Ep. 71: Remi's 2020 Gear Roundup (and Gift Guide)
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As a guide and hunter, I've spent thousands of days in the field. This show is about translating my hard-won experiences into tips and tactics that'll get you closer to your ultimate goal, success in the field. I'm Remy Warren. This is Cutting the Distance. Welcome back to the podcast, everyone. This week's going to be a little bit different because this week is going to be all about gear.

I think if you get a bunch of hunters in a room together, first, they're probably going to talk about some of their hunting stories and

share stories of hunts or recent hunts or other things that they've done. And then the conversation always tends to go toward gear, gear that they like gear that they don't like gear that they want to try or want to buy. It just for some reason is in hunters DNA to talk about gear. And I think it's because there's so much good gear and gear so integral to what we do. There's a lot of good gear out there that helps us be more successful, be more comfortable, um,

And there's a lot of gear out there that is really good and there's a lot of gear out there that's not so good. And it's just something that we like to talk about. We like to see what everybody else is using. We like to talk about what we like, what we don't like. And I am no different. So this year, I've decided to make a top gear of 2020 list. I'm going to be running through all my favorites and all the things that I got to try, things that I like and why I like them.

Now, I feel very, very fortunate because when it comes to gear, I get to try a lot of stuff. For some of the magazines that I write for, I get to sample gear for just various things. I work with a lot of companies very closely through partnerships and sponsorship type things, but also just get to try a lot of stuff.

different product lines and other things to sample. Some stuff I really like, some stuff I don't like. But generally the stuff that I don't like, it's not even necessarily worth talking about for the most part. But for me personally, I've always been the type of person that when it comes to

Picking out gear. I have the philosophy that I'd rather buy it once and use it forever. I really like high quality gear that I know is going to last a long time, that's going to get the job done. And I also am very cognizant of the fact that my uses for gear might not be the same uses as other people. You know, I've professionally guided pretty much my entire adult life.

And I'm using these things day in, day out as part of my job, but also, you know, you're using it every day. So I really demand some of the best.

I understand that maybe for a week-long hunt or something, that might not necessarily be necessary, but also I think that there is something to be said for having gear that gets the job done. I'm a really big proponent of that. Now, good gear doesn't necessarily mean it's the most expensive, but it does mean that it's high quality, it does the job, it works really well.

Now, for me, I get to try a lot of different stuff, which is awesome because I work with a lot of companies. I always think it's good to just disclose like, yes, I am sponsored by some companies and I do get to try a lot of different things. So I can be very well versed in things.

all things gear because I get to try so much different stuff and I get to kind of report back and say, okay, here's what I liked about this. Here's what I think is really good at this price point. You know, I think that that's something to just kind of keep in mind. It's not like nobody's paying me to say these things. These are just kind of my own opinions. And I just kind of like to lay it out there that yes, I am sponsored by a lot of these companies, but also, you know, that's because I choose to work with them because I seek out things that I already like and want

use and find as good quality gear, and then end up building these working relationships with these companies as well. So that's kind of my stance on it, you know, take it as you will, I just think it's always good to disclose that kind of stuff. And then also, you know, it's really nice, because

I might be working with a certain company, but I also get to try a lot of their products within that company. And I say that whenever I do these gear things, because I think it's good to know where I'm coming from. But on this gear list in particular, there's a lot of things, companies that I work with, and then some that's just...

completely random stuff or other stuff that I've tried, other stuff that I've sampled. I get sent sample things for magazines and other things like I mentioned. So some of this stuff just also just who knows where it comes from. Just cruising Amazon and being like, ooh, this looks nice. So there's a lot of that in here as well.

We might as well just jump in. I know that sometimes when I start talking gear, I can talk, this could be a 44 hour podcast and then we'd just be barely scratching the surface and I could probably, and then we could move on from the first one. But I figured if we do kind of like a best of, that's going to be the best way to kind of showcase some of the things that piqued my interest this year. Some things that I was really excited about. And I think there's some cool stuff in here that,

you know especially coming around that time holiday season this might be a really good kind of gift guide i always get these messages from people who um it might be like the husband listens to it and his wife and kids listen to it all the time the wife and kids don't hunt but they'll be like hey i've listened to every one of your podcasts any suggestions on something for my husband so this

This is for you as well. So this is for the hunter and the non-hunter. This might be the perfect gift guide for those of you. If you've got someone in your family that's really hard to buy for, kind of has everything, you might be able to glean some tips out of here.

Let's start with best of optics. I know optics for me personally, the way that I hunt, that's one of the categories that I would say is really integral to success. Something that's very important. I work with Vortex Optics, so I get to try a lot of stuff in their product lines. If we're going to talk about binoculars, for me, I think that this year is

the ones that really stood out would be the 10 by 42 razor UHDs. Now that's their top of the line, highest end binocular. I know in the past, you guys, you've probably heard me talk about liking 12 by 50 binoculars, but these UHDs are super, super, I don't know, just like really easy on the eyes, really clear, really crisp there.

They're a little bit heavier than the regular razors. So the weight savings, but I think that the quality over the weight is kind of worth it. They're similar shape and design, but just a little bit, you know, I actually haven't read the specs on it, but they just feel a little bit heavier to me. It might just be a different glass in there or whatever.

