I switched over to using a steripen this year. Love it. Small, light and fast enough for my needs. In full disclosure, I didn't use any purification methods for 31 years and never got sick. I still usually only sterilize when hiking with my wife since she feels better when we use it. So now with...
Trail mix that's heavy on the seeds, Elevateme bars, dehydrated salmon, sometimes salami and cheese. Apple, carrots, bananas, fruit depending on length of trip. I usually bring my alcohol stove to make coffee, tea or some kind of wild forged tea like rosehip/Labrador tea/chaga/pine needle.
I spend a fair amount of my outdoors time in grizz country and never felt unsafe. Most recently on an 11 day hunt in the Rocky Mountain foothills I had a friend from Hungary with me. On the very first day we showed up we saw a sow with two cubs about 15 km from our campsite. My friend got...
I think a lot of it depends on the type of terrain someone is hunting. When I lived in BC, navigation and getting lost was almost not even possible with so many landmarks almost always visible. After moving to much flatter terrain in Alberta covered in mixed prairie/boreal forest with no real...
I'm 39 and just started hunting this year but I've also spent the last 39 years fishing, hiking and back country camping. So I guess it would depend on how experienced your friends are outside already.
My priority list
1) Get Now: appropriate gun/hunting licences, a gun and/or bow, binoculars...