Hall of shame - gear version

cmahoney

WKR
Joined
Jun 18, 2018
Messages
2,225
Location
Minden Nevada
Frankfort Arsenal Platinum digital scale

Complete garbage, the weight drift never stopped. I think eyeballing a powder charge would be more accurate.


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cmahoney

WKR
Joined
Jun 18, 2018
Messages
2,225
Location
Minden Nevada
Kuiu superdown pants

They are warm and light weight but the nylon shell is completely fragile. I have a ton of small tears in mine that I have fixed with tenacious tape.


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manitou1

WKR
Joined
Mar 29, 2017
Messages
1,719
Location
Wyoming
Rocky boots.
Bought a BEAUTIFUL Henry lever gun in .22 mag when they first cam out. Wouldn't group inside 6" at 50 yards with any brand of ammo.
 

visage

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
May 22, 2017
Messages
133
Location
Colorado
Black diamond storm headlamp. Bought two new last season and after 5 minutes of use they would dim down to the lowest setting and then shut off, indicating low battery. Ultimately ended up walking out in the dark (thankfully had some moon, and shadows from my buddies lights). Tried new batteries with no luck and then researched online and found others with similar problems. Local outdoor store refunded my purchase.
 
OP
Desk Jockey
Joined
Apr 5, 2015
Messages
5,824
Danner QC has been sadly up and down over the years. I have some old school military boots in my stable that are decades old and solid as a rock. My combat hikers are fairly good. My last pair of pronghorns died earlier than I would have liked and some other military boots like the tachyon have been basically disposables, that at least I bought cheap off of eBay.
 
Joined
May 24, 2016
Messages
10
Location
Washington State
I had issues with First Lite's 1st gen merino base layers as well. Crotch area blew out within the 1st year of use.

First Lite's 1st gen rain jacket ripped the seams on top of the right shoulder within a year of use as well. I have made the switch to Kuiu for outwear and have been satisfied and dry so far after a few very wet hunts.

Had two bad experiences with Schnees Beartooths. Both pairs were treated well and taken care of, but both pairs only lasted about 6 months each. Had both pairs lose a lace hook, had one pair that never really was waterproof (Even walking in wet grass in the morning they would feel wet), and the 1st pair actually shrunk down to what felt like about half a shoe size. Finally on the 3rd pair they got it right and have been great. Customer service was great from them.

I also have had two steri pen failures. Both while in the backcountry. It was the Steri Pen Classic 3 I believe. I think one may have got too cold and wet and the other just quit working no matter what I did.

Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 1-Man tent is super light summer tent. Must be used in fair weather only. Got got a in a pretty hefty wind storm scouting this summer and the tent would fold over flat in the big gust. The tent was pitched correctly in the wind as well. Just not made for that weather.

The Fly Creek is a pain to get in and out of as well. Only one door in the front. But, you wont feel it in your pack.
 

rcdinaz

FNG
Joined
Nov 26, 2015
Messages
84
Cabelas outfitter boots, I do not have a wide foot and could barely get in and out of them.
Agree the Kuiu beanies fit is goofy.
First version of Canyon Cooler, front latches snapped off and lid warped in first season. New stuff is very good.
FroggTogs, back up rain gear brand new loaned to a friend and the crotch ripped within an hour.
 

Michael54

WKR
Joined
Oct 18, 2019
Messages
881
Cabelas outfitter boots, I do not have a wide foot and could barely get in and out of them.
Agree the Kuiu beanies fit is goofy.
First version of Canyon Cooler, front latches snapped off and lid warped in first season. New stuff is very good.
FroggTogs, back up rain gear brand new loaned to a friend and the crotch ripped within an hour.
The cabelas ultralight hunters by meindle had a really wide toe box for me. Crazy how boots are so different for different people
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2019
Messages
2,488
Location
Lowcountry, SC
Two consecutive Nemo Tensor insulated sleeping pads. Both leaked either the first or second time out. I was camping on soft old pine needles and also had a footprint under the tent. REI swapped out the first one and replaced it new, and it is the one that leaked the first night. The first one leaked so bad I had to blow it up every hour, on a 26 degree night. Never again.

Solution was to switch to Thermarest. Now have three of their pads, and they are all awesome and well made.
 

Schism

WKR
Joined
Mar 9, 2012
Messages
356
Location
North Dakota
Add me to the list of people that have had issues with FL merino boxers. Of the three pairs I purchased, all of them developed tears in the crotch within two days of wearing them. I have a couple other pairs of different brand that are going strong after a couple years of use.
 

Squamch

WKR
Joined
Sep 26, 2017
Messages
448
Location
Republic of Vancouver Island
Under armour boots. When I started to get serious about hunting on foot a few years ago, I bought into the UA hype from a bunch of the instahunters.
Bought a pair of browtines. I LOVED them that fall. They were too warm, but oh, so comfy all summer...until it rained. My feet got soaked. Warranty exchange in the store.
2 months later, those boots started to literally fall apart around my feet.
I eventually got those warrantied for store credit and ended up with a pair of Lowa tibet GTX.

I have a pair of speed freaks I got on sale for $100, they're really comfy, but they're just around town boots, not to be trusted in the bush.
 

SawtoothShooter

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Feb 11, 2018
Messages
255
Location
Blackfoot, ID
Leupold Mark 4. Would not track or return to zero. Sent in twice and sold after the second "replacement" I have heard good things about the Mark 5, but I am waiting to see what kind of longevity hunters are getting from it. I honestly could care less if PRS shooters trust it, yes they run the dial thousands of times more than I will but are they shooting big 30s/338s in the type of country we find ourselves in. Accidental ground tuning happens lol

Every Vortex Scope I have owned (PST and HST) and many of the scopes I have seen. Other than the AMG, I have not personally seen one of those fail yet.

The above problems sent me down the Nightforce rabbit hole, but zero failures and totally bulletproof.

RCBS Chargemaster. Drifting... drifting... drifting... gone. Back to old school hand throws and trickling on a much more accurate gem scale.

Whites Boots Smokejumpers. After they got bought out my last couple rebuilds have been stitched together almost crooked? Definitely wear like a totally different boot. Went to Scarpa, but going to try Hoffman's this year for the work boots.

Christensen Arms carbon barrels. This may have been remedied from what people have been reporting. However the carbon still seems more brittle when compared to other offerings. I have seen a few with chips missing as opposed to dents in some other carbon barrels. Once again this observation is a few years old, and things could have changed.

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

NEMO Astro Lite Sleeping Pad. Won't hold air for more than an hour with no weight on it, only good for about 30 min with a person on it.

Black Ovis Game bags. Had the "reinforced" stitching pop at the draw cord on 2 of the bags. Asked them about it at Western Hunt Expo last year, and all they said is "That's weird" and went to another customer.

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

Any piece of Gortex I have owned. North Idaho had its way with it
 
Joined
Aug 31, 2017
Messages
711
Location
NV
Good thread idea.

Accubond Long Range bullets: Crushing disappointment

Slumber jack sleeping bags: QC now in the dumpster

Kings camo: good patterns but cheap fabric/zippers/buttons etc.

First Lite Obsidians: probably have had mine hunting about 5 days total and have several holes in them. My hunting buddy had a brand new pair last fall and came out of the oaks with a gaping tear down the right leg about a foot long. (Love all of my other FL gear tho 🙂)
 
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