The holiday season fast approaching and now is the time to pick up those last-minute gifts for the western hunter before the weekend rush of Christmas week. Each hunter has different gear needs, but one thing we all have in common is our love of gear! Here are a few of my favorite gear items from this past season. In our GOHUNT Gear Shop, we have some great Holiday Sales and Stocking Stuffer lists going on now. You can check those out below:
Most backcountry hunters do it partly for the opportunity to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I’m no different; however, one thing that is always in my pack is a Garmin inReach Mini. Not only can I keep in contact with my family, but, if I’m on a solo hunt and run into an emergency, help is only a quick SOS message away. The Garmin inReach Mini weighs only 3.5 oz so it doesn’t take up much room in a pack or a stocking!
How would you answer that age-old question, “If you could hunt only one animal for the rest of your life what would it be?” My answer would no doubt be elk. Not only elk, but elk in the rut with a bow. A great stocking stuffer for any archery elk hunter would be some elk calls. A couple of great options give you multiple calls in one pack like the Phelps Pitch Black series or the Rocky Mountain Calls Elk 101 Diaphragm Elk Calls — 3 Pack.
One of the absolute must-haves on any hunt is clean water. For years, I used a pump type water filter. This year was my first one using the Sawyer Mini Squeeze water filter and I’ll never go back. Not only was it lighter than my old pump filter, it’s also cheaper and I can do other things while my water is being gravity fed through my filter into my clean water bladder. GOHUNT carries two different options: the mini and the micro. Both would make a great stocking stuffer for the hunter in your life.
All hunters probably spend plenty of time behind their binoculars. One of the best ways to find more game is to put those binoculars on a tripod to give a more stable platform to find animal movements. The best way I’ve found to secure my binoculars to a tripod is the Swarovski Universal Tripod Adapter. It’s a quick and easy way to make sure your investment in high-quality glass stays safely attached to your tripod.
One of the newest additions to my pack is the Pyro Putty Dual Arc Rechargeable Lighter. At only 2 oz and with 300 lights on one charge, it’s a no brainer for me. I don’t have to worry about a traditional lighter breaking and leaking fluid all over my pack. With 300 lights on a single charge, I didn’t have to recharge it once for my entire season. It comes with a small can of Pyro Putty so no matter the weather you find yourself in, you’ll always be able to start a fire.
The end result every hunter works toward is the harvest of an animal to fill his or her freezer. A new ultra-lightweight option to help take care of that meat is the Tyto Ti Replaceable Blade Knife. At only .8 oz for the knife handle, blade and sheath, you can’t find a lighter option to help you get the job done.
Last but not least, a GOHUNT Gift Card for the pickiest of hunters. Available in a variety of amounts from $25 to $500, the goHUNT Gear Shop gift card gives the lucky recipient the chance to select from the finest field-tested gear in the industry.
The holiday season is knocking on the door and will be here before you know it and the GOHUNT Gear Shop has tons of items for any hunter. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays this season!
If you need more ideas, be sure to check out our great Holiday Sales and Stocking Stuffer lists through the buttons below:
Stocking Stuffers Holiday Sale
