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Gear you liked/disliked 2024

My new additions for this season was a pursuit platform, new headlamp, and new pulldown rope.

Pursuit is great after I added some traction tits.

The night buddy led strip headlamp is great.

I had 1/2 mule tape for my pull down rope but I found some 1/4 in the dumpster and it packs down so much smaller
 
I like my new pursuit platform. For such a compact unit, it's remarkably stable and it's easy to get in place once you've practiced a little. Not perfect for size 13 boots but if I use it for one foot at a time it's pretty comfortable.

I was less enthralled by the knee pad and stick quiver I bought with it. The quiver carries the sticks horizontally and the catch on things, plus they snap in and don't stay in place as well as I'd like. The knee pad actually works pretty well but I don't use it and it's just one more thing to have to carry and strap to the tree. It austensibly "snaps" into the platform for wearing around your waist when walking in/out but it doesn't stay "connected" to the platform, at least not for me.

I tried single sticking and it just didn't appeal to me. After last season I bought four latitude carbon sticks and used them for the first time this season. Also relatively stable (for 190 pounds with pack and bow on my back) . I only use three of them, though, with 1-step amsteel aiders. I might change the aiders to 2 or 3 step and drop one of the sticks.
 
I finally got some good use out of my tingley ultralight boots with Yoder super chaps. I ordered them shortly after @redsquirrel showed off a pair at the second saddlepalooza. I’ve kept them in the truck the last few summers. I can be in shorts and pull the chaps up to walk through some thick stuff. This year I finally got to cross a few creeks while hunting. They worked well. It’s nice when something you seemingly wasted money on years ago finally pays off. I really haven’t changed much the last few years. I did shorten the step length on my aiders this year. The last few years hasn’t been kind to my body or four decades of not being kind to myself finally started catching up.

Lacrosse Alpha agility snake boots. Love the lightweight. Something about them hurts my feet. Not terrible but definitely more than my tidewe or muck boots. It’s not terrible but being a ROS guy foot pain before climbing only gets worse once in the tree. I hear more people fuss about mucks tearing in briers. Mine have lasted until the sole started tearing away from the boot. I never got the problem with briers because I wear my pants over my boots so only the rubber is exposed. Well the Lacrosse, being snake proof we’re too stiff to get m pants over. Tore them my first time in the thick stuff. Not bad enough to leak but I was disappointed that a snake proof boot couldn’t be briar proof.
 
Fyi......tingley boots will shrink if they get hot. I ended up giving a pair away cause they shrunk so much from leaving them under the topper in the back of the truck.....they shrunk easily a full size and a half
 
I have found with the Waldrop that the initial set up angle is super important to figure out for comfortable long sits. I use a Treehopper cushion (quiet fleece outside) with the Waldrop but I place it to cover the gap of the crease where the seat pivots and the chair angled back against the tree to be the most comfortable position. Yes my knees are somewhat spread eagle but to me it is super comfortable that way and provides the most stability for shots. Especially with a firearm, if I set up my strong side position correctly in relation to anticipated deer movement. With my firearm in my lap and my hands in my side jacket pockets with warmers, I slowly grab my gun and slowly bring it up to my right shoulder and look through the scope with out hardly moving my head and or torso at all. Deer and turkey do not see me.
 
The Predator CFX platform has been great. It's so light, it stays inside my pack even when I haul my Onestick in. Killed my biggest buck to date standing on it

I'll also add the Latitude Lonestar. It's pretty amazing
 
On the flip side of that.....the pair I got to replace the shrinkers the right boot was a little to loose. I spent half an hour with a hair dryer slowly heating the areas I needed them to tighten up and that shrunk it down to fit
I had a pair of Tingley in a hot car and one of the boots was jammed into a spot that caused the upper part of the boot to permanently deform which made it really fumbly to slip in my foot.
So I stuffed the upper with rags very tightly to reshape and then I hit it with a hair dryer. Good as new.
But I've never experienced shrinkage (boot shrinkage, that is!).
 
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Probably cause our temps so dang hot...hahaha
I normally wear 10 and after the shrinkage I gave them to my buddy who is a 9 and they real snug on him.
 