I originally went with the 12 by 42s just because they fit a little bit better in my favorite bino harness. But then I just kind of like fell in love with them and can't part with them. So I've been rocking the 10 by 42 UHDs and I think it's the best glass that Vortex has come out with so far. It is their highest end binocular, but for me, you know, using it day in and day out, I really, really, really like them.

One other thing that I did try, though, this year was the Diamondback 15x56s. Now, that's their more mid-priced optic, and I think it's actually a pretty smart choice on their end, but I used it pretty much all of springberry season because there's a lot of sitting glassing. They're a little bit lighter weight.

But the clarity and quality of them was really surprising. Like really decent, really good, especially for the price. They actually are HD as well. I think it fills a good niche between...

having those like higher power binoculars, but not wanting to spend that primary binocular price. So the binoculars you got every day around your neck, you know, when I'm thinking about higher power optics, I call them like my bag, bag knocks because they're going to be in my backpack. I'm going to get up, sit glass somewhere and,

area and then put them away when I'm done or maybe drive to a glassing knob like a short walk from there. So it's kind of a good price point where you can get into having that type of binocular where you can sit because it's so much easier on your eyes and better for glassing than staring through the spotting scope, which is more magnification, but it's

For a lot of hunts, man, I just almost prefer high powered binoculars. I can kind of verify what I'm looking at if I need that verification. As long as I'm not trying to like really nitpick the animals that I'm looking at score wise, I just need, okay, it's legal or yeah, it's a mature representation. I can tell from here because having both eyes open and just scanning off a tripod with the high powered binoculars is easy.

is a nice way to do it. And I think sometimes for backcountry hunting, I've actually taken those, you know, just go with higher power binoculars and kind of forego the spotting scope. But spotting scope still is extremely handy.

And I did also try out the Diamondback HD spotting scopes. I wouldn't say they're cheap, but I wouldn't say they're expensive as far as spotting scopes go. And it's really good, like bang for your buck. They're around $500, that $500 range. Still not cheap, but...

Really high quality for the price because when you're talking about spotting skills, I mean you can go up to kind of the sky's the limit when it comes to glass and you know as they say well you normally get like the more you pay the better it is but I think some optics are

there's kind of this happy medium where it's good enough and you don't really necessarily need to go that extra bit more or, you know, it's not in the budget, but if you can afford this, then you're going to be very, very, very, very happy with it. And not that it's not a big purchase as well, but I think that, um,

I'm really impressed with it. I've like, actually, I was like, okay, it's a little bit lighter than some of the more expensive stuff as well. So kind of like that, that little weight saving. So I think that's just something to look into. If you're looking for optics, those, I was really happy with those. The one optical piece that knocked it out of the park for me, the Razor LHT rifle scope, Lighthunter Tactical.

Hands down the best rifle scope I've ever used. It has everything that I like. I mean, it's kind of like they designed the scope particularly for me and they may have, I don't know. Every time I talk to them, I'm like, you guys designed that scope for me, right? Yes.

because they know that I like the scope that I've liked before and just has the features now that I just wanted in a scope. I mean, it's really, really good optical clarity. I really like the reticle in it. It's got also kind of a light-up reticle. It's super lightweight, but has all the tactical features as well. So it's got...

One thing that I think is absolutely necessary for hunting for like a feature that I really like is a locking turrets. I like a MOA scope. So this one has got locking elevation, capped windage. It's perfect. It's everything that I've ever asked in a scope. It also has like easy to do zero stop. It's easy to adjust because I'm actually like when I go somewhere,

I'll get out, like, let's say I'm going on a trip actually this week. I just shot my gun at the range yesterday. When I get there, it's going to be different elevations, everything. I like to set my ballistics for where I'm at and the temperature and everything like that. So I'll just actually recite that scope, pull that top cap off, reset my zero stop, and boom, I'm good to go there. And it takes me two seconds. You know, it's like super easy. I love everything about the scope. If you were to ask me what's the best scope ever made,

Right now, I would say Vortex Razor LHT. That's definitely got my name all over it. I guess, though, since we're talking about scopes, we might as well talk about guns.

The best gun of 2020, best one that I used. I would say I really liked the Saco Carbon Light. I like the light gun. I got it in 6.5. And if you've listened to me talk, you know that my favorite caliber is a 300 short mag and I would have got it. It's like, how many 300 short mags does a guy need? I don't know. I just like everything to be 300 short. But they didn't make this one in 300 short and I liked the features of it. So I went with the 6.5 Cremor.

You know, I've shot 6.5 Creedmoor a lot. I don't think it's like the best caliber ever made, but I don't think it's bad either. It's great for a lot of different things. And I've hunted caribou with it this year, deer, cow elk.

Everything was one shot. Awesome. So the thing I really liked about the gun, just like the ergonomics, adjustable trigger, it's just super comfortable, super lightweight. Definitely, definitely a really high quality gun, super accurate. So I definitely liked that. And I guess let's go on to best suppressor of 2020.

