Thank You

I'm not sure how many of you have actually followed my adventures and life on social media, but this post will be a quick shout out to those who have been faithful to me, my blog, and my social media for the two years I have been so busily working on my education.

I have had a wonderful people who have given me so much support concerning my blog while knowing I have been busy working full time and completing my masters degree in school counseling.  People like Mark from "Sole Adventure",  Will from "The Will to Hunt", Al from "SoCal Bowhunter", Philip from "Living Idaho Outdoors", and most importantly my brother Dustin from "High Country Bowhunter", as well as many others who have always been there for support and even a little constructive criticism at times to help me with my blog.  I have also been super blessed to have companies such as The GunBox, Hawke Sport Optics, Teton Sports, Ribz Front Packs, OnXMaps, JawJacker Ice Fishing, Geigerrig Hydration, and many others who have allowed me to test out their gear, do reviews, and even be a part of something even bigger to help promote the sport of hunting and fishing as well as promote some amazing products.

These people and companies have given me encouragement and purpose behind my blog and social media even when I have been so busy it would have been a million times easier just to throw in the towel and pick it all back up when my schooling was over.  I mainly just want to publicly thank these people and companies for supporting me during such a busy time and promise them all that as I finish my schooling this month, I plan on giving back all the support that you all have shown me.  Thank you!

Review of Reviews

Before diving into this I want to clarify that I do not claim to be an expert on this but I do want to share what I believe to be important when looking at a gear review to help you in a purchase of new gear.  I am also not attacking anyone for the way they may do gear reviews nor am I saying that I do the best gear reviews out there.  I am just sharing what I think is useful in reviewing a gear review.  I believe this information could be useful for both consumers as well as for companies looking for people to perform gear reviews.

As an online blogger I see a lot of "gear reviews" done by other bloggers that have caught my eye.  Some times the things that catch my eye make me not believe a single thing on the review and in some incidences even discredit the whole blog.  Once again that is just my opinion and I have my own reasoning for such conclusions.  Other times the things that catch my eye make me overly excited about the gear.  Reviews that are done right sell people like me on trying out new gear!  Below are some things I look for when reading a review.


 How/Where they tested the gear:
It is important to look at how the reviewer tested the gear.  When I was talking to Ribz Front Packs about their gear and possible doing a review, the owner expressed a frustration of how some people doing a review just wore the pack around the house.  Be sure the review actually FIELD tests the gear! Anyone can try something on inside a store but the purpose of a review is to tell people how the gear performs in the field.  So when reading a review check for WHERE they tested the gear (if the reviewer does not specify if they used it in the field, it was probably tested in their living room). Also look for how intense the gear was tested. If you want gear that is durable and quality you need to check to see if the gear was tested for a few days or if it was a quick 5 minute "test" just so they could write a review and snap a few pictures.  By checking for these things you protect yourself from buying something that isn't going to suit your needs or wasting money on something that is going to fall apart the second time you use it.
 

Reviewing the Ribz Front Pack

How often they use it:
Another thing to look for is how often the gear was used.  If the reviewer only uses the item once for the review then the gear may not be as valuable as they are claiming it to be. Look through the reviewers other posts to see if they mention the product multiple times.  With this I know that you may not use some items as often as others but if a product is worth it the reviewer will often mention it in other posts as well as on their other social network accounts (ie. Facebook, twitter, Instagram, etc...).

I use my Teton Sports Summit 1500 almost weekly

Pictures:
A quick easy way to see if a review is worth while is to take a look at the pictures provided. If the pictures have houses, sidewalks, or kitchen counters in the background then that may be a sign that the review is lacking in quality field testing.  Once again this isn't a guarantee but be sure to check it out. If the reviewer says they took the gear on an intense hunting trip and all you see are pictures with kitchen cupboards in the background I would question the validity of the review. Do take into consideration the time of year the review was done also. If I sent out a review of my ice fishing gear in mid July then the review would even cause myself to question how accurate it would be.

