i'm back. ran some gear thru the paces. some is going away

[pointysticks]

the BAD:

Badlands 2800..i am getting it fixed and then i am giving it away to a needy friend. using it more and more..i now can say, ignore my past positive post. i hate it. depending on how you pack it, the fit changes drastically. i broke two zippers, and the fabric gathered every burr on the AZ mountains. even on the part that touches your body. (equals pain!) i will be day pack shopping soon. if you dont lay everything flat when packing it..you feel it..and your hip belt will need constant adjusting. dont know why i never noticed it before. i really used it as a long-day pack, i guess.

Vortex Summit SS tripod. this thing almost flew off the mountain tops via my arm power. that ball head blows!! it is a fine line between smooth panning and dropping the tripod. believe me, you glass a record Couse buck..the tripod drops the scope from view..you will invent cuss words and comtemplating throwing the thing from you presence. the legs dont extend in order. you loosen the legs to pull them out..sometimes the thin portion comes out first..sometime it doesnt. you want to use the legs extensions in the thickest to thinnest portion in sequencial order to get the most stable platform. pipe dream fellas. look for a free give away soon.

the good:

Vortex Viper HD 65mm spotting scope. i love it!! i stepped it up. i used it to find game..not only evaluate game. i would turn it to 15x and glass for hours. any suspect gray "dot" zooooooommmm..close up inspection. i found so much i would have missed using binos as my primary tool. one negative? i did notice eye relief shortened drastically when you zoomed. if you had the eye cup turned out to max..you had to dial it down short if you zoomed out. and brightness decreases proportionally with zooming. weird. not sure all spotting scopes have these two "cons".
edge to edge on a spotting scope is superior to any bino. i caught a lot of movement right on the edges. it was awesome.

western mountaineering alpinlite. great bag. used it as a quilt on the warm nights..and fully zipped in with some clothing let me sleep down to the mid 20's. best so far. i dont think it can get much cooler (for me)..i freeze like a thin girl. i would need to pull out a Zero bag.

KUIU attack pants. great fit. too long for me, so i will sew up the legs. the fabric lets you hike more comfy. the knees stretch!! i poked and pulled a few "boogers" out of the fabric on snags..so it isnt the bombproof fabric touted..my sitka 90% jacket is booger free going thru the same thorny bushes. i do love the pants, but you will have to evaluate you route thru the thorny stuff. they will be awesome in the california wilderness.

KUIU rainjacket. AWESOME. allows you to give the middle finger to the big cumulus nimbus clouds. bring it evil cloud!
patagonia military issue rain pant. the gray matches with the KUIU verde..so i looked badass. i got the pant FREE..not sure you guys can get them unless you enlist. haha. half zippers so you can pull them over and off your boots. yeehaw!! i will be buried in these pants. super dry with both gear in a downpour. i glassed for hours in rain.

thermarest ridgecrest sleeppad. i cut in up into three portions. glassing for hours..having something soft to sit on was a game changer. my ass was happy..the first night i went ground commando, and had to use tweezers on my butt cheeks. not fun, or dignified.

Lowa Renegade boots. wow. like boxing gloves for my feet. i speed bagged the rocky earth. zero blisters for me. and i was grippy on my miles of climbing. i am rethinking tall heavy boots..i might not like them. i might favor a lighter faster boot. no tears on the boots. my feet stayed dry in the rain.

Wilderness athelete rehydrate stuff. taste MEH..but i was peeing clear the entire time. one nalgene a day. no headaches from dehydration ever. i am a convert.

super fun hunt gents.

i missed a 87 yard shot at a mulie at last light, last day. clipped his chest hairs right below his heart. buck fever got me..haha. and he pinned me in the open on a hill top. i am gonna order a 3 pin with a slider.

[BrentLaBere]

Thanks for your review on the gear. Just got done discussing the 2200 on another thread. I have heard mixed feeling on the durability of the badlands packs. Breaking the zipper have to do with over loading? (too much weight or too much material stuffed in).

[pointysticks]

Thanks for your review on the gear. Just got done discussing the 2200 on another thread. I have heard mixed feeling on the durability of the badlands packs. Breaking the zipper have to do with over loading? (too much weight or too much material stuffed in).

Haha. I did overstuff. But I have an older pack and the side pockets are triangular shaped. It takes very little to overstuff.

