Live and hunt in AK. If the bear is acting defensively (research and learn what that looks like), stay calm, speak softly, walk away slowly, leave the way you came. If attacked by a bear exhibiting defensive aggressiveness, roll on your belly, spread legs slightly as to not be flipped, protect...
How durable are the kuiu downs? Are ultralight puffy jackets inherently fragile or are the higher end kuiu, kifaru, Sitka etc. Jackets decent in the toughness department?
Man it's REALLY hard to beat the Tika T3x and I have multiple $4.5k custom rigs. Action is stupid smooth. 70 degree bolt throw. Crisp trigger. Accurate barrel/action. Light. The stock is plastic which could be upgraded but I bought the vertical grip for it and a Mountain Tactical cheek riser and...
I do wrap the scope with hockey tape. Also I pull one of those waterproof bungeed rifle covers over the gun in a downpour. A good practice, as strange as it may seem, is keeping your rifle out of the hot tent during cold weather hunts. Bringing it inside will cause it to condense moisture which...
KIfaru is on the heavier side on paper compared to other packs. Mystery Ranch Marshall didn't cinch down tight when half empty due to the torpedo pockets, which isnt a problem when the pack is used the way its designed but other packs do a good job making the "extra pack" disappear.