Share Your “Gear of the Year” Winners For 2025!

[Sully_44]

Wish these would hold about 2 more lbs just in case I wanted to put a rifle on it..

You’re not going to be as steady as a ball head made for shooting, but they 100% will hold a rifle, especially if your Arca on the rifle is fairly balanced. I’ve shot off mine before.

 

[hunthikecamp]

Cheap Timberland Mount Maddsen waterproof boots. $109. They last me about 3 years of gentle sea island hunting and scouting. Comfortable out of the box. Lightweight and keep my feet dry.

Not a boot I'd use when packing heavy loads on rocky terrain. I have Crispis for that. But heading to Hellhole Swamp trails or Edisto coastal forest to scout or stand hunt, I always grab these.

My Lowas finally bit the bullet after last season and a combination of procrastination and being a cheapskate led me to pull these out of the back of the closet. They worked great and I'd put these on my list also. I used them from summer scouting through archery and the CO rifle seasons. Sitting in temps below 15 or 20 and I noticed their limitations, but otherwise I was impressed.

-Sitka Ambient 100 hoody - I'm sure there are cheaper options out there but this has been a great layer, very capable over just a base layer, and if you layer up on top of it it was comfortable on a few single digit morning hikes and sits.

-OnGlass - I don't digiscope a ton but for a minimal intrusion setup that you can quickly get on the glass to snap a pic, this is great. Paired with the zulu6 and its

 

[ThorM465]

Which biltong fat slabs are you getting? Seen some with fat on but none straight fat

These are the ones with the fat slab on the edge kind of like a strip.

 

[Davyalabama]

They’re great for certain applications. I use them for uphill skiing and active use in wet snowy situations. They’re not the warmest but great at that the same time.

If I’m stationary or inactive my fingers get cold quick.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, crap, that's not going to help me. Oh well, try them once, send them back if they don't live up to my expectations. I need them for stand hunting. I'm stationary for hours.

 

[Mike Islander]

Well, crap, that's not going to help me. Oh well, try them once, send them back if they don't live up to my expectations. I need them for stand hunting. I'm stationary for hours.

For really cold weather I use cheap wool gloves. Work fantastic. I put cheap leather mittens over them between uses if necessary. Worked for -13 degrees in WY on an antelope hunt.

Fox River Men's Mid Weight Ragg Glove​

NORTH STAR Men's Tan Deerskin Chopper Mitten (Unlined) 025T​

If it's not terrible outside, I use these wool mittens that fold back to expose your fingers as necessary. A thin wool glove underneath makes a great combination.

HOT SHOT Men’s The Sentry Wool Fingerless Pop-Top Mittens​

 

[roosiebull]

I didn’t get much new gear this year, pretty much same stuff as last year besides a few small things. The only couple things that are new and stood out this year were the origin GTFO mountain pants, they are my new favorite early season pants… also the new outdoor vitals pursuit hybrid fleece became an every day item as long as it wasn’t dumping rain, pretty worthless wet, but great fit and very versatile everywhere else.

Another small but useful item was the sofrin HS22 headlamp, I have been using a couple Fenix headlamps, but the flood setting on the sofrin is the best I’ve used, and like it for covering ground in the dark, you can see what you need to really well, but it doesn’t cast a beam that will get anything’s attention unless you walk into a herd of elk or something (only scenario I bumped critters wearing it) since it showed promise, I decided to just use it and see if it survives, and so far has… I have used it in dumping rain quite a bit, and put it away wet, and it’s sat in a wet pack a lot, and still going… time will tell, but it’s impressive for the money.., going to try to find a better headband for it, that’s the only downfall, it’s a crappy headband

Sig Zulu 6 12x, they are a cool optic. I didn’t use them a lot, because my wife claimed them pretty quickly, but I used them a few days during archery season. I still have a hard time taking my NL out of my harness to use them, but I did a few times when I was not going to be glassing far for sure. If I don’t pack a tripod, the Zulu 6 are probably a better choice, and they are light

Besides that, I shot a different bow this year, arrows, bugle tube, and killed my first elk with a mechanical (2 different heads just because) but none of that will stand out, they all work fine, i just like trying stuff

Next year will be a little more of a gear year, I’m going to get my daughter a suppressed AR in 6arc, have a new swfa 3-9 waiting for it, going to get the new exo and buy the longest stays for my current k4 and turn it into a dedicated hauler when helping others, I won’t get my hunting pack nasty during season, and it’s not bad to have a good backup

I’m sure I’ll buy some other stuff too, because that’s what I do