Gear investments, what do you regret?

[Brendan]

Sawyer Filter - but it was cheap. There are better options IMO. (Steripen, and/or Pump)

Buying a spotter for archery Elk hunting. In 4 years, I haven't used it yet. Maybe for late season, mule deer, coues, sheep, in the future but I should've just bought a pair of really good binoculars up front.

 

[Blockcaver]

A Hoyt Carbon Element bow that had a jumpy cam and gave me poor accuracy under hunting conditions. Wasted a couple years hunting with it. Took my losses and moved on.

Big Agnes Fly Creek UL one man tent that would blow flat in high winds above treeline. It also lacked height in the foot section for your toes on top of a Thermarest pad (size 13s). Donated it to a friend with full disclosure who wanted it for camping below treeline. Had a leaky Big Agnes inflatable pad too, quality issue with the fabric. No more Big Agnes gear for me, ever!

Leica 1600B Rangefinder that wouldn’t angle correct at less than 110 yards (by design), and I am a bowhunter. Nowhere in their ads or specs was this disclosed. My dealer swapped me for the Leica 1000R when it came out. It is so slow on the angle correction (>2 seconds) that I hate it. Bought a Leupold 1000 with TBR and have loved it for 5 seasons now. The Leica 1000R is an expensive backup.

Danner boots....they chew up my heels.

Many sporting clays shotguns....as well as many field shotguns. Glad I finally figured out works for me! Too lengthy to post about on this gear thread.

 

[mfllood3800]

I will preface this with, I love my First Lite gear.
But the FL soft shell gloves- do nothing for me as far as warmth. I even have the merino liners for them.

2 Eberlestock packs (X2, X1a2)- just was not comfortable of able to satisfy my hunting style.

Vortex Razor 10x42
- though the warranty is great and fixed the issue, the moment they broke was not so good- out in the AZ desert muley hunting

Bandlands Bino harness
-magnetic feature was loud, and inconvenient
-The lid when open allowed the binos to easily fall out when crawling or leaning over

Outdoor edge knife
-for me the blades don't do a single deer without showing signs of dullness

Several Vortex tripods with head combos

 

[bozeman]

-S3 (?) bino harness......total junk. Lasted about 10 mins.
-Sitka Gear (great gear, but not for the $$). Will stick to lower cost solid color hiking/camping gear.
-Kuiu Teton and Attack Pants (once again, great gear, but not for the $$). I found the Wrangler outdoor pants early last year (these have been mentioned on this board recently). $9.95/pair and I should have bought 10 pair not 2.......

Gear that I am impressed with and really like:
-Kuiu Peloton Hoodie (240) in gray. Bought it 2nd hand here on this forum and it has been a SOLID purchase.
-Campfeld Custom 6.5x284 rifle (deadly instrument with a 140 gr Partition).
-New Guide Frame from Mystery Ranch (once I got the fit right, very comfortable).

 

[S.Clancy]

Gear I regret...
Asolo and Zamberlan boots- Just not the right fit.
Expensive Fly rods- Just not worth the money.
Simms waders- All things considered I'd rather support Redington or Orvis.

Gear I am happy with...
Outdoor Research gear- From rain jackets to pants and shorts, they never dissappoint.
Beman Arrows- Inexpensive and fly great out of my setup.
Honda Fit- She gets me wear I need to go and has hauled a quartered out 6-point bull with the antlers. I can also drive twice as much for the same gas cost as a pickup.

 

[Back Country Hunter 2]

Expensive boots that don't fit.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

I have a more than 1 expensive enough fly rods that don't perform any better than some cheaper ones. Infact I'm terribly impressed with many of the options right now in the $100-$200 range

sitka gear (with the exception of the ascent pants). it's fine, but not worth the money

expensive tents have worked okay but I still have and use some cheaper lightweight eurekas that have never failed me either....

 

[Ridge Ghost]

Sawyer Inline filter- constantly clogged, difficult to flush, eventually stopped working even though I never let it freeze.

Eberlestock Blue Widow- stiff, uncomfortable, loud... yuck

Danner boots- turned my heels into burger

First Lite boxers- Too fragile. I have gone through several pairs and all ended up ripped or with holes before the end of the season.

Vortex Ranger 50mm spotter- Nothing wrong with the product itself. I just never found a use for it. I don't count inches on animals, and if I did I would use a bigger spotter. For simply glassing and finding animals putting 10x42's on a tripod worked better for me.

OR Bivy- Got the bivy bug years ago when C. Hane's book first came out. Uncomfortable to sleep in, and didn't save much weight over a tent by the time I added a tarp. Went back to a 1-man tent and then a Megatarp.

 

[JollyRoger]

It's interesting to see some of the stuff I have and have grown fond of listed as a regret for other guys. Different expectations for different people I guess (i.e. Sawyer... I rigged mine up as a gravity feed with an MSR bladder for dirty water. Works like a champ and I dont have to squat down for 5 minutes pumping while getting eaten alive by mosquitos).

I wish my First Lite stuff was tougher. I've used it for two season and have seams blowing out in my pants and they seem to have stretched out in the waist. Also, the Llano I have is full of holes near the waistbelt of my pack. I realize this is a high wear area... but I've backpacked and mountain climbed FOR 10 YEARS in the same few shirts and they are just fine in this area. If only Mountain Hardware, TNF, Mont Bell, etc made shirts in decent camo I'd be set. Hoping FL new line of merino-X or Aerowool is tougher in this regard... or maybe it's time to buy Sitka base layer shirts.

