Bad spending decisions!

[ohhiitznik]

I have made a few poor spending decisions but I mostly buy quality once and cry once. One poor decision was that i bought a 3 man backpacking tent for my hunt last year. It weighed 7 lbs and I won't use it again unless I go hiking with the gf and she wants a floor.

 

[bigmoose]

It is not backpacking gear but....I can't believe all the binoculars I've bought through the years. The biggest problem was waterproof binos. There were not that many years ago and the ones that were, were very pricey. I should have bit the bullet a long time ago. I bought my SLC 10X42 about 8 years ago and will never need another pair. My best investment by far.

Moose

 

[JG358]

Probably way off topic but I noticed that you and aron switched from swaro to zeiss, why?

I would think the answer is fairly obvious.

 

[luke moffat]

Probably way off topic but I noticed that you and aron switched from swaro to zeiss, why?

Basically I wanted to move up in spotter power so I went to 75X on the 85mm Zeiss spotter. To offset that weight I opted to go from 10X42 to 10X32 and Doug from Cameralandny had some great deals on Zeiss Victories that I jumped on. Dropped 10 oz in bino weight, while going up 20 oz in spotter weight. While Becca only dropped about 3 oz in her binos but her jump in bino quality was substantial by her going to the Victories over what she was using before.

 

[rpm4463]

Most of the purchases that I regret are because I found out later there were better products for the same purpose. Top of my list is Eberlestock J107 pack I got about 3 years ago. Good design and versatility for hunting, but poor support for heavy loads. I think they have improved the design the past year. I wish I had purchased a Kifaru pack, but did not know about them (I bought one 6 months ago). Cabelas/Danner Antelope hunting boots, water leaked in.

 

[FURMAN]

I have not really made any horrible purchases but I have settled quite a bit. I have found that not just buying what I really want the first time ends up costing more in the long run.

 

[huntingbigsky]

A Leupold RX IV 1500 yard range finder. The first one wouldn't range past 500 yards... I returned it to Leupold and got a replacement that did the same thing. I now have a Leica 1200 and love it!

 

[frans]

Cabelas Dry Plus raingear... not only is it fairly heavy, the cuffs soak up the wet and tranfer it to the liner. So in a long downpour, you will find yourself wet till well past the elbows and knees. :-(

Big Agnes fly Creek UL1: in retrospect I should have grabbed the UL2... to have just a tad more room. Apart from that misjudgment on my part, no complaints about this tent though.

 

[Matt W.]

Not super High end but I dam near froze to death in a North Face Cat's Meow!!

Ditto! Mine sucked! 20* rating is dreaming! It went back...

 

[chippewawarrior]

Ditto with frans on the Cabela's Dry Plus raingear. I used it on a Caribou hunt in northern Manitoba with the very same results. Otherwise, my decisions were not bad per say, but when my addiction began I purchased quality BUT heavy gear and I have been spending to lighten the load ever since. It helps if you can purchase from REI and Cabela's as they will take just about everything back with a receipt, even if it's a couple years old...

 

[T43]

I have a few but my latest was a pair of Cabelas Mendle light hunter boots. Looked good but were cheaply built in Vietnam and the liner in the toe box on one boot had a huge fold in it. I've pretty much sworn off of stuff from Cabelas as they seem to have become the walmart of hunting gear. In fact I think some of the stuff at walmart is better quality.

 

[Bighorse]

My first Sitka 90% gear faded too much and I didn't get much durability out of the stiching. My Nikon Monarch Binos haven't withstood SE AK Rainforest, leaker and foggers. My Danner Boots have been back to the factory for rebuilds too many times, the design doesn't hold up to real rock climbing mountain hunting. The first Steripen was a flop with poor battery housing design.

Other than that I've got a bunch of quality gear that while used and abused gets the nod of approval.

 

[Shrek]

"Not super High end but I dam near froze to death in a North Face Cat's Meow!! "

+1 to that! Next would be a TC Encore and barrels. I guess they are better, but it was a bunch of money and 2" groups was the best I could do with any loads. Had way too many packs and bino holders that were sold.

My encore was just as bad. 2.5" groups. I got the bellem oversized hinge pin and did a trigger job and groups shrunk to 3/4" with no real load work. Might give it a try if you work on your own rifles. I think I spent about $60 for the pin and #6 trigger spring and the 51lb hammer spring. Trigger is now down to 19oz.

 

[Titaniumman]

Some "backpacking" bag I had bought - like a Coleman or something. 40 degree bag for a meager 4 pounds and compressed to the size of a 5 gallon bucket. My dog got a running start at it, ran through it like a tunnel and blew the bottom end off of it. A spectacular sleeping bag death, especially since there was a person in it at the time (not me, thank goodness), and a great reason to throw it away. I almost had to throw my good one away (that I was using) because I was dangerously close to peeing my shorts when I witnessed the aftermath. It was one of those times when I was thinking to myself that I really needed to be disciplining my dog but, at the same time, it was one of the funniest things I'd ever witnessed.

Hilarious!!!

 

[belly-deep]

I had a Badlands 4500 and sold it. I still have a Hypervent and it seems to be a pretty good day pack. Lightweight too.

Worst purchase by far was a pair of Pentax 10X42s. The lenses scratched REALLY easily. I bought a pair of Minox binos last year and like them much better.

 

[broncoformudv]

They make other types of bino pouches?!?!?! Going on year #5 with my AK Guide Creations bino pouch and won't be switching it up anytime soon.

As far as I am concerned that is the only one out there and the rest of the world needs to figure that out.

 

[Titaniumman]

As far as I am concerned that is the only one out there and the rest of the world needs to figure that out.

I found out about AK on facebook by accident a while back. When I upgrade my binos I am going with them.

 

[Chuffness]

Badlands Sacrifice was pretty my worst gear purchase that comes to mind as of now. Dang thing could hardly carry 40 pounds before getting uncomfortable. Give me an osprey of the same weight and half the price and it'll get it done better than that.

Exactly the same here.

Sacrafice no Bueno.

Osprey Much much better. Plus trekking pole holders.

Now if they would just offer it in Camo