What's some gear you shouldn't need to get the top of the line?

[Where's Bruce?]

Oops...accidental dupe.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. Switching from a Sitka Gear 45 to a Kifaru DT1 pack added miles to my daily range because I wasn't suffering mile after mile anymore. Same goes for many things...boots, glass, shelters. High end gear can serve a customer better than cheap stuff. Won't improve your hunting skills but will make your hunt more comfortable and perhaps enable you to cover one more ridge or three that makes the difference in filling a tag instead of eating it. Sure you can kill game without expensive stuff but at some point you pay for it. Might be blistered feet, sore neck and shoulders, headaches from cheap glass...everything is a trade-off. Select your pain...money or ???

This site has cost me a small fortune but i must admit, having the best gear available makes my backcountry time so much more pleasurable. No looking back.

 

[hodgeman]

There are so many opportunities to overspend it isn't funny.

Optics is one area where folks really fork over the dough. Don't get me wrong, good optics are nice to have- but in the modern era of optics manufacturing...you can get very serviceable glass for well below what top shelf costs.

Knives... you can still buy a Mora for under $20, more money really doesn't add much functionality.

Camo...yeah, it's made to catch you more than a critter.

Don't get me wrong- I buy good gear when I can. I buy some of it just because I like it but I'm under no illusion that it makes me a better hunter, maybe a bit more comfortable hunter, but not better.

I've hunted in mil-surplus with a hand me down 30-30....I could do it again but i hope I don't have to.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

There are so many opportunities to overspend it isn't funny.

Optics is one area where folks really fork over the dough. Don't get me wrong, good optics are nice to have- but in the modern era of optics manufacturing...you can get very serviceable glass for well below what top shelf costs.

Knives... you can still buy a Mora for under $20, more money really doesn't add much functionality.

Camo...yeah, it's made to catch you more than a critter.

Don't get me wrong- I buy good gear when I can. I buy some of it just because I like it but I'm under no illusion that it makes me a better hunter, maybe a bit more comfortable hunter, but not better.

I've hunted in mil-surplus with a hand me down 30-30....I could do it again but i hope I don't have to.

You paint with a broad brush, perhaps inaccurately. If you can easily afford it, it's not "overspending" and that applies to any purchase, high end or not. If you are unable to afford something, using credit cards for long term debt, paying high interest rates or ignoring your other bills just because you gotta have it now...that's overspending. Has absolutely NOTHING to do with the nature or price of the product.

 

[hodgeman]

The way I read the OP, it was about spending big dollars on items that really didn't return on that investment over lower priced items.

Change it to "over allocate" if you wish.

 

[Felix40]

Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. Switching from a Sitka Gear 45 to a Kifaru DT1 pack added miles to my daily range because I wasn't suffering mile after mile anymore. Same goes for many things...boots, glass, shelters. High end gear can serve a customer better than cheap stuff. Won't improve your hunting skills but will make your hunt more comfortable and perhaps enable you to cover one more ridge or three that makes the difference in filling a tag instead of eating it. Sure you can kill game without expensive stuff but at some point you pay for it. Might be blistered feet, sore neck and shoulders, headaches from cheap glass...everything is a trade-off. Select your pain...money or ???

This site has cost me a small fortune but i must admit, having the best gear available makes my backcountry time so much more pleasurable. No looking back.

Same things could be accomplished for free by just getting in better shape.

My biggest money saver is making gear myself. I made a new lid for my pack for about $6, made game bags for $12, stuff sack for my quilt for less than $1, waterproof pullouts for less than $1 a piece. Also buying cheap or making your own belt pouches saves a ton. All in all Ive probably saved a couple hundred dollars on simple stuff like that since kifaru charges such a premium.

 

[Pro953]

Totally subjective argument but will chime in anyway!

Not sure if hunting has a term for this but in fishing the term "confidence bait" comes to mind.