Ranger Beads on my carpet

Ranger Beads on my Pack

 

















Pro-Staff or not:
This is one of the items I struggle with the most. A pro staff member is asked to promote a companies products so it is inevitable that they are going to say the product is a good one.  At the same time, most pro-staff members are quality outdoors men who have worked hard to be where they are in their social networking.  Be sure not to be easily convinced the product is good just because a pro-staff member says it is. Be sure that the pro-staff member can chat with you about the product, how they tested it, and what the products strengths and weaknesses are.  Many of the online bloggers have a twitter or Facebook account where they would gladly chat with you about their review. This is your way of making sure there aren't any inconsistencies between what the review says and what the pro staffer has to say about the gear.  It is also important to ask the pro staffer if there are others who have done a review on the same gear this way you can base your decision off more than just one opinion.


Remember, these are just some things to look for and be aware of when using a review while searching for new gear.  There are a lot of good bloggers out there who share some great information.  Even with the best blogs out there, it is important that you do your research and not just take someone's word on it.  This keeps us bloggers honest with the companies we promised to give their product a good review.  If you are aware of these things you will be able to tell the difference between those who do gear reviews because they like to test the gear and give it an honest review and those who agree to do a "gear review" just to get their hands on some gear.


Like I said I don't claim to do the best gear reviews out there but I try to make sure my review gives the consumer as well as the producer the most honest opinion I can to ensure the product is accurately tested and reviewed.  Some of the other bloggers I have see write and produce good reviews are: SoCal Bowhunter, Sole Adventure, High Country Bowhunter, The Will To Hunt, and a few others.  Remember that This information is to protect yourself from buying a product that will not be good for you in the future.  This is not information that is meant to bash or criticize anyone's blog or their efforts on gear reviews. 

Palisades Lake

Me sporting the Teton Sports Summit 1500 at Lower Palisades Lake

I know I've said it before, but I will say it again, I consider myself a lucky man.  My wife and I just celebrated our five year anniversary and every year we have done something outdoors for our anniversary.  I don't know many wives who genuinely want to go camping, fishing, and/or hiking for their anniversary but mine does so I consider myself to be pretty lucky.

My wife and I decided we would go over to Palisades Reservoir  and go camping, fishing, and hiking for three days.  We have been over in that area quite a few times but we have never spent enough time to really explore the area and enjoy what it has to offer.  We had heard that there were two beautiful lakes up above Palisades Creek which had native Cutthroat Trout in them.  We decided that on our first day of our three day get away, we would drive to Palisade's, set up camp, relax and do a little fishing in the reservoir.  To make a long story short, nothing went our way that day and we were both wondering how things could possibly get worse. We ended up having problems with our camper, problems with my jeep, a brand new anchor we purchased hours earlier got stuck in the bottom of the reservoir so we lost it, and about twenty other things all decided to go wrong.  So by the end of day one we were so frustrated and annoyed we called it a night and decided we would wake up when we felt like it and just play it by ear for the rest of our trip.

Gear oil from my Jeep :(

The next day we slept in, ate breakfast, and then decided we would still go on our hike to the Palisades Lakes we had heard about.  We didn't start our hike until 12:30 p.m. so we really didn't have any set plan of how far we would go or anything.

My wife and I on the Trail

The Trail

The first thing I liked about the hike was the fact that the trail was right next to Palisades Creek.  There were multiple places where a person could stop and fish in the creek for a bit or even just put their feet in the water to cool down.  With us starting our hike as late as we did, the creek provided a nice cool breeze, which kept us moving up the trail.  Also, another major plus about this trail being right next to the creek was that I would guess about 75% of the time, the trail was covered with shade which also made it nice for our late start.  The area was beautiful and full of a variety of views including mountain sides, valleys, cliffs, and the beautiful stream running down the bottom of the canyon.  Many people see mountain goats and other wild life on this hike including bear and cougar. The only wild life my wife and I saw was a mule deer doe, which was just walking on the mountain side.

