I’m a big fan of gear reviews - both reading and writing them. I’m talking honest reviews here, and definitely not, “I took this out of the box five minutes ago and I’ve never used it, but it’s awesome!” Here are some of the products that were new to me this year (or last year, in one case), and how they worked for me:
Good stuff... but did I read that right? $1100 for waders? Holy sheep shit!
No new gear reviews from me this year...
Spent most of my deer season in 30+ year old Cabela's "polar fleece" gear. It hasn't been available for ages in the catalog, which doesn't surprise me. Seriously, how can you keep selling stuff if the stuff you sell lasts the better part of a lifetime? It's not quite as waterproof as it once was, and the bibs fit a little more snugly than they did all those years ago... but it's quiet and comfortable.
Pretty much the same story for duck gear.
My waders are the same (Cabela's?) 3mm neoprene stockingfoot waders I bought in 1996, my first season hunting in CA, after I realized that the heavy duty Hodgeman canvas waders were way too hot for hiking all the way across the refuge. They busted brush at Delevan, crawled through cockleburrs at Grizzly Island, and slogged through the Mendota mud for the whole time I hunted in CA. They were still solid and dry while I was standing up to my chest in the Northeast Cape Fear a couple weeks ago.
I've still got a couple Rubbermaid totes full of clothing and gear that was sent for review back in the day. As I recall, most of it was pretty decent. I did really like the Predator camo pattern when it came out. I do sort of miss getting new stuff to play with, but I don't think my honest reviews were always what the manufacturers and marketing teams wanted to see. I'm glad to see you're still giving it to us straight.
I have a dozen of the same decoys (HeyDey/Lifetime). They are Texas rigged and I have hand flocked the drakes. I like them very much except for one feature - when you lift them out of the water to attach to the clip for hauling them home, they have about a half cup of trapped water that can pour back over your hands if you are not careful. One of the main benefits of Texas rigged decoys is being able to keep your hands dry when picking up the decoys, so having 4 oz of water poured over them is not great. Minor issue, I know for what appears to be a very good product.
I have a couple dozen of the Lifetime decoys, and I agree that the system for taking lead weights in and out of the keel is annoying. I ended up buying a bunch of smaller zip ties and just running them through the keel holes and lead weight. Faster than the bolt system they give you, and if you decide you want the weights out I just snip the zip ties and pop the weights back out.
I'm a big fan of the 5% of gear reviews which are like this -- real people talking about their real world experience with gear. And then if they can write well and have a sense of humor, bonus! So thank you Holly. Infinitely valuable -- and INTERESTING (even if I don't have a need for any of the gear reviewed, gives me a deeper understanding of the whole experience of getting out an hunting from someone else's perspective).
I may have to splurge on some durable waders soon. I was getting frogg toggs on sale every 2 years and walking holes in the seams pretty quickly in the refuges. I think I wrecked a pair in 1 day snipe hunting with 8 miles of walking.
Honest reviews are hard to find for just about any product category, but hunting equipment is particularly challenging for me to decipher what might be good or just gimmicky. I find duck call reviews to be particularly “fluffy”. According to reviews I have read there are around 74 “best duck calls” out there that are perfect for beginner callers that you will never outgrow! They range from 80 dollars to 200. I don’t have the money to buy 10 different acrylic calls to figure out which one I actually want to splurge on. Post Covid I can’t find places to let you try them in my part of California.
I did finally find a hen green wing teal call I think sounds half decent: Power Calls hen teal. Most other teal calls I tried and heard in person seems to be mimicking blue wings at best, at worst they just sound bad.
First, thanks for a great review. I’ve been considering adding Mojo flock of flickers to my gear, but those tanglefree floating wings have to be considered now.
As for my gear, I had to finally replace/upgrade my old Hardcore run-n-gunner layout blinds (multiple seasons of hard use and borderline abuse have taken a toll). I still have them, but they are relegated to the bench and are now only used for guests who do not have a layout of their own.
I bought the ground ghost from tanglefree. They blinds seem reasonably well made and have at least some padding in the shoulder straps. I have noticed a few small abrasion holes in the body of the decoy bag and I don’t love the fact they only have two rows of stubble straps on the sides of the body bag. Overall they are a win, and when found on sale represent a really good value. At full price they are probably still worth it if you have areas where you have low water and might want to use a layout that can still be used to carry gear.
