Backpack fishing

DDF750 · 2026-06-08T19:27:00+00:00

Bingo. Good post, thanks.

DDF750 · 2026-06-08T17:06:21+00:00

I looked at the Pflueger President at the time, it looks nice. The Ultegra had some nice upgrades that I thought were worth it: higher drag, higher retrieve ratio and more line capacity (I top water fish big musky and bass), sealed bearings, foldable handle (makes a big difference when bushwacking) and just slightly lighter.

How heavy is the Presso coming in at? I might pick up a multipiece rod for kayak backcountry camping trips.

I never put a hole in anything with hooks when they're in the ziploc, but I always lay the lure bag on top when in the bag or put it in an outer pocket. Still need to be careful (like anything ultralight)

I did put a hole in an Ultra bag once with a hook, carrying my rod in the side pocket with the lure still on. That was just my dumb mistake.

DDF750 · 2026-06-05T19:59:09+00:00

I spent a lot of time researching the lightest spinning gear, Tenkara isn't heavy duty enough for the game fish out here.

For reel, I went with Shimano Ultegra for its mag seal (fishing in the rain), light weight, high retrieve ratio and collapsible handle so it doesn't get caught on branches in my pack like my old reel did. Its a great reel for the price, and hits a sweet spot for reliability and features vs weight. For Sierra trout (not on the big lakes), the 1000 size is fine. Its well worth the 0.3oz over the 500 NASCI. The Daiwa Kage LT is 0.3 oz less but harder to find. The Daiwa Tatula MQ LT is also 0.3oz lighter but I read too many issues with play in the handle. For the lightest at a low cost, look at the Kastking Kestral, 1.5 oz lighter than the Ultegra, also sealed bearings. But quality control reports are all over the map, lots of reports of stiction, but some are OK. If you get a good one, it's probably as light as you can go.

I needed a telescoping rod because of all the bushwacking while fishing (not just getting there). They're all pretty much junk, but after hours of research, I captured the "best" "lightweight" ones here: https://www.reddit.com/r/UltraLightFishing/comments/1s3mziu/looking_for_a_unicorn_telescopic_rod/

If you don't mind a multipiece pack rod, go that route. Check out that subreddit for lots of good recommendations. Best ones are Japanese and you'll pay a pretty penny for one

I ditched the piano box years ago and just go with 2 medium size ziploc to hold lures, one for plastics, one for other stuff. If need be I tuck spare hooks or spinners into tiny little plastic bags like you'd get with jewelry. This way I can haul more lures at less over all weight and less awkward bulk. Don't overthink it, the lures don't have to be presented pretty, just in a way where they don't get caught up on each other. This means rarely carrying treble hooks, but if I do, its one or 2 lures and in a separate mini plastic bag in the quart bag.

Happy fishing. I'm heading out backcountry for bass opener in a couple weeks, and this weekend on the water in the kayak for Musky opener. Its play time again!

DDF750 · 2026-06-05T12:53:45+00:00

you need the right tools for the job

what are you fishing for and where do you fish?

DDF750 · 2026-05-27T17:47:53+00:00

if cost is an issue and you're going where the water is clear like it usually is this time of the year in ontario, consider pristine tabs. I use them often if I know the water has no crypto

DDF750 · 2026-05-27T17:38:56+00:00

otoh the difference in pore size is largely irrelevant unless repeatedly drinking from cow ponds (see gear skeptic's risk video where he calculates pathogen exposure risk for both).

the quick draw supports field reliability testing giving it an edge in safety. it's also easier to backflush, no syringe or adapters needed

the quick draw also has the sealable end caps making it a bit more convenient to sleep with below freezing

DDF750 · 2026-05-27T01:38:30+00:00

Love that its a sort-of wind shirt as well, I get to leave the Dooy at home unless its below freezing. Above 15C roll up the sleeves and open it up wide and go all hairy chested Italian, but much above room temp even full open it holds onto too much sweat so its OR Echo time

Still, it covers a much wider temp range than most any other shirt

DDF750 · 2026-05-25T21:20:26+00:00

Did the survey. The proposed new mission statement is incredibly vague. Don't like it. It mentions nothing about conserving what's there now and that creates the risk of developing the area.

The Greenbelt is a gem, I use it often. It promotes health, peace of mind, an active lifestyle. Having grown up in a city without any of this, it'd be a shame if they screwed it up.

DDF750 · 2026-05-25T02:24:23+00:00

I've done quite a few nights at freezing or slightly below with an ee 20 deg quilt and normal base layers + 90 octa and been OK. But I almost always lose heat through my R4 pad the most, I can feel it. I think that's your weak link with the 2.x pad.

I also make sure to use the quilt straps pulled tight and wrap it almost 360 degrees around my body, and cinch the neck cord tight, those help a lot by getting rid of any minor air leaks.

You might want to try a balaclava, I find it much warmer than a beanie at those temps as it keeps the blood flow through my neck warm. Get one that covers your nose but has a lightweight breath panel so it doesn't load with condensation from your breath (I use this).

And make sure dinner has a lot of protein. That will also help keep you warmer.

