Best Upgrades of 2022

[Carrot Farmer]

I’ll go first….

1) Peax Headlamp- after owning every Black Diamond and a few Petzl, this is the ultimate headlamp. Rechargeable, 3 white setting AND 3 Red settings which make an awesome red spotlight for trails at dark

2) Borah Gear anything… John goes above and beyond to take care of a customer. Have the dyneema bivy, sil tarp and just added a personal dyneema ground sheet

3) Outdoor Vitals Satu Adeventure Pants (46x32)- it’s difficult finding any outdoor apparel for Big n Tall(most end at 2X or 40R). 2 way stretch, didn’t see much difference than my Sitka 4 way, and for $110! Only downside is there is only one cargo pocket in the right leg…
I like on both


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[huntnful]

I think I'm going to get one of those Peax headlamps. Heard nothing but great things!

I didn't change much this year for gear, but...

1. Exo K4
2. Sirui ST 124 Tripod instead of Slik 634
3. March Scopes (excellent high end scope for the money)
4. Platypus 4L gravity filter instead of the squeeze filter
5. Enlightened Equipment 950 fill 40 Degree quilt. 20oz and I took it down to 30 degrees one night. Legit bag.
6. Hoyt Ventum 33 Pro. Shoots amazing and held a tune through some rough hunts.
7. Grim Reaper 1 3/8" pro mechanical instead of SEVR 2.0. 3 blades and got my first pass throughs.
8. Platypus 1L bladders. These are just super handy to have when you find a water source.
9. KOWA 884 Spotting scope. Unreal (better IMO) glass compared to more expensive brands.
10. Modular Evolution Bipod

 

[RadDad]

Purchased a Franchi Affinity 3.0 for this waterfowl season. Been using an 870 Express for well over a decade for all bird hunting so I was overdue. Got out today for the first hunt and I loved the gun. Very, very happy with the upgrade!

-RadDad

 

[Carrot Farmer]

I think I'm going to get one of those Peax headlamps. Heard nothing but great things!

I didn't change much this year for gear, but...

1. Exo K4
2. Sirui ST 124 Tripod instead of Slik 634
3. March Scopes (excellent high end scope for the money)
4. Platypus 4L gravity filter instead of the squeeze filter
5. Enlightened Equipment 950 fill 40 Degree quilt. 20oz and I took it down to 30 degrees one night. Legit bag.
6. Hoyt Ventum 33 Pro. Shoots amazing and held a tune through some rough hunts.
7. Grim Reaper 1 3/8" pro mechanical instead of SEVR 2.0. 3 blades and got my first pass throughs.
8. Platypus 1L bladders. These are just super handy to have when you find a water source.
9. KOWA 884 Spotting scope. Unreal (better IMO) glass compared to more expensive brands.
10. Modular Evolution Bipod

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dr.Chill]

Purchased a Franchi Affinity 3.0 for this waterfowl season. Been using an 870 Express for well over a decade for all bird hunting so I was overdue. Got out today for the first hunt and I loved the gun. Very, very happy with the upgrade!

-RadDad

^^ this. The Affinity 3 is such a pleasure to hunt with. Like you, I was also using an 870 for a few years and can't imagine going back after switching to the Affinity. Perfect ergonomics, super reliable, great warranty, and a weight improvement (even in 12ga) over the 870. Good luck to you with yours this season!

 

[cornfedkiller]

4. Platypus 4L gravity filter instead of the squeeze filter

Trying to decide on my future water filtration setup.. I've looked at both of these - why do you like one better than the other?

 

[HuntHarder]

Simms G5 waders! Amazing on my moose hunt. Almost forgot I was wearing waders for the entire hunt.

Zeiss v6 Rifle scope. So clear

Marsupial gear holster attached to bino harness was Awesome. Kept my 10mm front and center.

Havalon Barracuta was phenominal. I have used a Small havalon for years. Since I was after Moose this year, I decided to try out the larger version. I was impressed, and the saw works great and makes for a light weight setup.

Those are the ones off the top of my head.

 

[RadDad]

Simms G5 waders! Amazing on my moose hunt. Almost forgot I was wearing waders for the entire hunt.

Zeiss v6 Rifle scope. So clear

Marsupial gear holster attached to bino harness was Awesome. Kept my 10mm front and center.

Havalon Barracuta was phenominal. I have used a Small havalon for years. Since I was after Moose this year, I decided to try out the larger version. I was impressed, and the saw works great and makes for a light weight setup.

Those are the ones off the top of my head.

Simms Guide Series simply cannot be beat. The moment I put them on I knew I’d never go back to another brand! As you said, they’re so comfortable that you forget you’re wearing waders. Plus, as I’ve learned from personal experience, their warranty is second to none. Enjoy those bad boys!

- RadDad

 

[hunterjmj]

2022 upgrades

McMillan game Scout for my 300
Argali carbon ( this thing is sharp) used it on my antelope this year and everything about it is what I wanted.
Retired my tired Kenetrek gators for skre gators.
Installed gunsmith adapter for my spartan bipod.
Marsupial lanyard for my rangefinder.
Upgraded my wall tent stove,
Meopta 15x56 rented the swaro 15's last year and put my spotting scope on the shelf.