LIkes:
1. TOTA 3 Blade Heads- tough, fly like field tips and sharpen perfectly with the 343 (I think) Sharpening System from Stay Sharp. You can use flat stock but I got them popping arm hairs with the angled 343 and different coarseness's of sandpaper. Buff them to shine and they get scary. Went through my buck and did devastation. See pic below.
2. Sig Sauer Image Stabilizing Binocs. WARNING WARNING WARNING Once you try them you will not go back to normal binocs. They are that good. I like that they especially allow you to pick apart thick brushy areas with the flip of a switch. Glass is surprisingly high quality on these too.
3. CGM Side Pouches. Took them off my turkey vest and put them on the saddle and man they carry a lot and allow you to get away from a hunting pack. Used this system along with a bowspider harness for a lot of my early season and also preset locations. No pullup or doyles, bow rides very nice on your back through thick brush. Carry your sticks.
4. Fenix headlight rechargeable. Wow, finally got a light that rocks, is durable, surprisingly folds up into a small chest harness bottom pouch and keeps a charge for a super long time.
5. @Brocky tethers/LB's with hitches. Went to smaller diameter ropes and no mechanical ascender. Lighter, quieter, fits in my CGM pouches way better.... I Just need to learn how to tie the hitches myself now LOL!!! :grimacing:
Dislikes:
Bought a leafy jacket and facemask in the new CERCE pattern from First Lite and that thing is noisy and plastic feeling. Maybe it will wear softer but not liking it out of the package.IMG_77133.jpg
 
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LIkes:
1. TOTA 3 Blade Heads- tough, fly like field tips and sharpen perfectly with the 343 (I think) Sharpening System from Stay Sharp. You can use flat stock but I got them popping arm hairs with the angled 343 and different coarseness's of sandpaper. Buff them to shine and they get scary. Went through my buck and did devastation. See pic below.
2. Sig Sauer Image Stabilizing Binocs. WARNING WARNING WARNING Once you try them you will not go back to normal binocs. They are that good. I like that they especially allow you to pick apart thick brushy areas with the flip of a switch. Glass is surprisingly high quality on these too.
3. CGM Side Pouches. Took them off my turkey vest and put them on the saddle and man they carry a lot and allow you to get away from a hunting pack. Used this system along with a bowspider harness for a lot of my early season and also preset locations. No pullup or doyles, bow rides very nice on your back through thick brush. Carry your sticks.
4. Fenix headlight rechargeable. Wow, finally got a light that rocks, is durable, surprisingly folds up into a small chest harness bottom pouch and keeps a charge for a super long time.
5. @Brocky tethers/LB's with hitches. Went to smaller diameter ropes and no mechanical ascender. Lighter, quieter, fits in my CGM pouches way better.... I Just need to learn how to tie the hitches myself now LOL!!! :grimacing:
Dislikes:
Bought a leafy jacket and facemask in the new CERCE pattern from First Lite and that thing is noisy and plastic feeling. Maybe it will wear softer but not liking it out of the package.
the ghillie suits from first lite are noisy, i never really think of them as a deer hunting thing while archery hunting, more for turkey. it does soften with wears, my buddy has one from a few years of hard wearing and it wasn't awful, never heard one out of the box though for comparison
 
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LIkes:
1. TOTA 3 Blade Heads- tough, fly like field tips and sharpen perfectly with the 343 (I think) Sharpening System from Stay Sharp. You can use flat stock but I got them popping arm hairs with the angled 343 and different coarseness's of sandpaper. Buff them to shine and they get scary. Went through my buck and did devastation. See pic below.
2. Sig Sauer Image Stabilizing Binocs. WARNING WARNING WARNING Once you try them you will not go back to normal binocs. They are that good. I like that they especially allow you to pick apart thick brushy areas with the flip of a switch. Glass is surprisingly high quality on these too.
3. CGM Side Pouches. Took them off my turkey vest and put them on the saddle and man they carry a lot and allow you to get away from a hunting pack. Used this system along with a bowspider harness for a lot of my early season and also preset locations. No pullup or doyles, bow rides very nice on your back through thick brush. Carry your sticks.
4. Fenix headlight rechargeable. Wow, finally got a light that rocks, is durable, surprisingly folds up into a small chest harness bottom pouch and keeps a charge for a super long time.
5. @Brocky tethers/LB's with hitches. Went to smaller diameter ropes and no mechanical ascender. Lighter, quieter, fits in my CGM pouches way better.... I Just need to learn how to tie the hitches myself now LOL!!! :grimacing:
Dislikes:
Bought a leafy jacket and facemask in the new CERCE pattern from First Lite and that thing is noisy and plastic feeling. Maybe it will wear softer but not liking it out of the package.
Think a ghillie suit is gonna be on the docket after season closes.
 
the ghillie suits from first lite are noisy, i never really think of them as a deer hunting thing while archery hunting, more for turkey. it does soften with wears, my buddy has one from a few years of hard wearing and it wasn't awful, never heard one out of the box though for comparison
I thought Turkey had better hearing than a deer do?
 
I thought Turkey had better hearing than a deer do?
they might! i have heard turkeys definitely have better sight than most other game animals. hearing i think both are quite good

but bc of the sight sensitivity, that's why i hear more about ghillie with turkey than deer. if you are 20ft in a tree and don't get busted by the wind, you can be wearing a canadian tuxedo (jeans and blues all over the place which deer can apparently see very well), and still get lots of deer. the nature of the treestand as an ambush arguably decreases the value of camo.

whereas if you are posted up in front of a tree, 20yds from a suspicious turkey, then it might be worth the noise in order to hide your silhouette better. and ideally you aren't moving enough to make noise, like having your shotgun resting on your knee before the turkey gets into shooting or even eye-shot.
 
