Not just for the birds

Category: Gear Reviews

  • Booty

    Booty

    New rear wheels

    After Peat’s pad debacle, and the post that generated more comments than any other post on this blog, along with a boatload of very helpful recommendations and suggestions, I’m writing to report on a successful first try of one of the recommended products (thanks, Jeff): 1000 Cordura booties from dogbooties.com.

    He’s okay with them…

    At only $3 each (yes, they’re sold individually), we thought we’d give them a shot. We bought four size small blaze orange booties with the Velstretch fastener. Dogbooties is in Anchorage, Alaska, and makes thousands of these things for sled dogs, so the booties are effective in snow and ice. Shipping for two pairs cost about $8, and they came Priority Mail in three or four days. (We just ordered 4 more X-Small since these had a wee bit too much breathing room; hopefully they’ll fit better.)

    Undeterred (Clint Eastwood’s new film about a Brittany bird dog with pad probs)

    Yesterday we went on a short hunt (2 hours, 3.5 miles). The terrain was moderately abrasive, and Peat ran 10.5 miles. I was able to “install” the booties on both his rear feet (even though only his right foot had the messed up pad; we were advised by Jeff and our vet to go bilateral, which makes sense) in about two or three minutes before letting him out of the truck, including adding a couple wraps of duct tape over the Velstretch fastener. He hopped out of the truck and comically tried to propel himself exclusively with his front legs for about 30 seconds, before apparently saying, “Screw it, I need those rear wheels!” In less than two minutes, he was sprinting around like his normal bat-out-of-hell self whenever beginning a hunt.

    Check-in and hydration station

    The rest of the hunt I monitored the booties, which were easy to see since they’re blaze orange, somewhat worried they’d come undone. They never did, and he never slowed down. I’d have to say he didn’t let them impede him in any way. It was actually sort of funny since I could hear him coming with the fwapping of his booties, so I could tell which dog was coming up on me from behind just from the sound.

    Post-hunt snorkle

    Another thing I worried about a little bit was whether the foreign objects on his hind feet would mess with his mind, which must play a part in his prey drive and pointing instincts. He pointed coveys, and backed Angus’s points, like normal.

    Minimal wear-and-tear

    After the hunt, I removed the booties (which only took a second, even with the duct tape, which I’d “tabbed” by folding a diagonal at the end so I could easily grab it to remove afterward). I kind of expected them to be thrashed. There was a little wear on them, but I’d say we could get another three to four hunts out of them, as long as they don’t come off. See the photo above to judge for yourself.

    The “A-Team”

    So, after just one outing, I’ll go out on a limb and say these things are worth a shot if your dog is suffering from abraded and abused pads. We mobilized to make the DIY motorcycle tube booties (cool videos; thanks for several commenters for references to this!), and actually bought all the stuff for it but managed to get a motorcycle tube that was too small for Peat’s tiny rear feet (I got a 2.25″ tube, but couldn’t get it over his foot). I’m going to pass on going back to this idea since the snow should start falling, and (thanks again, Jeff) the rubber bootie option in the snow doesn’t seem like the best solution given the potential for slippage.

    Peat’s pad healing is still a work in progress. We took him to the vet earlier this week, and he put some antibiotic ointment on it and wrapped it, saying Peat would be able to hunt by the weekend with some kind of booty. So we kept it wrapped for a few days and kept it moist. Yesterday, some Pad Kote (thanks, Ron) came in the mail, and I applied it last night while Peat was sleeping. I couldn’t believe he didn’t wake up because the turpentine/smoky smell was overpowering. I put the dogbootie on it to keep the purple die from staining everything it touched. He pulled the booty off in the middle of the night, but by that time his pad was dry. Today, it’s still the color purple (apologies to Alice Walker), and it’s got a sheen to it like a kind of coating. I’m not sure I’ll continue putting this stuff on his cracked pad since it makes more sense to me to keep it moist instead of drying it out, but that could change. Anyway, I’m glad we seem to have found a sort-of solution, for now. He’s not limping, he’s getting exercise, and all is well-ish.

  • Eberlestock Mini-Me Minimalist Bird Hunting Hydration Pack

    Eberlestock Mini-Me Minimalist Bird Hunting Hydration Pack

    Leslie and her gun (and Eberlestock Mini-Me pack)

    If you count calories, weigh your gear, track your vertical, get weepy at the word “minimalism,” or fancy a lightweight pack/vest for chasing chukar, the Eberlestock Mini-Me might be worth a look. Leslie has donned it exclusively for her debut season as a hunter, and – as far as I can tell from her notes – gives it a thumbs-up.  After twenty outings, here are her thoughts.

