LAST UPDATED: May 8th, 2015
When it comes to working in the outdoors and hunting industry, many people assume that it’s just one perk after another. From being showered with free gear to being offered top quality hunts in the best areas many people think we are living the dream. While that isn’t always true, we do get a few small perks every now and again. One of those perks is being able to meet with a variety of product manufacturers to learn about and play with their new products for the year.
For the past two years we have been invitied to the Bowhunter’s Roundtable, which is held in Barry, Illinois. This event, put on by Media Direct Creative, pairs all of the major hunting media outlets with product manufacturers for a couple days of chat about what’s new for this year. Day 1 of this 3 day event just wrapped up, so here’s a few of the highlights of what took place.
Our day started out talking to the folks from Easton about their line of extremely durable and light-weight Kilo tents. While tents aren’t necessarily a piece of gear that all bowhunters need, for those who pack into the high country in pursuit of elk or other high mountain animals, they are certainly a big deal. These Kilo tents are extremely light weight, waterproof and feature Easton’s carbon rod technology instead of the standard fiberglass rods that many of us are used to. The technology that has gone into these tents to make them light weight is simply amazing. From the tent poles and stakes to the material itself, every piece has been engineered with a specific purpose.
Our cameraman Brandyn filming one of many interviews. Make sure you check back next week as we’ll be posting new product videos as soon as they are edited.
The tent poles of the Easton Kilo series tents use carbon fiber rods with a short monofilament tether to connect to the rods, which dramatically cuts down on weight from the traditional bungee style cords most of us are used to.
After Easton we met up with our friends from New Archery Products to get a little bit more hands-on training with the Killzone broadhead, Carbon Apache and ArmorRest. Although I’m shooting a Carbon Apache now, they very well may have talked me into giving the ArmorRest a shot. And of course, a little more education cemented my decision to use the Killzone to handle my killing duties this fall.
Todd checking out the new Killzone broadhead from NAP. This rear-deploying head uses no o-rings, clips or collars to stay closed in flight and packs a whopping 2 inch cut.
Got Killzones?
We also got to meet up with Doug Mann from Stealth Cam, who gave us a firsthand look at a few new products. The new Drone trail camera system is certainly the big news for 2012. This trail camera unit works with Verizon wireless to transmit images from your camera to a Drone website where you can log in and view them at any time. Stay tuned for our full review and write-up of this product shortly, as the production units are just about ready to hit shelves.
The new Drone remote surveillance system – coming soon to a store near you!
Also new from Stealth Cam is a mid-season change to many of their cameras, uncluding the Unit OPS and Sniper Shadow, which will feature a new processor for better trigger speed and longer battery life. The new cameras will also have several presest modes, which makes setup even easier.
Also new from Stealth is the Epic Carbine. Very similar to the Epic HD that I used quite a bit last fall, the Carbine has a new carbon fiber look, and a nano coating that makes it extremely water resistant even without a waterproof casing. That’s great news for us hunters who don’t just pack it up and head home when the weather gets tough. Check out http://epicstealthcam.com/ to learn more.
The new EPIC HD Carbine. If only I had kept my Z7Xtreme Tactical – it would have matched perfectly!
We ended the day with our a visit at the Brunton booth, where we were introduced to their innovative solar panels. These light weight panels are great for hunters who ne
ed to charge devices like cell phones or GPS units without access to utility power. These panels can also be used to charge Brunton’s line of battery packs, which provide an extra boost of power for your devices on those long wilderness hunts.
Yours truly checking out the packable solar panels from Brunton.
Tomorrow we’ll wrap up our trip to Pike County, Illinois with a few more meetings before heading back to reality (also known as the office). Check back on Friday for some more updates!
From PASA Park in the heart of deer hunting heaven – over and out!