The best suppressor of 2020? I'm going to have to say, hands down, Surefire Titanium. I got it in .30 cal. That way I put it on everything. So it's pretty sweet. It's lightweight. I've got it currently on that Saco Carbonlite 6.5. But I got it in .30 cal so I can just put it on pretty much any rifle that I own. You can put a brake on your gun and then it's got a quick thread adapter.

to go over your muzzle brake. I know some people think that those might not be as accurate because, well, you don't know if it's seated the same, but the brakes are indexed on there. It's got like this, so that you kind of put it on the same every time.

little index thing on the brake threads on and just like a essentially a full or half turn kind of thing seats it on there i've had no problems with accuracy with it actually kind of increased the accuracy on some of the other guns that i've put it on and um it's it's awesome it does a good job making you know it takes the crack out of the rifle protects your ears a little bit and uh also takes a little bit of jump out of the rifle it's really nice because you can

You squeeze off that round and you're still on target. Even if you're on higher magnification, you can watch the impact. And it's really nice if you're hunting alone or even hunting with other people. It's nice to have that not blow your drums out like a regular break does.

So that one, that one's been good. I think I got, it took me, you know, everybody asks questions about the suppressors and other things. It didn't take me that long to get my tax stamp for it. I think it was kind of right around COVID. And I thought, oh man, this is going to take forever. This is a bummer. I think I, let's see, I sent in my paperwork in March and got it around September. So it wasn't actually too bad. I don't know what the wait times are like now, but if it's something you're thinking about,

I highly, highly suggest getting one. Most states it's legal to hunt with. So that's kind of a, that was like a fun purchase for myself this year that man, I really, really liked that one. I actually got a couple of them cause I was like, ah, I tried a couple of different ones, but that one was hands down better than the other ones that I, that I got. So I was really impressed with that.

Since we're still talking about firearms here, and we'll get into some bow stuff here shortly, the best ammo of 2020, it's got to be Terminal Ascent, Federal Terminal Ascent.

I've had really, really good luck with it. And for me, bullet choice is huge because I'm looking for something with good BC. I'm looking for something that's, I think I kind of talked about this earlier, but looking for something that also has good killing power. Like it needs, if it's used for hunting. So I started getting kind of disenfranchised of some ammo that's like,

It was more target ammunition that they're selling as hunting ammunition that didn't perform like hunting ammunition. There's a lot of manufacturers doing that, and it was just really irking me a little bit. And this is performing like target ammunition, but on game is definitely having that knockdown power, that controlled expansion, like from a short range to a long range. So I'm pretty stoked on that. I actually just...

I just sighted my 300 short in with it yesterday. And man, it was like just a sub MOA group at 200 yards. I was less than an, I would say less than an inch for sure. Five shot group at 200 with it. So I'm like, all right, that's awesome. And it was out of a gun that was a little bit finicky with some other ammo. So yeah,

That's nice because I spent a lot of, I mean, I did a lot of round testing and it likes it. So that's nice.

Um, but then I've also hunted a lot with it this year, you know, out of my six, five and everything I've shot one shot drop like dead. That's what you want in hunting ammo. And so it's been pretty good. We took it on a caribou hunt and I think, uh, three out of the four caribou were shot with that same ammo, same, uh, rifle actually. And then a couple of wolves and deer and, uh, elk cow elk.

And the cow elk, it was, you know, it's just perfect. 400 yards lined up, shot, drop, dead kind of thing. And that's what you like. That's what you want your ammo to do. That's what you want your shots to do. So very, very happy with that this year. That definitely gets an award from me. Let's go into some bow stuff. I think the best bows, let's do best bows of...

I mean, I'm a prime shooter. I work with prime. I've been shooting primes for a long time. Their new Nexus bow, I like a lot better than the black. I think that there was some things that I didn't necessarily like about the black as much, but have been...

Like it wasn't a bad bow by any means, but this Nexus bow I think is just a step up from it. And so I'm pretty stoked on that. I haven't got a lot of hunting time in with it, but what I've used it for so far, I'm pretty stoked on. I'm also kind of just one of those people that I get a bow that I still really love the synergy. It's an old bow. I don't even, they don't make them anymore, but...

damn, did I love that? Do I still love that bow? I'm just one of those people though, with the bows, I get super sentimental. If I have like a great year with it, then, um, I, it's hard for me to switch bows. I've always been, and I'm like that with rifles as well. Like I like to name them. I like to spend time with them. Uh, you know, you carry something around for so long and,

It's just one of those things. I don't like to switch guns all the time. I don't like to switch bows all the time. I'm pretty sentimental when it comes to it. I don't even know if it's sentimental. It's just you get used to it. It's like you carry it through the mountains for a certain amount of time and you have a good season and you're just like, let's keep these good times rolling, man. You keep that. I don't know what it is. I'm sure there's a lot of people like that. I'd probably still be shooting guns.