If you are confident in your gear be it top of the line or bottom of the barrel, you will hunt better. That could be the same bow you have shot for a decade and feels like a glove or a brand new custom 6.5 creedmore.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Same things could be accomplished for free by just getting in better shape.

My biggest money saver is making gear myself. I made a new lid for my pack for about $6, made game bags for $12, stuff sack for my quilt for less than $1, waterproof pullouts for less than $1 a piece. Also buying cheap or making your own belt pouches saves a ton. All in all Ive probably saved a couple hundred dollars on simple stuff like that since kifaru charges such a premium.

I guess it's subjective. As i read on another site:

Kuiu frame is $274.99 Two waist belt sizes, two frame sizes, and no option to customize stays and back profile.
Kifaru frame is $318.00 Three waist belt sizes, three frame sizes, and the option to swap in different stays and customize pack to ones own back.
So for about $43 more I get a pack that is clearly in a different league than Kuiu and will have a much better resale value as well as the ability to customize to my personal body profile.

Those critical of Kifaru's alleged "premium" pricing are often either comparing the cost of their goods to other products made in China (like Kuiu) and ignore the higher overhead and reduced profits inherent with making a product in the USA or add no value for the time spent in DIY projects. Time is money and vice versa...you can always get more of one at the loss of the other.

 

[204guy]

Haha, not only did this thread go over your head Bruce, you managed to bring KUIU bashing into it. Well done.

 

[Frito]

I prefer the Paradox brand Zip neck long sleeve Tees and bottoms that are a merino/poly blend treated for funk resistance to straight Merino that costs 5X as much and only lasts 1/5 as long. And this is for hard backpack hunting, tree-standing or everyday wear.

I think I have the same Tees....got them from Costco. I've been using one for 3 years of constant hiking, hunting and snowboarding and it looks like new. I wear the black Carhartt bottoms and can never bring myself to pay for the more expensive boutique underwear from brands like Sitka, etc. I do however tend to spend a lot of money on outerwear, packs, and knives.

 

[5MilesBack]

The way I read the OP, it was about spending big dollars on items that really didn't return on that investment over lower priced items.

That's why I differentiated in my post about top of the line pricing versus top of the line gear. To me, my Microtex Lite shirts and pants ARE top of the line for me, yet I only paid $20/piece on clearance. I could buy any clothes out there, but for warm weather hunting I can't imagine anything working better than these.......for me. If I had to design something from the ground up......these are what I would come up with. But I would consider clothes to be a comfort item for the most part.

When you start getting into tents and that kind of gear, cheap can cost you a hunt when it collapses from wind or snow. You may not need a Hilleberg.....until you do.

Could I kill elk with Walmart arrows? Maybe. But they wouldn't be spined right for me, never seen stiff enough arrows at Walmart......so could actually be dangerous shooting those. And I most certainly wouldn't be able to handle the inaccuracies and inconsistencies. But not everybody needs higher quality for what they do either.

 

[bigdesert10]

I think I would define overspending as a condition where the cost markedly outweighs the benefit. By that description, it's really subjective based on how you hunt. Just because something is expensive does not necessarily make it overpriced so long as the value is there for the user. Personally, I could never justify high-end optics. I'm camped squarely in the Vortex-type of price mentality, and I've yet to feel like that has been a limiting factor in my hunts. On the other hand, the way I hike and the way I sweat, I've become borderline obsessed with merino wool, particularly the First Lite stuff. I don't like to shoot at animals out past 300 yds, so I'll probably never spend more than $1500 on a rifle / scope setup. Even though my Eberlestock pack is plenty serviceable for most of the hunting I do, I'm looking at an Exo, because I feel like there is enough value for me there to justify the price. All that being said, I know it'll ruffle some feathers, but I'd like to hear anybody justify the need for a $1500 compound bow. Just sayin'...

