Klymit Insulated Static V RECON Pad & Pillow

I've had the opportunity to use the Klymit V Recon Pad and pillow for a while and wanted to layout my impressions and thoughts on the set after a fair amount of use.

I made my original thoughts on the Kymit Static V pad known some time ago, I was and continue to be very pleased with that pad for Spring through Fall use. At the time of its debut it was a decent option for non winter use, since that time lighter pads have hit the market but I still use the original Static V, three years into it and it still works just fine.

The Klymit Insulated Static V Recon pad filled my void for a winter option, with an R value of 4.4 and a 24oz weight, it is in the upper 3rd ratings of most insulated air pads. The current top pad from most points of view is the Therm A Rest NeoAir Xtherm, a 5.7 R value and 15oz in weight. A considerable weight savings and an increased R value but that comes at roughly double the cost.

One of the things that drew me to the Recon was the durability and reliability I had experienced with the original Static V. I've used that pad on numerous surfaces, over root and rock and had no problems doing so. I expected the same rugged nature from the Recon and thus far I have not been disappointed.

The Recon is 72" x 23" x 2.5" / 183 cm x 58.4 cm x 6.5 cm, the Xtherm by the way is, 72" x 20" / 51 x 183 x 6.5cm which is 3" narrower than the Recon. The Recon is 75d all around while the Xtherm is 70d on the bottom and the top is 30d which is how it gets much of its weight savings.

The v-chamber design in the Static series limits air movement and heat loss while offering a uniquely ergonomic body map which is optimized for performance and comfort. Because of those channels and the way they form out I've put my heels into them, this provided a 'ledge' for a lack of a better term that helps keep my feet from sliding down. Sounds like a small thing but before sack out time I do some reading. I'll pull my knees up and hook my heels into those ledges without them sliding back down like they would on a normal pad surface. While this is a small thing it certainly added to my overall comfort and satisfaction with the pad.

Recently I spent three nights in sub 20 degree weather, closer to single digits in the lows using this pad in conjunction with a Kifrau 0* Slick Bag. I'd placed the Recon on a Therm A Rest SOLite closed cell pad which in turn was on a casualty blanket. This set up was a little too warm and I ended up stripping out of my base layers in the middle of the night as a result. I believe I could ditch the Therm A Rest SOLite and still have maintained an extremely comfortable nights sleep in spite of those temperatures. The SOLite is rated with an R value of 2.8 and since the R values stack this put the overall value of this system at 7.2 for the Recon & SOLite pads. More than enough for the temps I was seeing.

Sleeping on the pad was comfortable and I found I didn't slide off the Recon like I have experienced with pad that do not use the v-chamber design. When not using a bivy sack or an incorporated sleeve in a sleeping bag for a pad I've slipped off the pad more often than not. I did not have this challenge with the Recon or any of the Static V pads.



The X Pillow Recon is made of 75d, weighs 2.2 ounces and is approximately 15" x 11" x 4" / 38.1 cm x 27.9 cm x 10.2 cm.

The pillow is interesting but I don't think unique. I seem to recall some other pillows that either had a similar design feature for 'centering the head' on the pillow. I'm a side/stomach sleeper but since I started using this pillow I've found it comfortable to sleep flat on my back. That has not been the case for as long as I've been sleeping on the ground. I did find that the pillow is somewhat adjustable in that I had a softer version if I didn't completely inflate it, and firmer if I did. At just more than half inflation I found I had a comfortable sleep on my stomach by pulling the pillow up in my arms thus giving me more support and comfort. When sleeping on my back I preferred full inflation.

Another use for the pillow was as a seat. I used it several times while out hiking or hunting away from camp for a seat to keep my backside dry. The 75d material seems plenty durable and I had no negative effects from using it like this, both on ground, logs, and treestand seats. At only 2.2 ounces it certainly has no noticeable weight value and it packs up super small, small enough to be carried in my chest pack for example.

Overall I am pleased with both items, durability rating is high, comfort is high, R value on the pad is high for the price bracket it is in. If you have the coin for the NeoAir Xtherm you can't go wrong with it, if however your price range is sub $90 then maybe the Recon is a good option for you.