I've got quite a list because I went on a spree late last year/early this year. See support thread for details lol.

Things I liked:

True Timber clothing - big sale after Christmas, picked up all new early, mid, and late season outer layers. Gloves, beanie, face mask, etc. Clothing is quiet, warm, breathable, and comfortable, and due to the big sale, I didn't pay an arm and a leg for it. And it's the Strata pattern, the sexiest darn camo pattern ever created.

Trophyline EDP - fairly light for its size, good enough size for my big feet, locks to the tree, feels strong and stable.

Trophyline double step sticks - feel great, decent weight for what they are, bite good, decent standoff distance from tree, nest together pretty good.

CGM Cobra Saddle - carryover from last year. Can't say enough good about the saddle or the company, or Jerry. Great products, and probably the best customer service of any company I've ever done business with.

CGM side pouches - big, quiet, roomy, hauls all my ropes and biners and other accessories. Easy to access, customizable, and they look darn good. Of course they do, he offers the Strata pattern.

Samson 8mm predator rappel and tether/linemans ropes- I'm really liking this rope. Light weight but strong, supple not stiff, packs down nice.

USA Pro/hangfree HFAS trucker style (with two hitches) - my favorite attachment method for my platform. The double hitches allow you to wrap around the tree, under the button, then through the first hitch, then pull back TOWARDS you, letting you put your weight into tightening the rope, rather than just using arm strength to pull away from you like a cam strap. Then the second hitch allows you to tighten the slack and lock it down. It welds the platform to the tree.

Truckers daisies - i use these for the climbing sticks. Light, fast, tight, and secure. Only struggle is sometimes getting the loop open to put the free end through before tightening. I may look into getting more Pro attachments like above.

Marsupial gear bino harness - not new gear for sure but new to me. Hugs tight without feeling tight, doesn't flop around, easy open/close to access binos and rangefinder, lots of custom options, and fairly light. No Strata pattern, but still looks sexy in Ranger Green.

M-TAC compression sacks size medium - found on Amazon, let's me stuff a 2xl parka and compress it down to about the size of a loaf of bread. My big jacket doesn't take up over half my pack space anymore.

Ocoopa rechargeable hand warmers - decent battery life, get very warm very quickly on both sides, high setting is almost too hot to touch, but on this setting i throw it in the little warmer pocket in my muff to create a pocket of hot air for my fingers.

Latitude bite bow hanger - light weight, easily attaches to gear strap, long arm to hold wide limbed bow pretty securely, packs down flat. Replaced a light, but bulky 3d printed bow hanger.

Tetherd HYS strap - this one is a love/hate kinda item. I love how it attaches to the tree, it's easy to hang stuff off the loops, it holds the bite bow hanger better than an amsteel daisy chain gear hanger, but it doesn't pack down very small due to the construction of it. I've been contemplating cutting a couple feet off the length to see if it packs down smaller.

Hangfree amsteel daisy chain gear hanger - packs down great, light weight, lots of length, loops are open loop so easy to hang stuff on, but slightly more fiddle factor than the HYS. Doesn't hold the Bite bow hanger as well.

Hollow Brand Alpaca Wool socks - expensive, but oh so soft and warm. Ive got both the crew and boot socks. The crew are nice for early season, wick away moisture, comfortable, and so far durable. The boot socks are thicker and warm, worked great down to the high teens-low 20s in non-insulated boots.

Vortex Rangefinder - works good in low light, red characters in display so easy to see in low light. Replaced a cheap no-name range finder that didn't work worth a crap in low light and cost me the buck of a lifetime due to that fact.

EWO Ultimate One stick - great one stick. Not much else to say that others haven't already said. Lightweight, bites like a pit bull, easy to climb.

High Speed Daddy lunchbag - I got the kids size, but as seen in the lunch packing thread, holds quite a bit. Veteran owned and operated company, decently priced and looks pretty cool as far as a lunch bag goes. Insulated with mesh zippered pocket on the inside. Has a carry handle with a quick buckle to attach to your pack, but i may see if Jerry can sew some molle on the back so it can be attached to a molle panel on a pack.

Stealthstrips - easy to apply, quiet, soft, and just drop dead sexy in the Strata pattern. Beats the camo hocky stick wrap i was using.

Dislikes -

XOP Edge platform - heavy for its size compared to others in the same size category, I struggled getting it to bite good at all, even with toe hooking.

