I saw this thread theme on another site and found it very interesting. Nice (and useful) to see what worked and not worked for folks.

I'll start...


The Good
Danner, Fort Lewis, all leather, unlined boot. 10" upper, fit very well, broke in well, this will be a great boot.

White Water, wind proof, water proof vest. Performed as advertised.

Knives of Alaska, Denali Series, Master Guide, folding knife. Probably the nicest locking folder I've ever seen and handled.

Propper, ECWCS Gortex raingear. Not cheap, but I was tired of getting wet. This stuff is incredibly well made.

CZ 550 Magnum, nice rifle, well made and accurate. Very happy with this.


UGLY!!
Bushnell, Elite 4200, 1.25-4 x30mm, very nice scope. Excellent clarity and lowlight capability - ugly as a warthog.


Bad
Knight and Hale, Moose call, not sure what the heck it sounds like but it's nothing close to a moose!

Good
1. Garmin GPS 60csx - never loses signal, even in heavy tree cover.
2. Hornady SP bullets - 139gr for deer (again) and 250gr for elk.
3. Off brand Under Armour shirts - Microtek fiber is available from a lot of manufacturers at 1/8 the price. Really.
4. Leica CRF 1200 - reliable, compact, accurate.
5. Hootchie Mama elk call. Only bought it because it was on sale for ridiculous cheap. Worked very well to locate elk.
6. Rem 700 rifles with Leupold optics. 'Nuff said!
7. Homemade shooting bench built with the brackets and plans sold by our own BXroads, right here in the classifieds section.

Bad
1. Georgia Boot 6" uninsulated work boots. They slip in the heels and hurt! I've tried to make them work for 3 years and just can't make them work as a hiking boot.
2. Any of the new ultra thin plastic water bottles that crackle loudly once you drink some of the water out of them!

Great

Thermacell - The best invention since Black Powder IMHO
McMillan Stocks - Bought 2 and love em.
Barnes TSX's
Barnes TTSX's
Cabelas's Pinnacle Snake Boots - Wear them year round.
Steamlight Head Lamp

The BAD

Simmons New Aetec Scope...Piece of Junk.
Nosler Accubonds

Robert

Good:
1. Danner 10" Pronghorns 600 gr of Thinsulate
2. Savage 99 in 308, took a nice 8 point the first time I hunted with it.
3. 165 gr Nosler Solid bases at 308 velocities:picture perfect results on said 8 point
4. Barnes 250 gr Tipped MZ out of my muzzle loader, again picture perfect results.

GOOD:

Sitka Gear Mt pants.
Cabela's Microtex pants
257Wby
Leica warrentee service on a set of Geovids
Cabela's Mt hunter boots in uninsulated and 400gm
Ultra Bore Coat

BAD:

Hankook Dynapro MT's. I've got about 30K on them now and they have to be rotated side to side until I replace them. The two tires on the back of my truck can no longer be balanced well enough to be on the front. If you put them on the front it feels as though you're driving a paint mixer.

Good:
Cabela's TEF 60 jacket. Very slim for the warmth and the windstopper works as advertised.

Bad:
Bushnell 450 rangefinder. It's good to about 220 on large flat reflective objects. About 150 on anything else.
Slingsticks...Neat idea, they just didn't work.

Good:
Therma cell (Actually, this is better than good).
CZ O/U Shotgun
Diamond The Rock bow package.
Moultrie D-40 trail camera.

Bad:
Nothing really.

Doug

GOOD:

Cabelas 24-LED Lantern with remote.

Bull-Pac pack frame, best pack frame ever.

24.5 inch rainbow on a 5 weight fly rod in the Green River.

Bad:

The weather was cold, single didgets in the morning and no snow.

Wolves.

My archery elk tag for Oregon didn't work at all. I still have it and still no elk. I hate when you get bum tags like that.

Good
Blackhawk Summit pack
Leica CRF 1200
Garmin 60Cx GPS

Bad
I got some of those no good tags too.

