2015 Gear of the Year Awards

[MinnesotaHunter]

Not hunting related but Duluth Firehose Flex pants. Tough wearing, look good enough to wear on business trips, and comfortable. No more blue jeans for me.

These are awesome!

I wear the heck out of my Duluth Trading Company Dry-on-the-fly Flex pants during early season. They are great pants for hunting IMO. I have Sitka Ascent Pants as well, but tend to find myself in the DTC pants most often.

 

[MThuntr]

These are awesome!

I wear the heck out of my Duluth Trading Company Dry-on-the-fly Flex pants during early season. They are great pants for hunting IMO. I have Sitka Ascent Pants as well, but tend to find myself in the DTC pants most often.

I'll second (or 3rd) that motion. I wore my Dry-on-the-fly pants so much this year (once for 10 days straight while backpacking against the Bob) that I can't wear them in the office anymore from all of the pine sap, mud, and blood stains. They are definitely my favorite non-hunting brand pants for early season.

 

[----]

My folding Coleman stove is far from new, but is still one of my one my favorite belongings. My wife bought it for me in probably 2002 or 2003. I've cooked hundreds of meals on this thing. It stays in the bed of my truck 100% of the time, and has never let me down.

 

[thecrittergitter]

Some of my favorites were;


3. First Lite Chama Hoody. I LOVE this. It works great just by itself in mild weather or as an under layer in colder conditions.
.

Actually forgot about that, I second this. My favorite shirts now............

 

[Dinkshooter]

I would love to tell you how well my brand new sea to summit pack cover worked but as shown in these pictures I left it in the truck when we flew out in Alaska.

1. 55 gallon contractor trash bag for the win!

 

[bmack]

In no particular order.

1. KUIU Kenai Hooded jacket. Super quiet and breathes very well for an insulation layer. Not as warm as their Superdown but usually fits the bill.

2. Camp Chef Striker Stove. This is a bit bigger than the Jetboil but I really like the built in striker making it super easy to ignite.

3. KUIU Tiburon pant - These are my favorite early season pant with out question. Light weight, breathable and very stretchy/comfortable. Nothing worse than swamp crotch in Aug. and Sept.

4. Phone Skope Adapter - This has been great to take on every hunt accompanied with a spotting scope. We film a lot and this attached to our iPhones takes incredible photos and videos.

 

[JWP58]

Stevens 555 in 20ga. Light, cheap, fits like a glove, and goes bang.

Asolo bajura boots

 

[MNElkNut]

My list would look like this:

1. Sitka Early Season Whitetail Pants. wore them every day on my elk hunt but one and loved them.
2. Schnees Beartooth boots. Might be the first thing other than the family I save if there is a house fire.
3. Wapiti River Outdoors The Reaper elk call. It called them in, what more can you ask of a call?
4. No list is complete without proclaiming my undying love affair with my Beretta 390 12 gauge.

 

[shoots-straight]

I have some new long underwear that feels good. That's about all I can add to this discussion. If interested in what kind it is PM me. The rest of my stuff is over 6 years old, and most older. My wool pants are see through in the crotch area.

 

[tjones]

xx75 2514's that I was happy to find.

 

[idahofishnhunt]

1. EXO Mountain Gear 3500 Pack (hands down the most comfortable and lightweight, and designed pack I've worn)
2. Vortex Phoneskope Adapter (great gizmo to catch some video and pics at a distance)
3. Outdoor Edge Razor Knife (a lot sturdier than the Havalon, and easier to change blades)
4. TAG Bags (much better bag that doesn't stretch, not to mention you can reuse them)
5. Kifaru Ultralight Pullouts (great little bags to organize your gear in your pack)

 

[Elkoholic]

Items for me this year...
1. Trekking poles (first time using these this year, I'll never leave the trail head without them)
2. Kelty Noah's tarp (gave me a dry spot to cook, dress, store gear, etc. when packed in with 1p tent)
3. First Lite Sanctuary bibs & jacket (great cold weather tree stand gear)
4. Kuiu Ultra 6000 backpack (light weight, comfy, carried well, I pack in the 1800 bag only with me and throw it on the frame to use for day hunts - this worked great)
5. Got some new gear after season, looking forward to trying out in '16

 

[DANGLER]

2. Outdoor Edge Razor Lite--I have used Havalon for a long time but tried the outdoor edge this year. the Replaceable blades are much stronger and far easier to change out. More than anything, much safer changing blades.


