Great Gear from the 2015 Media Direct Roundtable

Some of the crew from Bowhunting.com had the chance to attend the 2015 Media Direct Roundtable event recently at PASA Park in Pike County, IL. The event is designed for media members to get a closer look at some of the year’s best bowhunting gear, as well as do some hands-on testing of the products and gear. The event is nestled in to some of Illinois’ finest deer country and offers several days of entertaining and educational time with industry manufacturers. Here’s a look at some of the great gear from the 2015 Media Direct Roundtable.

NAP Broadheads

In a time where the price of nearly everything seems to be on the rise, it’s good to see a company that’s making the effort to offer a better option at a much more pleasant price.

NAP offers four new broadheads this year designed for devastation on big game, yet at a price point that is easier on the budget.

The new Trivex features an O-ring design and a 1 5/8” cutting diameter. The Trivex mechanical broadhead incorporates three large cutting diameter blades with unique blade angles to ensure greater penetration. Out front you’ll find a chisel point to aid in bone-crushing performance. The guys at NAP say this head was designed specifically for today’s fastest bows and crossbows. A 3-pack of the Trivex rings up at $29.99.

We really liked what we saw from NAP’s new Slingblade broadhead. The Slingblade features a unique design that ensures the blades will never open in flight no matter how fast or powerful your bow, or crossbow, is. It’s a simple design that answers the demand for a fool-proof concept in mechanical broadhead design. The head’s large 1 7/8″ cutting diameter provides massive entrance and exit wounds for large blood trails and quick recoveries. The Slingblade retails for $29.99.

Despite the explosion of popularity with mechanical broadheads these days, a lot of hunters still look to a fixed blade for their broadhead of choice. And when it comes to fixed blade heads for 2015, it’s gonna be hard to beat a Redneck. The new Redneck broadhead is proudly 100% American made and designed to be deadly accurate from today’s ultra-high speed compounds as well as crossbows. The Redneck features a 1 1/8” cutting diameter and offset blades at .027” thickness for a super sharp design to ensure great penetration and easy to follow blood trails. One of the best things about the Redneck is the price. A 3-pack of these heads is just $19.99.

NAP has built a solid name and reputation around the Spitfire broadhead line. Bowhunters around the world have come to know and trust Spitfire broadheads at the front of their arrows. The guys at NAP say they always have hunters asking for a bigger Spitfire. “The demand was for a larger cutting diameter,” says Brady Arview of NAP. And a larger cutting diameter is what they got for 2015 with the introduction of the Spitfire XXX. A nasty 2” cutting diameter is now a standard in the Spitfire lineup with this head. As with all the Spitfire heads, the XXX is a rugged and dependable broadhead with razor sharp blades and tack-driving accuracy. The Spitfire XXX is 100% American Made and retails for $39.99.

NAP NightHawk Arrow Rest

The new NightHawk arrow rest from NAP is another quality product brought into range of the budget conscious shooter. The rest features a more streamlined magnesium housing, making it very light. The full containment drop-away design features a slick Santoprene sound dampening concept to keep things hushed while you’re preparing for the shot. Tuning this rest is quick and simple due to the laser etched graduations. It’s a light and tight package at an unbelievable price – $49.99.

Wildlife Research Center

A good day in the deer woods often ends with blood on the hands. And that’s great until it’s time to put your hands on the steering wheel or other items in your truck that you’d rather not get bloody. Wildlife Research Center makes getting cleaned up a lot easier with their new Scent Killer Gold Foaming Hand Wash. It’s a great product to keep in your truck, camper, or tent that allows you to get cleaned up fast with an unscented, easy rinse formula.

It’s honestly hard to believe that Wildlife Research Center has been around long enough to be offering their 25^th Edition products like their Special Golden Estrus. Paul Marion of Wildlife Research Center told us that the Special Golden Estrus continues to be the top selling formula for deer hunting the rut, featuring fresh and super premium doe urine dated for this season.

Real Avid Revelation X4 Knife

Nick and the crew from Real Avid were on hand to share about their slick new products in the knife category. Real Avid is an innovative company that boasts being “mission specific.” The thought behind their new Revelation X4 knife is that big deer don’t die at lunchtime. For that reason, they’ve designed a knife with 4 LEDs built in to the handle to light up whatever you’re trying to field dress or butcher after dark. The concept gives you much greater visibility inside the body cavity of a deer. No more blind guesswork on where that broken broadhead is hiding inside your deer. Light it up with the Revelation. It’s a beefy knife with a wide, super grip handle, and is totally waterproof. The Revelation X4 knife retails for $39.99.