Both Recon items are available from Heavy Cover, a USMC combat veteran-owned business committed to be the foremost developer and provider of unique and innovative products designed to preserve and improve the Military, Survival ,Bushcraft, Preparedness  and Outdoor lifestyle. I've found that company to be stellar to deal with, prompt communication, shipping, and value conscious, can't go wrong with them.

After Action ~ Trip One Conclusion...

Next day I was out again before the sky had a chance to herald the dawn. Inky blackness with a crescent moon peaking through the trees. At least, I thought to myself, the skies should be clearer today as I hiked away from camp.

Having seen no tracks the day before and unwilling to invest another day in a blind without confirming sign I hiked to where the tracks should be, to the corridor I was watching from the blind. To my dismay there was nothing but deer tracks. No wolf sign to be had in any direction. I widened my search for sign in a circular pattern, ever widening out from the center of the corridor. I found no sign.

This was particular disturbing because my plan called for watching this area and calling, without sign to indicate they were in the area I felt the plan was a bust and I needed to adapt.

I did come across this though, and one of only four or so that I've ever found in the snow. Do you know what it is? There are no tracks into or out of it, only what you see in the image.

You're looking at a spot where an owl landed and deposited a pellet and a hairball. The outer edges at roughly the 730 and 130 positions are the wings as he swept them back. His tail feathers left impressions at about the 530 position.

I had to make a decision, stay and hold onto the slim hope of seeing something from the blind or strike out in search of sign. I made up my mind quickly. I'd strike out on my own and try to find some sign. I stashed the sled and blind gear and headed further north and up the hill.

Once at the high point a positioned myself inside some pines overlooking a clearing and waited for the sun. I could see a distant tree line to the south and east and the area felt like it had some promise.

It was cold and the sun never came, dark grey became light grey and a vista rolled out before me. I could see further than I thought I'd be able to, at least to the north.

I hit the caller a few times but got no responses, nothing was moving. By 9am I was on the move again. Heading east and slightly south. A few minutes after I started moving the sun decided to bless me with some warmth and light. The scenery became less somber and I broke out the camera to take a few pictures.

Deer sign became prolific, droppings, scrapes, rubs, definitely a buck or bucks running that ridge top. One of the rubs was massive and easily four inches across and three plus feet off the ground. Definitely a good sized buck in the area. Mental notes were being taken. Since I'd come into the area I'd not seen sign of any other human incursion. I don't believe this area gets a lot of pressure.

 In the case of the rub below you can tell it was fresh. The rubbings are visible on the surface of the snow at the base of the sapling.

I marked the locations on my map and GPS units. While I've scouted this area prior I'd missed this sign. I'm already thinking about 2015 season...

The wind changed direction and so did I. The sun dropped back behind some clouds, clouds that seemed to be sinking, soon enveloping everything. I dropped back into the valley below to an unnamed river, crossed it carefully and headed back into the timber on the next rise.

Once on the next ridge the timer changed, tall lodge pole in every direction. I drifted the timber imagining it must be similar to the Black Forest of Germany, at least it reminded me of some of the pictures I have seen of that place. Stories I'd read of wolves through the ages running through that forest came to mind.

One of the more interesting stories I've read was written by George William Reynolds, in 1846 or 1847 he published Wagner, The Wehr-Wolf. You can find it here and read it for free. It was a penny dreadful novel and I found it entertaining. 

An example, while no snow on the ground the forest I found myself in was eerily similar to this, image is of the Black Forest.

 
And an example of what I was walking through.



The sun struggled and fought through on occasion but as you can see, clouds were encroaching all around.

A brief snow squall reduced visibility even further.

 I found the terrain was changing again as I wandered down into another valley. The sun continued its battle with the clouds, sometimes winning sometimes losing. I took up a position watching the head of a valley, in the distance I could see a beaver dam and experience had shown me that the wolf pack that was in the area last year liked to use these as crossing points.

The sun won out again and I had mostly clear skies. The weather had been rather dynamic to say the least.

