Death Chat!!

School me in Archery.

Went Archery shooting for the first time today with a group of folks and got hooked. I was just using basic loaned range equipment.

I am looking into getting a good quality take-down recurve for hunting and general range use. I read that Hoyt are suppose to be some of the best out there but damn they are expensive. Not that I don't think they are worth it. I just want to find out if there are other options out there. I like to buy good equipment once so I want to do some research before taking the plunge.

I am 5'6"...What size riser should I get? Draw weight? Length of Pull? I tried out a 30lb recurve and was able to draw it pretty comfortably. Also tried a 44lb one and it was also manageable but a bit uncomfortable. Maybe I just need more practice.
 
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hahaha...I haven't seen Mike in here for some time. Nate should know a thing or 2 about bows as well. Maybe I should start a separate Archery thread.
 
Ban said:
hahaha...I haven't seen Mike in here for some time. Nate should know a thing or 2 about bows as well. Maybe I should start a separate Archery thread.
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Yeah, Nate would too :thumbup: For some reason I always thought he was a compound guy, but even if so, I'm sure you have to know a bit about both to prefer one or the other.
 
Let's try to get a date settled for a trip out to Land of Medicine Buddha in Santa Cruz and some hiking in the adjoining Forest of the Nisene Marks State Park. When are folks free? I'm busy this weekend probably, but am probably pretty flexible for the rest of the year aside from the holiday weekends.
 
Haven't ready any zombie books but damn those are some fast ass zombies! More like the ones from I am Legend.
 
HikingMano said:
Let's try to get a date settled for a trip out to Land of Medicine Buddha in Santa Cruz and some hiking in the adjoining Forest of the Nisene Marks State Park. When are folks free? I'm busy this weekend probably, but am probably pretty flexible for the rest of the year aside from the holiday weekends.
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My weekends are pretty flexible as well these days. I just need some notice.
 
HikingMano said:
How was Sykes?
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It was fun, pretty busy surprisingly for a a cold and wet weekend. We were more prepared this time around since we learned a lot about our gear from the Big Basin/Skyline to the Sea trip.

Looking into a new pack now, a buddy of mine was rocking this Hyperlite pack (http://www.hyperlitemountaingear.com/packs/2400-series/2400-windrider.html) which seemed nice. Don't know anything about them, but the Cuben Fiber material seems interesting, my concern is long term durability. Are you familiar with them? Starting to learn why ultralight is highly sought after haha.
 
Yeah, Sykes has a rep for being packed year round.

Sounds like your friend has refined UL tastes, HMG packs are well respected in the UL community. A cuben pack is very specialized and takes a bit of care and knowledge since Cuben isnt known for its abrasion resistance. If you know what you're doing and the limitations of the fabric, then it'd probably work well for you. At this stage in my UL development, I wouldn't rock a CF pack, but I am going to get a CF shelter. I just sold a bunch of stuff so I can upgrade to the Mountain Laurel Designs Cuben Fiber Duomid with Silnylon floored InnerNet or OookWorks OookNest. Placing my order tomorrow after I confirm happy owners of my old gear :)

I've been shopping for a new pack too, but I can make better oz cuts for less money outlay elsewhere first. The contenders so far (weeklong capacity and can fit and comfortably carry bear canister): ULA Catalyst, MLD Exodus FS, Zpacks Arc Blast. Other possibilities include Osprey Exos 58, Six Moons Designs Swift, and HMG Porter.

I can talk about this shit all day, but I'm on phone right now.

There are packs coming out now like the Zpacks that are cuben and nylon exterior hybrids... may prove to be the best of both worlds...
 
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Yeah, UL backpacking has been sucking up my hobby time for the past year or so now. I've been refining my system and gaining experience. Greater enjoyment of backpacking is definitely inversely correlated to my base weight...

The biggest weight reductions for me have been:
1) body weight
2) simplifying systems (e.g. shelter, sleep, cook, clothing)
3) culling things I never use
4) carrying less "what if" stuff
5) upgrading stuff I already have with lighter versions.

My short term gear goals (not including shelter upgrade, cuz that's a done deal):
1) Replace current sleeping bag with quilt and use insulating clothing to push temp ratings. Right now, I'm looking at the Revelation X Quilt by Enlightened Equipment
2) Replace sleeping pad with NeoAir XLite and ZLite or SOlite as options. Been considering 3/4 or Torso length stuff, but I don't fancy being dependent on a possibly wet pack to complete my ground insulation. I think I can deal with a little more weight for the piece of mind of a dry full length insulation.
3) Get a larger capacity UL pack for longer Sierra trips where bear canisters are required. Then get another smaller UL pack to cover short trips without bear canister (overnighters->weekenders)

Mainly I'm focused on revamping my big three now that I've used my older gear for a while. After that I can work on more tweaks and gear/system replacements to cut weight.
 
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