I don't even know if they still, like, if you could keep a bow up forever, I'd probably just keep shooting the same bows that I've always shot. But I say that and then I get a new one and I'm like, ooh, there's things that I really, really like about this new bow. So I definitely think that the Nexus takes, you know, I've shot, I actually got to shoot quite a few bows this year. So that one I really enjoyed. But like I said, I haven't got like hunt time with it yet. So

As of right now, just shooting it out of the box, hands down, I'm pretty stoked on it. But I guess I don't know if I always like to just hunt with it and then come back and give another report. So I'm sure if I like it out of the box, it's going to hunt well. I've never had one that I didn't like out of the box not hunt well. I'm pretty good about deciphering that. So pretty stoked on that. I mean, that's one to look out for, for sure.

There's a lot of things I really like about it so far. It's pretty quiet. It's super dead in hand. Things that I kind of look for in a bow.

especially for like Western hunting, when you're in the mountains and everything's kind of already unstable, a bow that's easy to just hold on that spot. And then something that, you know, doesn't really have a lot of knock travel because, you know, you've got, if you're twisted at a weird angle or whatever, you just want every shot, no matter the angle that you're shooting at or whatever, to just go right where you want it. So that's been fun.

This year too, I kind of wanted to just get back to the basics a little bit. And it's been so long since I'm, well, I wouldn't say it's so long. Every year I hunt with a trad bow, but I don't necessarily always film it. This year, I just decided to go like old school, bust out my Montana longbow. It's a bear longbow. I think I got it at Cabela's like quite a few years back.

Use like the Cabela's credit card points and got this thing. It was like maybe 300 bucks or something like that. I had a lot of fun with that this year, you know, just kind of getting back to shooting the trad bow. I shoot them a lot all the time, but then a friend of mine came out this year with his, he had a recurve, a stalker stick bow. And that thing is just like a absolute work of art, handmade, uh,

like beautiful wood. And so I'm like, okay, I need one of these. And I actually just got a stalker stick bow too. So if you're looking for something that's like absolutely the best handmade, just like beautiful piece of hunting art, uh,

I'm going to hunt with the stick bow in Alaska this week. And then I'm going to come back and hunt my mule deer tag with that Nexus Prime. So those are two hunts that I'm really, really looking forward to here coming up and hopefully get first harvest with a couple new bows. Nothing better than breaking in a new bow on a hunt. It's so much fun. Oh yeah. Those will be my hunting partners for the next couple of years, hopefully. I like how I talk about bows and guns like people.

I'm just a special type. It's okay. You can continue to listen. Packs. Oh, yeah. You can't talk about gear and not talk about packs.

packs I would say is probably the most talked about piece of gear because anything that's uncomfortable and somebody can make it comfortable or a task that's hard and somebody makes it just a slightly a little bit easier that's a good piece of gear the pack I mean I use Stone Glacier I work with them a lot this year I used the Sky 5900 on the x-curve frame really really solid pack I mean there's many many pack outs that I had the heaviest pack out that I had in that pack this year was a

165 pounds, I think for, I don't know, a really long ways. I mean, I restarted, I started walking, it was daylight and I ended up at three in the morning getting back. It was a, it was a slog for sure, but,

But that pack really held together. I had stuff strapped everywhere to that thing. I had... When you talk about awkward weight, I had caribou rack over the top just trying to balance this thing. Velvet sloughing. I ended up just ripping all the velvet off because it was hitting me in the face and stinking and just... I didn't have enough room in the pack. That was the only trouble. So I think...

Um, not that the pack isn't huge and that's not, I mean, like you don't need to put that much weight. I don't know why I like to load my packs down so much. I just didn't want to have to go back for a second trip, but I ended up ferrying a lot of stuff anyways. Um,

The extra I might actually try like a little bit, maybe go like the 69 or 7900, you know, 'cause they shrink down good too. But the 5900 is pretty dang good for multi-day trips and like carrying out lots of meets. So that one gets my stamp of approval on that for sure.

This is something that I hadn't used before and didn't even really know existed, but it's the Gerber Freescape Saw.

I like to do those bone-in cuts lately. And so I'm like, okay, a little bit of extra weight to carry a saw is fine. And I've been using like these ExoMod knives. So it's got a little saw in it as well. It's like a three, you can, they all kind of clip together, but it's just more of like a skeletonized fixed blade knife. You know, for a long time, I did the whole replaceable blade thing. And I think those are really nice, but something about just having like a solid fixed blade knife that I just like, you know, I like to get in there and

Um, it's just nice to have like a solid blade. So I've been using solid knives a lot more recently. Um, and that XO mod does have a saw, but then this free scape saw is more of like a, I hope they still make it. Uh, it folds like it's a wood saw, but the blade folds into itself. So, you know, those old like white pack, what are they called? Saws of Wyoming or

I can't remember what they were, but it was like this in this kit and you have the saw blade and the three pieces that you put together in a handle and you tighten the blade. This is like that style saw, but it folds out. It's pretty incredible. I wish I'd known about it sooner. That one, that was a like good surprise for this year. I liked that.