 You can see the line the beaver dam forms in the image below, this was taken by putting my camera to the eye piece of my binoculars.

Same thing here but through the rifle scope.

I did the usual, calling sporadically and had the same results, nothing stirred, nothing moved, nothing responded.

The single exception was the squirrel who inhabited the tree I'd picked to put my back to. He was thoroughly ticked off by my presence and made several darting moves down the tree to either spook me off or determine the threat level I presented to him. When it became clear I wasn't thieving his pine nut stash he grumbled a few more times and disappeared into the canopy.

 
I headed back up ridge and in the general direction of camp with the intent of still hunting my way back to where I'd stashed the sled and ground blind gear. Immediately the sun fell behind the clouds and the gloominess returned, with a vengeance.

I'd covered a lot of ground and hadn't cut a single wolf track where as this time last year you couldn't take a step and not cross one. Something had definitely changed. I'm a firm believer that you have to hunt where the animals are and they were not here.

I was going to have to make a significant change and blow out of the area completely. It was the last day of the first trip, three more excursions planned but I'd have to reset and pick a new area quickly.

As I came back into camp my mind was in overdrive, I'd broken out my phone as much as I didn't want to I still had to get caught up. While the next weekend had been on deck, work had taken an unexpected turn and I was going to have to go to Philadelphia. This meant I'd have roughly eight days to figure out plan B in order to execute to it on the weekend of December 12, 13, 14.

I broke camp in the darkness, nearly mindless except for playing out possibilities in my mind. Seemingly in no time the sled was loaded and the smell and sound of a two cycle engine broke the stillness I had enjoyed for the past three days. With a biting wind I gunned the engine and headed back down the two track to the truck and the ride home.

I was both dejected and recharged. No wolf sign yet I had enjoyed the solitude of the mountains, of the weather war, of time uninterrupted, the passage of which was like cool water on a hot day. I was refreshed mentally and physically exhausted, no wolf yet but I had gotten everything else I came for.

****

While this concludes trip one, with luck there are three more on deck this month.

Thanks for looking!

After Action~ Trip One Recap

Before noon on Friday I pointed the truck north with trailer and sled in tow. Overcast and spitting snow with a north west wind, the very conditions I was hoping for. Being the day after Thanksgiving the highway was empty. It is rare to meet another vehicle on this road north even during non holiday times, more so now. The snow had accumulated slightly, though the wind was sweeping it across the road in eddy-like fashion. The display in the truck told me is was eight degrees, I looked at the steel grey skies and drove on.

An hour in and I made the turn onto the forest service road. I spent the next forty-five minutes thinking through the plan. I thought it was a good one but I was concerned about a few things. First the snow while there wasn't as deep as I'd hoped, the sled would run it but it wouldn't be the best of rides, it was enough but only barely. Second, while it was eight degrees it had been warmer over the prior couple days. Unseasonably warm with temperatures in the low 30s. Ice was forming but it would likely be treacherous. Third was untried gear. I normally vet all my gear prior to trips like these but there simply wasn't time to put the new tent to the test. I was also packing a titanium woodstove from Seek Outside loaned to me by Sweeneyguy. I knew the stove was good to go because he'd used it but it hadn't been used in the new tent I was running. I'd looked all over the web for information about a woodstove in a Sierra Designs Mountain Guide tarp/tent but couldn't find anything. I had no reason to believe there would be an issue but still, it was a concern. Finally was the wolves themselves. I had not had the chance to scout the area thoroughly this year, I was running off of last year's scouting and intel, nothing current. Populations year prior had been high, sign had been prolific but the winter had been one for the record books and I wasn't sure how that had impacted the population.

I parked the truck at the trail head and pulled the snowmobile off the trailer. Loaded the gear into the scow and hitched it up, tying on another plastic sled to the read of the scow. I intended to use this to get gear to and from the observation points and help get a wolf out if I connected. By 2pm I was pointed at the trail and moving fast towards where I wanted to set up camp.