Great article, Holly. You hunt differently than most of my friends but I love knowing what works for you. Would have never thought about neck length on a jacket without this post.
As a short guy (5:2), I like waders that go all the way up to my armpits. Anything less and I'm limited in the depth I can wade and I overtop far too often for Nebraska weather.
My current favorite decoys might be Avian X Top Flight GWT. I blasted the crap out of one at close range shooting at (missing) some ruddies this season - hit it so hard it popped a foot out of the water - but it didn't sink and upon inspection it has about 5 pellets rattling around inside it, but the holes they made are tiny and totally sealable, and it'll look nearly as good as new when I'm done patching it up. I need new wigeon decoys and those are probably the ones I'm going to get.
For waders, I'm on team "get the $350-400 kind when they're on sale for $150." I started treating the boots with marine rubber protectant in the offseason and a couple of times during the season (like if I know I'll not be hunting for a week) and that seems to help prevent the tiny boot cracks, though I seem to tend stress the ass seam with the power of my awesome glutes when I squat to pick the sled up to put it on the cart. The boots on the newer Frogg Toggs are amazing, though they made a design decision I despise by taking away the outer handwarmer pocket and putting on the inside of the waders - it is absolute ass, it's so hard to use it there's virtually no point to it being there at all. If they stick those boots on a better wader design they might really have something going.
Thanks for the review! I’m hoping to give either the Sitkas or Chênes a go this next season. My feet have finally reached the age where they can no longer withstand winter wading in stockingfoot waders. Sigh. That said, I’ve worn the Orvis Pro Waders and they’ve been absolutely bulletproof thanks to the cordura lowers. From your experience handling both the Chênes and Hank’s Sitkas, which of these two options seems more durable? Thanks again for the honest reviews; they’re wildly hard to come by but absolute treasures when I find one!
Honestly I have worn my husbands old XL duck jacket from Sitka and I LOVE it. The only thing that would make it better is if it was a Medium or even Large, but honestly even at 5'5 140 lbs its pretty dang comfortable for all our Montana duck hunts. So many of womens hunting clothes seem to be too tight in weird areas. So maybe just a mens size? Also Im glad to read the review on the Heyday decoys. I've been looking at those for a couple years wondering if they are worth it. Sounds like they are, if you arent in a windy spot... I still may buy 6 and see how it goes.
Good stuff... but did I read that right? $1100 for waders? Holy sheep shit!
No new gear reviews from me this year...
Spent most of my deer season in 30+ year old Cabela's "polar fleece" gear. It hasn't been available for ages in the catalog, which doesn't surprise me. Seriously, how can you keep selling stuff if the stuff you sell lasts the better part of a lifetime? It's not quite as waterproof as it once was, and the bibs fit a little more snugly than they did all those years ago... but it's quiet and comfortable.
Pretty much the same story for duck gear.
My waders are the same (Cabela's?) 3mm neoprene stockingfoot waders I bought in 1996, my first season hunting in CA, after I realized that the heavy duty Hodgeman canvas waders were way too hot for hiking all the way across the refuge. They busted brush at Delevan, crawled through cockleburrs at Grizzly Island, and slogged through the Mendota mud for the whole time I hunted in CA. They were still solid and dry while I was standing up to my chest in the Northeast Cape Fear a couple weeks ago.
I've still got a couple Rubbermaid totes full of clothing and gear that was sent for review back in the day. As I recall, most of it was pretty decent. I did really like the Predator camo pattern when it came out. I do sort of miss getting new stuff to play with, but I don't think my honest reviews were always what the manufacturers and marketing teams wanted to see. I'm glad to see you're still giving it to us straight.
I have a dozen of the same decoys (HeyDey/Lifetime). They are Texas rigged and I have hand flocked the drakes. I like them very much except for one feature - when you lift them out of the water to attach to the clip for hauling them home, they have about a half cup of trapped water that can pour back over your hands if you are not careful. One of the main benefits of Texas rigged decoys is being able to keep your hands dry when picking up the decoys, so having 4 oz of water poured over them is not great. Minor issue, I know for what appears to be a very good product.
I have a couple dozen of the Lifetime decoys, and I agree that the system for taking lead weights in and out of the keel is annoying. I ended up buying a bunch of smaller zip ties and just running them through the keel holes and lead weight. Faster than the bolt system they give you, and if you decide you want the weights out I just snip the zip ties and pop the weights back out.