Let's see. Oh, we talked about packs. So we got to talk about boots. Um, I tried a lot of boots this year. Actually. I thought that was like one of my things. I was like, I kept, I figured, okay, I'm just gonna, I had some boots that hadn't broken in yet. I really beat my feet up on some of these hard soul boots, man. The break-in period on some boots is horrible, but once they're past that break-in period, you're like, okay, now I'm riding nice. Um,

Uh, my two favorite pairs that I tried, I would say the Schnee's bare tooths, really, really nice. It's the type of boot I like full leather boot. Um, the soul's a little more flexible on those. So the break in period was not very bad on that. And then the other one that I really liked that I'd never tried before, uh, was the crispy Nevada's. Um, those ones are good too. And, uh, I'd heard a lot of good things about that. I have a lot of friends and stuff that wear those boots. My brother wears those boots, um,

A lot of guys that I hunt with like those. I'm really glad I got to try those this year. Those were really enjoyable to hunt in. A little bit stiffer sole, but also like really good ankle support, really durable. I was pretty pumped on both those pairs of boots this year. Those both get awards.

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This is Brent Reeves from This Country Life. What makes South Dakota the greatest for pheasant hunting? With over 1.2 million pheasants harvested last year, South Dakota boasts the highest population of pheasants in the nation. In fact, you'd have to add up the total harvest from neighboring states just to get that many birds.

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It's about taking the greatest shots and watching your dog work the greatest fields in the greatest lands, carrying on the greatest heritage and making the greatest memories. So what are you waiting for? From the rush of the flush to the stories at the end of the day, experience a thrill like no other. Learn how at huntthegreatest.com. I got kind of like a couple different. I just did three tents in here because I,

You know, you got to have your packable backpacking tent, Stone Glacier, the Skyscraper two-person. That's hands down the best tent I've ever owned. That's like just for everything. It's a two-person tent, but I carry it solo most of the time. There's a lot of room in it.

I've taken it on a lot of trips in like winter from winter camping. I would consider it a four season tent for sure. It's really nice. But then this year I also did a lot of early season stuff and just like some kind of what I'd call like bonsai trips or just like bivouacking and going. And I used their ULT, like their ultralight tent. It sets up with your trekking poles. It was nice because it keep a little bit of rain off, not, uh,

Um, definitely not, I wouldn't consider it like a four season tents, more early season tent, but it's so light. It's like stuff's down to nothing. It's just essentially a nice little tarp tent style, but, um, man, that was nice. And then in Alaska this year, uh, a tent that I've used a lot, just if you got a lot of people and you're flying in or horse packing in, um, pretty decent price and like pretty durable, the Cabela's Outfitters six man, um,

That's like kind of a gold standard. I just wish it had two vestibules. Maybe they make them now. This one's old. I wanted it like a wild sheep foundation silent auction or something. Got it like a silent auction, something like that. But it was really good. We had, how many people did we have in the thing? Four people. It's a six-man tent. If four is pretty damn snug, I wouldn't go more than that.

But it worked out pretty solid. We had a little bit of inclement weather and it was good. Let's go into the best of electronics. One thing, I think this is actually the coolest thing that I got to test this year and I'm actually wearing it right now.

I would never consider myself a watch guy. Many moons ago, I used to wear a Suunto watch a lot. And that was way before smartphones and all these other things. And then they stopped kind of making the batteries for the one that I had. And it was an awesome watch at the time. It had altitude, a little bit of barometric pressure, obviously, it's old time.

And then I just kind of stopped wearing a watch. And then I recently got the Garmin Delta Tactics watch. And I was like, I'm not really a watch person. I haven't taken the thing off since I've got it. Absolutely love it. It's the Tactics Delta Solar. I wear it every day now. And it's one of those things I'm like, I didn't know I needed it. And now I have one.

I hope I don't have to give this back. I've tested it for a long time now. It's pretty damn awesome. And I would definitely buy it if I do have to give it back. I've just like enjoyed the heck out of it. A couple of the features on it. Every time I sit down, I have to tell someone about my watch and how cool it is.

But it's got AB ballistics curves in it. So I can just put in my ballistic data right there, my dope chart just on my watch. I've got my drop compensation and all that. It also has full GPS capability. It's got a little bit of solar charging. The battery lasts for a long time.

I actually lost the charger and ordered a couple more off Amazon recently. I think it was like 30 days ago that I lost the charger. So I still got 11 days left. It's got the altimeter, shows you your steps every day, which is nice. One feature that I use probably more than anything, the sunrise sunset table on there. That's pretty rad, man. And then just like not having to waste the batteries in your phone for a backcountry alarm. So yeah,

This thing has just been money. I think it's a pretty solid, like if you're looking for a really good upper end gift for somebody that kind of has everything, this one's hard to beat. That one I'm pretty stoked on. Another couple of pieces of electronics. Oh, the inReach Mini.

That thing's awesome. I upgraded this year from the, it used to be InReach, but it was DeLorme and it was old. I think they've sold, well, I know they've sold to Garmin. And now the InReach, you just satellite message through your phone. Pretty awesome. And it's a lot smaller than the ones of the past. So that one's been pretty, pretty awesome. Let's go best headlamp of 2020.

my, I had a black diamond headlamp that took a crap this year, just like stopped working. And then I just decided I've had a lot of really expensive headlamps that didn't work. And I have a backup headlamp that I've used. I always kind of have two headlamp, two flashlights with me of some kind at all times, especially when I'm like, even when I'm by myself, but if I'm guiding, cause it's like somebody, whatever, something happens. I've had this

like Energizer one that I've had forever. And so I just thought instead of buying a really expensive headlamp, I went to Costco and I saw a pack of Energizer headlamp flashlights. It was like a four pack or maybe a two pack and it wasn't very expensive. And that hands down gets the best headlamp of the year award because the thing's pretty dang bright. It costs hardly anything. You get a couple of them and

So far, the one that I've had is outlasted both Petzl and Black Diamond. So I'll probably have these two for from now until the end of time. We'll see. But man, it's bright at everything I want in a headlamp. Obviously, it locks. So as long as it's got the lock feature, it's bright and works when I want it to work. I'm pretty stoked on it.