Ribz Front Pack

Teton Sports Summit 1500

Due to our late start we decided we would head up to the lower lake and then make the call if we were going to continue to the upper lake or if we would just spend the rest of the time fishing.  Before I go on, I have to give a shout out to Teton Sports for my awesome Summit 1500 backpack which I have used almost every weekend since I've gotten it.  I also used my Ribz Front Pack to pack some of my fishing gear my wife and I would need on our hike.  I love these two items and wouldn't go on a hike/fishing trip without either of them! Be sure to click the links and read my reviews on these two items!

Now back to our hike... The hike was honestly a fairly easy hike. It never had any crazy incline or scary switch back that I would consider difficult.  The only switch back to the lower lake was quick and simple.  We even passed a group of older ladies on the hike who were around 65 years old. There were all smiles and enjoying their adventure.  When I say that this hike was easy in my eyes, remember that I am used to hiking in the back country chasing elk and deer.  The last thing I want someone to do is to read this and go on the hike expecting it to be a walk in the park.  There were some areas with loose rocks which could be a little dangerous.  The trail does side hill along some pretty steep mountains which puts you on some fairly dangerous drop offs.  These areas were ones that I felt gave the trail its variety and kept us entertained on our hike. I liked how the trail was never the same scenery for too long; it kept us entertained the entire time on the hike. 

Camp site at Lower Palisades Lake

Lower Palisades Lake

When we got to the lower lake, the trail lead us right into a small camp site which had a few backpackers camped out in it.  The camp site was nice and clean and very peaceful.  I would totally come back and camp there some time now that I've seen what it is like.  The lake was amazing! The water was crystal clear blue and surrounded by beautiful scenery.  My wife and I hiked around the back side of the lake, threw out our fishing poles, and sat down to rest.  Because we slept in and had a late breakfast we had planned to eat a late lunch when we got to the lake.  I had packed a few Mountain house meals but soon realized that I forgot to pack something to light my backpacking stove to boil the water on...  So we just chilled out for a while at the lake and ate some of our light snacks we brought with us.  We took a short break and talked about whether we should head up to the upper lake or not.  The upper lake was only just over two miles more of a hike but we decided with the time that we would just fish on the way back to our vehicle and cook ourselves some dinner at camp. 

Releasing a beautiful Cutthroat Trout

My wife with her first catch

Small Cutthroat

On the way back down the trail we stopped in multiple places and fished.  We were catching fish, or at least getting bites, pretty much every cast.  I was using a Mepps spinner and my wife was just tossing a worm in and letting it float through the deep sloughs.  The fish we caught loved to fight for the size they were which made it fun.  The bigger fish were colored up real nice and made our trip worth it.  On our way down, we took lots of pictures of the small water falls and other scenery provided by the creek.  We heard that the upper lake had some good water falls to see around it. I would assume that by looking at the smaller ones around the lower lake, that the upper water falls were worth seeing.

Another Cutthroat Tout

Native Cutthroat Trout

With all of the fishing we were doing, we took a lot longer walking out than we did walking into the lake.  We both decided that next time we would wake up a little earlier and be sure to bring everything we needed on our hike so that we could make it up to the upper lake and see what it has to offer.  We are planning on backpacking to the upper lake and camping there either later this summer or it will be one of our first trips next spring.  I've already recommended the hike to a few friends who are always wanting to get outdoors and see what Idaho has to offer, and I would encourage anyone who may be up in this area to do the same!  This hike was definitely a nice relaxing hike with plenty of rewarding adventures on the way.

Small water fall on the way down the trail

RIBZ Front Pack Review

On a hike with my daughter and my Ribz Front Pack!

This time of year is difficult for me to write on my blog and its not because I don't have anything to write about but instead its because I would much rather get out and enjoy the outdoors!  So I have forced myself to sit down and write a quick blog post about a product I received called the Ribz Front Pack.

I'm just going to put it out there because I'm sure I am not the only person who has thought this, but at first I was a little hesitant thinking that this product would be a glorified "fanny-pack".  I also had the thought that this was some type of gear specifically for fly fishermen which I "might" be able to use for something else seems how I'm a world class loser when it comes to fly fishing!

