Equipment Field Tests

Bison 6" Gore Tex Boots (Wolverine)
Just before the hunt I received a pair of Bison 6-inch Gore Tex Boots from Wolverine. Using new boots on a hunt makes me nervous. 

I'll never forget buying a pair of Vasque hiking boots and wearing them on a bowhunt on Catalina Island. Those Vasque's badly blistered and bruised my feet . They finally did break in 2 months later but my first wearing was a painful experience. So I am always leery about new boots. I took the new Wolverine's and a back up pair just in case.

Once in Canada I put the Bison boots on. They had just enough new feel to make me think I might have a sore heal or toe coming. 

But no. By noon the first day the boots were feeling real  good.

The next 12 days the boots got a hard core real-world test. Up hills. Down hills. Wading through creeks and standing water. Slogging through mud. Walking on big logs. Stepping on hidden limbs and roots.

The boots stayed dry. My feet did too. Because I usually wear rubber boots I'm used to my socks being wet with perspiration when I take the boots off. Not so with these boots. My socks and feet stayed dry.

No aches and pains. These boots have outstanding support. And believe me you need it whey you are pulling heavy bears through dense Canadian brush and trees, up and down the sides of gullies, over blow down logs and limbs. I think you know what I'm talking about when I say my feet usually ache when I take my boots off. Not so with these boots, my feet felt fine. 

Sure Footed. The sole is amazing. It not only is  comfortable it grips the ground. I mean non slip. This bowhunter has never owned a boot with better traction. 

I am truly impressed with Wolverine boots. Sure footed. Fast break in. Comfortable. Tough. The word about Wolverine is all good.

WOLVERINE Boots  Rugged Enough For The Outdoors

4-D FireTacks (WildTech)
Linda K. Burch send some sample of the WildTech FireTacks. I've seen her display at the hunting shows and they always looked pretty good. The samples included a couple dozen of the 4-D FireTacks in the Blaze Orange color. 

Getting the bear hunters from the road to the bait is a serious issue. The Canadian woods is thick and the way in has to be marked with something easy to see. We don't want the hunters to get lost in these big woods. Fred uses bright orange flagging to mark the way in. Actually the orange flagging is not that visible at night but it does a good enough job.

Fred and I marked the way in to a bear bait with them to see how well they worked. 

By the time Fred had stuck up 3 of the 4-D's it was obvious that these would absolutely work during the day. They might be small but their blaze color jumps out at you and grabs your eye.

After our hunt we pointed a flashlight toward the FireTacks

Wow. They look bright in this photo but in real life they were 10 times brighter. You couldn't get lost with them.

This is a terrific product. I figured it would be about like the other tack type trail markers I've used in the past. But they were way better, they far exceeded my expectations. Great in the daytime on the way in. Great at night on the way out. FireTacks are incontestably the best trail markers on the market. 

WILDTECH Corp 10 Times Brighter Than Any Other