Overrated Gear

[hunterjmj]

I'm trying to think of gear I've been disappointed with in the last 10 years or so and the only thing of I can think of is a Vortex rifle scope that failed during a hunt 3 years ago. I sent it in for repairs and sold it. Will never waste money on Vortex again. Sold it and hustled OT to buy a Nightforce NX8.
On the flip side, I bought a Leica range finder in 2002 that I still use to this day. I used that rangefinder for years as my only optic while I saved up for Meopta 10's. It sucked not having binoculars but I made due.
With the help of rokslide I've really been able to research products before I make a purchase so I feel most of my gear works as I intended it to. I basically save, Ramsey envelope style, so I have lots of time to research, change direction or delete items on my wish list.
Overall, I feel like the the gear I have is well vetted and works great for what I do.

 

[KnuckleChild]

A piece of gear that I have put through the paces recently that has performed less than perfect for me, is the Outdoor Research Crocodile Gaiters.

Is the fabric durable, yes. Is it waterproof, yes. Is it tear resistant, yes.

My primary, maybe petty complaint is that they sag down and bunch up every time I wear them. It’s uncomfortable, makes them noisier, and robs me of coverage. Does it drive me absolutely nuts, yes.

I bought them to compliment my Kuiu Yukon gaiters, which are still functioning and fully waterproof, but are showing some wear after about 4 seasons of use. The hype convinced me it was time to upgrade. I don’t know why I even bothered to fix something that wasn’t broken. My Yukon’s have taken a lot of abuse, they are more comfortable, more breatheable, quieter, plenty waterproof and they do not sag.

I gave the crocodiles a fair opportunity. I wore the Crocodiles for roughly 20 days worth of my season last year, in a variety of conditions ranging from Alaska caribou hunt to late season Idaho deer hunting and even a couple rainy days during elk season in September. They did ok. They just didn’t perform at the level of the hype.

So far, I have grabbed the old trusty Yukon’s on every trip to the hills, so far this year.

I got a pair of these OR gaiters and I used them on a backpack bear hunt this year, broke both buckles in the first 3 days. Pretty disappointed.

 

[FattyBinz]

expensive game bags

 

[Randle]

Havalin type Disposable blade knives. I have used several., and i find they are flimsy feel cheap, break easy and just dont seem to fit the hand well. I get that they cut well, but fatigue my hands faster than a knife with a solid handle.
This may be because i work with hand tools all day long and want quality. I dont want have a baby a knife.

 

[Gsquared]

Kifaru Lost Park jacket and pants, along with their Slik bag. Way to heavy, froze my ass off, zero value vs cost.

Just curious what the temps were for the LPP when you froze? I used mine last year in Wisconsin sub 20 degrees and found to be quite comfortable.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Just curious what the temps were for the LPP when you froze? I used mine last year in Wisconsin sub 20 degrees and found to be quite comfortable.

30-40 degrees. Not impressed.

 

[ILoveLamp13]

I live in Alaska, I’ve owned my LPP for two winters now and I don’t leave the house without it in the winter. It’s either in my truck for the day to day just in case, in my pack, or I’m wearing it. I wore it, layered like you are supposed to use every cold weather item, down past -40 wind chill. The coldest I got was my face, hands, and feet. I’m not sure if some people just expect things to be a cure all in the cold but nothing you wear is going to singularly keep you warm when it’s cold. You have to layer. LPP with a merino wool base and second layer, and a soft shell over the LPP was more than enough. I actually got hot while walking this past winter hunting winter caribou

 

[Ryan Avery]

Leupold rifle scopes with turrets


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[Lowg08]

It just didnt fit me and it failed to get the wait off my shoulders. I know,i know ,kifaru has almost a cult following lol; but for me im not a brand user;i use what works best for me.

I have always wanted to go kifaru. They just don’t fit me. Especially the frame. I have a curved back like a silver back gorilla. They are great packs just not for everyone including me.