Ugly
sushi restaurant in Hamilton , MT

jim

The Best-Rem. 700 AWR in .338win, wearing a B&L 4200 2.5X10 and a Rem. Sendero in .300win, with a 4X12 Kahles Helia-C with Multi-Zero. Good- a Rem 700 SS Mtn rifle in .280rem (bought from a 'Fire member) with a Leupold 2.5X8 with the B&C reticle. Too early to tell (but I'm liking so far) are a H&R in .35 Whelen, a Leupold GR 12X40 spotter and an Eberlestock J104 pack.

GOOD:

Cabela's Mountain Hunter Boots.

BAD:

Barnes TTSX's.

Good: Cabela's Alaskan Guide knife in S30V. Gutted 2 antelope, deboned 1, and is still wicked sharp.
First rifle hunt (.257 weatherby w 100 grain TSX)

Good:

Kenetrek mountain hunter boots
Ti-goat large stove and 8 man tepee

GOOD:
Patagonia capilene 3. I can't beleive I waited this long to buy this stuff.
Big Agnes sleeping pad.

Good:

Sako 85 Finnlight (Great Gun!)
McMillan Edge stock
Danner 8" Ghost 800 boots (Awesome boot!)
Georgia Boot 6" Muddogs


Bad:

Schnee's Boots! 13" Hunter II (Boy, that was an expensive experiment!) Anyone want a like new pair for $50? (size 13)

Good:
76 LED headlamp.
LED lantern for the tent
Tikka T3
.25-06 w/ 100gr TSX's
Vortex diamondback scope using dots
Vortex vulture binos
Toyota 4Runner w/ Warn winch
Wife

Bad:
Not enough time!

The Good:

Montana Elk Decoys - after successfully harvesting elk for 14 years, this year was the most successful elk hunting yet...our group put four bulls on the ground with these decoys in four set ups! Won't be hunting , or guiding for elk without them again (rifle or archery)!

Outdoor Edge SlingBlade - Was a little skeptical at first (not a fan of gut hook type blades) but was impressed with this knife a friend had ...used it to clean and skin 4 deer one evening, and it was still very sharp...and I liked how the gut blade worked on the hide and stomach covering.

Primos Buck Grunt/Roar call and Silvex Scent Eliminator products - the grunt and roar worked very well on several bucks that would have otherwise ignored our old grunt calls, and the scent elimination products worked very well when used as a complete system...including a herd of elk directly downwind at 60 yards for more than 20 minutes!

AccuBonds - still the most accurate and best performing bullet I've used to take game, in all of my bolt action rifles.

Leupold Boone & Crockett reticle - not too busy and when used in conjunction with the right cartridge/load combination, calibrated properly for proper hold points.

My new Mathews Drenalin LD compound bow and Excalibur Equinox Crossbow - Took a moose and a whitetail, and an elk and a muley with these this past year; accurate and smooth shooting.

G5 broadheads - Strong, deadly and accurate

Easton Full Metal Jacket arrows with Bohning Blazer vanes - straight shooting, hard hitting arrows...and I cannot say enough about how tough and durable those vanes are!

The Bad:

Bushnell's Scout 1000 w/ Arc - Loved the compact design and Arc capability, but hated the fact that the button takes so much effort to take a reading that without a good support, it moves the rangefinder enough that readings over 300 yards in the field are not consistent.

BAD.

E-2 surefire flashlight.

GOOD:
Colt Light Rifles, bought 2, both accurate with Tupperware stock that is extremely well designed.
Light center fire loads, trialed some 130 gr bullets over SR4759 at around 1900 fps for my grandsons. What fun! Accurate as well.
Fleece liners, for your sleeping bag. WOW!
BAD:
RL15, ran into some pressure spiking issues in 35 Whelen loads.
Remington 597, disappointing accuracy & reliability.

GOOD:
Rivers West Jacket: Forget wich one it is though lol. Quiet and very waterproof, But WAY to warm for still hunting. Awesome on a duckblind though.

Panasonic TZ-5 :Awesome camera, that even I can use



Iffy: Badlands 2200. Good pack, very stout and well thought out but its a lil big and bulky for the direction of my interests.

BAD: Defective deer tag, never could get it hooked onto a set of horns.