All right, best new stuff on the market that I got to try this year. There's some meat processing stuff that this company kind of just started up and meat your maker. They've got a chamber vac sealer. So they just go do everything like direct to consumer. If you aren't familiar with a chamber vac sealer,

And you process your own meat, man. Vacuum sealing is the worst. I think one of the worst, well, there's the worst part of processing yourself is if you've got a crappy grinder. So their grinder definitely makes the cut as well. It's like the, I use just the half horse grinder, but the one and a half horse is just, it pretty much sucks the animals off the hill and grinds them for you. It's pretty fast.

Um, the half horse is good. The one and a half horse is better, but, uh, both work really well. Now the chamber vac sealer, it's like you can actually vacuum seal water in there. So you could put your marinades in there. You can vacuum seal, but you also don't have to do anything. You just put it in the machine. You close the lid and a vacuum seals it. It's really fun to watch as well. It like

sucks all the air out creates a yeah a vacuum chamber makes sense okay but um it's kind of cool because it like when it sucks the air i call i say it just drops the hammer it's like pump pump pump pump pump and then boom and everything is vacuum sealed inside there it's pretty crazy how it works i was watching it i'm like how does this even work i don't even get it so i had to watch like videos on the science behind chamber vacuum sealers it's actually quite interesting

We did talk about some bow stuff, but I might as well talk about some other accessories on the bow, uh, sites this year's winner. I mean, it's kind of the one that I've decided every year. And to be honest though, I really like the site that I've got. The spot hog fast. Eddie XL is the one that I've been using a lot. I get a lot of questions on both sites too. So that's the one I've been using. I just haven't found one that I like better than it yet. I never thought I'd be a single pin guy. This has kind of got two pins and a slider site. Uh,

Um, but I really like it. The XL is essentially just a, um, a bar that you can push out. I used to shoot with my bar further out, but, um, now I've been shooting with it further in. So I think maybe from now on, I'll just get the fast Eddie, uh,

The XL is nice though because I travel a lot. So I put it in a bow case and I can just pull that rail out and then slide it back in when I get wherever I'm going without having to take the screws of the whole site housing off. So that's nice. One thing I also did try this year, just because I was out of curiosity and was pleasantly surprised, was that Garmin XeroSight.

I know there's a lot of, some people are like, oh, it's too much electronics or whatever. But if you're using a range finder anyways, I haven't actually got to hunt with it yet though, because all the places I had my tags this year, it wasn't actually legal, but it's almost, it's legal in a lot of places, just not in Montana and Idaho and Alaska, not during their archery only season, but it is during rifle season. You can use it.

But I thought it would be fun to try, especially for like some stuff when I'm hunting in New Zealand, which I, you know, obviously didn't get to go there this year or whatever. But I definitely thought that that was, that'd be kind of cool. And I was just really, really curious about it as well. And actually it works better than I thought it would. And it's at least as advertised and better. So that was pretty sweet.

I would like to go hunt axis deer or something with it because there's those times, especially when I'm filming myself and I need that, there's like that too many steps process where I sneak in, I set up the camera. I like, it's something that's super cagey, maybe like a jumpy axis deer. Then I focus the camera, then I range the deer and then I set my pin and then I draw back and then the animal walks away. So it would just take out a lot of steps. It'd be like set up camera, shoot the thing. And

And that would be nice. So that's kind of my thinking behind that. And I definitely think there's some places that it'd be pretty, pretty solid work pretty well.

Best arrows of 2020. This year I did some switching up because I had with the whole quarantine thing, I got to play with my bows a little bit more. Instead of being on the road so much, I had some downtime to just mess with a bunch of things. And the more I mess with things, the better I get, which is generally a good thing. This year I just thought, hey, I want to try a bunch of different stuff.

Tried different arrows. I switched to day six arrows. They had a lot of things that I like going on. They're a little bit heavier. They're extremely durable and they're extremely accurate. Just by switching those arrows, I tightened up my groups quite a bit. They're a smaller diameter than I was used to shooting. At first, I was kind of like, do I want arrows with these outserts? And now I'm like, okay, I wouldn't see myself shooting another arrow right now. I've been so happy with it.

And then another thing that I just started doing, Brian, one of the owners of, or the owner of Day6, he suggested doing four-fletch on my trad arrows. And...

That has been actually surprisingly much more accurate. I like the arrow flights I've been getting with it. And I never thought I would go four fletch on my compound bow, but I think that's going to be the next step for me. And I've just kind of shied away from it because I have a weird anchor point that I've always used with three fletch and it involves the way the fletching sits a little bit. So...

