Upcoming Gear Reviews

applepie_eli

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 16, 2018
Messages
168
Location
Punxsutawney, PA
My name is Eli Thompson, I am going to start doing some gear reviews on multiple items I have purchased over the last couple years (list at the bottom if you don't like reading). It will mostly be clothes, packs, boots, and other hunting/hiking/backpacking gear. The reviews are going to be only of items that I have been using for at least 3 or 4 months and in most cases, longer than that. That way I can give honest reviews after using the items for a good amount of time. My reviews will also be what I call "practical" rather than "technical", meaning that I'm not going to go into silly details like weights in tenths of ounces or how many threads are used on a piece of clothing. I believe there should be some reviews that remain fairly simple. For example, my first review on the Sitka Mountain Approach Pack is already up. In it, I talk about how water resistant the material is. I don't talk about what technology is used in the material, or how Sitka used waterproof materials inspired by a beaver's butt cheek, but instead I run it under water in the sink to see if it holds up. This is what I mean by practical rather than technical. Wouldn't you rather know how something actually performs rather than hear about how it is SUPPOSED to perform?

About Me: I am a college student from Punsutawney, PA. I'm living at home (yes in my parents basement) while commuting to college about 45 minutes away. Make all the jokes you want but I really don't care because I'll be glad I did it this way when I only have half as much debt as if I was paying rent lol. I'm not going to pretend I'm an expert on anything, because I'm not. I'm just going to give you my experience and my thoughts on different pieces of gear. I DO NOT have experience hunting out west yet. So if you don't want to read my reviews I don't blame you. However, I have been on a couple backpacking trips in Montana and plan on tagging along with a buddy on an elk hunt this fall. I hunt whitetails and turkeys at home here, but not like most guys do. I also do not honestly care that much if I shoot an animal. For me, it's all about being out in nature. That's why I spend so much time out of the season walking in the woods, sitting up on a hill glassing, or anything else that gets me outside. My style of hunting is like a hybrid between spot and stalk and sitting in a treestand. Although I do use stands a lot, I spend the majority of my time in the woods finding advantageous glassing spots where I can also be well hidden enough to have close encounters. I am lucky enough to be able to hunt on the land right at my house. So almost every night after school in the fall I will be out in the woods. I hunt in woodland and farm area, with very steep, large hills (for the East). So I do find some similarities between the way I hunt and the way people hunt out west. I often walk many miles in a day, finding new spots and sitting for a few hours, then moving on. So hopefully this will give my gear a good enough test to be comparable to western hunting. Keep an eye out for my upcoming reviews on the following products (hopefully one or two a week), and feel free to comment with advice or questions. I will do my best to have quality photos and sometimes videos. Remember, I'm a broke college kid so many of the things I review will be budget items, but that's all I can afford at the time. Others will be the reason I'm a broke college kid haha(Sitka gear, boots, and guns).

Gear Review List:
1. Sitka Mountain Approach Pack
2. Lacrosse Alphaburly Pro 800g boots
3. Sitka Gear Equinox Pants
4. Vortex Solo Monocular
5. Leatherman Rebar
6. Sitka Gear Equinox Jacket
7. Sitka Gear Fanatic Hoodie
8. Vortex Crossfire 8x42 Binos
9. Kuiu Superdown Ultra Hooded Jacket
10. Winterial 2 Person Tent
11. Coleman Peak Backpacking Stove
12. Vortex Diamondback 10x42 Binos
13. Sitka Gear Celsius Jacket
14. Sitka Gear Dewpoint Pants
15. Columbia Watertight II Printed (camo) rain jacket
16. Vortex Glasspak Bino Harness
17. Sitka Gear Hanger Gloves
18. Sitka Gear Ascent Pants
19. Sitka Gear Ascent Shirt
20. Sitka Gear Core Heavyweight Hoodie
21. Kenetrek Hardscrabble Hiker
22. La Sportiva Stream Gtx
23. Sitka Gear Core Midweight Zip T
24. Sitka Gear 90% Jacket
25. Alps Outdoorz Commander Pack + Bag

Hopefully I'll have more by the end of this list or find some other things to review that I'm forgetting. Thanks for letting me waste your time!
 
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