GOOD: Leupold rx2 rangefinder. Makes my 30 06 way better (for me) than any faster caliber and trying to estimate range.

Wearing my driving glasses while hunting. I put it off too long.
Make shift shooting sticks from 2 walking sticks and a tie tap.

Merino wool undies.

BAD: Camo rangefinder, too easy to set down and walk away. Tie a orange ribbon to it.

GOOD:

My new, lighter Rivers West jacket. Wore it in an all-day downpour and stayed dry, and as long as I vented it with the pit zips it was "breathable enough" in Colorado;

Kimber .325 WSM flat out rocked;

Those Outdoor Research Windstopper gloves I've mentioned before;

Minox 13x56 binocs.

The $75 pack frame I bought at GIJoes. Was worried I should have bought a "premium" one but it handled my elk fine.

Leica LRF 1200.

Apple iPhone was great; kept me fully connected with internet and email anywhere I had signal. Allowed me to be gone, but still keep a couple real estate deals going. I guess this could be seen as both good AND bad <g>.

BAD:

Nikon tripod adaptor for above Minox;

Found out, with the shorter RW jacket, that my RW pants leak at the crotch zipper. They are currently back at the mothership.

GOOD:

CZ Ringneck SxS 28 gauge 26 inch. Shoots where I look and still fun to carry at the end of the day. Looks fantastic too.

BAD:

Defective buck tags.
Missed shot at longbearded tom turkey.
Prices of 28 gauge ammo.

-

The good.

A bunch guys and gals here, when I needed you most.

The bad

I can't think of anything.

Westcoaster: I had a pretty good year in 2,008!

The GOOD!: Remington 700 VSF in the new 17 Remington Fireball caliber!
This Rifle looks great, the caliber does a lot of things in the Varminting world REALLY well and with NO recoil so I can see bullet impact points!
This Rifle shot both factory ammunition and my handloads well and the accuracy remains through shot strings of 25+ rounds.

Remington XR-100 in caliber 22-250 Remington. I have owned this Rifles brothers for a few years now in calibers 204 Ruger and 223 Remington and I had such great luck with them that I decided to go ahead and get the third caliber offered in that model - the 22-250.
Trouble is Remington quit offering them in 2,008 so i had to resort to an on-line purchase!
I could NOT be happier with this XR-100 either!
It shoots extremely well and the stock design fits me to a "T"!

Ruger 77 V/T in 204 Ruger caliber! This is my fifth Varminter in caliber 204 Ruger and like the other four this Ruger 77 is impressively accurate! The two stage trigger is a bit different but once the first stage is pulled through it is an excellent trigger.

Leupold 6.5x20x40mm Long Range Model (LR). This scope has the 30mm tube on it with the 40mm objective.
I have been using the Leupold 6.5x20's ever since they came out and have a small hoarde of them right now on my Rifles.
I swore I would never use or own a 30mm tubed scope - they looked funny to me - awkward might be a better personal observation.
I got a great deal on this scope and was originally going to use it as trading stock for a more "traditional scope".
Now that I have been using this 30mm tubed scope for 6 months I have grown to like it and to accept its "chubby" profile!
The optics are excellent in this particular scope!

Nosler Ballistic Tip Big Game bullets. I continued this past fall my decade long now, VERY successful use of Noslers Ballistic Tip Bullets on Big Game.
I stayed away from these bullets for many years relying on what I am sure were unsubstantiated and unwarranted "rumors"!
That was my MISTAKE - these are EXCELLENT Game bullets and not only are they accurate they fly VERY flat!

Luckily nothing comes to my mind in the "BAD" equipment category. Like I say 2,008 was apretty good year for me.

Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

GOOD

Tikka T3 SS .308

Brownell's Quik Set Latigo sling

Serius Hyperlite All Weather gloves
Got these for skiing but now they just stay in whatever coat/jacket I'm wearing. I skiied in 9* weather in them just last week and never felt the need to put on my heavier gloves. Love 'em.

BAD

Can't think of anything right off.