    Pros

    • Lightweight: at 3.5 pounds (dry), it’s easily the lightest thing we’ve used on a chukar hunt.
    • Compact: at 19″ x 8″ x 3″, it’s also the most compact pack I can imagine for chukar hunting, which makes busting through brush easier than with my Q5 “Cadillac” Centerfire vest.
    • Very comfortable: the channeled padding on the back will prevent anything from poking your back, and allows a bit of airflow back there, especially nice on a hot day.
    • Hydration system: the Mini-Me includes a three-liter (100 oz.) Israeli-made hydration bladder that works as well or better than any of the CamelBak products we’ve used.
    • Rides high: the “hip belt” on the Mini-Me actually goes across your waist (unless you’re a midget), which means that the accessory pouches you’ll need to add in order to hold shells won’t bang on your thighs when climbing the chukar steeps.
    • Accessory pouches (we have the “small” ones, each of which has plenty of room for a box of shells) slide along the hip belt to you can position them on the side or in the front.
    • Bird bag: made of durable mesh with a drawstring top and compression straps, the attached bird bag stows away inside a zippered pouch when not needed. When it’s out, it will hold lots of birds; on one hunt we put 2 large dusky grouse in it, which seemed to take up less than half the capacity of the bag.
    • Scabbard accessory: if you don’t want to, or can’t, carry your shotgun (or rifle) while hiking (or mountain biking), Eberlestock offers both a long and short scabbard accessory that attaches to a sleeve on the Mini-Me. Although we haven’t used the scabbard in the field yet (we have slings and typically hunt right from the rig), the short scabbard nicely and snugly holds our shotguns with 26″ barrels.
    • Multi-use: one of the reasons I wanted to try the Mini-Me was because in the off-season we do lots of hiking with our dogs and I wanted a pack that I could use for both hunting and hiking, without having to transfer a bunch of safety gear from my hunting pack to a hiking pack. The removable accessory pouches make this possible, and if the scabbard isn’t installed, you can use the sleeve it fits in for storing bulkier items like extra layers or rain gear. We also mountain bike frequently in the off-season, and the Mini-Me works great for that, especially with the hydration bladder. If you do MTB hunts, the scabbard accessory would solve the problem of how to safely carry your gun while riding.
    • Blaze “orange”: it’s more fluorescent pink, but you can see this thing from outer space. It glows bright. I like that, because I can see Leslie easily from many ridges away. If you don’t like this color and don’t need to have a certain number of square inches of hunter orange, the Mini-Me comes in a number of attractive camo patterns.

    Cons

    • Fit: the Mini-Me does take a bit of adjusting to get it to fit comfortably, as well as to accept the high ride of the “hip” belt.  Personally, I would prefer a more robust padded hip belt, but Leslie doesn’t seem to mind the thin nylon straps.
    • Hydration cap: although a small annoyance, the cap on the hydration bite valve is tough to remove and replace with one hand; CamelBak bite valves don’t have a cover on them and we’ve never had an issue with those, so we’ll probably just remove the cap on this one.
    • Accessory pouches can’t easily be fixed on the hip belt so they don’t slide around while hiking; one could modify the belt to fix this but we haven’t tried that yet.
    • Zippers on pouches are tough to open and close with one hand (true of most bird vests we’ve tried).
    • Bird bag clips that attach the top of the bag to the shoulder straps on the Mini-Me are nearly impossible to remove when you want to re-stow the bag. These need to be replaced with something much more user-friendly.
    • Using the game bag: to put birds in the bag, you must take the pack off. Unlike a traditional bird vest, which allows you to slip the bird into the compartment in the back, the Mini-Me access to the top of the bag requires removal of the pack. This hasn’t been  as annoying as it sounds, though, because we haven’t constantly nailed birds this season (yet?), and if we’ve been with another person they can easily put the bird in the bag so the wearer doesn’t have to remove it. Another issue, although not a big one, is that when the bird bag is deployed, it’s a bit tricky accessing the other pockets on the bag; having clips that are easier to remove from the D-rings on the shoulder straps would make this almost no issue at all.
    • Limited storage: just as you wouldn’t carry all your camping gear and outdoor recreation equipment in a sports car, the Mini-Me isn’t intended to schlep every piece of bird hunting kit you might want. But it can hold the essentials in its several zippered pockets, as well as additional clothing, gloves, etc. The accessory pouches you can add to the belt also expand carrying capacity.