When I first got the pack and put it on, I was shocked at how light the pack was at 11 ounces.  I adjusted the waist strap and shoulder straps so the pack fit snug right around my rib cage (hence the name Ribz Front Pack) and I was surprised how comfortable and natural the pack actually felt.  I thought it would make me feel like I was walking around with a spare tire around my waist but the way it fit was very comfortable and natural.

Carrying my pistol with the Ribz Front Pack on

      
The first test I put it through was on a hike with my wife and daughter through the mountains while looking for morel mushrooms.  I had seen a wolf just a week ago in this area so I wanted to make sure to pack my pistol just in case.  I know with some of my normal back packs, I struggle to carry my pistol on my hip and adjusting my back pack to carry the load evenly on my hips.  With the front pack, this was not a problem at all.  I enjoyed the fact that it rode high and tight and allowed me to pack my pistol on my side. 

Padding on shoulders moving down a bit.

 I also noticed while walking around that the Front Pack never swayed back and fourth or side to side because the waist strap has an elastic band to keep it snug while your body bends and adjusts.  One thing I didn't like about the pack was the fact that the padding on the shoulder moved around a little while wearing it.  To be honest, I don't know if I would have noticed it except for the fact that I was taking pictures for my review and noticed it in the pictures.  I don't know if the padding would move as much as it did if I had a heavier load in it or if I just need to adjust the straps a little differently.

Fishing away

The second test I used the Front Pack for was fishing down on the river bottoms.  As I mentioned earlier I am not much of a fly fisherman but I love to bait fish, spinner fish, and fish with a lure.  I previously purchased a few small Plano tackle boxes because I thought I would need them to fit my gear in the Front Pack but I was able to fit my normal tackle containers from my tackle box right into the Front Pack!

Pocket on the left

Pocket on the right

I was curious to see if the Front Pack would ever get in the way with me casting, reeling in, or changing baits but the Front Pack was once again super comfortable and convenient!  Having the pockets in the front were extremely ideal for quick access to my tackle and extremely convenient while tying on a new lure.  The pack has two large pockets on each side with mesh interior pouches in each pocket.  There are also two smaller pockets on the outer sides of the two large pockets which allowed me to carry nearly my entire tackle box right at my finger tips. 

Back view of me fishing with the Ribz Front Pack

After taking the pack on these two trips, I feel that the Ribz Front Pack would be ideal in any hiking of fishing situation.  The website says the pack is also ideal while carrying a load with a regular back pack to help distribute the weight and create easy access for certain gear while hiking.  I would say that the pack would be awesome to use while backpacking and carrying another pack!  For myself, I have been struggling to figure out how to keep backpacking while now having to use a child carry backpack to bring my daughter along with me, but now with the Ribz Front Pack my problem with that has been solved!

While I used the Ribz Front Pack for hiking and fishing, I also felt that this product would be great to use in a blind or tree stand situation so that you had your gear in an easily accessible place.  I know in my tree stand I have a separate place I use to hang my backpack once I get into my stand but now I will use my Front Pack to minimize the amount of movement when I have to get into my pack.  I also feel that this pack would be  awesome to use while bird hunting, both during dove season and duck season to keep my shotgun shells close and accessible at a moments notice.  The pack is a great addition to whatever pack you already have, or it can be a nice pack to use in situations where you know you will be needing access your gear often such as fishing, hiking, or hunting.

You can purchase a Ribz Front Pack off their website in Green, Black, or Camouflage for $59.95.  The Front Pack can adjust from a 26 inch waist up to a 44 inch waist and contains 700+ cubic inches of storage space for all of your gear! I would strongly recommend this pack to anyone who need or wants a very convenient piece of equipment to add to their collection of gear.

I can proudly say that the Ribz Front Pack is not a gloried fanny-pack and that it does not make you feel like you are walking around with a spare tire around your hips.  The pack is extremely comfortable and a wonderful pack!  I can honestly say that it was a lot more than what I expected it to be.  I wouldn't be hesitant at all to recommend this to any of my followers.

Ribz Front Pack in carrying case