Outdoor Gear | Manual of Man

The Stormcrow Group is in flight!

Jan 082012

I’ve decided to create a new blog fully dedicated to outdoor, hunting, and shooting gear reviews. You’ll also find industry news and articles there. It’s called The Stormcrow Group, if you enjoy the gear reviews here, take a moment to check it out!

I realized that I have a passion for passing on all the research I put into buying gear. Since I read a lot of reviews, I can give pretty good reviews as well!

I’m going to lift many of the reviews I’ve already written here, but they will still remain on this blog. You’ll still find some news reviews and articles about hunting and the outdoors snuck in here and there at Manual of Man, but the topic covered on this blog will remain tied to what this blog initially intended to be.

Let me know what you think, subscribe via RSS, and connect with me on Twitter and Facebook over there!

www.stormcrowgroup.com

Review of the Sitka Gear Bandit Mask in Open Country Optifade

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Dec 062011

Review of the Sitka Gear Bandit Mask in Open Country Optifade

Introduction

I wanted to purchase the Bandit Mask last year, but didn’t specifically need it at the time as I wasn’t ready to hunt yet. When spring rolled around, they were all sold out everywhere (probably from last year but they hadn’t replaced the stock yet). The same problem almost just struck again, as Sitka is out of stock on their end, and most retailers are selling out in the Open Country pattern all over the interwebs. Luckily extreme-outdoors.com still have them (these guys are based out of Utah, do guided hunts/fishing trips, and have great customer service for their online store).

As far as the reason for me purchasing it was for turkey season. As many people know, turkey hunting is a very difficult challenge concealment-wise. Some people say, if turkey could smell, there would be no way anyone could kill one. Why is this? Eye sight and hearing. Hearing, there’s not much you can do about. Be quiet and make sure your gear is quiet. But vision, there are many things.

Full up 3-D textured ground blinds, ghillie suits, face paint, camo shotguns. Pretty much anything in the hunting business that isn’t already for turkey hunting can be transformed into a turkey hunting necessity with just a camo dip. Continue reading »

Review of the Fenix PD30 R5 Cree XP-G LED Flashlight

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Nov 202011

Unfortunately, for me mainly, this review of the Fenix PD30 comes to you from a tragedy. I lost my beloved Fenix Tk10 flashlight at some point this summer. Although a bit heavier and wider than the PD30, I loved my Fenix Tk11 for its simplicity and the fact that it was my first “real” flashlight. That thing came with me everywhere I went, oh the memories…

But since I lost it, I needed a new one and one that addressed some of the gripes I had about the Tk11. I looked at the E1L Outdoorsman Flashlight by SureFire, which my friend owns. Although being very compact and well-built, it just didn’t have all the features that I was looking for, especially in the way of brightness. Which is very surprising given the Surefire name and price tag and the PD30 being half the price. I’ll probably still get a E1L someday because they do look pretty damn cool.

Fenix PD30 R5 Cree XP-G LED Flashlight With Free Fenix Accessory Bundle

R5 Cree XP-G Bulb and polished reflector

What is the brightness of the PD30 R5? A whopping 257 lumens at max. This is much brighter than my previous Tk10 which topped out at 225 lumens. Similar to the TK10, the PD30 has two brightness modes which can be selected by turning the front bezel. Fully tight is turbo, slightly loosened is general. The “turbo” mode puts out a beam at 257 lumens, and “general” at 10 lumens (TK10 has a general mode at 60 lumens). However, unlike the TK10, the general mode can be stepped up by just softly pressing (not a click) the tail cap switch. First on, 10 lumens. Soft press and you bump up to 67 lumens, another soft press and you bump up to 124 lumens. One more and you activate an integrated S.O.S. signal. And yes, it’s actually S.O.S, not just a strobe. The turbo mode does have a high speed strobe which can be activated by a soft press after clicking on at turbo mode. All due to the XPG-Cree R5 bulb with an over 50,000 hour lifespan, this is an improvement from the previous iteration using the XR-E bulb.

I personally don’t care for a strobe mode that much, as its touted as much more “tactical” option. But I suppose it has its merits of disorienting a potential assailant, in case a 257 lumen flood lamp in their face doesn’t? I just worry the strobe would disorient me just as much as it would an attacker. Continue reading »

Review of the Sitka Gear Ball Cap in Open Country Optifade

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Oct 312011

Dropping extra money on camo accessories is sometimes difficult to justify. Other times its easy. Trust me, I know. It’s a paradox I’ve been trying to contend with while as a novice hunter. Spending hundreds of dollars on a rifle or bow, accessories and ammo/arrows, a tree stand or blind, and large articles of camo clothing, like jackets, leaves you feeling either empty inside or totally gung-ho for more. I fall somewhere in between.

