Product Reviews

[Frosty]

Lately I've spent a bit of money trying to get quality products and they seem to have backfired. Im sure not all experiences are the same, but here are mine.

Hanwag boots- 2 seasons. I use them in hunting season only and on weekends. And not every weekend at that. The toe started coming off the boot, stitching on the heel instep started coming apart and they are not waterproof anymore. I have never had feet so wet as i did in these. I've had 180 dollar pairs of rockys out perform these.

Delorme GPS, Spot combo- I rarely use a gps and I'm on to my 4th set of lithium batteries in the gps and these aren't cheap. This thing eats batteries like i've never seen. I've put in new batteries and not used the unit for awhile. When I did go to use it the batteries were down to 10%.

First Lite merino wool pants- The first pair the fit was awful. They reworked the line(wait 7 months) get the new pair seems like a good fit. In no time I ripped a hole in the ass. I don't even know when it happened, and now the crotch has a big rip in it, they made it half a season. The pants suck. The only good part is that they are thin and easily dry out on their own at night in the house.

Riverswest gaiters- Bought these because of the quiet material, the snow plugs up the velcro and they don't stay on. Talked to the company sent them back for reworking. All they did was add a hook to hook on the laces, they didn't do anything with velcro, they still suck.

Anyways just a heads up if anyones looking at these products

[shaydog65]

I have to agree about the First Lite Pants. I have the Kanab pants and they really underwhelmed when I got them. They have an elastic waist design, so they're always falling down because they are slightly too loose. The suspenders seem more like a patch for a shotty design. But, the crotch is too long anyways. I should have just got a mid layer merino wool long underwear.

My Garmin 450 destroys batteries too. I bought 3 sets of NiMh rechargeables, but they take like 17hours to charge. I'm forced to always be conserving batteries too.

As far as gaiters, I'm on the wait list for the Kuiu gaiters. Take a look at their blog entry http://kuiu.wordpress.com/2011/11/01/kuiu-prototype-gaiter/ If only they made VIAS in a digital micro/macro pattern, I'd buy 1 of everything they sell.

[Gateholio]

How did the Delorme/Spot unit function (other than eating batteries)

Where you able to send and receive text messages?

[Frosty]

It works well sending your message and a map with a pointer of where it was sent from, along with co ordinates. You cant receive texts though.

[KevinB]

For AA batteries, go with some good high-capacity NiMH, and for heavens sake get yourself a decent charger - something like a Maha (the PaulsFinest website is a good canadian source) that will properly discharge and charge. The cheap chargers that you find in regular stores are usually pretty crappy. New NiMh batteries need to go through a few cycles before they get good life. High drain stuff like GPS and digicams eat standard batteries like crazy.

I don't have much to add to the thread.

Hmmm....I really like my Icebreaker merino wool socks. I kill the heels in all other brands quite quickly but a single pair of medium weight hikers have lasted through 2 seasons, sometimes up to 10-12 days without washing or even hardly taking them off :?

I'm taking a strong dislike to my new Slik Compact II tripod (the new one with the flip-tab leg adjustments) - one of the legs fell apart after 5 days, and the pan head doesn't adjust very smoothly. My old original Compact was a lot better.

Still liking my Lowa Baffin Pro and Terrano boots. Can you say "yay for leather lined NO goretex!"

Good thread idea!

[mark]

Kennetreck gaitors are awesome, highly reccomend to anyone!

[Shooter Jr.]

Browning XPO big game line has been great, not sure about wear yet, only first season, but never been too hot, never been too cold, and have been warm and dry when parents are soaked :mrgreen:
they breathe very easy and are very waterproof (walked through 18" of snow a few times) and yet to be wet,
I have the pants and jacket.

[Rubicon500]

Lately I've spent a bit of money trying to get quality products and they seem to have backfired. Im sure not all experiences are the same, but here are mine.

Hanwag boots- 2 seasons. I use them in hunting season only and on weekends. And not every weekend at that. The toe started coming off the boot, stitching on the heel instep started coming apart and they are not waterproof anymore. I have never had feet so wet as i did in these. I've had 180 dollar pairs of rockys out perform these.

Delorme GPS, Spot combo- I rarely use a gps and I'm on to my 4th set of lithium batteries in the gps and these aren't cheap. This thing eats batteries like i've never seen. I've put in new batteries and not used the unit for awhile. When I did go to use it the batteries were down to 10%.

First Lite merino wool pants- The first pair the fit was awful. They reworked the line(wait 7 months) get the new pair seems like a good fit. In no time I ripped a hole in the ass. I don't even know when it happened, and now the crotch has a big rip in it, they made it half a season. The pants suck. The only good part is that they are thin and easily dry out on their own at night in the house.

Riverswest gaiters- Bought these because of the quiet material, the snow plugs up the velcro and they don't stay on. Talked to the company sent them back for reworking. All they did was add a hook to hook on the laces, they didn't do anything with velcro, they still suck.

