Gear Talk

The question is what's in a brand? My answer is clues as to whether or not the company is actually where you should be looking for what you need. In regards to upland hunting I've bought from all the major companies and many of the specialty retailers as well. Everybody has favorite pieces of gear and swear by their experiences with it. So here's this year's take on mine.

Cotton pants. I don't care about the weight or weave if you start hunting the early season's in September you have to wear this fabric in the field in one form or another. And if your boots are on the ground on a day to day basis taking you through thorns,cactus, and a whole host of other vegetation and brush you'll have shredded these pants by the start of cold weather. Did I mention crossing over and crawling under fences?

I love these lightweight cotton pants. They even came with a zippered pocket! However they're about as practical as fine china at a 5 year olds birthday party! Not a bargain at 125 dollars.

So as I look at the half dozen or so pairs of these types of pants in my "gear room" I feel duped over what I paid for most of them. You see they are all ripped up and patched multiple times because what I paid for them doesn't allow me to admit I made a bad choice buying the brand versus the product that best suited my needs. So I have to get at least another few year's out of them looking like a Hobo! At anywhere from 125.00 to 175.00 dollars a pair in the end none of them were more functional than a pair of 50 to 65 dollar workman's pants of the same material. And I would add the workman's style pants actually have more functional pockets as well! Pockets being a main point of frustration for me when paying such ridiculous prices for pants that don't have what you really need. Durability,storage and security. So what caused this disconnect? This obvious misguided decision. The answer is slavery to the brand. A conditioning process we grow up with when buying most anything. If that brand happens to market to upper income hunters run Forest run! Because the retailers spend most of their time figuring out how to get that consumer to justify over priced goods (the marketing department) not how to actually make more durable and functional goods. Their value is in the perception of their brand. A confidence scam and a kind of mind game they play with the guys that may go on an annual trip for a week or two. Gee I guess I might as well spend the most I can to insure I did everything possible to make this a great trip! After all I'm already spending beau-coup bucks as it is! Bullshit I say. While these high end retailers granted do some things well the overall value proposition is very weak for the frequent and non frequent hunter alike. So unless you buy into the snake oil scheme of the brand head for the local work clothing retailer and buy yourself a better wearing pair of pants for a fraction of the cost of what's sitting in my gear room all patched up and still missing functional (zipper) pockets.

Boots.The same issue exists with all gear in regards to brand as I've elaborated on but with boots there is one caveat. Without fit there is no value no matter what the price. With all these products for the most part being made by the same manufacturers in China it's absurd to pay more for the same style and leather than you have to. So the detailing is a little different and the finish on the leather varies it's still the same damn boot for the most part! If it fits save yourself some money! Fit is fit.. Now I have a few pair of custom made boots out in my gear room as well made right here in the U.S. but at 4 times the price of the boots I wore most of this season because I liked their fit and they happened to be made of kangaroo and were very lightweight. I got used to the light weight and just kept wearing them everyday. When I didn't have them on I wore another pair which were well broke in and 9 years old.

9 years old and made of Kangaroo leather. Lightweight and they fit great.

I rotated boots pretty regularly you see until this year when I just went with the lighter weight boots for days in a row. But anyway both pair fit very well and cost me about 125 bucks new several years ago. I had one pair resoled during that time and had the toe caps repaired on the other. As for the $500 a pair boots made right here in the U.S. I have no complaints on durability but had problems because two pair were made wrong and had to be remade. That whole process took months to complete for each pair. I've had them resoled and  they've held up extremely well and are in great condition. I expect I'll have them for 20 year's and may never wear them completely out if I keep rotating boots as I go. I feel I bought the product in regards to these boots and not the brand. Even so the brand stands actually for what I want. Customization,fit, durability and repair ability. Those were the brand clues I looked for and as I said they "fit".

Custom made in the USA but they had to be made twice before each pair was right! I don't think I'll ever wear them out. Excellent boots.

Jackets. Hanging in my closet upstairs is a 500 dollar technical upland jacket I wore on a trip to Kansas several years ago.

The 500 dollar technical upland jacket made of heavy tent like material. Clammy,heavy,and definitely not cut for layering. When I tried to give it away people said "No thanks'. It's "technically" worthless to me but it is made in the USA! Again worthless to me.

It's an XL but not cut to layer and if you do it binds when you shoulder your gun and is too tight. Add to that it's made of heavy waxed canvas material. It actually makes me think of someone taking an old tent and saying, "Hey lets make a jacket out of this stuff!" I wore this thing day after day for a week and a half. If you'd start to perspire it'd just hang on you and get stiff in the cold. The hood it came with was just as useless. "Here put a piece of canvas on your head that'll keep out the wind and cold!" I've tried to give this thing away and people say "No thanks it feels a little heavy. What is this material anyway?" I like to go light so I've always carried a shoulder bag for game and shells since that time which gives me flexibility with jackets. Since I hunt on the plains I can wear fleece material not having to worry about briars and brush.
This season I've had an issue with muscle tension in my back so I had to go to wearing a strap vest though as the shoulder bag with a few birds would put pressure on my back in an uneven manner. Since I abhor the legions of orange men out in the field group hunting I don't like to wear orange but after having people get in my way on runs from time to time because they don't know where the hell they're at I have to wear it so I don't get shot during peak times of the season. Well as you might have guessed this is about a jacket with orange on it! Advertised as an essential piece of gear and a best selling jacket recommended by professional guides who wear it daily I decided to give it a try. Well the first day I put it on before I even got out the door one of the snaps on the cuffs broke off. Plastic.

Never made it out the door before the snaps broke on this 225 dollar jacket.

Then I noticed it didn't have a chest pocket just 2 zippered side pockets. I thought for 225.00 dollars why couldn't you put in at least an inside chest pocket? It wasn't to long before the other cuff snap broke as well. However the fit was very good and the neck was fit so as to keep out the wind which I like. But wouldn't you expect that for about twice what this thing is actually worth? That's where I'm at. Turns out the side pockets zipper is reversed so it's almost impossible to get them open with one hand and then there's like a no man's land inside them so things can get pushed back and inside the pocket in a way that's hard to get them out. And this company markets this as an essential piece of gear?

Just a lot of complaining I know. But it's the truth. Paying for what you don't get! What's in a brand? Not what you need far to often but what you think you might want. Look for the clues before you buy that tell you if you're shopping at the right place.Then look beyond the brand and ask yourself is this made and priced for dreamers or doers?