I didn't make it all the way, there were trees down across the trail in several places. The first couple were easy to deal with between the axe and the folding saw but the last one was too large to get through so I had to park the sled. I unhitched and using brute force I pulled my scow over the tree and up the hill towards camp. I was kicking myself for having not properly scouted the area. Usually I'm pretty methodical about such things but life and work had gotten pretty hectic and there just hadn't been time for it.

The downed tree I pulled the scow over to get to camp further up the trail.

I should have brought the wheeler instead of the snowmobile but with images of what happened last year running through my head I decided against it. Last year we had a significant storm that dumped nearly 40" of snow on me during that week. It had been a monumental effort to get out. This year I was prepared for a storm that didn't happen. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say.

I pulled the scow and gear up the hill and made it close to where I wanted to camp, stopping about 500 yards short of the exact spot. Daylight was dwindling and I had a lot of work to do to get camp set and ready. The woodstove that Sweeneyguy had sent was still in the USPS package for example, I hadn't even had the time to set it up on a practice run. I had set the tent up once though, in my yard in order to install the stove jack and while it was in I hadn't actually cut the tent for the pipe exit. I needed to get enough wood together to go the night as well.

A couple hours later I had the tent set, the stove assembled and installed, wood enough for the night cut and in the tent. I had about a half hour to spare before darkness settled so my timing had been about right!


I had been excited about the tent since I'd found it. For nearly a year I'd been looking for a GoLite SL5 to no avail. Those that I had found, I'd found them at inopportune times where budget didn't allow their purchase or the current owner was looking for more coin than I was willing to part with. I'd also looked at alternatives like the Sierra Designs Origami 3 & 4 but they seemed rare as hens teeth. Then I'd found one but I'd also found a deal on the Sierra Designs Mountain Guide at roughly the same time. Due to REI discounts I was able to secure the Mountain Guide for far less than any of the other options.

At 109sf, a center height capability of 90", good venting, side access door and robust material I felt it offered exactly what I wanted at a much more attractive price point than the bigger names like Kifaru and Seek Outside who both offer a 6 man that is roughly the same specs but three to four times the price of the Mountain Guide. Admittedly they also have light weights but not by much. The Mountain Guide comes in at 5.1 pounds including stakes and pole etc. The SO 4 person comes in at 4.9, uses a UL fabric and has two doors as opposed to the one in the Mountain Guide. The fabric on the Mountain Guide is a robust 70d, not silnylon, has four vents instead of one, has the access door which I found nice for pitching wood into the tent, three times cheaper. The Kifaru version while very nice was more expensive, and turn around time wasn't going to work. For these and several other reasons I decided the Mountain Guide would be the tent for me.

As a side note the tent and the stove together come in at about 9.9 pounds and fit comfortably together inside a HPG C25M, a bag they no longer make, with room to spare. It's my intent to transport tend, stove, all miscellaneous associated gear via this bag. It'll fit inside the main bag of my pack.

While I had ordered a Seek Outside XL Titanium stove the reality was they wouldn't get it to me prior to the first trip. Sweeneyguy had volunteered his which is the exact same model. As mentioned before I really appreciated his generosity.

The stove is relatively simple to assemble though the first it took me about twenty minutes to get the stove and the pipe together and into position. Because I was camped in some high grass I elected to place the drafting holes on the face of the stove upside down compared to what SO designed. I was concerned about coals falling out of the holes. This concern was unfounded but the stove still did just fine assembled in this fashion. Later when I received my stove from SO I found they had changed the design slightly. Now there is a guard inside the stove in front of those draft holes that would prevent something like that from happening. I believe it also keeps the ask from blocking the draft holes as well.

With the stove assembled and in place I got a fire going. The change inside the tent was amazing. From below ten degrees to somewhere in the mid 50s in a matter of minutes. I shed some layers and enjoyed the warmth.

I set about getting the tent organized. With a ton of space I fell into the typical trap of putting stuff everywhere. Seems like when there is space available, be it in a tent or in a pack, I tend to find something to put there or in it. All said and done the tent was quite spacious, room for everything and then some. Practically speaking, with the stove installed I believe the tent would comfortably handle three people, five or six people without the stove installed.

