Hall of shame - gear version

[npm352]

Sitka "gear": I love their clothes. They stay together forever and function well. Their "gear" has failed me, however. Their gaiters came with an elastic tie with a little toggle on it for under your knee. It needed to be tightened every 3 steps or they would fall all the way down your ankle...I ended up sewing the top strap of a pair of old OR gaiters I had used a couple years so that they could stay up. I also got a Sitka backpack a couple years ago. The design is poor for carrying anything more than 15 pounds. The waist band was flimsy, the shoulder straps were too thin, and the pack sat too far off of your back to make it more breathable. My fault. It felt good in the store and the previous backpack I had used was a 15-year-old REI that I liked and used since I had bought it...so not much experience on my part. They make excellent clothing, but my experience with their gear was not good. Bottom line: I like when companies pick one thing and do it right. I now buy clothing from clothing companies, backpacks from backpack companies, and mountain climbing gear like gaiters from mountain climbing companies.

Kuiu gaiters: they do not seal to your boot which makes them worthless in snow. It means that instead of walking 10 steps in a foot of snow with no gaiters and having soaked feet, I would walk 1/2 mile in a foot of snow in Kuius and have soaked feet. Pretty much the same thing. I walk a lot of miles in the snow looking for lion tracks for my hounds and the only gaiters that have worked for me are OR. I have a couple articles of clothing from Kuiu and they function well.

Vortex: Had an HST that would not track or return to zero. Sent it back. They refurbished it, and to their credit, sent it back promptly. I decided that after it failing, I personally could not trust it anymore on the mountain because their warranty would not help me if it failed on a hard earned opportunity at a game animal. I have a little pair of 8x32 binos from them I got for a hunt in the Zambezi Valley thick stuff and like them...then again it is more difficult for binos to completely fail.

 

[GetWestern]

My one and only Tikka lite 270 rifle bought it when I was 15 after busting my butt painting houses all summer I was so excited to have my very own big game rifle. Despite my best efforts and many other qualified shooters and hand loads I never could get it to group better than 3” at 100 yards. Long story short I ended up sending it back to tikka and they told me the barrel was bad. They then wanted to charge me for a new barrel only a year after I bought it even though it was still under warranty there customer service was horrible as well. I told them to just send it back to me so they did I ended up selling it and bought a Weatherby never looked back since.

 

[El Gavilan]

Bought a brand new Hoyt Nitrum Turbo and was pulling my hair out trying to get it tuned. I’ve owned several new Hoyt’s, worked some as a bow tech, went through the PSE tech training have been an archer for 50+ years, so I know what I’m doing . Finally got my tape measure out and measured the distance from limb pocket to limb pocket on each side. The limb pockets were out of level by 3/16”. That screws up the cam angles and limb pressure from side to side. Sent the bow back to Hoyt, trough the dealer. Hoyt said it’s ok as is. I have never bought another Hoyt.


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[TheGreek]

Multiple pairs of danner pronghorns have leaked like a sieve on me. They would leak so bad I’d send them back to danner to get checked and danner would send me a new pair. I did this two times and both replacement pairs leaked horribly as well. Boots were garbage but their customer service was good.

 

[Cwilliams77]

I haven’t owned a vortex optic that hasn’t needed a trip to the warranty department. Rubber coming loose on the body of the bino, focus wheel coming off the spotter. Disappointing.

Big Agnes Fly Creek UL1. I wouldn’t even trust this to sleep in my backyard. Terrible design that can’t handle any wind AND it leaks. Learned the hard way with this one.




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[Fatcamp]

I had the same on this scope.

Awwww.... I wanted one of those.

 

[jacknifejc]

Lansky knife sharpener—I can sharpen five other knives in the time it takes to set up a Lansky.

Zeiss Conquest optics—I have bought two of the Conquest scopes, and both failed. I believe the upper end Zeiss scopes and binoculars are high quality, but I’d never buy another Conquest.

Anything Vortex—If it says Vortex on it, it will eventually fail. Good thing they have a good warranty department.

Kenetrek boots—Very noisy and only lasted half as long as other brands I have used.

Len Backus rifles—Very high priced, and none the three I have been around would shoot sub MOA.

Havalon knives—How many blades does it take to dress out an elk? I don’t know. I have always given up after two or three.

 

[EastMT]

I think my worst have been under armor boots. 2 different pairs, one each leaked. Super comfy in desert hunting, but every rain had one wet foot.

I haven’t tried the newest version, don’t remember the name but look heavier constructed

 

[ljalberta]

Scarpa Zodiac Plus Boots: Missing significant chunks of the sole after 7 days (a common issue from a quick google search), leaked quickly, rand cracking after only 15 days, and laces snapped after 15 days as well.