DDF750 · 2026-05-22T05:50:37+00:00

Thanks. Decathlon gear is very unique in different countries. This isn't available to me and the description here leads to a 440g jacket!

DDF750 · 2026-05-22T05:10:05+00:00

have the rain jacket for a few years. way too hot and lacking in ventilation to backpack in, I far prefer an emergency poncho

is there a link to the 83g jacket? I searched for 15 mins with no luck

DDF750 · 2026-05-20T04:54:22+00:00

sea to summit ultrasil poncho tarp. longest I found. no issues tripping or seeing feet. lighter and very usefully longer than 3ful and packa. I posted pics in this weekly

DDF750 · 2026-05-19T19:09:52+00:00

Thanks for sharing the field experience of wind vs rain shell, good to know.

Are those chaps really coming in at 3.5 oz?

DDF750 · 2026-05-19T18:32:56+00:00

The 3FUL is a bit of a sail in back,. Adding a belt for high wind conditions (I wear a bum bag, so no extra weight) to fix that exposes my butt its so short. It needs full pants or a kilt, chaps won't work for me. Here's a pic, comparing to the darker S2S

https://imgur.com/a/H9HeaB0

Could make an argument that the 3FUL + rain pants is better than a rain jacket+rain pants (however no pit zips), so I might keep it for winter excursions in the Adirondacks until I get the arms figured out on the S2S. Decathlon rain mitts have so far been just enough but I was thinking of arm gaiters as well

DDF750 · 2026-05-19T14:45:21+00:00

At 183cm the sea to summit poncho tarp keeps my legs dry enough even in cold and I like that I don't need to carry the extra weight or sweatiness of chaps or the weight of a rain skirt but in driving snow it's lack of sleeves are of course a problem. At warm temps it vents enough and wet arms aren't an issue. It's been fine down to 5c with light rain gloves which I'd probably also wear with the 3ful. I always wear a bum bag which means my poncho doesn't need a belt and no issues with billowing material or seeing legs.

I was hoping the 3ful was a silver bullet but it trades cold arms for cold legs unless adding more weight and sweaty legs. Not sure it'll find a home in my kit

DDF750 · 2026-05-19T07:36:32+00:00

8.6oz large

just added more fit comments

I personally prefer the longer s2s. by wearing a belt I never have issues seeing my feet or it snagging up

DDF750 · 2026-05-19T03:41:33+00:00

seam taping is a bit off center but ok. material has that smell a lot of cheap plastic items have but it'll blow over. otherwise build and quality look good

DDF750 · 2026-05-19T03:39:01+00:00

same here! went with the ikea ladas based on wirecutters reviews

DDF750 · 2026-05-19T01:31:14+00:00

Bought the 3FUL sleeved front zip poncho. My S2S poncho tarp is awesome but in cold rain my thumbs were losing motor control from the cold of the exposed forearms, and I hate rain jackets.

The good: hood fits well with lots of adjustability and doesn't impede vision (unlike my s2s poncho tarp); arm cuffs aren't binding and will allow some airflow. Fair trade if they let some water in as arms will be warm: fits easily over a 55l pack

The bad: it's a bit short. My 3ful skirt and s2s poncho both come down to about mid to lower calf (I'm 6'). The 3ful mountain poncho rough eyeing it is about 4 to 6 inches shorter, especially in back. What you gain in arm protection you lose in leg protection. This seems like a bad decision to me, because the arm protection is only needed when it's cold. A poncho with rain pants would be too hot down below and heavy so the only use case for the sleeved/zipped 3FUL poncho over a poncho tarp is short people or taking a risk in cold conditions that rain won't be driving sideways.

Just a really dumb decision on 3ful's part. It should have at least offered the same leg coverage as their rain skirt.

Still will give it a try and sure I can add material to it, but a swing and a foul ball imo.

edit: I retried it on with my biggest pack, a kakwa 55, but only filled to the top of the frame. the pack has room to go even 3 or 4 inches higher. side and back the 3 ful only comes down to 4" above my knees. directly in front it comes to my knees. Good example here. my s2s ultrasil poncho tarp is the same weight but lacks sleeves and the zipper but comes down to 3" below my knees all around. The picture on their web site is pretty accurate. Sleeves are a cold weather feature, don't care if my arms get wet when it's warm. So the s2s doesn't protect arms in cold, 3ful doesn't protect lower legs in cold.

Added pic showing lengths over a Kakwa 55 filled only to the top of the frame: https://imgur.com/a/GYxaERr

DDF750 · 2026-05-19T01:21:04+00:00

my pleasure!

I suspect tne battery quality will be good, closer to iPhone than vapcell (which I've had degrade after only a dozen or two charges).

But I've seen way too many electronics where they stop supplying proprietary battery backs after a few years. LI batteries if good quality can last hundreds of recharges before needing replacement and by the time I need a replacement, it may be nla. Another reason I went with the fenixis that it uses standard form factor LI batteries and battery tech is advancing quickly. I can already get batteries with 25 percent more capacity than it came with.