[cnelk]

Cliff
Great review.
More people should give honest opinions of gear - even tho it may ruffle some feathers.

As far as BL zippers.
What needs to happen is the zipper needs to be re-enforced on each side, in the fabric
When the zipper is pulled [or pushed] there is nothing to prevent the fabric from bunching up and binding
the zipper.

Im surprised that no one has figured this out.

[ElkNut1]

Cliff, I'm just going to touch on a couple of things here. First off I can see that you are relatively new to using, optics & tripod. Certain equipment is designed for ones particular needs & type of hunting they will do. When glassing for hours on end you do not use a tripod with a ball head, a ball head has its place because of its light weight features for packing in where hunters are trying to reduce wt & bulk. I've used this ball head with the Razor 65mm with not near the issues you refer too, it is a fine line to get the adjustment right to contain spotter in all directions but with use you do get the hang of it even though it's not as good a a panhead. (grin) For hours of glassing you go to a panhead, yes you found this out! (grin) Tripods like the Summit SS & many others that have the 1/2 twist on bottom of leg for length adjustment always come out random but can be stopped & locked into any length for even or uneven ground, this is normal! If you want a tripod where you can extend each leg out a section at a time you need to go to the buckle style, they are bulkier & easier to snap off where the twist ones have nothing to break off, another compromise! (grin)

When using a Spotter do not extend the eyepiece at anytime no matter the magnification desired, make sure it's adjusted all the way down, if you do adjust it out you will lose your wide field of view & get that periscope look & shadowed edges, this applies to all spotters. In time with more experience with different brands & models you will see a trend of how all equipment works & that all have a design for a particular style hunt.

ElkNut1

[Swede]

I have no complaints with my Badlands Superday pack. The zippers can bind as cnelk says. I have to take my pack off to zip up even the side pockets. I broke off a couple of the zipper flobs, so I replaces every flob with split rings and elk ivories. I sure never noticed it was either uncomfortable or prone to picking up burrs.

[kevin_t]

That is one of the advantages with the xpac fabric we use on the paradox packs pack bags. It is a bit noisier, but it is slick and doesn't catch on stuff. That combined with its weather resistance and easy cleaning makes it very good for actual use.

Sorry , not trying to post commercially, but all fabrics have benefits and drawbacks and while a quite fabric may seem desirable , in the field priorities can change

[pointysticks]

Swede. Here is a pic of the burrs. My wife is gonna help me tweeze it clean prior to shipping it off for repairs.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1391452746.764596.jpg (106.91 KiB) Viewed 4782 times

[Swede]

Poinysticks, I agree with you and Kevin. I have a pack with harder material. I used it as a fire fighter and some at work. Where I hunt, burrs are not as common as in other areas. That could account for the difference. For hunting where I go, hard material can be noisy when you scrape it on branches while going through dense forest. The burrs I occasionally get are not a problem to remove. Obviously, getting your wife to help remove burrs indicates you are dealing with a much more serious situation than I have had. I appreciate your open and honest review. It can be a real help to folks trying to decide on these items. Thanks for your comment. I hope my explanation does not muddy the waters so to speak.

[pointysticks]

Poinysticks, I agree with you and Kevin. I have a pack with harder material. I used it as a fire fighter and some at work. Where I hunt, burrs are not as common as in other areas. That could account for the difference. For hunting where I go, hard material can be noisy when you scrape it on branches while going through dense forest. The burrs I occasionally get are not a problem to remove. Obviously, getting your wife to help remove burrs indicates you are dealing with a much more serious situation than I have had. I appreciate your open and honest review. It can be a real help to folks trying to decide on these items. Thanks for your comment. I hope my explanation does not muddy the waters so to speak.

no way!! your post and responses are always appreciated..

[pointysticks]

well, my Badlands 2800 is gonna be with Badlands today.

i cleaned it..vacuumed it..picked off about a billion burrs and fox-tails. i yanked the alum stays so i could crush the pack into a smaller box for shipping.

i am curious how BL handles it. i put red tape on ALL the bad spot. it looked awesome. two spots, i cannot see how they are repairable. they are holes in the bottom of the wing pockets. the pack will need to be disassembled to sew that portion, i imagine. i fished red tape thru the hole..hope they find it. i pulled an old ratty mouthcall out of the hole..bleeck. the pack was dotted with about 9 "fix spots".

we shall see.