 

[Gumbo]

1) Eberlestock Just One bought when I didn't know what load lifters were. Glad I figured that one out.
2) Stone Glacier Krux w/ Sky 5900. Loved the pack, hated the frame fit.
3) BT-X 28. Learned that I needed a 28.5 draw and the mods always came loose.
4) Sold a WM Kodiak and bought a Slick Bag. I like the Slick cause I can beat the hell out of it but wish I had just bought one instead of selling my WM.
5) Cabelas Meopta binos. Decent glass but the non-locking diopter sucked.
6) Kenetrek Bridger "shoes". Merrels are better that these (but I really like their real boots.)
7) Sitka Coldfront gloves. More like Coldfinger gloves.
8) Sitka Jetstream gloves. I'm sticking with cheap ragwool and light merino/polypro liners for early season now.

 

[fatbacks]

Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2. Doesn’t weigh anything but terrible in any sort of storm in the mountains.

Various spotting scopes. Spend $$ up front and just get some premium glass.


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[jm1607]

Seems like Danner Boots is a common theme...

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Seems like Danner Boots is a common theme...

My Pronghorns had held up fine since '09. Regular care makes a difference.



Best damn boots I ever bought.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

As the title says, what purchases do you regret or wish you had done differently. Like lots of people here I drop a significant amount of my income on gear to pursue this passion but there’s a few things I wish I’d done differently.

Kifaru pack: I wish I hadn’t bought a gray pack, I hate it. I love everything about my 28” tactical frame and fulcrum but I wish I’d got coyote or ranger green, I absolutely hate the fact I got a gray one.


Kimber Montana; I wish I’d dropped the few hundred extra bones and got the mountain ascent, I love the Montana (308) but the extra few hundred bucks would have been nothing at the time, now it’s not worth it to sell it and take the hit and buy a MA.

Those are my 2 big ones, what are yours?

When you say gray, do you mean foliage? Man I love that color, blends into every environment, doesn't scream HUNTER in the airport and seems like a great all around choice.

 

[adamm88]

Cheap camo, multicam bdu that i thought would be the end all, some scent blocker stuff that for the price i could have bought better. I try to research my gear, i buy alot of"cheap" items but i try not to get a itchy trigger finger and buy something and regret it instantly. I research and get stuff that works


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[Dinger]

When you say gray, do you mean foliage? Man I love that color, blends into every environment, doesn't scream HUNTER in the airport and seems like a great all around choice.

My Highcamp bag is coyote and I have always wished I got gray at the time....brown is too close to deer coloured. RG or gray are my picks......and then Kifaru released the Muskeg line in coyote trim! I can't get away from brown backpacks.

 

[colersu22]

Seems like Danner Boots is a common theme...

I have only bought 1 pair of Danners and they didn't even last 6 months on a jobsite and the soles literally peeled off, I would never try their hunting boots if boots that are $400 and designed to be work boots cant last. They where the super rain forests and it was on concrete decks but my Irish setters have been going strong in the same conditions for 3 years and I am just at the point I need to replace them or resole them.

 

[machinethomas]

I would say I regret buying things that were on sale instead of what I wanted/planned on buying. I thought I could make them work, versus what I knew would work.
I also regret buying some “high-dollar” camo pants. I think Prana Zion pants and Eddie Bauer pants are great. This would hold true for everything except a COLD weather hunt, in which case I will one day buy a pair of Sitka Timberlines (in a solid color). I think solid color clothing, hunting brand or not, is just a better investment because you can wear it all the time (work, out to dinner etc). I also think some solids blend in much better than some camo patterns. It’s hard for a brown or gray to turn into a dark blob like some camo patterns can/do.
Lastly I would buy based on reviews rather than popular brands (I.e. optics, clothing). I have a highly recommended Vanguard Endeavor spotter that I really like and got it for a good deal. Optics for the most part, you get what you pay for, but you also pay a mark up for brand name.


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[GrantMan]

Not sure I can say that I regret buying anything. If its something I find I don't like it refines my taste and helps me in the next buying decision. For old items I know longer enjoy I either give it away, sell it or wear it out.

 

[sneaky]

Biggest regerts:
ALPS Outdoorz Commander pack - tried getting in cheap with a decent meat mauler...it's not decent.
Leupold VX3 - Love the scope, love the adjustments and the CDS. Hate that I didnt bust out the few extra bucks for the Adjustable Objective
Kuiu Yukon gloves - bought these for subfreezing conditions. Hands were terribly cold in high 20 degree dry weather

Wasted money:
Alaskan game bags - bought these to help me make it through the first hunt season, made the jump to synthetic bags midseason and didn't look back
Bear spary - lost 3 cans this past year from having it slip of my belt or pack belt as some point
Kuiu bino harness - worked great the first season, but the elastic is now stretched and doesn't hold them that well, upgraded to Marsupial this year

Surprised:
Danner Pronghorns - Bought these at Cabela's $100 of retail. Made it through a season and half. Well over 100 miles in them as well as a elk packout from 4.5 miles back. They leaked this past season, but not terribly. I seam sealed them this year to hopefully make it through one more season

Regerts lol, like the milky way commercial

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