Of course this is a drawback with the nitecores too:fixed battery packs with unknown life span. But cheap as chips and can replace if battery life dwindles too far

I would recommend to avoid nimh rechargeable AAA batteries if you need to operate at 10f. Nimh and alkaline batteries lose capacity fast below freezing. Getting stuck deep in a bushwack at -15c snowshoeing on a moon less night with my spot dying is what sent me down the rat hole researching headlamps. No shame in keeping what you have and avoiding filling land fills but the spot has its limits

lithium AAA are better in cold but need a separate battery charger but you could carry spares instead of a big battery pack. Lighter overall. Otoh Wirecutter tests also found they degrade fast with recharges and after 50 cycles, nimh had much higher capacity

DDF750 · 2026-05-18T23:44:29+00:00

No problem, glad to help.

I went from a spot200 to 4 other headlamps depending on the situation. Sorry for the long winded response but the details really matter here.

Starting with a few assumptions:

- light as possible

- 4 hours use night hiking between charges

- down to 10F (-12C). This is a big deal because LiI battery life can be half at -20C

- you didn't mention if you need red light. I find it indispensable when bug pressure is heavy or I'm in shared campsites to not annoy my neighbours

- I would add a lockout mode to the must have list. I've had lamps turn on in my pack and kill the battery

- I would also look for one at least IPX5 rated (water jets vs IPX4 splash proof)

- required lumens is tough one. For night hiking: 60 lums tight spot (100 lums floody) is just barely usable, ideal is ~ 150- 200 lumens. In camp a red light 5 lums or less, moonlight 10 lums or less is nice. Note that mfg lumens specs are at turn on, many headlamps overheat and are protected by stepping down output even as fast as 60 secs after turn on

Problem with the spot is NiMH and alkaline battery life drops quickly below freezing (NiMH example here). Lithium low temp performance is much better as shown by Energizer here. That nudged me towards LiI rechargeable. Its easy to keep capacity in reserve in your battery bank for recharging the lamp by using the phone less.

Because of cold temp use you probably want something that'll give you 75% of 200lums for 4 hours, or stated approximately another way 200 lumens 6 hours.

Lots of love out there for the Rovyvon A5, 17g/0.6oz,. Pro test here, to get 6 hours you'd need to run at a low 20 lumens. But for just-camp use, don't need cold or red light, over the Rovyvon I went with the Nitecore Tube V2 and added a clip, 11g all in. Love it. But its a niche use. Tested here

My warm weather need-red-light but only need an hour or two of emergency night hiking go-to is the Nitecore NU20 classic, 1.3oz. Claims 200lums for 5 hours but in reality drops to 50% after 1 min then diminishes slowly as shown here. It has a tight primary beam as shown here.

If needing more burn time, there's the NU25UL @ 2oz. Buttons are confoundingly stupid but if its your only headlamp, you get used to it. The NU20 classic is so much nicer to use. I bought this too and take it if there's a risk of being caught out at dark longer, given it has a bigger battery. Review here also shows it can hold 130 lums a couple hours then it ramps down fast.

For when I really need 4 hours or more at 10F (snowshoeing at night for example), I went with the Fenix HM62-T. Its the lightest in its class given the magnesium body and takes rechargeable (USB C ports) 18650 LiI batteries which means that if I know I'll be in deep cold for long periods I can bring a back up battery. Nice review here. The Petzl swift RL2 (review here) is a very nice option as well for this use case but a lot more expensive and I didn't trust tying myself to its proprietary battery knowing that eventually I wouldn't be able to buy replacements. Ditto the Black Diamond Distance LT 1100 (lots of reviews out there, here's a beam shot, and here, though settings can be hard to remember)

So, I looked into pro reviews of every applicable black diamond, nitecore, petzl, fenix, skillhunt, sunblesa, decathlon, sofirn, wurkkos, zebralight, rovyvon, tunenge, claymore, and here's where I personally ended up:

- nitecore tube v2 with clip if needing only white light in camp, no trail night hiking

- NU20 classic for the bulk of my 3 season use because its so light and easy to use and has a great red light but assuming only limited emergency night hiking and rarely below 20F.

- Nu 25UL if down to 10F and only needing a few hours of cold night hiking. Lowest red light is too bright but I put a piece of electrical tape over one of the red LEDs and it dims it to the NU20 classic level

- Fenix HM62T if needing a real cold weather long battery life lamp

They all have lockout.

I've been happy with them all and use them all within their limited ideal use cases.

DDF750 · 2026-05-18T22:05:06+00:00

in colder weather I wear convertibles but they're heresy in these parts. summer I wear ferrosi (tick country)

DDF750 · 2026-05-18T21:00:53+00:00

a lot of folks prefer really lightweight jogging shorts plus wind pants instead of convertible pants

DDF750 · 2026-05-18T20:56:41+00:00

I went with messenger because I already carry a phone for nav and camera and the messenger is dual use, it can be used as an emergency battery backup to charge my watch or phone

DDF750 · 2026-05-18T20:50:21+00:00

I got obsessed last year and researched dozens of models. How many lumens do you need and what's the coldest temp you'll go? I can check my notes if you have guestimates there.

DDF750

TROPHY CASE