The past few years I have spent a good portion of late August/early September chasing elk around with my bow. Along the way, I’ve made some incredible memories and harnessed a potent love for archery elk hunting. While that love has not faded, this year is going to be a little bit different for me. This year, I was fortunate enough to draw not one, but two early archery mule deer tags. One is in Utah and the other is in Colorado. A high country mule deer hunt is something I’ve wanted to do for quite a few years now, but never have because of elk season. I decided to finally pull the trigger and try to make it happen. Looks like it worked…..double! Both of these hunts will be backpack hunts lasting from 7-10 days each. As you can imagine, my head has been racing trying to figure out what I’ll be bringing with me gear wise and all. So, with this post, I wanted to lay out just that. What I will be packing with me along the way for the 17 in total days of backcountry hunting for velvet mule deer!
As you may have read in a previous review I did on the Crispi Wyoming, things got off to a rocky start, but ended very favorably. With what learned from the Wyoming I took right over to a new release for Crispi this year, the Colorado. This boot was made in mind for folks that wanted a beefier boot without sacrificing flexibility. The Colorado is equipped with the same upper that many know and love from their ever popular boot The Summit. Unlike the EVA sole that came on The Summit though, The Colorado packs a polyurethane sole for more rigidity and longevity. With that they threw in their dual density polyurethane sole in the high impact areas of the boot. This is going to help fight against foot fatigue. Abrasion resistant cordura is what makes up the upper of this boot. This is super breathable and lightweight, making The Colorado a fantastic boot choice for early season hunting. Another feature that Crispi has added is their ABSS or ankle bone support system. The ABSS is going to give you the support you need in heavy pack outs and steep terrain. Of course The Colorado comes with a full Gortex wrap as well, making it waterproof.
If you have followed my content for any amount of time, you probably already know that I am a gear junkie! I just love getting new gear and putting it to the test in the field. Anything I can do to make my system more efficient, I am usually game to check out. Plus, I just like trying out new stuff. These are a few gear highlights that I am pretty stoked on for the 2019 hunting seasons. You can expect that I will be putting together in depth reviews for each of these items in the future. They are simply too good not to. Check out the video below for the overview and I’ll include links to each item down below! Thanks for watching and let me know if you have any questions. What are some gear highlights that you are pumped on for 2019?
Father’s Day is right around the corner and I thought it would be cool to highlight a certain product that I think would be a perfect Father’s Day Gift! If your Dad is anything like mine, he loves his firearms. He doesn’t just love them, he takes an immense amount of pride in keeping those firearms clean. Hours are spent cleaning every crease of a gun by hand. My Father’s generation was filled with craftsman who truly cared about what they did. That very trait is sadly somewhat of a lost art. Good craftsman come far and few between, so when a company like Sage and Braker break the surface, my eyes are wide open. They are the makers of a truly high quality gun cleaning kit crafted at the highest caliber. A kit that will care about your Father’s guns as much as he does.
Boots have become sort of a frustrating topic for me. It seems that I’m always looking for the right boot for my needs and am usually left scratching my head. In the past, I have always landed on a soft sole boot. These have been great in terms of comfort, but in the land of durability and being waterproof? Well, that’s another story and an area that they lack in. When I have found boots that were more durable, they just lacked in comfort. So, now I am left with a situation of give and take. Do I want my feet to be more comfortable and possibly wet or do I want dry feet and less comfort? The Crispi Wyoming GTX was a boot that stood out to me as a “tweener,” if you would. Something in between comfort and durability that didn’t lack in being waterproof.
I recently did a flight test video comparing the flight of a Grim Reaper Micro Hades Pro 125 grain broadhead to that of a 125 grain Field Point. I was both surprised and excited about the results. This was not only my first time ever shooting this broadhead, but shooting a fixed blade broadhead in general. I’ve always used a Grave Digger Broadhead, which is a hybrid head. I started shooting at 40 yards and then eventually backed up to 80 yards. Each time shooting a group with my field points and then a group with the broadheads. Give it a look and let me know what you think down below!
Pick up some Grim Reaper Micro Hades Pro broadheads at the link below!
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2018 has been absolutely jam packed with awesome hunts! I started off in January with archery deer season. From there, we drifted into spring bear for a few months, which then led into fall bear, deer, and elk. Through that time I not only made some incredible memories, but got to test out lots of gear! With the holidays coming on fast, I thought it might be a good time to highlight some of my favorite gear items of the year. Maybe you can convince your significant others to put some of these under the tree for you this year. These are in no particular order.
I just recently switched over to a fixed blade knife for my hunting endeavors and landed on the Benchmade Hidden Canyon Hunter. A phenomenal little knife that you can find my personal review on HERE. Being the gear nerd that I am though, I am always looking to better my system, especially for backcountry hunting. Things need to be lightweight and extremely functional, not to mention dependable. When I saw that Benchmade came out with an ultralight knife, tailor made for the backcountry hunter, I just knew that I would eventually have to get my hands on it. The Benchmade Altitude Knife is one that has not disappointed me in the least bit. Could this be the perfect knife for the backcountry hunter?
This post is sponsored by Everywhere Agency on
behalf of FoodSaver®; however, all thoughts and
opinions expressed are my own.
We live in a digital age. There is no getting away from that. Social media, internet TV, and online businesses are a very real thing. If you said that stuff to me 25 years ago, I would have no idea what you were talking about. Fast forward to today, and it is our new normal. Less and less kids are getting outside and more are sitting inside, in front of a screen. Most adults are bound to a desk for their 9-5 grind in a cubicle. No sunlight, no fresh air. Just keyboards and screens. Yeah, you could say that things are a bit different nowadays.
It seems every year that goes by, I am constantly searching for ways to lighten up my pack for the backcountry, and this year is no exception. One of the bigger items in our packs is going to be our shelter. I started out hauling around a 7 pound tent for hunts. After that, I moved to a 3 pound ultralight tent. There is still room for improvement though right? This had me considering some of the trekking pole style shelters. Going this route would eliminate the need for tent poles and free up even more room in my pack. I have been running a Nemo Hornet 2P shelter for a few years with no hiccups. When I saw that Nemo was coming out with an ultralight trekking pole style shelter that had a floor to it, I was immediately intrigued. Sooner than later, the Nemo Spike Storm 1P shelter was on my doorstep. I could not wait to get this thing in the field for testing.
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