 

[backcountry_hunter]

but I'd like to hear anybody justify the need for a $1500 compound bow. Just sayin'...

although I share the same sentiments I can't cast stones either as I'd have no problem spending that on a custom made-for-me take down recurve

 

[bean outdoors]

Haven't seen a post like this, what is some gear that isn't worth the extra buck to upgrade?

Items that in your experience you can get by going with the lower end product or the high priced brand isn't worth it.

underwear

 

[Molon Labe]

Truck. You can save thousands a year with a used older truck.
Then spend that thousands on top of the line gear.
Then use your top of the line gear to hunt longer, harder and smarter.
Nothing makes me cringe more than a guy with a brand new pickup and a pair of optics on the dash I wouldn't let my kid use.

I know everyone on here says that better gear doesn't make you a better hunter.
I disagree with those people completely.
Several times been out with other people that couldn't walk as far...hunt as long...see an animal...got cold...got tired...etc
Because they had a failure in subpar gear that they saved money on.

I am a firm believer on buying used gear...or shopping sales but sticking with the high end equipment.
If I need to pay a 50% premium to get a fraction of better performance it is done.

I am just too poor to buy cheap.

 

[hodgeman]

That's why I differentiated in my post about top of the line pricing versus top of the line gear. To me, my Microtex Lite shirts and pants ARE top of the line for me, yet I only paid $20/piece on clearance....
When you start getting into tents and that kind of gear, cheap can cost you a hunt when it collapses from wind or snow. You may not need a Hilleberg.....until you do.r.

I agree with that, if an item doesn't live up to the buyer's requirements...then it wasn't a good buy at any price. I think one of the interesting things is how many hunters let marketing companies set those requirements for them. It might (or not) have been the impetus for the initial post... but how many guys really don't know what they actually need before they spend money? The example someone gave of folks buying Sitka to sit in a tree stand is pretty perfect...performance clothing to sit in a tree. Makes sense for Sitka, since whitetail hunters outnumber folks who climb up a mountain 100s to 1... probably not the best deal for the hunters though.

As much as I'd hate to think about it- there's very little of this high end gear ever gets used on hunts that truly require it.

I think this is one of the more interesting threads to come along in a while.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

I think one of the interesting things is how many hunters let marketing companies set those requirements for them. It might (or not) have been the impetus for the initial post... but how many guys really don't know what they actually need before they spend money?

this is a major reason why I don't wear a ton of hunting clothing anymore. I usually now find myself shopping for outerwear now @ steep and cheap or REI and buying earthtone solids, last time I bought optics I referred to a birding forum for reviews. In the hunting world there's a TON of brand loyalty and bias's. I'm not criticizing if you're sitka this or kuiu that.... it's your money, spend it as you see fit. But there's companies that have been making clothes for adverse mountain conditions long before mountain hunting was vogue, and their doing it as good or better, at often a fraction of the cost

For the whitetail stuff from sitka, boy I've tried it and it's fine apparel. But marketing and gimmicks aside I can't fathom anything better in a treestand than old school wool. I don't spend a ton of time in a tree stand but I'm not sure why I'd need "performance" apparel above and beyond wool.

 

[5MilesBack]

but how many guys really don't know what they actually need before they spend money? The example someone gave of folks buying Sitka to sit in a tree stand is pretty perfect...performance clothing to sit in a tree. Makes sense for Sitka, since whitetail hunters outnumber folks who climb up a mountain 100s to 1... probably not the best deal for the hunters though.

I agree. It's like the threads I've seen from treestand hunters that bought some merino base layers because they heard how great they were. Then they complain that they froze in their tree wearing them. They just assume that because it's wool it will be warm while they're sitting in low temps.

 

[KMT]

Nobody needs top of the line gear for anything.

 

[MOHunter]

Trekking poles, and (unless you're a LR hunter), really expensive glass on your rifle. I'm guilty of wasting $$ on both.

I agree with the riflescope point. It drives me crazy when I see guys carrying a gun that has a scope worth 3x their binos. For the average hunter, you'd be much better directing those funds to optics that are used through the entire hunt.