other backpacking quilts I’ve tested. While quilts in general are typically more versatile than sleeping bags, this one offers even more versatility …
Have you seen or heard of using a quilt instead of a sleeping bag, but thought to yourself, “They are too drafty?” Well, I’d challenge you to take a look at a Katabatic Quilt. Your mind just might be changed. …
So, you want the lightest of the light but still need to stay warm in the backcountry? You may want to take a look at this Zpacks Solo quilt review. The Zpacks Solo Quilt is the lightest of the Zpacks …
In this Enlightened Equipment Enigma quilt review we wanted to put this thing to the test and find its actual lower limit. The Enlightened Equipment Enigma quilt that we tested has a temperature rating of 30 degrees, but we tested …
Looking for a super comfortable sleeping bag that gives you ample room to move around, toss and turn, and still keep you warm? The Exped Comfort Sleeping bag may be just what you are looking for. When I saw what …
When it’s time to pick up a quality ultralight sleeping bag, you undoubtedly dread looking at the price tag. This is where this Outdoor Vitals Summit review comes in. When I saw the price tag on the Outdoor Vitals Summit …
The Six Moon Designs Skyscape Trekker 1p tent is a unique shelter that is feature-rich, but weighs in at just 28oz and packs up very small. In this Six Moon Designs Skyscape Trekker review we are going to look at …
Looking for an insanely light and compact sleeping bag? Need one that packs down so small you might lose it in your pack? (OK…that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point). The Sea to Summit Spark Sleeping …
In this Exped DownMat Winter UL Pad review, we look at the Downmat UL Winter M pad from Exped. Coming in at as little as just 16.9 ounces (for the HL mummy style version and 22.2oz for the UL rectangular …
In this Sea to Summit Escapist Tarp review we look at the incredible versatility and details of the Escapist Tarp. If you are looking for a shelter that can conform to your needs every time in the field, the Escapist …
The Exped Synmat UL Pad is a great option when it comes to ultralight sleeping pads. In this review we look at the Synmat UL M insulated pad from Exped and how it performed in the field in various conditions …
In this Six Moon Designs Deschutes Plus review, we are going to look at what makes the Deschutes Plus unique. Its design features, such as the interior bug net, make this a great shelter. The netting does a great job …
After doing our last review on ultralight backpacking pillows, I still hadn’t found “the one.” Several of the ones we tested like the Sea To Summit Aeros Premium and Nemo Fillo Elite are fantastic pillows, however, in my humble opinion …
What’s the best backpacking water filter? That’s a question many of us ask when looking to venture into the backcountry for multiple days. There’s no clear-cut answer to that question as the type of filter you might need differs depending …
Sea to Summit brought the new Ether Light XT Insulated Pad to the market in 2019, and we put it to the test. This impressively lightweight pad comes in at just 17.3 ounces with a super thick 4 inches. The …
Are you using one of the best ultralight backpacking stove options out there? Are you in the market for backpacking stoves but not sure what features are most important? We put a bunch of them to the test to help …
Updated 2019 Nemo Hornet 2P Review In 2019 the updated Nemo Hornet 2P tent was released. This redesign set out to take care of some of the issues I noted my previous Nemo Hornet 2p review that plagued the previous …
51 Dinners | 14 Brands | Blind Taste Test You read that right. A total of 51 backpacking dinners were tested and charted for this review to find the best food for backpacking out there. It was no small undertaking …
Best Backpacking Food: 14 Breakfast Shootout With so much backpacking food on the market today, it’s tough to decide what to take in the field. The purpose of this blind taste test is to help you find the best backpacking …
Backcountry Piece of Mind: Garmin InReach Mini Review For a lot of years, my Idaho backcountry hunts didn’t find me bringing along a way to communicate with the outside world. That’s part of the joy of being in the backcountry, …
Quality Ultralight Game Bags: Worth the Extra Money? Ultralight game bags. If you’ve ever shopped around, you probably found that game bags come in many shapes, sizes, weights, and materials. So why are synthetic bags so much more expensive than …
Finding the Best Backpacking Pillow Here in the last installment of the Backcountry Camp Series, we are going to help you find the best ultralight backpacking pillow. This is piece of equipment that can make a huge difference in getting …
In Part 3 of the Backcountry Camp Series, we talked about what you need to know when picking out the best lightweight sleeping bag. Here in Part 4, we talk about a handful of lightweight sleep systems. For this review, …
What are some of the best ultralight sleeping bags? There are so many to choose from! How do you decide between down or synthetic? What style of sleeping bag is the right fit for you? Do you prefer a sleeping …
In this Kelty Salida 2 review we show you why this entry level floored backpacking tent gives you a lot for the price point. Weighing in at 3lbs 14oz, it’s the heaviest of the shelters I tested, but also the least expensive by a long shot. If you don’t feel like emptying your wallet on a tent, this is a fantastic option that gives you a good amount of interior space and a freestanding design. It is also a double wall tent, so you avoid potential condensation issues.
The Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 is a time tested, well built tent from Big Agnes. In this review of the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2, you’ll see why it’s been loved by backpackers and hunters for many years, this …
So, you want an ultra-durable tent that will handle just about anything you throw at it while still being reasonably lightweight? In this Hilleberg Anjan 2 review, you’ll see why the Anjan 2 is that tent. Hilleberg is long known …
The Nemo Hornet 2p is a tent with a great reputation and with good reason. It is crazy-light for a two door, two vestibule, two-person tent. It weighs in at an impressive 2lbs 6oz trail weight (1lb 15oz “minimum weight” …
In our search for the best ultralight tent I came across this gem which prompted this Zpacks Duplex review. Coming in at an insane 19oz (without poles or stakes), this is the lightest 2 person floored tent I’ve been able …
The VIAM Outdoors CC Divide is a very different shelter than the others I’ve reviewed. I wanted to test this one out because it offers so many options. The VIAM Outdoors CC Divide is offered in two different material …
In this Six Moon Designs Lunar Duo review we’ll show you some of its impressive specs and features. With a ton of interior space, large vestibules, and a 45 inch peak height, this thing was appropriately dubbed the “Backcountry Palace” …
Looking for the best backpacking tents for hunting? Do you enjoy nights in the wilderness? Is it your preferred method of hunting doing a backpacking style hunt in the high country? Whether you are an experienced backpacker or just getting …
Here in part one of this series we are going show you how to choose a backpacking tent that is best for you. Venturing into the backcountry for a multi-night trip can be an intimidating prospect if you are preparing …