I thought, I don't want to mess with the four fletch, but I think I'm going to go four fletch from now on. We'll see. But definitely on my feathered arrows, on my trad bow, that's been really nice. And I just really liked their arrows this year and going to continue to shoot them.

Oh, uh, arrow rests. Still, I can't get away from the, um, hamski hunter pro that one's like, it's got some micro adjust. It's a limb driven, uh,

but I don't know. I really liked that rest. It's like bomb proof, bulletproof. It seems like it's got everything I need. And I like that micro tuning ability. I know a Tim Burnett, a friend of mine, he does the solo hunter stuff too. He's kind of set up his own little bow shop over there. And, uh, so I've been going over there and just like shooting bear shafts and just tuning my rests and really getting everything dialed. And that's been a lot of fun this year. So, um,

This release, I haven't had a new release in, I don't know, probably 15 years. It's just a Scott. I think it's like a Scott little mongoose. Not even sure they make those anymore, but I like it. It's got the kind of paracord thing so I can tuck it. It's like on a webbing so I can tuck it underneath and wear the release. I don't really like to use

I mean, I shoot all kinds of releases just in the backyard for fun when I'm target shooting. I've got a back tension. I've got a thumb release. I've got, I even bought this release this year.

You press the trigger and then it's like, and then you release it and you release the trigger and it's like kind of, it's a pure surprise release, but it's like wrist style. And so it, it just like slowly opens on a hydraulic and then lets the arrow fly. So you just got to focus, focus, focus, focus, focus. And the bow just goes off whenever it wants.

I thought I'd try that and just see is like, okay, it's just kind of fun, you know, try something different. It's not something you would hunt with, but I thought it was kind of cool just for target shooting and switching between my releases and just making sure like, okay, checking my form and you can really pay attention to a lot of stuff, just more as a training tool than an actual hunting device. But yeah,

I won't remember the name of it. I'll have to go find it and then report back later. Best archery target? Oh, I got this, the Backyard Mini Reinhardt Elk. That thing's pretty awesome, and it's a good price, too. The big elk targets are way too expensive, I think. So that was pretty solid. Just kind of fun plinking with the old...

Getting to shoot at something that looks like an elk. That was good. Best broadhead this year, I have to say, is... I mean, as you know, I've talked about it before. I'm a big fan of the Montex. And then they got the M3s this year. So it's unvented, solid...

That's been a really good broadhead for me. Best field tips. I cruised Amazon for a lot because I was shooting a lot and I got sick of having to, like my arrows were just, they're so hard to pull out of my target. So I was looking on Amazon, found these trophy taker, easy out field tips. Maybe everybody else in the world knows about these, but it essentially, when it hits the foam, it creates a little bit of a gap. So it's easier to pull your arrow out.

I don't know why I didn't use those before. It's probably one of the best things I've ever bought. Best gun cleaning rod? My father-in-law gave me a wood dowel with some stuff on the end, and that has been probably the best gun cleaning rod I've ever owned. So next time you're at Home Depot, get some wood dowels.

The best hunting tool, I think probably the best hunting tool ever now, as far as technological hunting, has to be Onyx Hunt app. I mean, it's crazy how much scouting I did this year just from home while quarantined. I spent a lot of time on that app this year.

Best gators year in, year out goes to outdoor research. Oh, our gators. I don't think you can get a better set of gators right now, but I did learn something new this year. So I've always gone with the size gators fitted for my boot, but I have size 12 boots and fairly small calves. I mean, very strong calves. Okay. Don't worry, but, um, I don't need like

like this giant top so they were always a little sloppy. So this year, because I needed a new set of gaiters, I walked in in my hunting boots and then tried on the size down and found out that they still fit the boot that they aren't sized for and they fit my leg better. So if you also have that struggle with the gaiters, maybe try sizing down.

Best thing I didn't know I needed this year. I got a caribou gear hunters tarp. Didn't even know I needed it. I think it was like,

$49. It's this super lightweight foldable tarp. It saved my caribou meat and I've been carrying it around ever since. It's awesome. It comes with some stakes and you can use it as a tarp, as a shelter, as a whatever. It's not real big. I've slept on it many nights and I've also like used it to cover up meat when it's raining and other things. Pretty solid little piece of gear.

Let's go best snacks of 2020. For me, it was Nature's Bakery Fig Bars. Those are pretty good. They stay pretty soft, even when it's cold out and even when it's hot out. Very stable snack. Tastes pretty good too. It's like a giant Fig Newton. And then I read the back of the package and they're made in Reno, Nevada, where I grew up. So hey, a little hometown. I didn't even know. And it turns out I liked them before that. So hey, I'm

I think you can get them everywhere that anything is sold, but they're pretty good. Best drink mix. I would say if you asked me in the summer, I would say the wilderness athlete watermelon. Cause I had this, um, I thought it was going to be sheep hunting all of August. So I really wanted to stay in shape and I was just running a lot. And then I would run old, run a lot, drink the watermelon and then jump in the river.

And that was my twice a day little thing that I did. And I think I drank way too much watermelon because it was so good. And then I think I burnt myself out on it, but it's still good. So then now I'm going to have to either say strawberry pomegranate or kiwi pineapple. And then if I want a little caffeine, I go tropical fusion.

