I bought a lot of things for my just completed hunt. With the exception of my gaiters (too big), everything was great. A few small items stuck out as making life a lot easier. These are as follows:

1- eye mask. Given the short dark hours , I doubt I could have slept without these .

2- merino wool face mask. This was very thin, fit over my head and had a portion that could be pulled up to cover the nose. It is amazing how much warmer this kept me.

3- liner for sleeping bag. This weighs a few ounces and made a lot of difference when the temperature dropped to 20 degrees.

4- heavy duty garbage bag. I used this to sit on wet ground .

Without these, life could have been miserable. They weigh far less than 1 pound total.

In the summer, I sleep with a dark handkerchief over my eyes. Like you experienced, that light is tough to take.

A garbage bag to sit on - what a great idea!

Instead of a garbage bag try carrying a small piece of closed foam about 1/2 inch thick cut from a sleeping pad. Only weighs a couple of ounces and not only will it keep you dry but offers some padding to boot when you want to sit down and glass or rest.

quote:

Originally posted by Snowwolfe:
Instead of a garbage bag try carrying a small piece of closed foam about 1/2 inch thick cut from a sleeping pad. Only weighs a couple of ounces and not only will it keep you dry but offers some padding to boot when you want to sit down and glass or rest.

I agree. If you don't have an old sleeping pad to cut up it is well worth it to buy one of the cheap blue sleeping pads at Walmart for $5 or $6 and cut a section off the end. in addition to providing a bit of padding and keeping you dry it really shields your backside from the cold.