Sitka Expert Mountain Package

August 28, 2013 by Linton Outdoors Blog in Clothing Reviews, Recent Posts | Leave a comment

After spending many days in the field suffering or uncomfortable a guy tends to figure out what he is missing and starts refining his gear to take on any challenge he might face on the mountain. The Linton Outdoor’s Sitka Expert Mountain Package was designed from our history of those days in the field. Sitka has perfected the clothing layering system. By building this layering system guys can get the most out of their gear while minimizing bulk and weight.

The Sitka Expert Mountain Package is designed for the guy who wants a system to face any weather that the mid to late season can throw at him. It starts with a comfortable core crew LS and core bottom. These polyester layers wick moisture quickly while retaining body heat. The next layer up is Traverse Zip shirt, this is a midweight layer that can be worn alone or for layering purposes as well.

Moving to the outerwear we have the super popular Sitka Mountain Pants. These pants are a 2 layer, 4way stretch polyester hunting pant that can easily be called one of the most comfortable hunting pants you will ever own. The Mountain pant is highly versatile with its ability to be used during the early season and late season with the use of a baselayer. The DWR finish on the pant sheds water yet still breaths well on long hikes.

Regulating your core temperature is key to your overall comfort. We achieve this with the combination of the Kelvin Active Jacket and Jetstream Jacket. These two jackets layer perfectly together. The Kelvin Lite jacket is a primaloft insulation jacket which does a great job of insulating your body. The Jetstream is an extremely comfortable 2 layer soft shell jacket with built in windstopper. The Jetstream works great alone for 90% of the weather you will face, but when the temps drop and you are sitting for long periods glassing, adding the Kelvin Lite jacket underneath the Jetstream gives you enough warmth to push through extremely cold temperatures and harsh winds. The Kelvin Lite is also great because of its ability to pack down, taking up little room or weight in your pack when not in use.

This system is designed to keep you comfortable from approximately 80 degrees down to 10 degrees, with the ability to push comfortably down to 0 degrees if necessary.

One thing to note. We did not add rain gear to this package because each hunter’s personal preference and needs vary so much. We highly recommend Sitka’s Gore-Tx rain gear systems as well as some ultra lightweight packable rain gear by King’s Camo.

Static V Sleeping Pads

Klymit Static V Sleeping Pad: 18oz, 72″ L x 23″ W x 2.5″ Thick

The Static V comes in three options: Standard (Green), Kings Camo, Insulated (Red).

Hi guys & gals, I just wanted to quickly show you a great, affordable sleeping pad we carry by Klymit called the Static V sleeping pad. I slept on this pad all last year and really liked it. It fit the perfect cost, weight and size for what I was looking for to upgrade my original sleeping pad. Watch the video below for more information or click HERE to purchase.

Awesome New Backcountry Solar Power Source

August 12, 2013 by Linton Outdoors Blog in Camping Gear Reviews, Recent Posts and tagged Backcountry Hunting Power Source, Brunton Ember, Compact Solar Power, Hiking Solar Power, Hunting Solar Power, Lightweight Solar Power | Leave a comment

Brunton Ember: 3.5″x2.5″x.75”, 5 oz

If you like to carry your cell phone, GPS, camera or rechargeable batteries into the woods you need to check out this new product by Brunton. The Brunton Ember is a lightweight, compact solar rechargeable battery pack. This little power source is easily slipped into your pocket or your backpack. The power pack quickly recharges any small handheld electronic device. It can recharge your smartphone 3 times before needing to be recharged. It takes about 7-8hrs of sunlight to fully recharge the battery pack via sunlight. Watch the video below for more information.

Best of the Best Hunting Clothing

August 2, 2013 by Linton Outdoors Blog in Clothing Reviews, Footwear Reviews, Recent Posts and tagged Best Hunting Gear, best hunting jacket, best hunting pants, best hunting shirt, Blacks Creek Backpacks, Eberlestock Backpacks, First Lite, First Lite Kanab, First Lite Llano, first lite merino wool, LOWA Tibet Pro, Sitka Ascent Pant, Sitka Jetstream jacket, Sitka Mountain Pant, Tenzing Backpacks | Leave a comment

We sell a lot of hunting gear and we use a lot of hunting gear. This allows us to gather a lot of product field knowledge not only from ourselves but also from customers. There are a few items from a variety of manufactures that seem to standout and perform better than others. I’ll try and uncover a few of these little gems and hopefully help those who are just looking for “THE ONE” item.

Best Hunting Pants

Sitka Ascent Pant: Probably the best early season, warm weather pant out there. This lightweight, softshell pant is extremely comfortable during the warm early season days. It features a perfect articulated cut, fully gusseted, keeping excess fabric (no baggy crotch) to a minimum. The Ascent pant is also available in Regular (32″) or Tall (34″) inseams. Overall one of the best warm-weather pants on the market.

