Gear fails of 2025

[fngTony]

What was new to you this year or failed on ya this year?

For me it was the naked alpha insulation. I know some are having great results but not me. First thing is that the availability from the cottage manufacturers is crap. It’s cut like a box and has no stretch. The hoods are big and most don’t zip down, feels suffocating. Ok if all that was resolved it still didn’t perform for me, at least not in a hunting scenario and even for hiking I struggled to find a good spot for it. It’s so open that it can’t trap any heat without a layer over it which negates the weight savings.

I tried it over a few light to medium base layers and under a Patagonia Houdini wind shell. Temps were 30s to mid 50s with variable humidity wind and precipitation. When moving it was a tad less clammy than my peloton 97 but when stopped the 97 kept me comfortable for several minutes where the alpha was instantly cooler. Weight savings was only 1.25 ounces compared to the 97.

 

[kswaterfowl]

Marmot precip eco rain jacket. Leaked through on both arms. Luckily my jacket underneath kept me dry.

Outdoor research crocodile gaiters. The lace hook had a rivet pop off. Ive only worn them a handful of times.

 

[SloppyJ]

I had some issues with my Stone Glacier bino harness on my elk hunt this year. Specifically, it was when I added the bottom zippered bag. I imagine it was the extra weight but I'm not a huge fan of how velcro system for that one specific item. The velcro for the phone holder and the mag/garmin pouch have worked great.

The little cam locks that handle the adjustment of the harness had came undone when I jumped off my horse the first morning to get on an elk. I had ran it for over a year prior without the addition of that bottom compartment and had no issues. This was no big deal and a little electrical tape around the "locks" and I was back in business but it did contribute to me not being able to get on that elk.

Fast forward to that afternoon and we had spotted an elk at 1030yds. We made a dash for it on the horses to the next ridge over to cut some distance as the sun was setting. Trotting on the horse, I start seeing a bunch of stuff falling around me. That damn bottom bag had come unzipped somehow and all of my gear in there got sprinkled all over the trail. We did close the distance to 640yds and I shot that one but lost the majority of my mtnops stuff I packed in along with my lighter and a lens cloth.

I still think it's the best option on the market for a non-magnetic harness and would buy it again. I made some tweaks to how it connects by cutting down the length of the velcro straps which allowed me to get it to hold to the main harness a little tighter. But I still don't trust it for carrying important items or anything with some weight to it.

My Zamberlins also sprung a leak where the sole is stitched to the boot and was blowing bubbles every time I took a step on another hunt this year. A little aqua seal fixed it up and they were nice enough to send me a RMA to get them resoled for free.

All in all, nothing that bad. I'm sure my waders will have a hole in them somewhere that magically appeared in the closet when I bust them out this year but that's the story of my life.

 

[PathFinder]

Swarovski NL 12x42 lost collimation on a light drop. Still usable, just feel a bit cross-eyed using them.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

 

[9.3koolaid]

What was new to you this year or failed on ya this year?

For me it was the naked alpha insulation. I know some are having great results but not me. First thing is that the availability from the cottage manufacturers is crap. It’s cut like a box and has no stretch. The hoods are big and most don’t zip down, feels suffocating. Ok if all that was resolved it still didn’t perform for me, at least not in a hunting scenario and even for hiking I struggled to find a good spot for it. It’s so open that it can’t trap any heat without a layer over it which negates the weight savings.

I tried it over a few light to medium base layers and under a Patagonia Houdini wind shell. Temps were 30s to mid 50s with variable humidity wind and precipitation. When moving it was a tad less clammy than my peloton 97 but when stopped the 97 kept me comfortable for several minutes where the alpha was instantly cooler. Weight savings was only 1.25 ounces compared to the 97.

Senchis have a good cut. I think there's a lot of people cranking these out now and the patterns get pretty basic.