First Lite Uncompagre: Purchased new, but was missing one of the shock cord end pieces for the was it cord. Not a big deal, but pretty unimpressive QC. They sent me a new end piece but it never arrived. Pilled extremely fast and the fabric has separated at several points. This isn't a jacket I'm busting brush with either or particularly rough on.

MSR Trail Shot: Clogs like no ones business in anything but pristine water conditions. Not worth the effort.

 

[ChrisAU]

I think my worst have been under armor boots. 2 different pairs, one each leaked. Super comfy in desert hunting, but every rain had one wet foot.

I haven’t tried the newest version, don’t remember the name but look heavier constructed

I was so disappointed in the UA Infil Ops boots, they leaked horribly. Very comfy and fit my feet well. I sent mine back after one elk hunt for a full refund, which was nice. I'm thinking about buying another pair because I just can't find another pair that fits me as well.

 

[rm06]

Cabelas Cots. Don't sit on the edge to tie your boots, you might end up P-cord/duck taping a piece of angle iron to it to get through the next few nights haha

This exact thing happened to me, collapsed the center support and used a couple of logs to support it for the remainder of the trip. Yes, it sucked.

I don't mention Cabela's gear because I generally don't feel like their "equipment" is worthy of it. You get what you pay for and yes, even top gear manufacturers can throw out a lemon here or there, it's how they support their product after the fact that matters. That said, don't buy junk up front and you'll have far fewer headaches in the field.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

MR guide light frame. Snapped one of the stay when we lowered it over a ledge with some P-cord. All about that Kifaru life now, just wish they made line gear too haha

Was the P-cord looped around a frame stay pulling sideways on it or something?

 

[SawtoothShooter]

Was the P-cord looped around a frame stay pulling sideways on it or something?

We tied it off on both sides towards the top, in those kinda oval looking sections to either side of the center riser. Did alright until it got bound up, and that shock when it came loose was enough to pop it. The stitching held though

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

We tied it off on both sides towards the top, in those kinda oval looking sections to either side of the center riser. Did alright until it got bound up, and that shock when it came loose was enough to pop it. The stitching held though

Gotcha, yeah its pulling sideways on the frame piece there, I could see that being an issue with the load applied in such a small section by the paracord. Probably would have the same issue with the top handle (again thin point load vs hand width), a webbing handle off the pack would have been best for something like that. Anyways thanks was just curious.

 

[mmcdonough]

This one is definitely a no s*** kind of thing for hunting but Coleman pop up tents. I tried to cut a corner on a tent last year and used a small pop up Coleman with fiberglass poles for my base camp that we had gotten years before as a wedding gift. Got it all treated with camp dry and was honestly excited to use it. Never again, it worked good for a day or two then a pole broke in a wind storm and my life was miserable after that. Tried to tape the pole with gorilla tape but it uh, didn't work. Never again will I go with a cheap tent.

Oddly enough, I have one pair of First Lite boxers and have had the exact opposite experience. They have been nothing short of amazing. I think they are the Kiln's. A little big but I wore them for 6 days straight on that same trip last year with minimal stank and they kept me nice and toasty. I wear them almost weekly now too and have been for about a year. No pilling or durability issues in the crotch and I've gone through a TON of regular boxes in those spots. They are honestly my only dependable pair of boxers. Kiln must just be more durable than the other type's.

 

[Chesapeake173]

Soloman Quest boots. By far the most comfortable boots I’ve ever worn, but have gore tex warrantied 4(?) pairs, about every two years for leaking. Unfortunately the last pair self destructed before I was able to send them in for another new pair.


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[GregB]

Danner High ground boots, blew out every cloth eyelet on both boots in 8 days of hunting. Also FL Corrugate Guide pants, that swishing sound you hear 5 minutes ago was me coming to the laptop to write this post.

 

[Youngbuck86]

Crispi boots. I had a pair of Thors blow out in 9 months. To their credit they had them fixed on their dime. They blew out 3-4 months later, out of warranty. I'm hard on boots, but not that hard. I run 3 pairs all the time; quiet archery, regular, and insulated late season. I've had several pairs of Merrels last longer when I only ran 1 pair at at time.

 

[Mosby]

go tits up.

One of the greatest expressions ever created.

 

[tt_johnsclist]

First generation First Lite North Branch pants had crappy little zippers that failed immediately, was remedied with real zippers in later versions.

All of the replaceable blade knives, Havalon etc, who ever thought that was a good idea?

I once spent a good amount of money on a Cabelas brand aluminum gun case for a fly in hunting trip. It barely survived the trip from my garage to the truck let alone the hunt.


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