Sitka Mountain Pant: My favorite all-purpose pant. The Mountain Pant features a high count stretch polyester weave build, DWR water repellent finish, gusseted crotch, articulated leg cut and thermo-molded removable knee protection. The Mountain pant is extremely comfortable and leg binding is never an issue when hiking up steep mountains. This pant is breathable enough to wear early season chasing elk or you can add a baselayer underneath and chase chukar in below freezing temps with ease.

First Lite Merino Wool Kanab Pant: This is my go-to pant for any backcountry adventure where I will be spending multiple days in a single pair of pants. Merino wool is no joke and the odor control is unsurpassed. I sweat hard when hiking in the backcountry and it doesn’t take long for my poly pants to catch some odor. First Lite’s Kanab pants are the only way to go if you are heading into the backcountry on a multi-day trip and you are worried about odor. The merino wool is comfortable against your skin and the cut of the pants is very roomy. The pants tend to run a little long, which I love, staying over the top of your boots all day long. Note* the Kanab pant sells out every year so it is not an item you want to wait to get.

Best Hunting Shirts

Sitka Core Shirt: This is the staple of the Sitka baselayers. A simple, perfectly cut, high-quality polyester shirt. Highly breath-ability allows for wearing all day long even on the warmest days. *NOTE, Sitka is set to release their Merino Wool Quarter Zip shirt in Open Country camo this September. Keep an eye out for this! Merino wool is the best hunting shirt material you can get right now.

First Lite Merino Wool Llano “Yano” Shirt: This is my favorite shirt. Merino wool is replacing a lot of my polyester hunting clothing. The Llano is a very lightweight, extremely odor resistant hunting shirt, that breaths very well and dry’s very fast. I can wear this shirt for multiple days on end, soaking it with sweat every day, then dry it out and still have no odor after 3-4 days of hunting. If you are looking for something a little heavier check out the First Lite Chama.

Sitka Traverse (Mid-weight Pull Over): This is probably our most popular 2nd layer piece we sell. It features a super soft, comfortable design. Full range of motion stretch does not hinder any movements with this mid-weight shirt. This shirt fits and feels like its a second layer of thicker skin on your body. The Traverse also has a longer cut so it doesn’t creep up under jackets or backpack waist belts. If you are looking for the merino wool equivalent of this piece in First Lite, then check out this First Lite Wool LLano QZ.

Best Hunting Jacket

Sitka Jetstream Jacket: Probably one of the best soft shell jackets on the market. This jacket is very similar to the very popular Sitka 90% jacket but takes it to the perfect level by adding the WindStopper layer. This jacket features an unrestricted full range of motion. Its also very quiet and has a perfect fit minimizing annoying bulk you find in other softshell jackets. The Jetstream jacket runs fairly true to size to a touch small, so we usually recommend sizing up a size for layering. This is a great jacket for bowhunting. You can also stretch this jacket into the late season by layering a Sitka Kelvin Lite Primaloft insulated jacket underneath. Note* the Sitka Jetstream jacket sells out every year so it’s not an item you want to wait to get.

Best Undergarments

First Lite Merino Wool Red Desert Boxer: This is the best hunting underwear I have ever worn. This merino wool constructed boxer brief is comfortable and extremely odor resistant. If you are hunting the backcountry the Red Desert Boxer is one of the best pieces of gear you can own. Soak it with sweat and it drys quickly. It features a comfortable athletic fit. Note* make sure you buy your correct size, do not try to size one size down for a compression style fit. Also, this item tends to sell out in Large and XL every year so don’t wait too long.

Sitka Silk Weight Core Boxer: This is a great warm weather underwear. It’s durable, thin, full stretch fabric is extremely breathable and quick drying. It features a very comfortable athletic fit. Note* Sitka will be releasing a Merino Boxer fall of 2013, so keep an eye out for that!

Best Day Packs

(we will go into further detail on these packs in another article soon)

Eberlestock X2, Badlands Diablo Dos, Badlands Sacrifice,

(we will go into further detail on these packs in another article soon)

Eberlestock J34, Eberlestock Blue Widow, Blacks Creek Alternative, Blacks Creek Solution, Tenzing TZ5000

Best Selling Boots

(note* everyone’s foot is different and therefore not every boot will work for every person)

LOWA Tibet Pro GTX: This is one of our best sellers. It’s a great all-around boot, from flatlander walking to climbing steep hills. It has great ankle support as well as a perfect medium stiffness sole minimizing foot strain during extensive hiking. The toe box is next to perfect as well as a great heel lock minimizing hot spots on long hikes. The boot is built extremely well. We have next to no warranty issues with this boot ever. This boot comes in Medium and Wide Widths for a wider range of foot sizes.

I hope you guys found some great information in this brief article. We tried to keep it short and informative. If you have any question don’t hesitate to give us a call 208.867.6710.