    Overall Impression

    Leslie really likes the Mini-Me for early season chukar hunting, mainly because of its comfort and lightness. She plans to switch to her larger pack for the colder part of the season to accommodate the extra layers and gloves she doesn’t think will easily fit into the Mini-Me. My impression is that it’s a pretty cool option for a lightweight chukar pack, especially because of how much water it holds without being at all bulky. It has worked especially well for us, hunting together, because my vest carries a ridiculous amount of crap in it, stuff we only need one of, like heavy-duty cable cutters (for snare traps), a robust first-aid kit, headlamps, SPOT personal locator beacon thingy, space blankets, and more. Despite its littleness, though, Leslie has found very workable places to carry an FRS radio and her new Alpha 100 hand-held device on the Mini-Me. So there you have it. Let us know if you have any questions.

    Slim, compact, bright!
    Two dusky grouse in the bag
    Have a friend load the bag, or take off the pack and do it yourself
    Accessory pouches on the skinny hip belt
    The small pouches actually hold plenty of shells

     

     

  • Chukar Boot Review: La Sportiva Gore-Tex® Trango S Evo Mountaineering Boots

    Chukar Boot Review: La Sportiva Gore-Tex® Trango S Evo Mountaineering Boots

    Red shoes for the redlegged devils

    Since my beloved Asolo Cotopaxi boots bare-treaded out on me at the beginning of last season, I’ve been searching for a suitable replacement. Last year I wrote about some boots I tried, and they got me through the season. But I wasn’t satisfied. So I kept looking. Key ingredients for me are sole stiffness and ankle support, both equally important. Next in line are (more or less in this order): narrow Vibram sole (not particular about traction pattern), Gore-Tex liner, full rubber rand, easy lacing system. Fit is an obvious necessity, but everyone’s feet are different, so the lasts that each manufacturer uses are going to work for certain types of feet and not others. Fit — as far as boot features go — is a non-issue; you gotta find the maker for your own personal foot.

    My feet are really wide in the front and very narrow at the heel. The Asolo Cotopaxi were the best boots in the world for me because they were really tall and stiff (amazing ankle support from the 10″ top, mounted on a mountaineering platform), but they did cramp the front of my foot a little bit. Convinced that boot height was the key to protecting my glass left ankle, I bought a pair of Zamberlan insulated hunting boots last year. While they are Cadillac comfortable, the soles are not nearly stiff enough for chukar hunting and the insulation, even in sub-zero temperatures, was too much. I then tried a pair of mountaineering boots that didn’t really fit my feet (and was able to return them, thankfully).

    Enter the La Sportiva Gore-Tex® Trango S Evo Mountaineering Boots. When they arrived I put them on and wore them around the house for 8 hours. I did some yard work, drank a beer, played with the dogs, sprayed some wasps, hit a few golf balls, graded some student papers, basically replicated your typical chukar hunt. After 8 hours my feet were happy. So I kept them. On my first hike I tested their side-hill worthiness, focusing on the ankle support. I was impressed, despite these boots being about two inches lower than the Cotopaxi boots: the ankle collar is heavily padded and somehow really stiff, with hardly any lateral give. At this point in the season, I have 34 miles, 24+ hours, and 9,000 feet of climbing in these boots. No blisters, no sore feet, no complaints. I’m surprised I like them so much. I wish they were taller, but, frankly, I’m starting to rethink the height thing.

    One reason for the re-think is that the Trangos are unbelievably light: my size 42 (Euro sizing) boot weighs 26.7 ounces. My first Asolo boots (the ones I destroyed my ankle in) weigh 30.4 ounces each. The Cotopaxis weigh 32.1 ounces. And the Zamberlans weigh 36.5 ounces. The differences between these boots might not seem significant, but when you consider you lift each foot about 750 times per mile of chukar terrain, that’s a difference of about 460 pounds of lifting, per mile per foot, between the Trango and the Zamberlan. On yesterday’s 6.6 mile hunt, if I’d worn the Zamberlan boots instead of the Trangos, each of my aging chicken legs would have lifted 3,032 more pounds. That’s better savings than K-Mart Blue Light Special Savings. If I really wanted to get depressed, I’d do this same calculation for how much more I weigh this year than last year at this point in the season. But for now I’ll focus on the boots. They make me happier than my growing gut.

    Tread wear at 34 miles
    Chukar hunting’s soul uses the whole sole

    Not everything is super-swell with the Trangos, however. The soles are wearing a bit faster than I’d like; since traction is pretty important in chukar terrain, you need some well-lugged boots. But it’s a trade-off to get a rubber compound that isn’t so hard it will slide off rocks instead of grabbing them, and these soles do well in that regard. And the colder it gets, the harder and slicker that rubber gets, so there’s no miracle material for soles as far as I know; it would be lovely to have a thick-lugged sole that was grabby in any temperature and never wore out. Something for NASA to think about.