Anyways just a heads up if anyones looking at these products

I agree spot/delorme combo is crap , its usless having a device you use for 10 mins a day strictly to send a pre programmed message (gps use for emergency only) and it wont last more than 4 days and the batterys are drained. Less than a hour in total use and it completey drained the lithiums. I sent mine back to cabelas they were more than happy to return our money , where delorme wouldnt stand behind the product at all , said that there is nothing wrong the device. I bought another gen 2 spot with the money.

[KevinB]

Do the Delorme's connect to their spot thingy with bluetooth? Maybe that kills the batteries really quick. My Garmin gps's will last a pretty long time on fully charged NiMH's.

I had been thinking about one of them for communication with home when in areas with no other coverage, but it sounds like the technology still has some kinks to be worked out.

[WesHarm]

We had Garmin Rhino's and spots when we were up in the Yukon, worked really well... Accidentally left my Rhino at the heli drop site over night in a thunder shower in the open.... came back the next day still working fine with well over 3/4 battery left after an entire day, night and most of the next day. Have nothing bad to say about the Rhinos, they kick ass

[BromBones]

Kennetreck gaitors are awesome, highly reccomend to anyone!

x2 on that Mark. My OR gaiters got shredded on the first sheep hunt I went on this year, so I replaced them with Kenetreks. The second and third hunts I went up for this year, the Kenetreks kept my feet dry by keeping the water from wicking down my pants/socks, and no rips or tears after miles of buckbrush, thick timber, and rock.

The Kenetrek boots were excellent as well.

Garmin GPSMAP 62 is a great unit, picks up a signal very fast in thick timber. Still haven't replaced the lithium batteries I put in in August, but I only turn it on to mark waypoints, and occasionaly navigate back to one.

[2x4x16]

X2 on the Rhino. We where up north this past season and had them on all day using both the gps, BC Map book card and the FRS radio. The 3 of us where spread over a huge area but we where able to see each others movements. The battery pack lasted about 4 days - which I thought was unbelievable. I believe the Rhino with the map card is the best piece of technology in the bush. One of the guys had another gps unit as well. It had awesome display and graphics but the battery life was terrible, you could not leave it on while you where out for the day - batteries would not last.

[Sitkaspruce]

Kennetreck gaitors are awesome, highly reccomend to anyone!


x2 on that Mark. My OR gaiters got shredded on the first sheep hunt I went on this year, so I replaced them with Kenetreks. The second and third hunts I went up for this year, the Kenetreks kept my feet dry by keeping the water from wicking down my pants/socks, and no rips or tears after miles of buckbrush, thick timber, and rock.



X3

Beat the hell out of them guiding, moose hunting and on the island, still look like new (other than then mud). Keep my feet and lower pant leg dry and stay on, even through the thick salal here on the island.

RW Ambush pants worked really well this year in the heavy rain and snow up north. Kept me dry and warm and with the Kenetrek gaiters, worker really well all season.

My old SPOT is still on the original batteries, still sends updates and keeps my wife from worrying. Best thing I spent on hunting in the last 4 years.

Cheers

SS

[bmx_slinger]

Awesome thread! Answered lots of questions already. For my own contribution, I entered into the world of 'good' boots this year, and picked up a pair of Meindl Islands. All I can say is that I wish that they were the first thing I bought when starting out. Great boots, and the fit (for me anyway) is spot on. And a good word for Fisher's hardware in Vernon. Great guys.

[shaydog65]

Awesome thread! Answered lots of questions already. For my own contribution, I entered into the world of 'good' boots this year, and picked up a pair of Meindl Islands. All I can say is that I wish that they were the first thing I bought when starting out. Great boots, and the fit (for me anyway) is spot on. And a good word for Fisher's hardware in Vernon. Great guys.

I bought the same boots! After trying pretty much every alternative in the lower mainland, I bucked up and couldn't be happier.

[CanuckShooter]

A good word for Havalon knives, sticky sharp little tools. Thumbs down to Winchester ammunition.

[ytlogger]

What kind of stuff did you put on your Hanwags. Friend of mine used Arctic dubbin and his Hwags didn't last. I used Nikwax and mine are great.

[Tarp Man]

Thumbs up here too for the Spot 2. No delorme option. Why would anyone want to send a text at the same time? You have to keep a separate device charged and protected, too. The basic Spot, with some planning ahead works well. Just update the list of who gets what message and where you are before you go on a big trip.

Thumbs up to my Scarpa Escape boots. Bought them two years ago when Meindl and AJ Brooks couldn't get my size in, despite waiting 6 months. They are light, have a solid underfoot support, and dry relatively fast from the inside out. For narrow feet with high arches Scarpa are a good bet for the right fit.

Thumbs up to a MEC tent the North Wind. A true 4 season tent for 3-4 guys, or two in luxury. Withstood some serious wind and blowing snow on an alpine hunt this October.

Thumbs up to the Swift Scirocco's I bought from OSS this past spring. Once I got a load dialed in, they are shooting MOA or better out to 200m. Have yet to try them past that. One moose down so far, one shot was all it took. Lead is a little hard for a moose to digest...