Remind me to give you one of the new Gerber Vital knives....... no more stitches

 

[Muskeez]

Sitka Primaloft insulating layer jacket. Love it!
Lowa Superwarm Tibet boots for cold weather and Lowa Tibet GTX Hi for early season. The first boots I've owned that my feet like for more than 6 hours at a time.
Theron Questa 8x42 binos. NICE!

 

[deer_shooter]

Forgot to mention
- Sitka kelvin lite jacket and jetstream lite vest. Great lightweight layering options

 

[sbhooper]

2. Outdoor Edge Razor Lite--I have used Havalon for a long time but tried the outdoor edge this year. the Replaceable blades are much stronger and far easier to change out. More than anything, much safer changing blades.


Remind me to give you one of the new Gerber Vital knives....... no more stitches

Definitely a better design, but still not very impressive. The steel in those is lousy and dulls easily. I am sure that they are marketed to sell more of their blades. I sharpen them, so the ones that I have will last. I just like to be able to quarter a complete deer before sharpening. With my real knives, I can easily get through a deer and then some.

I have a havalon and a razor lite and I won't own another replaceable blade. They are best suited for skinning small animals and caping etc.

 

[hank4elk]

Lowa Tibet boot,excellent.
Lopi hiking poles,excellent.
Alpen Teton 15x50 HD binos,excellent.
Smart Wool Merino base layers,excellent.
MR Crewcab pack/used from BF,very good. Might be excellent if it had a scabbard.
Vortex Ranger 1000 rangefinder,good. So small you have to use a rest to stabilize ,but works good.
Anything from DuluthTP is good stuff IMHO

 

[Chucknduck]

Kenetrek boots. Best piece of gear I own.

I have to agree they were my best purchase this year.

Stone glacier solo pack is a close second

 

[rjlefty3]

1. First Lite Chama - love this thing, it's awesome
2. Outdoor Edge Razor Lite - as said above
3. B-Stinger stabilizer - instantly improved my shooting, I love it
4. LLBean Primaloft Jacket - lightweight, very warm, and cheaper than any other insulating jacket I could find. I wear it all the time. Tough to go wrong with a lifetime warranty too.
5. Marmot Sawtooth sleeping bag - really comfy, only gripe is that it's almost too warm (I wasn't in really cold weather, either)

 

[Big Fin]

I'm assuming this thread is for things that were new, or newly discovered by the person posting, in 2015.

Platypus Platy Bottles in cold weather - No more frozen bite tubes and the Platy molds to form to what ever space you have in your pack. I won't freeze, even in -22F, based on recent personal experience.


Kenetrek socks, especially the Alaska heavyweight model. I now wear Kenetrek socks year round, even as my work socks.


Mystery Ranch Marshall Pack - The nest 3-5 day pack I've found. Well thought out and the nornal MR bomb-proof. On sale now for $399, which is $210 below normal pricing.


Gerber Gator Premium - I had moved away from a fixed blade traditional knife, as I struggled to find one that would keep an edge. This knife has changed that. At the link above, is $45 off from retail.


Sitka Kelvin Lite Pant - If you spend a lot of time standing/sitting in cold conditions, these pants are amazing. I just got mine after the Wyoming elk hunt and I wish I had them on that hunt. For wolf hunting, coyote hunting, or other instances where you are not moving much for long periods of time, these are the best thing you will find. Just don't plan to hike in them; you will sweat to death. I carry these "puffy pants" in my pack, along with my "puffy coat," putting them on once I get to my desired glassing/calling location.


I could list a lot more, like the 65 qt Orion Cooler, new Bowtech Prodigy bow, and my new Leupold VX-6 CDS scope(s).