I make very deliberate purchases when buying anything. The same goes for hunting accessories. If I don’t need it immediately, as in, it doesn’t solve a specific problem right now, I don’t buy it. That’s not to say I don’t buy it at all, but I’ll defer it until it serves as an immediate solution. Of the two things I have to review here, I only purchased one, which was The Bandit mask. The ball cap I actually received as a 2nd place prize for a contest that Sitka ran on their Facebook page (the first place prize was a Bivy 45 pack, but let’s not talk about that).

Sitka Gear’s Cap in Open Country Optifade

This baseball cap is the bee’s knees. Since receiving it at the beginning of the summer, I’ve worn it everywhere. Not just for hunting. And not just because it’s Optifade (which actually looks pretty cool as a baseball hat). It’s made of a four-way stretch material that fits perfectly to almost any head. I’ve got a massive head and this thing fits like a glove. It’s one of the only baseball caps I wear that never feels too tight or too loose.

Whatever stretch material they use (I’m sure its the same as some other piece of Sitka gear, Ascent line maybe?) is highly, highly breathable. I’ve worn this while out fishing in early June, mowing the lawn in July, and at cookouts in August. (Yes, it probably stinks of human by now. But that’s nothing a few washes in scent-free detergent won’t handle). Even in direct sun, it doesn’t give off at that “cooking” feeling other hats can give on your head. You know, when the sun, rather than just burning the top of your head, is burning up the outside of a hat, making it feel like an oven between the inside of your hat and your head? None of that with this guy. It may be due to the interior fabric having a different texture than the exterior. I don’t know if its two layers of fabric, or a single layered that has different sides. The ridges on the interior are very similar to the Arc’teryx Phase SL shirt my girlfriend got me for my birthday. It’s fashioned that way to help channel moisture and heat.

Review of the Osprey Atmos 65 Backpack

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Aug 062011

I’ve had the Osprey Atmos 65 for over two years now. It’s gone on it’s share of overnights, day hikes, weekend lake trips, and even went with me on our trip to Singapore/Malaysia. This was my first purchase of a “high end” pack at a price tag of $240. This replaced a smaller sized EMS pack, that just wasn’t large enough. The previous pack, which I can’t remember the name of (sold it to a friend) made a great day pack or winter mountaineering pack when I needed to carry extra gear like crampons at 40L. This Osprey pack, however, adds an extra 15L of capacity, as well as extra pockets and compartments.

The overall layout of the pack is a top loader with a free float lid. It does not have a side access zipper, which can take some getting used to. You can’t access your kit without having to dig through the rest or reorganizing. However, due to the Atmos’s anatomy, you would have to reorganize your kit even with a side zip. What do I mean? Let me explain. Continue reading »

Review of the SOG Seal Pup Elite Knife

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Jul 082011

This is my review of the SOG Seal Pup Elite (E37) knife.

Man, I love this knife.

Let me explain. This knife was the physical embodiment of a boyhood obsession me and my friends shared for Navy SEALS, guns, and anything that said tactical. Video games like Counterstrike, Metal Gear Solid, Rainbow Six. Movies like The Rock, Navy Seals, and Under Siege. Wearing anything black, shooting paintball guns, airsoft guns, BB guns, imaginary guns.

We used to read reviews about SOG knives when we were teenagers. The original SOG M-37 Seal Pup was our main focus and how it passed all the real Navy SEAL product tests. Hell, the thing was even in Counter-Strike (so awesome). But alas, the knife cost over $60 bucks, and that was a lot of cash at that age.

So when I finally graduated college, had some cash flow, and wanted to spend the $60 bucks on my first “really nice” knife, it was like Christmas. It was being a kid again. A kid with a full wallet, more need of a good knife, and not needing to ask your parents if you could get one. Also, the original SOG Seal Knife was upgraded to the Seal Pup Elite. A little smaller and with an updated design. It was more of a personal fulfillment purchase than an actual utilitarian purchase. In other words, I bought it just to buy it and not really because I intended to use it.

And that’s just the thing. It’s a great knife. It’s beautiful. It’s quality. It’s bad ass. But in reality, it’s pretty useless for me and most people. I’m not a Navy SEAL. Nor am I even a combat soldier. That’s who this knife was designed for. Not really bushcrafting, not really skinning, and it can only decently clean a fish. It was designed for combat. And designed well.

But I won’t lie, it does feel great to hold while watching The Rock.