 

TRUGLO Covert Pro Power Dot Sight

We had a chance to take a look at one of the more sophisticated, yet simple, sights that we’ve come across in a long time when we found the Covert Pro Power Dot Sight from TRUGLO. The sight features the company’s battery powered Micro LED technology, using 2 pieces of glass fused together for target acquisition like no other.

The sight also features tool-less micro-adjustments, 2^nd and 3^rd axis adjustments, preprinted yardage tapes, and a quiver bracket. The Covert Pro Power Dot rings up at $179.

Brite Strike Duty Lite DLC

One of the coolest little gadgets we came across at this year’s Roundtable was the Duty Lite DLC from Brite Strike Technologies. It’s a beefy handheld light with a maximum output of 310 lumens and a run-time of up to 8+ hours on its included rechargeable Lithium battery.

But not only is it a really bright light, this thing is also a video camera! Just think about all the opportunities this unit could provide. It’ll be a bowfishermen’s dream when trying to capture the shot on camera at night while out on the water. It’s also perfectly suited for filming a deer recovery after dark, or opening intro’s for TV crews in the treestand before sunup. The options are truly unlimited with this light that features an 8GB storage capacity and approximately 12 hours of video record time. The unit comes with AC and DC chargers. Price is $499.

Stealth Cam P36 NO Glow

We stopped in at the GSM booth to check out the latest product offerings from Stealth Cam, and Ben Smith shared with us some insight on the No Glow options from Stealth Cam. Trail cameras are another category that we were glad to see a push toward more affordable options. Stealth Cam is at the forefront of this effort with some really great camera options for the budget conscious hunter. The company’s new P36NG is a great new camera with 36 no-glow infrared emitters. Priced just around $100, this camera is the ideal solution when you’re wanting to go undetected from unwanted guests on your property, or simply want to avoid any game-spooking flash. The camera has an 8 megapixel resolution setting and a 60’ range.

Ben shared with us that the G42 camera still tends to be the most popular choice among hunters at a price point over $100, while their P12 camera is hard to beat ringing up at just $79.99 retail.

Easton FMJ Bowfishing Arrow

We spent some time with Gary Cornum of Easton to check out the latest from the pioneer company in the world of arrows. Gary shared that their Axis shafts continue to be a best seller for the company. However, he also mentioned that their Full Metal Jacket lineup has been their fastest growing category…and it’s still growing.

When you see the current lineup of arrows from Easton, it’s hard to believe it all started in 1922 with Doug Easton making wood arrows. Then aluminum came along. Aluminum has been so good that very little has changed in that category. In fact, look at indoor shooters today, and you’ll see that they still shoot aluminum. Why? Aluminum is extremely consistent and brings high accuracy to the arrow world. So when Easton made the move to combine the focused energy from a small diameter carbon arrow, matched with the consistent accuracy of aluminum, a killer combination was born with the Full Metal Jacket bringing accuracy, toughness, and speed.

Easton added the FMJ concept to the bowfishing world with the introduction of their FMJ Bowfishing Arrow. The arrow features a dual material construction with a Full Metal Jacketed Fiberglass delivery. The shaft is tipped with the Mayhem double-barbed steel point with Cyclone tip. This arrow was designed to hit harder and penetrate deeper on big fish. Price $34.99

CORE 4 Element

Rich Packer of CORE 4 Element shed a little light on the new Core 4 Element XT series when we stopped in to check out the goods from this performance driven apparel company. “Our goal is to provide performance clothing built for hunters,” says Packer. “We’re bringing quality gear that has been well designed at a great value for the customer.” With 30-40 pieces currently in the product line, the young company is off to a great start.

The Element XT jacket Rich showed us was incredibly comfortable. It features a 2-way-stretch polyester double weave Soft Shell outer allowing for unrestricted movement and a comfortable fit. The shell is wind-proof and is treated with a DWR (Durable Water Repellent) finish for wet-weather protection. The Element XT Jacket has premium Primaloft Silver insulation which is a feather-light synthetic insulation that is breathable and maintains heat retention even when wet. This jacket was designed with the late season treestand hunter in mind.

Now is the time to add new gear to your arsenal as we anxiously await the arrival of hunting season. Be sure to check out these companies for a closer look at the great gear they provide.