 

[Lowg08]

The replaceable blade knives. They are just so easily broken. Can’t do any major torquing. Broken more blade than deer skinned. This is the 60 blade with a tyto and a havalon

 

[fngTony]

Stone glacier avail pack, too much going on in a small space. Each pocket encroached on another so the capacity seems to be closer to 1500ci.
Kuiu guide jacket, it’s really hard to justify an expensive softshell unless it truly brings something unique to the table (wind block). Softshells do make sense for technical climbing but not hunting, at least not for the price.
Sitka heavy weight hoodie: it’s priced like a jacket but it’s a grid fleece, also fails to bring any magic to justify the price. Overly engineered bow sights, can’t remember specific names but tried a few and wasn’t impressed.
Havalon knives.
Kuiu game bags, honestly there’s a lot of good ideas in these but the price has gotten high and realistically there’s much more affordable options for the average person.
Again I forgot the name but it was a 1 ounce titanium skeleton knife. Pretty cool knife but really hard to handle a such a thin knife.
Firstlite umcompahgre, it’s cut nice but just not worth the cost compared to your average synthetic.
5 of my last 6 tags were a disappointment.

 

[Seeknelk]

expensive game bags

My "expensive" game bags are going on 6 years. I guess they seems cheap to me after many uses and saving weight and space but to each their own.
Vortex PST I had, lost zero in the middle of a special draw muley hunt. Hit a buck high, checked zero again after , hitting 1.5 moa high. Mounts, rail, everything solid. It's gone. Never again.
I broke a havalon way too easy, the blade stop broke out of the plastic handle.
The outdoors edge knives , I just hated the way hair and junk got caught in the crevices and the steel was garbage. Luckily I lost it. Mora knives work wonders for me.

 

[Keener22]

Completely agree with you. Anything anointed by the names Kuiu, Sitka, Eberlestok, Mystery Ranch, Swarovski, Browning, Kimber, Blazer, Weatherby, Tikka (etc, etc, etc) are totally overrated and certainly notworth the exaggerated cost.

Okay this one is actually ridiculous. Many of those are great brands lol

 

[LungButter]

Mine is a sun year. I bought last year on sale for less than $30. The chair is a little heavier but the fabric is thicker and the chair itself sits a little higher and feels a little sturdier. Also holds up to ashes a lot better than a helinox if using it around a campfire

When you say a "little" heavier, how much is a little to you?

 

[LungButter]

FL Uncompaghre jacket. I have it in the solid grey color so I wear it around town and camping. I thought it'd be a puffy replacement, boy was I wrong. It has very little insulating value.

Funny how folks can have such different experiences with the same thing. That is hands down my favorite piece of "high end" hunting clothing.

Its actually amazing how it pulls water out of wet layers underneath it.

 

[KnuckleChild]

When you say a "little" heavier, how much is a little to you?

I’ve got similar 2 chairs (2 of each actually), an off brand Chinese one from Amazon (Moon Lence) and Helinox chair one. They both weigh right around 2 lbs and pack down to about the same size. The Chinese one feels more sturdy but the back is a little lower. The pair of Helinox chairs were a gift, I wouldn’t buy it over one of the Amazon cheapos. $110 vs $30.

I packed the helinox chair in on a spring bear hunt this year, and never came across flat enough ground to use it. Never again.

 

[justins71]

I’ve got similar 2 chairs (2 of each actually), an off brand Chinese one from Amazon (Moon Lence) and Helinox chair one. They both weigh right around 2 lbs and pack down to about the same size. The Chinese one feels more sturdy but the back is a little lower. The pair of Helinox chairs were a gift, I wouldn’t buy it over one of the Amazon cheapos. $110 vs $30.

I packed the helinox chair in on a spring bear hunt this year, and never came across flat enough ground to use it. Never again.

I've got a Travelchair Joey I got off Amazon (other places have them) for $60 (now $45), and it's about 2.3 lbs but really sturdy. I looked at the Helinox One and others but wanted a higher seat height (I'm 6'4"), and many were like 9-12" off the ground. Big Agnes was mentioned earlier too, that was another I looked at but they're pricey.

 

[as.ks.ak]

Just me being an condescending a$$ hole:

If you know your way around an animal and how to locate the joints, you shouldn’t have to put torque on any knife. No matter the size of animal.


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[Ryan Avery]

If you mean the Mark 5 series, it's one of the best scope lines on the market.

There's lots of popular scopes that suck!

 

[Wilderlife]

Just me being an condescending a$$ hole:

If you know your way around an animal and how to locate the joints, you shouldn’t have to put torque on any knife. No matter the size of animal.


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Yeh, I always find it interesting when people talk about using a knife to 'pop' joints or torque things. Maybe I'm lucky in that I dress out a huge number of animals every year so I'm familiar with a lot of anatomy, but I could use almost any knife (within reason) and be confident doing a good job of gutting/skinning/deboning an animal in the field or at home. At no point have I ever snapped (or come close to snapping or bending) a knife because I've been using it to torque or pry something.