Gear hits and misses

Hit: Salomon Quest Forces 4D hikers. Great comfort and price point. Only con is that they're not recraftable, but looking at their construction from the heel up I don't think you'd ever want them to be.

Another hit: Duluth Flexpedition pants. Good price point and they're not camo.

Miss: Kifaru gun bearer. It just doesn't hold the rifle well enough, IMO...
 
Hits:
Suppressor- I never want to hunt without one from now on
TJ Schwarz Magnacut knife- could still shave after taking apart an elk

Misses:
Not a big miss, but my DIY tac table and bag off a tripod. Just kept going back to prone off the trusty harris and a makeshift rear bag.
 
Hits: Eberlestock X2, OOAL Shikar sticks, zip off merino base layers

Misses: all hunting chairs, fleece base layers bottoms


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Hit: my Benchmade meatcrafter knife my kid bought me for xmas. we are a few animals in and the thing is still super sharp and I love the size for butchering.

Miss: My lowa boots. they were a couple years old but i only wore them to hunt in and during bad weather. So not a lot of usage. Maybe 20 times. Last year one boot leaked terribly. Lowa said too bad so sad. My new Crispi's worked awesome, so I guess that is another Hit!
 
Hit: kuiu zip off merino pants, sitka ambient hoody, superior gear hammock system

Misses: sleeping on the ground when there’s trees to put that hammock in


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Hits:
Goal Zero Crush Light solar powered lantern for my backpacking tent.
StormLoft Down Topquilt from Outdoor Vitals.

Miss:
Universal Gun Bearer. Just didn't enjoy it this year on a WY backpacking deer hunt. Had used it before on some hunts and thought it was good but this year just kind of bothered me. Will be looking at the Slik Sling next.
 
Hits:
Argali carbon knife, Petzl Bindi headlamp, SOTO windmaster and thermosatack, Anything Dyneema from tent to stuff sacks to rope.

Misses:
Fenix rechargeable headlamp, Luxe shelters, SteriPEN
 
Hit: GPO Rangeguide 10x40 RF bins, Garmin Instinct Tactical solar watch

Miss: Peak Refuel meals - yuck!
 
Hits: Kuiu Superdown Pro hooded jacket and matching pants AND their down mittens that they stopped manufacturing. Jetboils for vehicle camping - too much weight for backpacking.

Misses: very few - I research the hell out of things before I purchase.
 
Hit: Benchmade altitude in S-90V. Small knife that holds an edge forever. Weighs next to nothing so packing it around for miles doesn't add to the fatigue
Miss: Sig Kilo range finder. Did a side by side with my dad's older Leupold unit and the SIG performed spotty past 500 and terribly past 700 even on large flat rock surfaces. His got readings every time.
 
Miss- ultra light skeleton knife, just not for me. SG avail pack, the layout made it seem more like 1200ci. AT&T, just sucks ass not being able to make a call in town when others are streaming movies. Kuiu axis gloves, made my hands colder than regular fleece gloves. Ramcat broadheads, worked fine but for the extra money I didn’t see any advantage.

Hits- gardening knee pad for sitting. Ryo harness. Mora knife. Amazon headlamp. Off line maps. Cheap wraparound sunglasses being plastic they flex but don’t break.
 
Hit: FHF FOB Bino Harness. I was always the one who railed against it and just called it a marsupial clone and told people to just go with the original front opening bino harness (marsupial). Boy am I eating crow, the thing flat rocks.

Hit: Maven B6 binos. Replaced the B2’s I got earlier this year (I’ll touch on that in a sec). Perfect balance of weight, FOV, size, and glass quality.

Hit: Sitka Ambient Lightweight Hoodie. I am not a fan of Sitka gear, most of their gear fits like crap (why does the crotch on their pants sag all the way to your knees? Who am I, Tupac?). But this piece has the greatest warmth to weight ratio of anything I’ve ever worn, in any layering position.


Miss: AGC Ravus Bino Harness. It’s just a shoebox on your chest. High quality build, but it sticks out forever off your chest and is way too big depth and width-wise to fit any binocular on the market. A huge step backwards compared with their other harnesses.

Miss: Maven B2 11x45’s. Incredible color fidelity and great clarity, but they were annoyingly finicky to focus, and the field flattener lenses gave me a massive headache. Wanted to love them, but they just didn’t work for my eyes.
 
Going to add another miss tonight...
I realized my eberlestock pack I used to chase coyotes absolutely does not double as an elk hunting pack 🤣 I will be looking into something with a frame very soon
 
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