This was our first glassing experience of any kind. We were skeptical of our ability to sit and glass for extended periods of time. However we both really enjoyed it. It's just as exciting as walking around. It feels like you will turn an animal up at any moment. We never put glass on the tripods without locating animals, whether deer, elk, or sheep. My tripod is as crappy as a tripod could possibly be. It is one of those that comes free with a camera. And it is probably 10 years old. I broke a leg off of it on day two while using it to break dead limbs away from a rock to glass from. The bino adapter was homemade. So with a super crappy tripod with a broken leg, a homemade adapter, and mediocre glass (10x42 vipers), I still managed to pick out a sheep at 8-900 yards in the shade. I say that to encourage people that cant afford swaros and an outdoorsman tripod. I am just as guilty as anyone else of feeling like I HAVE to have super nice gear or it just won't work.
This was my first real hunt in FL gear and I was very pleased. Only complaint I had was that we both managed to tear holes in our merino shirts. But I knew good and well that merino is not known for it's durability and some of the country was rather inhospitable. My favorite pieces by far were the puffy and the balaclava. I loved the puffy right out of the package. The balaclava I was not impressed with until I got it in the field. While it is not a heavy duty piece for super cold weather, I found it to be a very useful piece of kit.