    34 miles of cheatgrass seeds

    The only other thing so far that isn’t a total positive for the Trangos has to do with the fact that they’re meant mainly for use in snow and above-the-timberline activity. This means that in chukar territory these boots collect lots of cheatgrass seeds (see photo). Yes, cheatgrass seeds weigh something, but not enough to worry about. The concern here is that if you don’t periodically clean those burrowing seeds out of the tongue area of these boots they’ll penetrate the Gore-Tex liner and end up making their way inside and impale your fleshdogs. I’m not certain if this is even possible, and it’s really not that big a deal to clean them out of the tongue area (although it did take some time and tweezers).

    Chukar boot hardware gets subjected to lots of rock grating.

    Time will tell if this is the boot for me. I wore the Cotopaxis for 7 full seasons. I doubt these will beat that, but I’d be thrilled if they made it three seasons. If my feelings change about these boots, look for an update. As always, I welcome comments.

    Based on my initial enthusiasm, my wife, the most finicky-footed creature in human history, decided to try a pair. After one hike, her jury’s still out. I like the women’s color better, though…

    Women’s model

     

  • Hats & Shirts

    Hats & Shirts

    Chukar Culture hunting hats
    Our new hat collection

    We just added bunch of new gear in our Shop: 6 models of hats, and 5 kinds of t-shirts. I’m still working out some kinks in the shipping module of the shop, so if you have any questions, please send a comment and I’ll get back to you ASAP. Oh, and the all-blaze orange hat was impossible to get the blaze color correct in the photo, but it really is blaze orange…

  • These Boots Were Made For Chukar Hunting

    When you start chukar hunting you learn fast how important good boots are, and what “good” really means. I’d bet if you asked 100 chukar hunters to list 3 adjectives describing their favorite chukar hunting boots, there’d be a  high correlation. “Stiff,” “durable,” and “high” top my list.

    But everyone’s feet are different, and old habits die hard. I’m not here to try to sell anyone boots, but to share what I’ve liked and disliked about some of the chukar hunting boots I’ve had.

    Asolo TPS Gore-Tex Military Boots
    The Asolo Cotopaxi. The best chukar hunting boot, gone and lost forever…

    My favorite pair of boots, ever, for anything, but especially for chukar hunting, are not made anymore, so it’s kind of pointless to say much about them. But I will anyway, mainly because, in my opinion, they’re the absolute ideal boot for chukar hunting. Asolo’s “Cotopaxi” boots — which I got as a fluke while randomly killing time in a Sierra Trading Post store in Boise, Idaho — were perfect in every way for me. I got them soon after I destroyed my left ankle and wanted something with lots of lateral stability and support, and these were ridiculously high (9″). Much higher than any boot I’d ever had. The boots I got hurt in — also Asolo — were the standard 7″ hiking boots, with a standard-width sole. The Cotopaxi sole was narrower, which I immediately liked for chukar hunting because of the peculiarities of foot placement on loose or unstable rocky slopes; it’s easier to pinpoint where your foot’s going with a narrower sole. I had hurt my ankle partly because the sole of my hiking boot landed about a half-inch from where I wanted it to (while jumping off a 4-foot-high rock), which rolled my ankle inward. (The other reason I hurt my ankle, to be fair to the boot, is that I idiotically thought I was still 18 years old.) Almost immediately, I noticed that the narrower Cotopaxi sole added to my sure-footedness at a time I needed it, and allowed me to hunt while trying to let the ankle heal.

    At least as important as its narrow sole, the Cotopaxi featured a mountaineering-style stiffness both fore-aft and laterally. When you’re hiking on rocks, a boot whose sole flexes a bunch will torque your foot in unexpected ways and, over time, might cause stress fractures, muscle strains, and bone bruises. The mountaineering boot type of stiff sole on the Cotopaxi really protected my feet from all that, and I’d finish even long side-hill hunts on rocks with happy feet. In addition to sole stiffness, the lateral stiffness of this boot meant that the uppers didn’t allow the sole to turn sideways, which is murder on your ankles and lower leg muscles; if you’re side-hilling on a 45-degree slope, you want to keep the sole horizontal. The Cotopaxi and other mountaineering style boots keep close to that 90-degree angle between sole and upper, which is super important. And the Cotopaxi’s 9-inch height, combined with its lateral stiffness, made the boot almost like an ankle brace.