Worked:
-Arc'teryx bora 65
-McMillan Ruger Classic
-VX-II w/LRD, really like those dots
-OR hydroseal stuff sack
-Knives of AK Jaeger
-OR Fraction jacket

Didn't:
-OR changed the sizing of their Croc gaiters and didn't tell me

I will start off with the bad, Laid off since Apr. 2008. Now for the good, caught up on my reading, fished a lot the past summer, when hunting season came along, Blaser R-93 7mm Remington Mag. Took two shots to conferm zero from 07, and I got to hunt the whole landowner Deer Season in CT. The other bad thing was I heard no shooting in the area, and my neighbors who I see while deer hunting, they hunt to, were not present this year. Lots of deer thou. No problem filling two tags.

Looks like gear was covered pretty well.

couple things that helped my elk hunt alot were:
Emergen C drink powder mix and Gatorade powder mix to add to the water bottles.
Nissan Vacume water bottle to keep water warm overnight and help us get out of the tent faster in the morning.
My cabelas bowhunter 100% polyester pants worked amazingly well for hiking up the mountain.
My Vasque hightop hikers worked amazingly well as fill ins in the unseasonably warm weather.
Also for the heat, a T-shirt and cargo shorts for mid day hiking.

Good; Gizmo called a "Dead Sled" a roll up to get your deer out. Works well even on dry ground, but only good for one rough-n-tough application.
Remington Model 7 Predator in .223 tickled S*%#less with this rifle all around except for...
Bad: " Xmark Pro Trigger" on the Remington. Yanked it and installed the old style....
Ingwe

Good:
Tikka T3 Lite. It's everything everyone said it was.
Gore-Tex Windstopper or Windshear fabric is worth the extra few bucks you pay for clothing manufactured with it in it.
Polyester baselayer type underwear really does keep you dry and warm.

Bad:

No issues that I can think of.

Good:
- SureFire G2 LED (The tailcap actually crapped out, and surefire replaced it free within 3 days. Kudus to them.)
- Sitka Gear Mountain Pants
- DH Russell Canadian Belt Knife
- Swobo featerweight Merino wool tshirt (awesome baselayer)
- 120gr Ballistic Tips from 7mm-08 worked well, need more testing though.
- Swarovski binoculars worked.
- Under Armour fleece beanie is awesome
- Leupold RX-2 Rangefinder, great for bowhunting.

Still unsure:
- Sitka Gear 90% Jacket. I haven't worn it enough to give it a fair evaluation. Seems promising, however.

Bad:
- I need to find a better belt to wear, I've been using a 1" nylon belt that's way too skinny.
- My little daypack from LL Bean will be replaced, hopefully by a Badlands Diablo.

My Kampfeld Custom 25-06AI WORKED AND SHOT LIGHTS OUT.

Good:

Smart wool shirts. Had the bottoms for awhile got the top this year and it worked great.

Lowa tibets, awesome boots.

Marmot Precip jacket. Worked great in a light wyoming rain, water just beaded up.

this year I'll be trying the cabelas tef jacket and patagonia puff-ball vest.

2 things actually,

First was a 700 SS 30-06 from Skane...Love that sum bitch, the gun /scot is cool but..., grins

Taking a fresh pair of socks to my stand and putting them on. Dry socks keep your feet warm.

Good:
Chippewa leather hunting boots. Great in cactus and thorns.

Bad:
Bought a low-cost spotting scope because I had been very pleased with my high-cost binocs from the same manufacturer. I learned that you get what you pay for.

Two more:
My kids drink Chocolate Milk everyday. The wife buys hershey Choc syrup. The bottles have a flip cap that Really doesn't leak. I cleaned one up and filled it with water. Works great as a water bladder. Great disposable piss bladder too. It's free.

Listened to my gut saying move. I've always felt I'd be better off staying put no matter what changes happened. I say my guy but it was really the direction of the wind in relation to the areas I know deer move from or to. I got down and moved this year based on wind changes. It worked.

+1 on the patagucchi capilene. It's not new to me, I've had all my capilene for more than 10 years and it still looks and works good. You get what you pay for with this stuff. It lasts.