And the best street dehydrated meals of the year that goes peak refuel. They've really they just kind of came out of nowhere, stepped it up. Well, I think they've always been good, but they are, I think, way better than Mountain House now. I've been talking a lot about them because I'm like, yes, uses less water, tastes a lot better.

I feel better when I eat it. And their best meal, I think this year, they did like a Chad Mendez thing. It was like a partnered, it was a bison bacon ranch mashers. I was addicted to those. I don't know how many I ate this year, but it was a lot. I don't know if they're going to keep making those ones or not, but they should. I will say though, there's certain things that I do like about the Mountain House. So I'm going to give Mountain House best breakfast because their biscuits and gravy is really good.

Oh, but all dehydrated meals were beat by a wild trout that I caught and then didn't have any seasoning. So I used barbecue chips as seasoning. So that's good. And then let's close it out here. It's Christmas coming up. You know, there's a lot of really good

gear out there, but you know, don't have to, it doesn't all have to be expensive. So here's five things for under $30 that I think every hunter might, uh, might enjoy, or at least I enjoy. And if they listen to this podcast, I think if you get them, some of these things, these are things that I would like to get, um, and do regularly get for myself or as a gift. But I, the first thing I would say on the list is probably on X hunt app. You can get a single state for around that $30 mark, um,

If you, if they don't have that, that's, it's just so handy, especially too, if they're, if somebody, you know, is going to be like planning an out of state hunt, that's the kind of a cool thing. I guess you could just get the whole yearly, uh, all 50 States thing as well, but, um, that's pretty handy. This next one, number two.

a rapid rope. So it's this, uh, cordage that comes out of this can. I keep them in my truck and then it's awesome to just have shortly after I talked about it on the podcast, they were on shark tank as well and they got a deal. So that was kind of cool. Um, that's always like a really solid Christmas gift for someone.

Number three on the list, Husky 42-gallon contractor bags. Probably the most useful tool in a hunter's backpack. I've used these things for everything. It's the most underrated piece of gear on the planet. And when I see that yellow box, I'm like, yes. Now, if you're a hunter or you're planning on getting a hunt or something...

write down all the uses of these contractor bikes because i mean i've used them as waders primarily this is what i started using them for is to line my packs so they don't get bloody but i mean you use them as a tarp i've melted snow in them to make water i've actually filled i forgot my sleeping pad one time so i just filled them with pine boughs and then slept on top of them it was like kept me warm that was nice it's a poncho i mean it's a million different things

They work pretty awesome. I always have a box in my truck or like in the garage that are specifically for hunting, not for yard work, just reserved for hunting. And that same line of kind of like a random thing, but it's like really nice. Microflex diamond grip gloves. They are like latex style gloves, you know, like disposable gloves that you'd use. So you're like cleaning an animal. You don't want to get anything in your

it's probably not a bad idea to use gloves if you can just because there's you don't want to catch a disease or start you know get an infection of some kind or whatever so um my dad's actually a painting contractor and he uses these a lot so i get them from him man they're way better than all the other gloves out there and they come in like a pretty solid box i don't know i don't really want to mention it too much and then have 50 000 people go out and buy them all and then never be able to get them again but microflex diamond grip gloves

That's the pro tip right there. And then the last thing, every hunter can use Allen key sets. You got to have both kinds. You got to have the kind that's on the little flip out deal that they're all together and you never lose them. And then the kind that you can pull out and lose. You got to have both probably mostly SAE. But today I was looking, I was like, I've got all SAE ones and a standard English size and

and needed a 2.5 millimeter to lighten up my trigger and couldn't find it. And then of course, you know what? I looked in a random spot and there it was right there. I'm like, yes, thank God I overbuy Allen keys because I feel like every piece of hunting gear uses them like from bows to rifles to, it just doesn't matter. You need them. You can't have too many of those. So that's a great, great, great gift.

So I hope that helps. I know it kind of got a little long-winded. The gear stuff generally does, especially when I do big lists of it. But I hope you at least maybe enjoyed hearing about some of the gear that I got to try out and some of the stuff, some of my thoughts on that stuff.

So coming up, we're going to be doing a Christmas special. I'm really looking forward to that. So it's such a great time of year. There's some hunting seasons, some great stories. Hopefully you'll get to spend it with some close family. I know this year is going to be maybe be a little bit different. Maybe it's going to be long distance and people won't be traveling or whatever. And

which is fine. And then we got some cool stuff coming up for the new year, talking about some planning things and some other stuff. So I hope that this helps. I hope that maybe you gleaned some ideas for either yourself or something you want to look into to add to your kit next year. And if you guys, as always, I like to make these two-way conversations. So reach out via social media. If you try something you really like this year, let me know because I'm

you know, the best way for me to find out some cool stuff or some good stuff is to hear what other people have tried and got to use. And then I generally look into it and then I'm like, okay, I got to try that. I haven't tried that. So, uh, keep me posted on things, some of the things that you guys really enjoyed this year. And, uh, hopefully, yeah, hopefully you have a good holiday season and we will talk to you later.

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