Weekly Gear Recommendations
Every week we round up the best hunting gear for NorCal hunters. Browse last week's picks below — or subscribe to get this week's freshest finds delivered to your inbox.
Last Week's Picks
Featured Gear Picks
Gear· WEEK OF July 5
Laser Rangefinder (Vortex Diamondback HD 2000)
Bowhunting coastal blacktail means steep ground, tight cover, and shots where guessing "forty-ish" turns a clean hole into a wounded deer. A rangefinder erases the guesswork — and for archery, the feature that matters most isn't max distance, it's angle compensation. Shoot up or down a ridge and the true horizontal distance your arrow needs to fly is shorter than the line-of-sight number; a rangefinder with angle-comp gives you the actual "shoot-to" yardage so you hold dead-on.The Diamondback HD 2000 is the value play here. It reads far past any ethical shot you'd ever take with a bow or a rifle, the glass is clean enough to range in low light at the edges of the day when blacktail actually move, and it's backed by Vortex's unlimited lifetime VIP warranty — if it ever quits on you, they fix or replace it, no receipt required. It typically streets around $250–300 (check current pricing and specs before you buy). If you're stretching to rifle range in August too, angle-comp plus honest glass covers both seasons in one tool.
Gear · WEEK OF June 28
Replaceable-Blade Field Knife (Outdoor Edge RazorLite)
When you're field-dressing a hog in 90-degree foothills — or quartering a July blacktail against the clock — a dull blade is the enemy. Drag a traditional knife through hide, hair, and a couple of joints and it's slowing you down by the second hindquarter, right when speed matters most for meat care. Instead of stopping to hone a fading edge, you snap in a fresh, surgically sharp blade and keep moving. They're light, they pack flat, and they shine for skinning and the fine work around joints. The tradeoff is honest: those thin blades aren't for prying or chopping through bone, so pair one with a small bone saw or a heavier fixed blade for the rough stuff.For most NorCal hunters running solo on a hot carcass, a replaceable-blade knife plus a handful of spare blades is one of the cheapest upgrades to the quality of meat that makes it to your freezer.
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Gear· WEEK OF June 21
Reusable Game Bags
Koola Buck's cotton-poly bags are breathable enough to let a quarter cool and form a crust, treated to slow bacterial growth in warm temps, and tough enough to reuse season after season. They wash out, dry fast, and stuff down small in your pack — a serious upgrade from cheesecloth at a fraction of the price of premium backcountry sets.They come in sizes from deer quarters up to elk, so a four-pack handles a whole hog or a boned-out buck with room to spare. Want to spend up? Caribou Gear (the MOB Wapiti set) and Argali are the lightweight, bombproof backcountry standards. But for valley and foothill hunts where weight isn't life-or-death, Koola Buck gets the meat home clean without emptying your wallet.
Gear · WEEK OF June 14
SPYPOINT Flex-G36 Cellular Trail Camera
The Flex-G36 is the value play. It shoots 36MP stills and 1080p video, and uses dual-SIM tech to grab whichever carrier has the strongest signal. The kicker: it runs on a genuinely free plan, 100 photos a month with no credit card and no strings. For most low-traffic summer scouting spots that's plenty, and you can bump to an unlimited plan ($5–$15/month) once the action heats up. It'll run a few months on AA lithiums and is solar-ready if you want to set it and forget it. Typically streets around $120 (check current pricing).
Gear· WEEK OF June 7
CamelBak Mule Hydration Pack
When you're putting miles on your boots during a blistering July scouting trip, carrying plastic water bottles in your hands or a clunky pack just doesn't cut it. To stay out in the field longer without overheating, a dedicated, high-capacity hydration pack is a complete game-changer.The CamelBak Mule is perfectly sized for hot weather day hunts and scouting runs. It features a heavy-duty, 3-liter reservoir that delivers 20% more water per sip than standard bladders, allowing you to easily stay hydrated on the move. Built with an Air Director back panel, the pack actively channels airflow across your back to minimize sweat buildup in high temperatures. It offers just enough storage space to organize your binoculars, a lightweight knife, tags, and a first-aid kit without adding unnecessary bulk. Constructed from rugged, ripstop nylon, it’s tough enough to take a beating from low-hanging branches and thick brush while keeping your hands entirely free to glass the hillsides.View Product →
OPTICS · WEEK OF June 1
Vortex Viper HD 10x42 Binoculars
An absolute staple for glassing the oak-lined ridges of the NorCal foothills. The Vortex Viper HDs offer an incredible balance of low-light performance and rugged durability without weighing down your bino harness during steep summer stalks. They excel at picking out wild pigs moving through deep shadows at dawn and dusk. Plus, Vortex’s legendary VIP unconditional lifetime warranty means you can hunt the thickest chaparral and manzanita country completely worry-free.
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APPAREL · WEEK OF June 1
Mossy Oak Tibbee Flex Lightweight Long Sleeve
You don’t need to drop a fortune on high-end technical apparel to stay comfortable during early summer pig hunts and scouting trips. Coming in at a fraction of the cost of premium brands, the Mossy Oak Tibbee Flex Long Sleeve is the ultimate budget-friendly choice for hot-weather concealment. Crafted from ultra-lightweight, breathable performance fabric, it actively wicks away moisture and features unrestrictive four-way stretch for crawling through the brush. It delivers high-end hot weather performance without the heavy price tag.
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