Good:
Therma-Cell
Barnes TTSX
Leica 8x42 Ultravids
Minox 6.5x32 IFs

Bad:
Work

The good: Remington 700 re-barreled with an 18.5" Mohawk 600 barrel in 6mm Rem. Awesome looking "hybrid",especially fitted with a Boyd's laminated thumb-hole stock. The bad: My 15"Sorel pac-boots that I wore in 2'feet of Colorado snow for 7 days above 10,000 ft. I swear,most of the time it felt like I was bare-foot! Where did those boots get their reputation? Gotta get some better footwear.The ugly: Seeing my first wife after a 12 yr.gap;boy has she gotten old! Flabby arms and all! Ooooh! Kix

Good..
3033 Hornady bullets
85gr .243 Sierra BTHP's
Johnnie Walker Black Label.
Nikon Action seried bino's
Therma-Cells

Bad..
Cheap spotting scopes..
Texas Game Wardens
Price of deer corn

What worked was my new FXII Leupold w/ #1 reticle. At night, when walking into my hunting area, that reticle stood out like a sore thumb. Even on really dark, cloudy nights. Held zero very well. Lost my rifle when I had my foot shoot out from under me on a snow and ice covered rock. The rifle, carried over my shoulder, went down hard, scope first, as I literally flipped it off of my shoulder and tried to break my fall with my hands. Would much rather ruin a rifle, or a rifle scope, than risk breaking a leg or arm on a fall.
Shot it very soon thereafter to check zero. Was surprised, as I have been before, that the thing was still zeroed. Shot it three rds. just to be absolutely sure. Had the same experience with my old M8, 4X Leupold last year. Similar fall with rifle going off of my shoulder and on to the hard ground when my crampons caught on a snag. That one held zero as well.
Asolo PW.matic 400 GV boots. My feet stayed dry and reasonably warm even glassing for a couple of hours in sub zero temperatures. Dahlgren socks. No problems at all. Did lots of long hikes, say 2-3.5 miles and 1500-2400 ft. before dawn w/o any problems.
Patagonia Houdini soft shell. Got caught in some really nasty,cold hard winds. 50-60 mph class stuff. Did a fabulous job of blocking the wind and keeping me from getting seriously chilled. With the wind blowing, and that's really the only time I'd need to wear it, I did not miss having pit zips. Something I never thought I could do w/o in a shell garment.
Kifaru Spike Camp pack instead of my Late Season Kifaru pack. Relearned that the bigger a pack I carry, the more extra stuff I carry that I don't really need. The smaller pack, with add on side pocket forced me to carry less or at least to carefully watch what I carry. Lighter than the LS, it also allowed me to slip through tight spots in heavy cover more easily and with less noise. Didn't catch on brush or branches like the LS tended to do with the extra back pouch.
What did/didn't work was my Leupold 6X30 Yosemites. Didn't do as well as I needed. Couldn't readily pick up antlers at 2 miles or so on some big bulls. Asking too much of them I'm sure. Should have been carrying my 8X32 Nikon LX. Or I should break down and get a lighter, 20-22 oz., quality 8X. E

Asolo Powermatic 200 GV boots, same positive results as Emericus said above. Best most comfortable boots I have ever had on my feet!

Glenn's Deer Drag Handle is a great tool. I was able to run, uphill dragging a PA whitetail buck.

on the good side i picked up an H&R .222 at cabelas in kansas city...

[img][IMG]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/hotstick5p/john002.jpg[/img][/img]
[img][IMG]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/hotstick5p/img037.jpg[/img][/img]

what a sweetheart!!!


i also picked up a new right shoulder at rush university med center...
it'll probably end up being a good thing, too...

If they have a money back guarantee, I will get me one. miles

PS. I am sixty-one years old and six feet four inches tall and weigh two hundred and ninety lbs. and have doubts about being able to run up hill dragging and deer. miles

GOOD

Ruger New Vaquero stainless .357 - what a solid and beautiful single action revolver.
Cold Steel folding Recon tanto - no nonsense and razor sharp.
Sure Fire flashlight - even has a striking bezel. This little puppy is super bright.
My divorce. My ex is nice enough... but is anti gun and has some significant issues which are no longer my concern!