I'm a big fan of the 5% of gear reviews which are like this -- real people talking about their real world experience with gear. And then if they can write well and have a sense of humor, bonus! So thank you Holly. Infinitely valuable -- and INTERESTING (even if I don't have a need for any of the gear reviewed, gives me a deeper understanding of the whole experience of getting out an hunting from someone else's perspective).
I may have to splurge on some durable waders soon. I was getting frogg toggs on sale every 2 years and walking holes in the seams pretty quickly in the refuges. I think I wrecked a pair in 1 day snipe hunting with 8 miles of walking.
Honest reviews are hard to find for just about any product category, but hunting equipment is particularly challenging for me to decipher what might be good or just gimmicky. I find duck call reviews to be particularly “fluffy”. According to reviews I have read there are around 74 “best duck calls” out there that are perfect for beginner callers that you will never outgrow! They range from 80 dollars to 200. I don’t have the money to buy 10 different acrylic calls to figure out which one I actually want to splurge on. Post Covid I can’t find places to let you try them in my part of California.
I did finally find a hen green wing teal call I think sounds half decent: Power Calls hen teal. Most other teal calls I tried and heard in person seems to be mimicking blue wings at best, at worst they just sound bad.
First, thanks for a great review. I’ve been considering adding Mojo flock of flickers to my gear, but those tanglefree floating wings have to be considered now.
As for my gear, I had to finally replace/upgrade my old Hardcore run-n-gunner layout blinds (multiple seasons of hard use and borderline abuse have taken a toll). I still have them, but they are relegated to the bench and are now only used for guests who do not have a layout of their own.
I bought the ground ghost from tanglefree. They blinds seem reasonably well made and have at least some padding in the shoulder straps. I have noticed a few small abrasion holes in the body of the decoy bag and I don’t love the fact they only have two rows of stubble straps on the sides of the body bag. Overall they are a win, and when found on sale represent a really good value. At full price they are probably still worth it if you have areas where you have low water and might want to use a layout that can still be used to carry gear.
Great article, Holly. You hunt differently than most of my friends but I love knowing what works for you. Would have never thought about neck length on a jacket without this post.
As a short guy (5:2), I like waders that go all the way up to my armpits. Anything less and I'm limited in the depth I can wade and I overtop far too often for Nebraska weather.
My current favorite decoys might be Avian X Top Flight GWT. I blasted the crap out of one at close range shooting at (missing) some ruddies this season - hit it so hard it popped a foot out of the water - but it didn't sink and upon inspection it has about 5 pellets rattling around inside it, but the holes they made are tiny and totally sealable, and it'll look nearly as good as new when I'm done patching it up. I need new wigeon decoys and those are probably the ones I'm going to get.
For waders, I'm on team "get the $350-400 kind when they're on sale for $150." I started treating the boots with marine rubber protectant in the offseason and a couple of times during the season (like if I know I'll not be hunting for a week) and that seems to help prevent the tiny boot cracks, though I seem to tend stress the ass seam with the power of my awesome glutes when I squat to pick the sled up to put it on the cart. The boots on the newer Frogg Toggs are amazing, though they made a design decision I despise by taking away the outer handwarmer pocket and putting on the inside of the waders - it is absolute ass, it's so hard to use it there's virtually no point to it being there at all. If they stick those boots on a better wader design they might really have something going.
Thanks for the review! I’m hoping to give either the Sitkas or Chênes a go this next season. My feet have finally reached the age where they can no longer withstand winter wading in stockingfoot waders. Sigh. That said, I’ve worn the Orvis Pro Waders and they’ve been absolutely bulletproof thanks to the cordura lowers. From your experience handling both the Chênes and Hank’s Sitkas, which of these two options seems more durable? Thanks again for the honest reviews; they’re wildly hard to come by but absolute treasures when I find one!
Honestly I have worn my husbands old XL duck jacket from Sitka and I LOVE it. The only thing that would make it better is if it was a Medium or even Large, but honestly even at 5'5 140 lbs its pretty dang comfortable for all our Montana duck hunts. So many of womens hunting clothes seem to be too tight in weird areas. So maybe just a mens size? Also Im glad to read the review on the Heyday decoys. I've been looking at those for a couple years wondering if they are worth it. Sounds like they are, if you arent in a windy spot... I still may buy 6 and see how it goes.