    As for the sole, I’m a fan of Vibram soles. There might be better sole makers out there, but I trust Vibram and have never had a problem with them; they make tons of different kinds of soles with different treads and compounds, and the Cotopaxi’s soles had a harder compound than I’d have liked, but that meant they lasted longer than a tackier rubber would have. And it’s not like you have a choice on soles if you find the boot you want (wouldn’t that be nice?). Chukar boots also should have a rubber rand that goes completely around the boot to protect the leather just above the sole from getting torn and abraded by rocks. All mountaineering and many hiking boots feature this.

    Finally, the other essential feature of these boots — as with all the boots I’ve used — is a Gore-Tex lining. Wet feet are bad feet. Knock on wood, but in the 25 years I’ve been wearing Gore-Tex boots, I’ve never once had wet feet (aside from some sweating). Walking through creeks, dew-drenched cheatgrass, whatever: Gore-Tex is the bomb.

    My last hunt in the Cotopaxis
    My last hunt in the Cotopaxis
    Zamberlan Vioz High Hunting Boots

    This season was my 7th in the Cotopaxi, and the sole had become worn to the point where I was losing traction. I figure I put about 700 miles of chukar hunting on them, so I definitely got my money’s worth, but I was sad and reluctant to give them up. I tried to find them online in Europe, but to no avail. So the search for a new pair began. I’d heard good things about Kennetrek Mountain Boots, but I didn’t want to spend $450 (the Cotopaxi, when I got them at Sierra Trading Post, were $150, normally $400, and it was the only pair they had, which happened to be in my size), and the soles aren’t Vibram and are wider than the sole I wanted. So I looked at Sierra Trading Post online and found some Zamberlan boots that looked close: they were 10-inches high, but they were insulated, which I didn’t want. But they had Gore-Tex, a good Vibram sole – not as narrow as the Cotopaxi but not super-wide, either. The rand, weirdly, didn’t go completely around the boot, but left a couple inches open on the heel; not that big a deal. I’d had a pair of Zamberlan (an Italian company) hiking boots for years, so that helped stick these in my head. But I kept looking, yet couldn’t find any deals on a better boot, and with the discount at Sierra (if you sign up for their e-blasts they give you a code for a big discount) the boots were about $200, including shipping; retail on these was about $390. They’re not mountaineering stiff, either laterally or fore-aft, but they’re incredibly comfortable as long as I’m not doing a lot of scree-scrambling; my first outing in them was about 4 hours on moderate terrain and I had no issues or hot spots or blisters. Happy feet. But they do flex more than I’d like for Hells Canyon side-hill scree fests. I’ve worn these about 10 times now, and they’re still very comfortable. I was worried about the insulation being too hot on my feet, but even during some long and fairly warm outings (65+ degrees), I really didn’t notice undue foot heat. So I think they’ll work fine.

    But because of my shoe fetish and the fact that I still want to hunt stupid stuff, I wanted another mountaineering style boot because I like hunting that crap in Hells Canyon, but don’t like the Zamberlans too much for that terrain. Again, I went to Sierra Trading Post’s website and found some boots from an Italian brand I’d never heard of, but that looked good. Then I did a bunch more research on other brands I knew that had good reputations for mountaineering boots, such as Lowa and La Sportiva. After reading reviews (both from consumers and trade magazines) and comparing prices I decided to take a shot on the AKU Montagnard Gore-Tex® Mountaineering Boots boots from Sierra Trading Post. Again, with the discount I got these for around $220 (retail listed at $530, which is nuts).

    AKU Montagnard Gore-Tex® Mountaineering Boots – Waterproof, Insulated
    p1170374
    AKU Montagnard on their first outing
    Narrow Vibram soles
    Narrow Vibram soles

    I’ve only worn them once, but was very happy with the stiffness. Traction was excellent, and after 3 hours my feet were happy, with no hot spots. Not bad for a super-stiff boot on the first outing. The only negative, so far, is that I wish they were higher (they’re listed at 8″; an inch actually makes a big difference). The sole is nice and narrow, and there’s no sharp heel step which helps prevent the heel from catching on rocks and turning you into a scree waterfall. Amazingly, too, they’re very lightweight for how stiff and robust they are. Time will tell if they become my go-to boot.

    I ordered the two new boots I have from a website without seeing them or trying them on. I consider myself very lucky that they seem not just fine but actually very good, from fit (most important) to quality. I would much prefer to try things on before buying them, but this is the way of the world nowadays, especially for rural folks, and you can always ship stuff back (often for free) if it doesn’t work out.

    So there’s way more than anyone needs about my personal preferences for what I think the characteristics are for the best chukar hunting boot. I hope some of the information is useful to somebody. I’d love to hear from others about their favorite boots.