gear reviews...

[redneckross]

just real quick what new or old piece of equip, have you had or just got that performed to or passed your expectations or failed horribly?

if you would please give us a quick over view of your expierence with that piece of equip.

at christmass i burned up some gift certificates and i got a pair of Barska atlantic 10x42 binocs and one of those crooked horn outfitter bino system straps.

both to me were awesome. as most of you know i hunt on the cheep. i dont need the best of gear to hunt with. i got the binocs for $70 and the crooked horn strap for $10. i have never been one to wear binocs while hunting but always found myself digging through my bag when i seen a deer at a distance. now i never leave the truck to hunt without them on my chest.

i liked the binocs at the store when i could focus in on a fish mount across the store and clearly see the eye and start counting scales behind the gill. almost as well as i could with the $500 pair next to them in the case. to me they seem to collect enough light to see clearly 300 or so yards in the last 10 min of light. good enough for me.

the crooked horn strap i think is what makes it for me. they hold the binocs tight to my chest even when taking a straight down shot and i can walk a few miles and never know they are on my neck unlike most standard straps that come with the binocs.

in my book 2 thumbs up to the barska binocs and 2 thumbs up to the crooked horn bino system.

[bowhunt54]

just real quick what new or old piece of equip, have you had or just got that performed to or passed your expectations or failed horribly?

if you would please give us a quick over view of your expierence with that piece of equip.

at christmass i burned up some gift certificates and i got a pair of Barska atlantic 10x42 binocs and one of those crooked horn outfitter bino system straps.

both to me were awesome. as most of you know i hunt on the cheep. i dont need the best of gear to hunt with. i got the binocs for $70 and the crooked horn strap for $10. i have never been one to wear binocs while hunting but always found myself digging through my bag when i seen a deer at a distance. now i never leave the truck to hunt without them on my chest.

i liked the binocs at the store when i could focus in on a fish mount across the store and clearly see the eye and start counting scales behind the gill. almost as well as i could with the $500 pair next to them in the case. to me they seem to collect enough light to see clearly 300 or so yards in the last 10 min of light. good enough for me.

the crooked horn strap i think is what makes it for me. they hold the binocs tight to my chest even when taking a straight down shot and i can walk a few miles and never know they are on my neck unlike most standard straps that come with the binocs.

in my book 2 thumbs up to the barska binocs and 2 thumbs up to the crooked horn bino system.

I have the bino strap thing also. It makes taking binos with you so much easier. Ross, did you get the bino hide as well with your strap?

[bj99robinson]

Anyone got any suggestions for a hand held GPS?

[redneckross]

bino hide?

[bowhunt54]

It slips over your lenses to keep them protected in the rain

[superbuckeye]

Anyone got any suggestions for a hand held GPS?

MikeF has the Garmin Rino GPS and they are quite impressive... two way radio, GPS, and more.

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=143&fKeys=FILTER_SERIES_RINO

[nomad_archer]

I have a simple garmin etrex... its really simple but it gets the job done.

[nomad_archer]

I have one item to add. Its the specialty archery super ball peeps. They come in a kit so you can change the size of peep to fit your sight or light condition. Its a great little product that I have on all my bows.

[falcon2082]

I purchased the Lone Wolf Alpha Assualt with 4 sticks this year and they are just awesome. This system gets you in trees with out having to remove branches while you are going up the tree like you have to do with a climber. It is also extremely light which is great if you have any long walks to your site. I have some sticks set up in a couple of areas and in those trees I leave the "strap hook" in the tree and just climb my sticks and hang the Alpha Assualt form the hook and strap the lower part of the stand to the tree and settle in. Great system for sure! I just wish I had bought this before waisting a bunch of money on 3 different climbers and 3 or 4 Gorrilla stands, I would have saved money in the long run.

[bj99robinson]

I bought a DeLorme PN-20 GPS. I really like it soo far and I think I got a good deal($199). It came with free topo software and limited downloads. I can get aerial photos downloaded that look like satallite photos. It also came with a 2gig sd card. The color screen is prettty bright. I would recomend this to someone looking to get a gps.

[Seeker Bp]

This year was an update of my Safety Harness. I had been wearing one of the HSS double buckle harness. The one of course before they coated the buckles for silent wear. It was like wearing a refrigerator..... I shopped around, swearing not to buy one unless I wore it first, and it felt right. A trip to Woodbury Outfitters in Coshocton made my choice. The Scentblocker Tree Spyder is what I purchased. Tried it on and fell in Love. Original price of $149.00....on sale $99.00. Wow, what a differance. Its like you are not even wearing one. Light weight, very comfortable, no tangle...What more can I say. Nothing else even came close to comparing in comfort. Seeker BP

[4arms]

I switched to the same tree spider harness this year. That thing is so mu h lighter. Though I have found that the back of it creates a hotspot while hiking in. It's still more comfortable than the HSS lead vest.