Dinner for the first night was steak and fried mac&cheese which came out pretty good I think.

Enough space for a full sized camp chair inside the tent.

After dinner I went outside the tent to check the stove pipe and the tent in general. I'd gotten the fire going just before dark and didn't have a chance to really watch for issues. I also gathered some snow for the main pot so I'd have water in the morning for coffee.

The difference between inside and outside the tent was stark, I was amazed at just how warm the interior had become.

At this point I am more than pleased with the tent/stove combo.

Back inside and settled in it was time for some after dinner entertainment via my kindle. Extra points if you can name the movie...

There are several places inside the tent to either run a clothesline or hang garments directly from. This go round I did hang from those points, likely on longer runs I would make use of a clothesline.

I'd put the reflective blanket down, then the SoLite Thermarest, the Klymit Recon insulated pad over that, then Kelty bag inside the HPG Serape. Turns out that this is too warm at 10 degrees for me. I ended up shedding my base layer in the middle of the night.

Next morning I rolled over and pulled the serape off of my head, the sudden biting cold on my face was enough for me to pull it back over my head. Some time in the night the temps must have dropped off sharply. I didn't have a fire either though there were a couple coals buried in the back of the stove. I groaned and got started.

I pulled my base layer on quickly, along with another insulating top layer and got back inside the bag. Working with the serape pulled up around me I got a fire going in the stove and enjoyed the instant comfort it provided, again amazed at how quickly the interior of the tent heated up.

I put the water on for the coffee and some side pork on for breakfast, along with a couple dinner rolls too.

Before the sun broke the horizon I had my gear in the sled and I was towing it towards the observation point.

The hike out by headlamp was uneventful other than getting tangled up a couple times in the alders and worrying about the amount of noise I was making. I hit the spot with the tint of dawn in the distance and got the ground blind up and anchored as quickly as possible. The wind had picked up slightly and I listened to sleet smacking into the side of the blind.

The view from inside the blind.

I'd placed the caller about 125 yards or so from the blind but didn't use it right away. The idea was to let silence reign for a while, just be quiet and listen and watch. I pulled my jacket tighter and slumped lower in my chair. I could see the tree line on three sides and scanned them regularly. I was thankful for the blind as the wind had intensified yet again, so much so I zipped the windows on the north and west side to mere slits to keep it at bay.

Hours passed and nothing moved. This is the challenge to sedentary hunting where the hunter's primary adversary is himself. Placating the mind and holding a mental line while little is happening, nothing is changing. Only the elements change, beating on the hunter, wearing his patience down.

I fired the caller up, first I tried the common rabbit in distress sequences. I listened to the sound bounce and echo off the western treeline. I leaned forward and glassed the edges, I tried to see into the shadows therein, I scanned across from left to right and back again.

Nothing. The caller went silent and I waited again.

More hours passed, the sky did not change. Somewhere high above, the sun was walking its predictable arc but the cloud cover translated nothing but flat grey light. The wind slacked off and there was stillness for a time. In the distance I could hear a raven calling but nothing more.

I fired the caller up again. This time coyote territorial challenge howls, a full sequence that takes nearly a half hour to get through.

No responses and again I scoured the treeline looking and looking and looking.

Nothing. The caller went silent and I waited, again.

My mind drifted, it was my first day out and I was somewhat bummed out. This is the natural course of things though. Hunting is pure excitement that when meeting reality often results in a huge let down. In our minds we get all amped up, imagining the outcome, irregardless of what the reality of prior hunts have shown us we still get the fever. Then crushing reality meets our amped up imagination and dejection ensues only to be replaced with unbridled optimism because 'there is always tomorrow'. Such is hunting.

The sun I never saw was waning, there were no shadows to speak of, just deepening grey.

Darkness was coming.

By the time I made it back to camp full dark was upon me. I fired up the Primos micro lantern, got a fire going and set about making dinner. This process was mechanical in nature and I found none of it photogenic. In the back of my mind I kept repeating a question, over and over again.

"Where were the tracks, where were the wolf tracks that had been so numerous last year?"

TBC.