Linton Outdoors

Who, What and Why – First Lite Clothing

July 18, 2013 by Linton Outdoors Blog in Clothing Reviews, Recent Posts and tagged camo merino wool, First Lite Clothing, first lite merino wool, Hunting Clothing, Hunting Gear, Merino, Merino Wool hunting, odor control | Leave a comment

Who:

First Lite is a company born in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho in 2007. They made their name by being the first company to imprint merino wool with camo patterns. By 2010 the buzz around this company exploded, but we still get customers asking about First Lite on a daily basis. We happen to be extremely fond of our First Lite gear so we’ll take a few minutes to let you know about this merino wool hunting clothing.

What:

Merino wool is nothing new, in fact, is been around for many years. Unlike standard wool, First Lite’s merino wool features a very fine fiber allowing it to be worn comfortably next to your skin without an itchy feeling. The composition of wool makes it warm, water-repellent, odor-resistant, flame-retardant, durable, anti-static, and a UV protector.

Why:

So why should you spend $95 dollars on a merino wool hunting shirt? The number one reason is ODOR CONTROL. Here is information right from First Lite’s website.

While sweat itself has no odor if it remains on the skin in time bacteria develop and create unpleasant body odors. Merino reduces the opportunity for odors to generate because it is more efficient than other textiles at absorbing sweat and evaporating it into the air.

The rate of diffusion of small and large molecules into the fiber increases and it is able to absorb odors faster. When the temperature drops and the fiber once again falls below the glass transition, the odors are trapped within the structure even if the moisture evaporates. Later, during laundering, the garment again passes through the glass transition point and the odors are carried out of the structure by the water. Synthetics are not able to benefit from this same effect because they do not pass through glass transition during normal wear.

The odor control of First Lite’s Merino Wool is no joke and works extremely well. I tend to sweat heavily so odor is always a big problem by the time day 2 rolls around in the backcountry. I am able to wear a single set of First Lite gear + 1 extra shirt (so I don’t have to sleep in a sweaty shirt) for 3 straight nights in the backcountry!

Besides odor control, First Lite’s Merino Wool is an extremely efficient fabric. It breathes well and transfers moisture away from your skin. Yet unlike synthetics, it retains warmth even when wet. So you can start warm on those windy ridges, you sweated like crazy to get up to so you could glass.

Essential Items for your First Lite System: Llano LS Shirt, Obsidian Merino Pant, Red Desert Boxer

Easton Outfitters Pickup Backpack

July 1, 2013 by Linton Outdoors Blog in Backpack Reviews, Recent Posts and tagged Backpack, Day Hunting Pack, Easton Hunting, Easton Outfitters, Easton Pickup Hunting Pack, Hunting Backpack, Pickup | Leave a comment

We have had the chance to play around with the new 2013 Easton Hunting pack line and have already found a new gem. The Easton Pickup backpack is a 3000 cubic inch pack that weights in at 4.6 lbs. For those of you who know hunting packs, that’s a perfect weight and size for a do-everything pack.

This is really a standard size and shape pack with a few nice innovative features added to it. The Pickup backpack is comprised of a large main compartment, a medium outer compartment, two side optics compartments and a top lid style compartment.

The large main compartment is a simple top loading design with a hydration sleeve. The outer compartment is a long shallow pocket with a couple of smaller pockets inside. The side optics pockets are plain simple pockets and are about the size of a standard 65mm spotting scope. The top lid compartment is like a large optics compartment with a couple of small pockets as well.

The pack features an adjustable shoulder harness to fit torso lengths from 17″-21″. The waist belt is a split design that fits very comfortable above and below your hip point. The waist belt also features micro and macro adjustments and allows you to cinch the pack in tight to your lower back. The frame of the pack features a 3/4 aluminum and 1/4 carbon tubular internal frame.

The pack uses a beavertail style meat hauler flap that pulls out from a hidden compartment on the bottom of the pack. It features 3 connector points on each side of the pack and can even be attached to the top of the shoulder straps to keep the load tight at your upper back. The meat straps actually perform as load levelers when used this way and we really like this feature.

Overall we really like the Easton Pickup hunting pack. It’s price point and size make it a great starter pack or a specialty daypack for a western hunter. The pack fits very comfortably with 50lbs in it and minimalist style hunters could easily pull over a 1-2 bivy hunt out of this pack as well.

Easton Kilo 2P Field Test

June 3, 2013 by Linton Outdoors Blog in Camping Gear Reviews, Recent Posts and tagged backcountry hunting tent, backpacking tent, easton hunting tents, easton kilo 2P tent, hunting tent, Kilo 2P, solo hunting tent, ultralight tent | Leave a comment

We got a chance to test out the Easton Kilo 2P tent a few weeks ago on a weekend backcountry spring bear hunt. The Kilo 2P tent shape/design is a noticeably similar design featured in some of backpacking’s top tent manufactures (Big Agnes FlyCreek, Marmot Eclipse, Mtn Hardware Supermega).

