Information from Forums

[Manosteel]

Common sense goes a long way in life and that includes the interweb... We all hunt and it shouldn't be too hard to figure out what can, may and should work for you. If you can't figure it out then spending more time in the bush wouldn't hurt; you can literally get by hunting/scouting with nothing more then jeans, flannel shirts, a rifle, fire starter, and pocket knife. That's what most of us had as stardard gear in the 70's and 80's. If your a newbie to hunting the backcountry I can see the difficulties you may have and even then following common sense based on your own life expereinces ( we have all bought stuff in life) with an eye to where and what you want to hunt is always good.

 

[tttoadman]

I never took the gear serious enough until just a few years ago. When I stumbled upon this forum and another one I frequent, I got a revived passion for hunting. I especially was excited to learn about some of the gear and techniques that would allow me to spike hunt. It always interested me, but I had very little knowledge about what it takes to be successful at it.

There are a number of niche companies that a person may never even hear about without being part of the forum community. What I like is the fact that some of these niche companies are the small businesses that make great gear in the US.

Being involved in a forum community does take on a little mob mentality. When guys share experiences about great gear and hunts, you want to be part of that. I have spent more money in the last 2 years on gear than I did the previous decade. Most of this gear I bought with total confidence due to the information shared by more experienced hunters. I have had the most enjoyable and successful hunting of my life over the last 2 years, and I am grateful for the help and comments I have received.

With all that said....I am a distrusting skeptic about everything. I drove from Portland OR to Bozeman to put on a Stone Glacier pack before I would buy it. If I would not have had the opportunity to do that, I may still be tripping around with my old stuff. Trust is hard earned with me, and I have learned which guys(and gals) seem to match my style and I put a huge value in their comments.

 

[jmez]

Like others have said, common sense goes a long ways. Even FNG should be able to figure out pretty quickly whom to trust opinions from on this site or any other. I don't put much stock in what people say on the internet. First hand experience and the experiences of my hunting partners are what I use as my guide.

 

[mt100gr.]

For the most part, I peruse these forums for entertainment. If a thread peaks my interest I'll read it for sure. If I have a question, I ask. If I feel qualified to answer one or share an experience I will. But the more time I spend on here, the more selective I am regarding who I pay attention to. There are just a handful of users on here that I consider experts and I pay attention when they post as I often learn from them. I really hope I don't come off as a poser-expert as I definitely try to only post what I truly believe, have learned, or do in fact, know.

As mentioned, it doesn't take long to learn who really knows their chit. These are the guys to pay attention to.

Other forums have left a bad taste in my mouth after a while, usually when they get to big and there gets to be more drama and BS than there is quality discussion. I hope Rokslide somehow bucks this trend as I think it is a very valuable and unique resource for "guys like us"

 

[cody covey]

For the most part, I peruse these forums for entertainment. If a thread peaks my interest I'll read it for sure. If I have a question, I ask. If I feel qualified to answer one or share an experience I will. But the more time I spend on here, the more selective I am regarding who I pay attention to. There are just a handful of users on here that I consider experts and I pay attention when they post as I often learn from them. I really hope I don't come off as a poser-expert as I definitely try to only post what I truly believe, have learned, or do in fact, know.

As mentioned, it doesn't take long to learn who really knows their chit. These are the guys to pay attention to.

Other forums have left a bad taste in my mouth after a while, usually when they get to big and there gets to be more drama and BS than there is quality discussion. I hope Rokslide somehow bucks this trend as I think it is a very valuable and unique resource for "guys like us"

This. ^

 

[charvey9]

It is true. Many people will praise their gear with little to no experience, just trying to justify their purchase. When I'm looking for new gear, I usually look for reasons NOT to buy something I have my eye on. I seek out the negative feedback, failures, or reviews people have. In most of these cases the information is backed up with facts and good info describing the failure or defect.

I realize that everything is going to have a problem or two, and that does not neccesarily mean it is junk, but if you do enough digging you can usually weed through this information and balance out the good with the bad to get a reasonable expectation out of anything you plan to purchase.

When giving my feedback on gear, I always try to stick with the facts related to my experience and try to qualify the info with how long I have used the gear, conditions I have used it under, or any other relavant info that can provide some context to the review. I hate asking about an item and getting feedback like "Its great, I've never had a problem" without any additional info.