Gear is great, BUT you need to get in the field!

[Aron Snyder]

Ryan and I have gotten a large amount of PM's, phone calls and test messages about guys posting advice on the forums with very little field experience.

We started keeping a lot better track of this a while ago, and we can see where guys are coming from with the frustration!

It's great to play with gear in the living room/front yard, but if you don't have much field use with the product, it may be a good idea to at least POST UP that you're just using "theories and guesses".

The "theories and guesses" comment actually came from a member on a recent phone call. The member was bascally saying that a few members are suffering from "T and G disease". Meaning they have very little field time with the advice they're are giving, but post of their theory/guess anyway.


We want Rokslide to be a very informational/informative website, but we want that info to be from first hand HARD use.

This just isn't about gear either! I noticed a few guys that posted something like "never use garbage bags to transport meat", but I know for a fact that some of those guys have never killed or packed out an animal. So how would they actually KNOW that using the garbage bag for transport is a bad thing? Now if a guy had a FIRST HAND bad experience with this, than post away, but if you post up info that someone told you, than that is T and G at its finest.

Hopefully this is making some sense, and all we want is good info and advice from first hand users..... NOT theories and guesses!

I'm opening this up to the court, so let me get your feedback.

Thanks everyone!

 

[dotman]

I agree, there have been a few posts that could have led a newbie to spending money on incompatible gear. I get the excitment of new gear but use it and try to break it first, learn all of the pros and cons cause if you don't there will be 15 others that know your full of BS since they have used it.

Now I know at some point we all have been guilty of this atleast once (well not all), I did it with the kuiu pack and completely based it on the info received from people I trust but that is not first hand knowledge and only knowledge to use for my personal decision. It isn't fair to the members for us to pass on secondhand info.

 

[orionthehunter1]

I agree. I only know a few guys from the site and they are ones I've actually hunted with so for me sometimes it is hard to decipher between the people that actually use the gear or the keyboard warriors. Some guys probably have good intentions or are genuinely trying to be helpful, but throwing out secondhand info or theories sometimes does more harm than good. I don't post as much as some of the other people, but not because I don't have experience I just don't own a ton of gear and I know some of my gear isn't top shelf stuff, but it works and has gotten me through quit a few seasons. As for the black trash bag comment I was with a couple of Roksliders and we put my goat cape in a black trash bag for the haul out as well as putting a black trash bag over a tags game bag full of meat to help keep packs clean and both the cape and meat were fine. I wouldn't however leave my meat or cape in a trash bag for an extended period of time, but to help keep packs clean for transport I haven't had a problem with it.

 

[jmez]

I agree with the sentiment. The internet is the medium of the instant expert with no accountability. That isn't changing anytime soon.

A little common sense goes a long way in reading posts. If you follow the site it you can filter through things and figure out who knows what they are talking about.

A filter that I use often is location. A guy that lives in Idaho, Montana, Colorado etc has far more credibility right off the bat than someone from Pennsylvania, Iowa, etc. Same as I would be much more inclined to listen to whitetail advice from someone from Iowa or Kansas than Oregon. I think that location should be listed with every member.

Big difference form us Midwesternerns that use our gear seasonally and the mountain dwellers that use it year round for their entire lives.

 

[Stid2677]

I think it is important to consider the source and try to balance out reviews and options. That is also one reason I try to take a lot of in field use photos of gear that I believe in and post those up when making recommendations, the same for gear failures. A photo says a lot.

Steve

 

[SDHNTR]

Just like anything else, caveat emptor when dealing with the Internet. Just ask a question about archery tuning if you really want to see the bs fly. IMO, it's pretty easy to see who actually knows what they are talking about.

 

[Aron Snyder]

Just like anything else, caveat emptor when dealing with the Internet. Just ask a question about archery tuning if you really want to see the bs fly. IMO, it's pretty easy to see who actually knows what they are talking about.

You can tell, but what about a guy from Iowa that's heading out on his first elk hunt.....could he know who's full of chit?

 

[luke moffat]

You can tell, but what about a guy from Iowa that's heading out on his first elk hunt.....could he know who's full of chit?

Or the guy in Alaska that doesn't know his hiney from a hole in the ground about archery I'll believe anything about archery cause I've only shot a black bear and a deer with a bow and got my setup made up at Sportsman's Warehouse. I'm pretty gullible about all that is archery.

 

[Matt Cashell]

I think sometimes the theories and guesses make for good conversation on some threads, but only when they are labelled as such, and not stated as fact.

 

[jmez]

Just like anything else, caveat emptor when dealing with the Internet. Just ask a question about archery tuning if you really want to see the bs fly. IMO, it's pretty easy to see who actually knows what they are talking about.

It is easy when you know what you are talking about. Not so much when someone is clueless.

 

[hflier]

Well said. I know that once I started to spend more time in the woods, my number of questions dropped. It also has steered me towards better decisions on what to buy and stopped the gear churn. If anything I learned that you can get buy with a lot less. Also, one of the things we must guard against on this forum is arm chair cowboys. Other forums are loaded with guys that never get in the woods, giving bad advice, snide remarks and treating people like they are stupid.

