BowAmerica Becomes Bow Adventures
The free e-magazine, BowAmerica, has now become Bow Adventures and the summer issue is hot off the presses. To view the new release, as well as sign up to receive the free e-magazine, please click here. The next issue will roll out October 10 and like always, be packed full of useful information that you can take to the field. Enjoy!
Solo Elk, The Final Segment
First things first, I’m not a videographer (as clearly seen in my video productions!) and this video of the second to last day is the final in the Solo Elk series. During the hunt I had some problems with the ol’flip camera which resulted in two major issues. Number 1, I lost video segments. And number 2, it filled up and I had to revert to the lesser quality Kodak.
I apologize for the sound (again, not a videographer) but still wanted to share as this was such a powerful experience. 85 days until Elk season baby!
Inferno Jacket, Badlands Bio-Thermic Apparel
As a backcountry hunter I was super stoked when I read through the features of the new Inferno Jacket by Badlands. Gander at a catalog or their Web site, and you’ll quickly see buzzwords such as super lightweight, packable, and as much insulating technology as a jacket weighing twice as much. As someone who is ultra-concerned with weight and packability, I’m all about exploring the option of incorporating a jacket like the Inferno into my arsenal.
It’s no secret the game of success is about advantage and disadvantage. If I can tilt the scale and put the odds in my favor by gaining heat retention and versatility while saving weight and leading to greater mobility, I’m in. It took about two seconds for me to come up with a ton of reasons and situations I need the features this jacket claims to have. Let’s take a look under the hood to see how it performs…
By the Book
The Inferno Jacket is one of four jackets in the new Badlands Bio-Thermic Apparel System line-up. It features insulation filled heat channels, Hex-Lite Fleece liner, waterproof zippers, crew neck with beard guard, glove friendly cuff design, DuPont Teflon DWR, SRS (Scent Reduction System) antimicrobial treatment, variable motion seams, urethane base tape, elastic pulls (each side), and zipper garages. The jacket has two zipper pockets on the side for hands that just like the inside of the jacket, are also lined with Hex-Lite Fleece. Sizes range from M, L, XL, XXL, and is available in Realtree AP.
Feel
Overall the jacket has a very quality feel to it. All seams are meticulously put together and a thorough investigation reveals zero stitching errors. From what I see without having the time to actually putting it to the test, I would expect the seams and fabric to perform well during extensive wear and tear.
Z
ippers are solid. Heavyweight, waterproof, they tuck away nicely in the zipper garages helping to support the waterproof feature of the zippers and keeping things quiet.
The outer finish of the jacket has a slick feel to it, but just as I would expect from this type of jacket. Noise from movement is very minimal and very tolerable. Another outer finish feature of the jacket is the DuPont Teflon DWR repellent coating which quickly dissipates water helping to keep you dry.
The inner finish of Hex-Lite Fleece is plush. No other way to say it. If they made a couch out of Hex-Lite Fleece, I would buy it. I’ll definitely be using the inside of this jacket for my pillow in the backcountry which will work nicely over my usual run of the mill clothing stuffed zip lock bag. The design of the Hex-Lite screams BTU retention and I’m very anxious to put this to work this fall in some cold weather.
Fit
The fit of the jacket is what I would expect. The jacket I have is a medium and it fits like a medium. Completely zipped the crew neck is very comfortable and definitely feels as though it snugs to my neck helping to retain heat.
Packability
As stated in the beginning, the Inferno compacts well leaving you with many storage options if you need to remove and pack away for later. The best method I found for packing is to fold in half and roll up. This leaves you with a little finished Inferno burrito of 12″x4″ inch which will fit very well in the back of my Hybrid when heading to the stand. Because of its size and packabiltiy, this is also a jacket that I’ll very much consider packing into the backcountry. Last year in Colorado I had temps dipping down in the 20’s and the Inferno would have been perfect for those early mornings and late nights.
The Wrap Up
In the end the Inferno Jacket seems rock solid. Everything screams of quality and if we can come to expect the same quality and craftsmanship out of the apparel line as we’ve seen in the pack line, then there’s a new player in the game of hunting apparel. For more information on the Inferno Jacket and others, go to www.badlandspacks.com and check out the line-up.
Looking for more information? Check out a review of the Velocity Jacket by Mark at Sole Adventure, a review of the Ion Pants by Al at SoCal Bowhunter, and a review of the Momentum Pants.
Solo, Day 3/4
Day 3 & 4 is where things started to inch towards the tough category. A blown call sequence that led to me busting a silent 6×6 and little to no sightings had me feeling like I was going in the wrong direction. Pondered moving camp, endured a short snow storm, and tried hard to stay focused and not lose perspective.
Solo, Day 1
Going through a little footage from last fall… man I miss the mountains! This video is arrival day, day one of the hunt, day two from home. Arriving at the trailhead around 1pm I put the gear together, flung some arrows, messaged in via the SPOT, and hit the trail.
While at the truck I could hear it thundering and as you can see in the video, weather at 12k feet moves in pretty fast. One point of clarification, I have no idea in the beginning why I said 36hrs of driving. It’s not. Ohio to Colorado is about 23 for me and what I meant to infer is that it had been 36hrs since I had left my doorstep.
Leaving the trailhead I had right around 4-5 hours of hiking in front of me and on the video at one point I say, “I think this will be camp for the night…” well, that was not my camp for the night as I ended up push’n deeper to around 7 miles before running out of light. Overall day one was good a day. I made it in 7 miles, I was still in one piece, and I was ready to embark into the first night alone on the mountain.
More to come… stay tuned!
Your Dream Hunt… Make it Happen!
Latest issue of BowAmerica is out! Hot off the virtual presses, the March issue is packed full of info on putting together your Dream Hunt as well as info on a ton of other great bow related topics including DIY and a preview of the new Badlands Performance Apparel System. BowAmerica is a monthly free e-magazine and anyone interested in receiving it can sign up here. Enjoy!