 

[huntnful]

Trying to decide on my future water filtration setup.. I've looked at both of these - why do you like one better than the other?

It’s way faster, less manual labor, your hands don’t freeze when it’s cold, you can do other things while the water is filtering and you have an extra 4L bag of water to bring back to camp once you fill up your normal hydration bladder. The squeeze is so light that I still bring it as a backup though. But hardly ever use it anymore, unless I just need 1L of water for some random reason.

 

[Carrot Farmer]

I think I'm going to get one of those Peax headlamps. Heard nothing but great things!

I didn't change much this year for gear, but...

1. Exo K4
2. Sirui ST 124 Tripod instead of Slik 634
3. March Scopes (excellent high end scope for the money)
4. Platypus 4L gravity filter instead of the squeeze filter
5. Enlightened Equipment 950 fill 40 Degree quilt. 20oz and I took it down to 30 degrees one night. Legit bag.
6. Hoyt Ventum 33 Pro. Shoots amazing and held a tune through some rough hunts.
7. Grim Reaper 1 3/8" pro mechanical instead of SEVR 2.0. 3 blades and got my first pass throughs.
8. Platypus 1L bladders. These are just super handy to have when you find a water source.
9. KOWA 884 Spotting scope. Unreal (better IMO) glass compared to more expensive brands.
10. Modular Evolution Bipod

You won’t be disappointed with your new Peax headlamp. By far, the best I’ve owned!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Carrot Farmer]

Trying to decide on my future water filtration setup.. I've looked at both of these - why do you like one better than the other?

This was a GameChanger for us this year, for our base camp. Holds just shy of 5 gal!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dr.Chill]

Trying to decide on my future water filtration setup.. I've looked at both of these - why do you like one better than the other?

Haven't used the squeeze, but have the Platypus grav filter and it's awesome. Doesn't take that long and frees you up to do other stuff as others have mentioned. Just be sure to not let it freeze - keep it with you in the sleeping bag in subfreezing temps!

 

[Old-Cat]

I bought some pants

The rifle I’m building doesn’t count because I’m waiting on my stock

 

[SuperDUECE22]

1) peax headlamp (purchased so i could have some dual purpose 18650 batteries that i use for my thermal scanner) having a red light that is actually bright enuff to navigate trails in the dark was awesome.
would like to have tried the sofrin D25lr for 25$ first.

D25LR Rechargeable Headlamp, LH351D 5000K White Led 90 CRI and SST20 DR 660 nm Red LED Flashlight, Ship From USA

This link is only for people located in USA, order will be sent from California. If you want to buy together with other models, please make sure they are all shipped from USA. Features: 1. High CRI White Deep Red Emitters: The D25LR headlamp utilizes dual LED Emitters. One of which is the...

www.sofirnlight.com

2) pnuma pathfinder pant
3) tony chachere's creole season packets to dress up bland dehydrated meals
4) gerber ebs ( replaced the havalon piranta & baracuta-blaze )
5) kuiu yukon gaiters ( replaced the sitka thunderhead)

 

[cornfedkiller]

...and you have an extra 4L bag of water to bring back to camp once you fill up your normal hydration bladder.

Do you use the gravity works to fill directly into your hydration bladder while its still in your bag? One of the things I liked about the gravity works when I was researching was the ability to plug directly into the bladder hose and fill it without having to dig it out of my bag or unclamp the top..

Sorry to the OP for hijacking!

 

[Fitzwho]

Montana Knife Company Speedgoat in Magnacut. Used on my Pronghorn and Elk (not exclusively) and still sharp as heck. Probably the "pokiest" knife I have ever had.

Dawson Knives Magnacut Deepnotch. Thought I would end up keeping only one of these knives by the end of the year. They are both staying with me.

Pretty much the only new gear I picked up for this year. Have been looking at the Peax or Last Light Headlamp, but can't really complain about my Black Diamonds.

 

[RADunfee]

My favorite upgrade was losing the tall rubber snake boots and wearing my Crispi Nevadas with Turtleskin gaiters. The slik sling has been great so far as well.

 

[Northpark]

1. Added a Silencerco Harvester EVO to the end of my 7-08ai. I’ll never hunt unsuppressed again
2. Goat knives was new after I lost my havalon into the Pacific Ocean on my spring bear hunt. Works but kinda meh about it. Think I’ll just order a new havalon.
3. 6L sea to summit water bladder to carry extra water. Was a must have since my water source dried up and my only other option was to drop 1000’ back down a mile and a half away.
4. Kuiu bone out game bags were actually pretty nice.
5. BaseMap instead of OnX. Think I’ll stick with BaseMap.
6. 12x binos plus spotter instead of 10x, 15x and spotter.

Think that’s it. No big changes other then optics and a suppressor.

 

[Nosferatu]

It's not about what I added, but what I got rid of; 30lbs.

My knees are thankful.