UGLY

Uberti 1873 Cattleman .357 - this Colt clone is pretty budget; the "finish" on the backstrap started wearing off almost immediately... fully functional and otherwise fun, however.

Ruger MkIII 22/45. I am having the darndest time putting this thing back together. There's some finesse involved with this little dangling thing that has really got me stumped. Took it to a gunshop to see if they could show me how its done and they tried but the shop was super busy so the guy got frustrated after a while and finally gave up. I've watched the youtube videos but you can't really see what they're doing... single handedly drove me to recently pick up a used Single Six. I'm still not giving up hope on the MkIII...

BAD

Cable chains. Always always always go for real snow chains. Cables snap and fall off. I learned that the hard way and was very lucky to have gotten off the mountain at all.

Good
Zeiss 8 x 42 with lotutec coating, to my eyes brighter than other name brands
Hornady .308 180 grain BTSP bullets
Nosler .277 pro shop seconds solid base bullets (exceeded expectations for the price)
Spyderco folder with S30V steel very sharp, long edge life
Honda Rancher 4x4 ES ATV
Summit Viper climbing tree stand

Not so good
Ruger Hawkeye .358Win
Lacross non insulated rubber boots with some type of soft felt lining that once you sweat in, mold grows in the felt, nothing kills the odor.

Good

The two Kimber Montanas, after their issues were sorted out. Great hunting rifles

Loopy fixed 4 on the 308 Montana. Love that scope.

Partitions They just kill critters dead...

Well loved and broken in gear. My hunting boots are older than my kids. Gotta love Danners.

My old Pentax DCFWP 8x40 binos. I'd rather hunt without my rifle than my binos. Good glass when I bought them for 600 bucks years ago.

Bad

Loopies Sequoia 15-45x60 spotter. I was broke at the time, and its better than nothing. Barely Its allright if you want a 30x spotter to keep in the truck.

The past couple years I've bought a new pair(read unscratched) of $30 polarized sunglasses right before hunting season. Helps spotting critters.

Plus they double as safety glasses at work.

Polarized sunglasses are great, I need to pick me up a pair about that price for work/play. I've damn near ruined a pair of $80 lenses for my Oakleys that way, they're all scratched to hell and back.

I thought for sure that post was going to mention your buddy Jack....... grin

Jack goes without saying....grin

Good... Safari rifle sling. If you have old, arthritic shoulders that get sore from carrying a rifle all day, this is the ticket. Keeps your rifle ready to shoot all the time.

Good: RRA Predator Pursuit Rifle.
Ruger 77VT in .204
Both rifles are very accurate and reliable. No complaints about either. The RRA is scary accurate by the way.

Bad: Anything made by Stoney Point. Their mono-pods and bi-pods are at best, junk. They fall apart and don't work correctly more than half the time. I wouldn't recommend them to an enemy let alone a friend!

good: A limbsaver recoil pad. Wow, should have got one of these along time ago.

Tire chains, i forget the brand, but they are the heavy duty type, and this winter they have saved my butt more than once.


Bad: A bell and carlson replacement stock. I switched out the stock of my rem 700 adl wood stock. THe new BC stock looks nice and feels lighter, but i am having a hell of a time trying to get that thing to shoot good groups, im sure once i put some more effort in the BC stock will be a GOOD, but for now its a bad

Good:No doubt; my wolverine 9" Ridgetop boots with 600 gr. Thins.,Gore-Tex; very warm&comfortable boot to say the least!Also a pair of Swift Ultralite 8x42 roof binocs[I think J.B. might agree here] These things are SHARP! My Cabelas packable raingear[rain suede evolution] damn good stuff! The bad: Can not think of anything at the time.

Good:

150 grain TSX bullets for my wife's 30-06. Results - 1 Bull Moose - DRT.

Her Bull moose tag was a great investment.

Her Remington 870 Express 12 guage. Great shotgun and she loves it.

Not So Good:

My cow moose tag. Two adult tags in a year are one too many, and it will likely be another 3 years before we get drawn again.