Cabelas Bow and Rifle pack - pack is heavy when empty for its size. Almost 5 pounds for a 25 size pack. Lots of straps, but are more geared to pinching the packs pockets down rather than pinching things to the pack. No Molle. Waist belt only comes with one side pouch. Has these hard foam u shaped sections on the front meant to strap in a rifle or bow, and also to be used as a rifle rest, and they can't be removed. Worked OK to strap my bow down with on the pack, and my EDP the one time I used it that way, but otherwise they're bulky and I think should be removable. The cam/stock sling part that deploys out of the bottom of the pack is ok, but the little pocket it resides in is kinda small, which requires you to ball up the sling part to the size of a fist, and that is felt through the inside of the main pack compartment and takes up internal space in the pack. The only thing going for this pack, in my opinion is that it's Sexy. It's Strata pattern, of course.

Tidewe bino harness - one of the biggest pieces of garbage hunting gear I've spent money on. Can't be adjusted down to be small enough to be tight to the chest, so flops around all over the place. Sits on the belly, not on the chest, and that's on the smallest adjustment. I am not a small person.

Last Chance Archery limb lock kit - love the product, hate the fact that I had to spend over half the price of my LCA press for this add-on. It works great though, and makes putting the bow in the press much more secure, especially on past-parallel limbs.

Primos lil'shawty 5 in one deer call - this thing sounds like a child's kazoo toy. Ive never heard deer sounds like this thing makes. Wanna scare the deer away from you? Get this call.

I've had some more dislikes, but can't think of them right now.

BT
 
LIkes:
1. TOTA 3 Blade Heads- tough, fly like field tips and sharpen perfectly with the 343 (I think) Sharpening System from Stay Sharp. You can use flat stock but I got them popping arm hairs with the angled 343 and different coarseness's of sandpaper. Buff them to shine and they get scary. Went through my buck and did devastation. See pic below.
2. Sig Sauer Image Stabilizing Binocs. WARNING WARNING WARNING Once you try them you will not go back to normal binocs. They are that good. I like that they especially allow you to pick apart thick brushy areas with the flip of a switch. Glass is surprisingly high quality on these too.
3. CGM Side Pouches. Took them off my turkey vest and put them on the saddle and man they carry a lot and allow you to get away from a hunting pack. Used this system along with a bowspider harness for a lot of my early season and also preset locations. No pullup or doyles, bow rides very nice on your back through thick brush. Carry your sticks.
4. Fenix headlight rechargeable. Wow, finally got a light that rocks, is durable, surprisingly folds up into a small chest harness bottom pouch and keeps a charge for a super long time.
5. @Brocky tethers/LB's with hitches. Went to smaller diameter ropes and no mechanical ascender. Lighter, quieter, fits in my CGM pouches way better.... I Just need to learn how to tie the hitches myself now LOL!!! :grimacing:
Dislikes:
Bought a leafy jacket and facemask in the new CERCE pattern from First Lite and that thing is noisy and plastic feeling. Maybe it will wear softer but not liking it out of the package.View attachment 112519
Those binos are crazy good, and I'm never going back to one without Image Stabilization.
 
Likes:
Paragon bed cover. PITA to get it adjusted but once you do very easy to deploy and close or just remove if you gotta haul lots of crap. Leaks a bit but they all do, but it’s so nice to be able to leave all my hunting trash in the bed and just lock it up.
BFG KO3 tires. Had the KO2s and disliked them immensely, my tire guy recommended the KO3s and such an improvement in handling, road noise and wet drivability.
Harbor Freight Apache long gun case. Very inexpensive for what you get which is a well built case that has most of the features of a pelican for a fraction of the price.
Dislikes:
Sightmark Wraith scope. Thing eats batteries faster than my kids go through potato chips and the screen washes out really easily, it’s hard to get a good balance.
Barnett crossbow arrows. I guess you can’t expect much from manufacturers provided arrows except for maybe Mission or another big name brand but these things flew like twizzlers.
 
Likes:
Paragon bed cover. PITA to get it adjusted but once you do very easy to deploy and close or just remove if you gotta haul lots of crap. Leaks a bit but they all do, but it’s so nice to be able to leave all my hunting trash in the bed and just lock it up.
BFG KO3 tires. Had the KO2s and disliked them immensely, my tire guy recommended the KO3s and such an improvement in handling, road noise and wet drivability.
Harbor Freight Apache long gun case. Very inexpensive for what you get which is a well built case that has most of the features of a pelican for a fraction of the price.
Dislikes:
Sightmark Wraith scope. Thing eats batteries faster than my kids go through potato chips and the screen washes out really easily, it’s hard to get a good balance.
Barnett crossbow arrows. I guess you can’t expect much from manufacturers provided arrows except for maybe Mission or another big name brand but these things flew like twizzlers.
And here I thought I was the only one you hated the KO2s
 
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