i've been shooting this for a few days now, and it drives me nuts that you have to manually lock the jaws shut. theres a button to engage the lock, but it fumbling my fingers around the d-loop and the jaws to shut it worries me if i have to ever be quick about it. Am i doing this wrong...
i prefer the home alone method with a touch of The Edge. my hunting grounds are ripe with booby traps in case a griz tries to come in. I've got 10' poles sharpened at every corner, water buckets hanging from trees, and i always carry a pocketful of marbles... and a stapler.
i have used the Hodgemans for years. they work just fine for crossing streams or a shallow river. i'm planning on just using them for my AK caribou hunt.