 

[Shrek]

I can tell you this for sure , all my equipment worked well except for my sleeping bag. I wasn't in love with all my clothes but they all worked. I didn't get any truly bad advice from here and there is no way I could have learned a quarter as much as I did preparing without Rokslide. In fact , if I hadn't tried to economize on the bag and clothes and gone with some site favorites I would have been 100 % on equipment and my biggest handicap was my fitness level which was entirely my fault. Even new to this type of hunting I could spot the bs pretty easily. I hope I haven't led anyone astray with any of my comments.

 

[jmez]

Another caveat is that all the reviews in the world, even from guys living in the back country, don't replace time with the gear. Just because someone lives in the backcountry doesn't mean their gear will work for you. Most all of us are different sizes builds etc and have different needs in gear. Sites like this are a good place to start but my advice to any newbie would be buy your gear right now for next season. Use it, practice/train with it and modify it to find out what works for you before you leave on a hunt. Freezing in a sleeping bag on night one 7 miles from the trailhead isn't the time to figure out you need a warmer bag than the experts.

 

[ScottR_EHJ]

I completely agree, hearsay gear reviews and techniques are stupid. If you haven't used something, defer to someone who has.

Life is too short to pretend we know more than we actually do. Look for the guys in the forum who post pictures consistently, have animals on the ground regularly, and disappear during the fall. Pull out your notebook and learn from their threads, they have much offer and are usually very willing to teach.

To those on this forum who have given me advice, especially on hunting big Mule Deer, thank you!

 

[luke moffat]

I completely agree, hearsay gear reviews and techniques are stupid. If you haven't used something, defer to someone who has.

Life is too short to pretend we know more than we actually do. Look for the guys in the forum who post pictures consistently, have animals on the ground regularly, and disappear during the fall. Pull out your notebook and learn from their threads, they have much offer and are usually very willing to teach.

To those on this forum who have given me advice, especially on hunting big Mule Deer, thank you!

Well said Scott!

I've learned a great deal from this forum. If I have something to contribute I'll be happy to share, but all the talk about archery, mule deer, elk, and antelope.....I honestly haven't spent more than 5 minutes total in all those forums combined cause I have nothing to contribute and I don't hunt that way much or for those critters

I do hope I contribute and help others as much as other folks have helped me learn a trick or two.

BTW if I ever give ANY cooking advice at all....take any info in that realm with EXTREME caution....a post regarding cooking that I made would be made with an extreme amount of T&Gs

 

[Aron Snyder]

My PM box is filling up now....

I'll give an examples to help explain better.

I've been on 3 sheep hunts in Alaska and hunted their a hand full of times. Now I could easily post up on every AK thread and BS my way through it without issue, but why?

We've got a ton of guys that live in AK and hunt WAY more up their than I ever will.....so I don't post on the threads. That doesn't mean I shouldn't post on them, but it does mean that I know there are guys with much more hands on type answers than I can give.

I just spent a few days with Luke and Becca, and we talked about this subject a lot. No doubt that Luke could answer any lower 48 question on gear, but he makes it very clear that he's from AK and his experience derives from that area.




Again, Rokslide is not about who knows more or who has the highest post count, but about getting good info to those who need it.

 

[Travis Bertrand]

Thanks for posting Aron, that is the biggest pet peeve with this site.

There are a lot of hardcore hunters on here but with that comes hardcore keyboard hunters. I'm always interested in new gear just don't try to tell me it's hardcore tested when it's not. Be honest I don't think anyone will think less of you if you are excited about a new piece of gear and want to tell everyone without testing it in the field.


Keep up the good work guys.

 

[Shrek]

I can't say that all hearsay reviews are bad. Often they lead to enlightening threads that prove or disprove the assumptions. Just post it with a caveat that it's not firsthand knowledge. If you only have advice and ideas from guys who have a lot of field time you will get a static advice environment. It may work for them but it may not be the best for you. I prefer everyone participating and then wading through to find my own way. There are only a couple of people who I think can be more than my way is the best way. Aron Snyder comes to mind. He is constantly changing out his gear and going to new environments to test. Luke and Becca are also constantly in different eviroments and changing gear. Also , guys just learning can give insights that guys that have thousands of hours in the field take for granted. My hope is everyone keeps posting and let the readers filter. Top down moderating and limited people posting leads to a dull site. I encourage everyone lurking to find there voice and pitch in with their "stupid" questions and any knowledge they can share. Even the dumbest advice can be illuminating when it is called out and someone politely explains why it doesn't work.

 

[Bighorse]

I'm pleased to say that along with Luke and a few others I'm part of the AK contingency. Sitka Deer and rainforest still hunting is my specialty. My most valuable tool for success is employing and executing a good strategy before I even see a game animal based upon terrain and game habits. I know wet gear. That includes the tools and equipment used in boating. My next hunt includes a sea kayak, an elk hunt from a sea kayak. I'm kinda geeked about that! So if you got experience with that speak up. (Crickets chirping......)
Point being, sometimes it's ok just to listen and learn.
Perhaps one of the best thing an outdoorsman can do is go hunting with others. Actually seeing how others function in the field is VERY benifitial. You may not be family with another man but you can count yourself privleged to spent time afield with an individual who shares a passion for the outdoors. This is real experience I have that is NOT T and G.
These forums are something I do when I can't acutally be in the wilderness.

 

[orionthehunter1]

I don't think Aron is looking to limit people from posting, but rather wants to ensure honesty and authenticity from people who post on subjects. This site is still way better than the majority of them out there when it comes to posers and negativity.