The Kilo 2P features a U-shaped arch front with a single arching pole forming the spine of the tent. The efficient/simplicity of the design with carbon fiber poles allows for ridiculous weights. The tent in my pack with what I needed to set it up was an incredible 2.5lbs! I have not torture tested the strength of the tent completely, but it feels extremely strong and if you pitch the tapered foot of the tent into the wind it will cut like butter minimizing wind shake and noise! Even in the light to mid winds, we experienced on our trip I noticed how well the tapered design minimized the wind.

Inside the tent, at 6ft tall I was able to sit-up in the tent with plenty of headroom. The two-person rating, like all of these tent manufactures, was a stretch. It made a perfect one-man tent with ample room to spread hunting gear, etc alongside your sleeping system. The vestibule was plenty big to cover my Eberlestock Blue Widow pack and boots. Like other similar ultralight tents, the Kilo 2P breathed extremely well and condensation was no issue.

Overall I was very impressed with the tent. These lightweight tents feature minimalist design so the lacking features were expected (when comparing to say a Hilleberg NALLO 4 GT tent) This tent will be my go-to tent for solo trips or when I am wanting just a single man tent.

First Lite Merino Wool Llano Hunting Shirt

June 3, 2013 by Linton Outdoors Blog in Clothing Reviews, Recent Posts and tagged ASAT camo, best hunting shirt, first lite merino wool, llano crew shirt, merino wool hunting shirt, odor free hunting shirt | Leave a comment

The First Lite Merino Wool Llano (pronounced like “Yano”) is another Linton Outdoors Favorite. It’s a great fitting lightweight shirt. The Llano is available in a long sleeve or short sleeve. We have been using a pretty successful system of using the short sleeve llano for hiking in during warmer weather and then switching to the long sleeve llano when we drop base camp. It feels great to the skin and breaths/dry’s quickly and without odor. The odor control is what is impressive about this shirt. We have worn this shirt 3 days straight in the backcountry and had no problems with odor. The only thing we have noticed is that when you get it sopping wet it tends to smell like a wet dog. Luckily it drys out quick! The days of polyester hunting shirts are over for us here at Linton Outdoors. Unless you are one of those magical hunting guys who don’t sweat or smell ever (I have one of those hunting buddies) you need to add a First Lite merino hunting shirt to your system, it’s a purchase you won’t regret!

PURCHASE THE FIRST LITE LLANO SHIRT HERE

Eberlestock X2 Pack – Favorite Daypack

March 28, 2013 by Linton Outdoors Blog in Backpack Reviews, Recent Posts and tagged batwing pack, Best Day Hunt Pack, bow carry pack, Day Hunting Pack, Eberlestock pack, Eberlestock X2 Pack, Hunting Backpack, X2 pack | Leave a comment

Eberlestock X2 Pack: This compact, lightweight daypack is one of our favorite systems when we need to move quick and fast. At 4.5 lbs and 1700 cu in, this pack is a sweet go-to pack when day hunting. But don’t let it fool you with its weight and size. This pack is packing a beefy tubular aluminum frame that can easily handle a 75lb load.

With 2 vertical and 2 horizontal compression straps, this pack is able to grab onto quite a load. Obviously with the one size fits all suspension, carrying loads of 75lbs won’t be comfortable…but it can handle it.

The additional {quick release} bow bucket and {hands free removal} rifle scabbard add-on’s make this pack a multi-season phenom. We have Rifle Combo and Bowhunter Combo deals available on this pack!

PURCHASE EBERLESTOCK X2 BACKPACK HERE

New Eberlestock M5 Team Elk Backpack

March 28, 2013 by Linton Outdoors Blog in Backpack Reviews, Recent Posts and tagged Eberlestock, Eberlestock M5 Backpack, Elk, Hunting, Hunting Backpack, Rifle Scabbard, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Team Elk Pack | Leave a comment

Eberlestock M5 Team Elk Pack: Brand new to the market!

When invited to make a pack for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Team Elk, Glen Eberle decided that it should be special. His goal was to make one of the best all-around hunting packs ever created, to appeal not just to RMEF members but to all hunters, coast-to-coast and around the world. This is a great hunting pack, proudly blazoned with the Team Elk logo. Part of the proceeds from the sale of each pack are donated to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

The Team Elk Pack combines many popular features from other Eberlestock packs. It has a Gunslinger II style lid, two wing pockets and a beefy tubular alum frame like the X2, and built-in bow carrier and rifle scabbard.

The Team Elk Pack has a 3100 cu in capacity and weighs in at 6.75lbs. Be sure to watch our VIDEO of the new Eberlestock Team Elk Pack HERE.